Othello's Deli - (Astoria) - $

Website

Everyone needs a good, local deli. I found this one on yelp and decided that I'd stop over on one of my weekend bike rides. When I got there, I found it crowded with customers placing orders inside as well as seated outside. Good sign.

It's your typical deli with grocery items, fresh fruit, hot prepared foods and deli meats. I went ahead and ordered what's now become my all-time favorite sandwich: smoked turkey, lettuce, tomato, onion and kefalotiri cheese on a hero. The kefalotiri cheese is obviously a Greek cheese, and when in Astoria... it perfectly compliments the smoked turkey and is just A----mazing.





The fact that it's always packed and everything is fresh is a good sign. Othello's has since become my go-to deli. This makes a great pit stop before biking over the tri-boro for a randall's island picnic.

Sandwich and bottled water, $8.

JG Melon - Burgers - $

Website

Another burger adventure in the city, inspired by my friends' burger obsessions in the city. A coworker had recommended this place and I learned that it's Bobby Flay's favorite burger from "Best Thing I Ever Ate."

This old, original restaurant features walls of watermelon posters and paintings, and a simple menu of burgers and steaks.

- Cheeseburger
(A good one, but not my favorite. It's a good, no frills version of your typical cheese burger)

- Fries
(Really good, crispy-- I liked these more than the burger)

The burger alone is about $10, plus whatever you eat and drink on the side.

Eataly - Italian - $$

Website

Eataly is great. It's a marketplace, a food court, a scene, and a tourist trap, all in one. The Mario Batali owned location sells all sorts of Italian goods, from chocolate and desserts to cheese and salamis, and breads, produce and fresh fish and meat. If it's Italian, it's there.





Next to all of the little markets- whether it's fish, meat, cheese, etc., are little restaurants based on the market it's next to. So you can choose based on what you feel like eating.

The first time I went, I had a fresh focaccia pizza from the bakery (to go) and it was excellent.

The second time, we came after a long night of drinks, we opted for the "La Pizza & La Pasta".



- Pomodora Pizza
(Great wood oven taste)






- Pasta alla Norma
(Fresh made lasagna pasta with eggplant and mozzarella)





Without wine, we spent $25pp.

Minetta Tavern - Burger - $$$

Website

OK. I've already posted Minetta Tavern, but the first time I went there, I had the steak- which is not what you're supposed to go there for. The Minetta Tavern Black Label burger is the talk of the town. It's considered the best burger in the city by many, who also justify the $26 price for what I like to consider as the single-childless-yuppie-with-money-to-spend's burger.

A friend of mine who is documenting his way through the best burgers of the city invited me along. We were on a mission. Even on a Wednesday night, the place was packed and loud as usual, making it really difficult to chat, but then again, the burger was so incredible, when it did finally arrive

there were no words spoken at our table, only "Mmmms"

It was amazing. The burger is pretty small, but I've read all sorts of articles about how the actual meat mixture used to make this burger is secret and exclusive to Minetta Tavern. It's essentially like the best steak ground up and cooked to perfection, then topped with carmelized onions. DO NOT think to put anything on this burger. It doesn't need anything at all.



We went with a certain technique to extend the life of this life-changing burger, which was by: cutting it in half, eating the first half in tiny bites, then eating the delicious fries that came with it, followed by the other half of the burger. At the end of the meal, I noticed that the knife bore the evidence of how perfect and fatty the burger is.




For me personally, the best part of the night was having Riad Nasr come out of the kitchen and speak to the guests at the table next to us. For all the times I have been to the McNally restaurants and dreamt of the opportunity to meet Riad Nasr- one of my favorite chefs and chef-owner pairings.... it was like too good to be true. And there he was, not even one foot away from me, with his name embroided on his chef's jacket. I dont know which experience was better-- the burger or the chef.

We finished the meal off with the Grand Marnier souffle, which well, was also amazing.



I so love Minetta Tavern.

Burgers and dessert about $45pp.

