Dining in New York: Traif

I took January off from the dining scene (as evident from my lack of posts), and I apparently missed a lot.

Dans L'Inde (Dinner Lab)

Supper clubs have been all the rage recently, offering intrepid diners something different from the usual restaurant dinner. I have heard all kinds of praise for Dinner Lab, read on for more! 

Little Park

It is rare that I head down to TriBeCa to investigate new or notable restaurants, but Little Park seemed intriguing...

Eleven Madison Park Fall Tasting Menu Reveal!

{Chef Daniel Humm}

Nathan had an idea one evening - he decided to find out when Eleven Madison Park would be launching its fall tasting menu. After calling and stopping by a few times, he found out the menu would be revealed on October 7th, just a few days before my 30th birthday! Soon we were all set for a 6pm reservation.

Sushi Nakazawa, at the Sushi Bar

Third time is a charm! (Actually, all times were a charm!)

WD~50

As soon as I read that WD-50 will be closing its doors on November 30th, I hopped on opentable to see when I could get the next reservation. Sure, Chef Dufresne has Alder in my neighborhood, but there is something unique and innovative about his first restaurant in LES. 

Eleven Madison Park with Baby Sis

What kind of magic did Eleven Madison Park have up its sleeve?

I know there was quite the fanfare for my baby sister turning 21 about a month ago in Baltimore. However, no birthday is complete without a visit to Eleven Madison Park when you come to visit your mayan goddess idol big sister in New York City!

Jean Georges

Well, who hasn't heard of Jean Georges? And, who hasn't read the roughly 8,000,000,000 posts on this very blog about ABC Kitchen? I decided to step it up a notch from my ABCs and trek up to Columbus Circle to check out his eponymous restaurant at the Trump Hotel. Yes, you will likely have to make reservations a month in advance, but we know I am now an old pro at this game.

I was especially excited because as I know that Jean Georges' infamous chocolate molten lava cake would be served, and according to some, he was the brainchild of this dessert (apparently this fact is debatable). I'm not sure if my sister has posted embarrassing photos of me licking the bowl clean while eating chocolate molten lava cake at home, but I am positive this event has happened.

Also of note, Jean Georges is part of the Relais & Chateux chain of restaurants. I'm starting to become a groupie!

Cherche Midi

Over the winter, I read a round up of all new restaurants opening this spring, and I was excited when I read that Keith McNally had a new venture in the works. Turns out, this new place, Cherche Midi, opened last week in the old Pulino spot.

Talk about up my alley - this place has rustic-but-cute pink tablecloth and napkins. Ok, already a winner! The red banquettes reminded me of my beloved Balthazar. We walked in around 8:45pm or so on a Monday night and there was no wait for a table, but I don't know how long this phenomenon will last.

Betony

Becca was back in NYC visiting from London, and she had heard about Betony alllll the way over there! I have been here a few times, last summer, when it first opened, and I was pleased to learn that it is/was relatively easily to get a reservation (when compared to, say, Milos, or Quality Italian). Becca and I only had one night to dine together since I was flying out to the west coast, so we Sanjay and a few of us together for a meal. 

Sushi Nakazawa, Round 2!

Yay, I was fortunate to come back here for a second time! I think I liked it even better than the first time around, and service was yet again fantastic. I prepared for my feast by watching Jiro Dreams of Sushi and watching Chef Nakazawa serve as an apprentice and perfect his tamago for Jiro. Who's ready for more? 

What I Ate This Week

What I Ate This Week - March 24th, 2014 edition, Part 3 of 3* 

*I realize that it is now the week of April 28th, oops. Busy month of eating, music festival-ing, and socializing

This is the final installment of the restaurant hit list when my sister was in town. It includes two of my favorites and a new place that I would highly recommend - North River, in East Village.

What I Ate This Week

What I Ate This Week - March 24th, 2014 Edition, Part 2 of 3

Sushi Nakazawa

Sisters go to Sushi Nakazawa! This was certainly a labor of love. For those who have tried to reserve a table or a spot at the Sushi Bar, you know what I'm talking about. I fanatically refreshed the open table page a zillion times all day and night when I was in front of my computer. I am pretty sure that even the times I woke up in the middle of the night, I probably opened up the open table app to scan and see if someone had canceled a reservation in the early hours of the morning. I finally was able to secure a reservation for March 7th at 5:15pm. Early, okay, but I could take it. My sister wasn't sure if she could make it to NYC that weekend, so just in case, I kept searching for another reservation for March 20th. Then one day, a 7:45pm reservation for that Friday opened up. I was about to rub my eyes in disbelief, but I realized I didn't have that kind of time, as I'm sure the reservation would disappear as soon as it appeared. I felt a weird feeling of glee and satisfaction as I typed in my credit card information to hold my reservation.  

What I Ate This Week

What I Ate This Week - March 24th, 2014 Edition, Part 1 of 3

This week's post will come in three parts, because my sister was in town, we dined out quite a bit. I learned some exciting things this week! I learned I actually do like artichokes, which is very exciting as I feel this opens a whole new spectrum of starters and sides to order from! I am also obsessed with the idea of egg yolks on things from pasta to breakfast pizza. You know who else likes egg yolks? Cooper, my beloved (furry) nephew. No wonder we get along so well!

MAD Mondays

If I spent half the amount of energy into the rest of my life as I do finding things food related, I wonder what my life would be like.

I Forgot It's Wednesday Supper Club

I stumbled upon this supper club via meetup.com, in my quest to find fun dining experiences around the city. I jumped at the opportunity for the first ever Monday night version of the I Forgot It's Wednesday Supper Club since I haven't dined at a supper club experience since I was in Buenos Aires. This supper club, founded by Matt and Jenny, usually hosts parties every Wednesday night, and has also added on a brunch "supper" club as well.

Thanks for having us Matt, Jenny, and King!

What I Ate This Week

What I Ate This Week - March 17th, 2014 Edition

I've been slacking! Also, I have been trying really hard to eat healthier, so that means fewer restaurants for the time being. Fear not, my sister will be here this week and we have a huge lineup for next week's post. 

What I Ate This Week

What I Ate This Week - March 3rd, 2014 Edition

This week's adventures included mostly newbies, and an oldie.

What I Ate This Week

What I Ate This Week - February 24th, 2014 Edition

I'm really going to have to start cooking at home soon...but there are so many new places I want to try, I have major FOMO! 

The bottom line is that Piora still has the best sunchokes I've had so far, and order the roast chicken when you go to the NoMad. 

Ferran Adrià: Notes on Creativity

Whaaaat? An exhibit on Ferran Adria? Food and art! Cool! This exhibit showcases chef Ferran Adria's notes, sketches, and processes (?) during the time that he was at El Bulli.

For those who are not familiar with Ferran Adria, he was the chef at the acclaimed El Bulli in Spain from the 1984 to 2011, when the restaurant closed. He became famous for his techniques with molecular gastronomy or deconstructivist cuisine.

I sadly never made it to El Bulli before it closed, but after this exhibit, I'm hoping for a revival. Or, maybe if we are lucky, a pop up restaurant in New York (that's a joke).