Manhattan Inn
This marks my first official nighttime foray in Brooklyn! My first warning is that every bar in Brooklyn seems to be cash only so ladies come prepared.... They sell a beer at this place called Pork Slap which tastes terrible but seems terribly fitting. The front half of the bar is mostly standing room only unless you can get the large wooden picnic table at the front near the door. In the back you enter a cesspool of crazy dancers which if you're drunk enough to an epic party...and if you aren't you can sit and have just as fabulous a time people-watching hipsters. The music was awesome and I would definitely hit this place up again.
Photo Credit: Peter D on Yelp.com
CHELSEALa Promenade des Anglais
So glad that I finally made it to a Restaurant Week restaurant! We arrived and the manager charged my phone for me while I was eating! He also came over and offered to pair each of our courses with wine for $50 per person instead of the Restaurant Week menu of $35 per person which was a great deal considering he filled the glasses pretty high!
For dinner, I had the kale and red cabbage salad with duck prosciutto, candied walnuts, pomegranate and shaved cheese which I gobbled down in about three minutes. The duck prosciutto was inventive and delicious! The second course was gargarnelli pasta with fennel pork shoulder ragout which was also tasty especially since the pasta was homemade. The finale was warm chocolate fondant with stracciatella ice cream which was just the right size. The restaurant was warm and inviting and obviously the customer service was impeccable. I'm happy to find another great restaurant close to home for me to frequent.
Markt
This was sort of a last minute, let's eat here, option that was actually quite refreshing. I had the Croque Monsieur which was very simple, toasted Paris ham and cheese on whole wheat toast, but was nicely toasted and melty in the middle. Definitely a good local option but not a stand out.
GRAMERCY / FLATIRON
ABC Kitchen
ABC stands for Absolute Best Cuisine! This is by far my favorite restaurant in NYC so far. The dishes are inventive, delicious and beautifully presented. It's impossible to walk in and get a table but you can reserve a table or sneak to the back bar which is first come, first served, which is what we did. The restaurant is decorated white with lots of exposed wood and high-top tables. Very eclectic. Very cool. We also gorged ourselves....
1) Roasted beets with homemade yogurt - I would NEVER order this normally but the waiter convinced us to try it and it was amazing. The sweetness of the beets with the slight tangyness of the yogurt made this almost like a dessert. It was light yet rich. SO GOOD.
2) Roasted kobocha squash toast fresh ricotta apple cider vinegar - My other favorite of the night. The sweetness of the squash, ricotta and vinegar paired perfectly with the saltiness of the toast. Perfectly cooked - not soggy at all.
3) The special was a baked burrata with black truffle that was good but not worth the $40 price tag. I've had better but it was still very good.
4) Roast carrot and avocado salad crunchy seeds sour cream citrus - This dish was also very good although a little spicy for my palate. The fire of the spiced carrot was lightened by the softness of the avocado.
5) Roast suckling pig, plum and smoked bacon marmalade and braised turnips - I'm sure just reading that description gives you a pretty good idea of how good this was. I was so full and still couldn't stop eating this. Crispy on the outside; melty on the inside.
6) Sundae with salted caramel ice cream candied popcorn chocolate sauce (didn't get whipped cream and candied peanuts) - I really liked the ice cream but this might have been just a touch too much sweetness, but that could also be because I was bursting at the seams at this point.
LOWER EAST SIDE
Donut Plant
Another famous little spot in Manhattan, but not that tasty in my opinion. Granted I'm not a huge donut person to start but I tried both the cake and yeast donuts (they have two different types) and wasn't that impressed. The cake donut, The Blackout, was SO rich that I couldn't eat more than a few bites.
Alias
So I'm pissed because I took pictures of my amazing brunch at this restaurant and they came out blurry! This is the BEST brunch I've had in New York to date. I had the two piece fried chicken with coleslaw, biscuits and honey butter. The chicken was crispy and flavorful without being overly breaded and the coleslaw had large slices of cabbage and minimal mayo. Overall an explosion of tastes! As a lover of biscuits, these biscuits ranked just below the continuing incumbent - John O Groats, Los Angeles.
My friend as the brisket breakfast burrito with beef brisket, scrambled egg, guacamole, potatoes, tomatillo salsa and red onion wrapped in a flour tortilla with sour cream & cheddar which was HUGE but looked very good. We finished off the breakfast with a side order of the biscuits and cream gravy with sausage which was rich but delicious. I will DEFINITELY be back.
UPPER EAST SIDE
El Liberador
This little neighborhood parilla is located at 1725 2nd Ave (between 89th St & 90th St) deep in the Upper East Side. It was my first trek into unknown territory but the restaurant had great customer service and a friendly atmosphere. I ordered the yellowfin tuna carpaccio, ham and cheese and beef empanadas, skirt steak with garlic mashed potatoes and pappardelle bolognese. The carpaccio wasn't very high quality fish, the empanadas were a little greasy and the skirt steak with a little chewy but the pappardelle is one of the best I've ever had and we all know how often I order meat pasta. They also had delicious Argentinian wine by the glass.
WEST VILLAGE
Back Fence
This place brings back memories of Hermosa Beach/Manhattan Beach dive bars like Shellback. Home away from home. The band was mildly terrible, the drinks were cheap and the bachelorette party by the bar was entertaining. Lots of seats to sit and relax which is nice but if you can't get a table there isn't a lot of room to stand which is annoying. Great place to go if you just wanna chill and have good convo with friends.
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