Katz's Deli - Sandwiches - $

Website

Katz has pretty much been around since forever and has kept true to the authenticity of the kosher deli. It's the place where Sally faked her orgasm in When Harry Met Sally, and when you go, there's a sign hanging from the ceiling over the her seat saying something like "I hope you're having what she had".

I still don't quite understand how the ticket system works, but when you walk in, you're given a ticket as you pass through the turnstile, which you're supposed to turn in on your way out. But you're sent straight to the counter, where there are almost a dozen men waiting to take your deli order. You have choices like liverwurst (my favorite), turkey, corned beef, pastrami, beef salami, etc. You choose your bread and mustard, and then you're given a plate of pickles.

It's not the kind of place that offers insanely large sandwiches like Stage or Carnegie Delis do, which are essentially catering to tourists anyway. Katz's is the real deal, and their sandwiches are normal-sized, pricey, but delicious.



You can also order the deli meats if you wanted to. All in all, every New Yorker has to go here at least once, and anyone visiting shouldn't miss out on this either.

Expect to pay about $15 for a sandwich and a drink.

David's Bagels - $

Website

Do yourself a favor. If you're in NYC and you need a good bagel, go to David's Bagels on 1st ave and 19th st. It will forever change the way you choose a bagel, and it will forever change the way you eat a bagel. It is so unimpressive from the exterior, but it will always be packed with people- evidence of what you're getting yourself into.

The bagels are perfect-- crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside, and always just... well, perfect. If you're from out of town, this is the perfect place to try a New York bagel, but DON'T get a bagel and creamcheese. You can get that anywhere. DO get a bagel with lox, or better yet, the smoked whitefish. Both are amazing here, and they're so New York, you likely will not find it outside of the city.

Even if you get whitefish, the bagel will be less than $7. Soooooo gooooooddd.

Artichoke - Pizza - $$

Website

Artichoke is one of the best pizza places in the city. They opened a new location with seating in chelsea. The original location was just a stand on 14th street, where you had to wait on a line for sometimes 30 min at a time. It was well worth the wait, but being able to sit, enjoy and drink the Artichoke beer is so much better.

- Stuffed artichoke
(Aaaa-mazing. You have to get it)



- Spinach & Artichoke Pizza
(This is really delicious. It is like spinach and artichoke dip on a pizza. The crust is perfectly crisp and each bite is delicious. In my opinion, I wouldn't go for more than 1 slice per person. This is a really salty, heavy slice and you will barely be able to finish 1.)





- Artichoke beer
(I originally mistook this as the house beer, but it is actually artichoke flavored beer which is the most surprisingly tasty beer i ever had. It is sweet, light and super smooth. Try it, you wont find it anywhere else.)

We each spent about $20pp.

Elias' Corner - Greek - $$$

Website (Astoria)

Everyone raves about this seafood restaurant for being the best in Astoria. I'm upset that my experience at this restaurant did not live up to the great hype that Elias' Corner gets. It's the kind of seafood restaurant you want to go to. There is no menu, there is just a display case filled with the fresh catches of the day. You basically go and pick out the fish you want and how you want it cooked: grilled or fried.

My friend and I however, had a different experience. We went on a Friday afternoon, and the service was awful. We started with salad, oysters, grilled octopus and the taramosalata (caviar spread). The oysters were a huge disappointment. They tasted bland and dry, and barely had any texture; it's like they were lifeless. I never had such a bad oyster before, which was so surprising, given that we were at a seafood restaurant. Then the grilled octopus, one of my favorite Greek dishes to get at a Greek restaurant, was the worst of them all. Totally charred on the outside, it had nothing but a burnt flavor, and was mushy and gooey on the inside- totally undercooked. Clearly, whoever made the dish had no idea how to prepare it. I complained to the waitress who only offered to take it back to cook it some more. Cooking it more would make it taste more burnt. How was that a solution? I explained this, and told her that it was not prepared correctly and that burning it more would not make it taste less burnt. All she said was "I don't know." She was so unaccommodating that we just asked for the check (she did not remove the bad dish from the bill) and left.







I wish this was a better experience for me, but I will definitely go back and try the seafood that the place is famous for. No octopus or oysters next time!

We spent $35 for just the appetizers.

the walrus and the carpenter - $$$ (Seattle, WA)

Website (Seattle)

It's ironic that while I was out in Seattle, this restaurant was posted on the front page of the NY Times Travel section, which is one of my go-to guides whenever I travel.

Known for its oysters, I was eager to try. The west coast has better oysters than the east coast, in my humble opinion, so this was the perfect place to try.

We started with an assortment of oysters. Delicious. Then we had these fried English peas- really delicious, smokey flavor like I've never enjoyed peas before.







The creme de la creme was the medjool dates dessert that we chose. Medjool dates are known for being fat, juicy, buttery and delicious. These are served warm on a plate covered in vanilla olive oil and sea salt. I still dream about how delicious this dish was. I never had that combination of flavors and textures before. It was just incredible. If I ever open a restaurant, or the next time I throw a fancy dinner party, I'm stealing this recipe.



Major compliments to the chef.

We spent about $35pp.

El Paso Tacqueria - Mexican - $$

Website

This is another one of those Upper East Side adventures restaurants. I went there with coworkers for a nice lunch. Who doesn't love Mexican food!?

The food was just a little bland. We all left feeling like it was only "ok" and not sure that we'd go back, which is really unfortunate because I love Mexican.

Tre Otto - Italian - $$$

Website

I've recently been exploring a lot of the restaurants on the Upper East Side, now that I have a project in the area. I have to admit that this one probably has the nicest ambiance and was most alluring from the sidewalk. It has a nice wine bar in the front, and a very elegant, modern decor. I had been saving this one for a client lunch.

So we finally went and sat in the back garden area. Super nice and serene, it was wonderful to find a place with al fresco dining. Italian food, al fresco dining, they go hand in hand. The place was filled with many old, Upper East Siders, most of whom were ladies who lunch. Their faces were all so botoxed and so made up, I wondered how they would even manage to open their mouths to eat.

Anyway, the service was really poor. It took about 10 minutes to get some water. 15 minutes to get bread that I had to ask for. And then another 5 for our iced teas. I kept hearing the table next to us ask for the woman's personal pizza about 5 times--- they were there for an hour and 20 minutes, and finally left WITHOUT getting her pizza. At that point, I was cringing and hoping that this wouldn't be the same for my client lunch.

We ordered the calamari for our appetizer and then decided to share the parmigiana pizza. After about 30 minutes, we got both the calamari AND the pizza at the same time. I hate when you get the appetizer with the entree, i mean, what is the point of ordered the appetizer then?? The calamari was so dry that we left it untouched, it was definitely not fresh. The pizza was actually very good, but very messy. It was the kind of pizza that just falls apart, so you must eat it with a fork and a spoon- nothing tragic.

Finally, after we paid and left- we walked past the kitchen in a narrow hallway to exit, and I saw one of the waiters eating our 2 leftover slices of pizza. It just grossed me out. I mean, there he was, in the middle of the hallway, not hidden or tucked away in the kitchen, and he was eating our pizza off the tray that it was served to us on. I'm all about not wasting food, and keeping leftovers, but the sight of it happening before we were even able to leave the restaurant just made me feel uncomfortable. I felt bad for the Owner, because it really appeared that there was no order in her kitchen.

I think I might give this place another chance, but when it's less busy and less crowded. It just gets an "ehh" for now.

Nyonya - Malaysian - $$

Website

Nyonya has been a long-time favorite place to bring friends when visiting from out of town. This place has amazing food, tons of character, and great prices. It's ironically located in the middle of Little Italy, right next to Ferrara's. It's always funny to tell people that you're going to Little Italy for Malaysian food, but hey.

When I recently went back, I stood on Grand St., whining like a spoiled teenager that my favorite restaurant got shut down..."how could they do this to me? it was one of my favorite places, I should have gotten a warning!...waaaa" is sort-of how it went... but then, i swear it was like harps were playing in the background when I turned to see that the restaurant had only opened a new, better location across the street. Phew!

This place is always worth trying, and is a nice change from the typical asian (thai, chinese, japanese) selection.

- Roti
(this thin, flaky bread that you dip in a curry sauce. you pretty much have to get this as your appetizer)


- Chicken Satay
(delicious juicy chicken on skewers, served with a peanut dipping sauce, sooo good)


- Spicy Crispy Squid
(exactly how it's described. I don't know that I'd order this again, but it was definitely worth trying)


- Pineapple Fried Rice
(just the right amount of sweet and spicy, always good)


- Can't remember what this was, but it was good!


I think in the end, between 3 of us, we paid about $20 each.

Burger Joint @ Le Parker Meridien - Burgers - $

Website (Midtown)

This place is soooo good! It's a tiny hole-in-the-wall hidden behind a heavy drape in the lobby of Le Parker Meridien. You wouldn't expect it at all. Amidst the upscale hotel lobby decor, this place totally doesn't fit in-- probably why it's hidden behind such a heavy drape. It looks like the kind of "joint" you'd find in the Village. But its quality is exactly why it's remained. The line is consistently long, and the place is consistently packed, so have some patience. The burger is well worth the wait and the crowd. This would be up there on my top 10 burgers in the city... if I had a top 10 burgers in the city, list!

- Cheeseburger
- Fries



$14 Burger-Fries-Soda

Mobay - Jamaican - $$

Website (Harlem)

This cute little place is so great. I met my girlfriend and my gorgeous godson (almost 1 year old!!) for lunch on a Saturday here. It was pretty crowded, and there was only 1 waiter on the floor, so service was slow... but we were not in any kind of rush.

Everything was pretty good and I would definitely recommend this place. It must be listed in NYC Guidebooks because there were a few tourists there, mixed in with the locals. I loved the atmosphere. I'll definitely come back.

- Cornbread
(They start you off with complimentary cornbread muffins that have just come out of the oven. They're warm and sweet and crispy and are topped with this pineapple buttercream, it is sooooo good!)

- BBQ Wings
(They had run out of the jerk chicken wings by the time we got there, and the BBQ wings were not that great. They tasted like a bottle of Kraft BBQ sauce, so not special.)
- Chicken Roti
(This was huge!!! And my friend loved every bite. I'll probably try this one next time.)

- Oxtail Stew
(The oxtail was perfectly cooked, but honestly, the sauce was a little too salty for my taste, and made it hard for me to enjoy. I did get the potato salad as one of my sides, and it was the best potato salad I've ever had. I'd go back just for a plate of that! I also got the sweet plantains and they were so delicious, even the baby kept asking for more!)



All together, without drinks, this cost us about $25pp.

Cabana Nuevo Latino - Cuban - $$

Website (South Street Seaport)

South Street Seaport is one of those cheesy, tourist-trap areas that I still hold near and dear to my heart. My parents used to take me there almost every other weekend growing up. It's still a great place to go when the weather is perfect and you want to sit outside and have a nice meal with the sun and breeze flowing through your hair. A lot of the places at SSS are actually terrible, so I was really surprised at how good Cabana Nuevo Latino was!

They have another location in the city, but I can't imagine that the other setting would be near as complimentary to the food as this one. The food is great quality, full of flavor and reasonably priced. I'll definitely come back here.

- Ceviche
(This wasn't very good. It was not fresh at all, and plain and simple- ceviche can NOT, not be fresh)
- Yuca Fritas
(Nice and crispy, and the mojo dipping sauce was delicious)

- Pollo con Camarones
(The presentation on this was really nice, and every bite was an "Mmm this is so good" bite. Really, so delicious and garlic-y. The chicken breast was so tender and the tostones were nice and crispy.)

- Mojitos
(Lots and lots of mojitos)

We shared all the above- mentioned dishes, it came out to about $30pp.