kale + kobucha squash_spring kitchen

Green Kale And Kabocha Squash Salad with walnuts, red cabbage, creamy almond vinaigrette from Spring Kitchen on the Upper West Side.  Delicious!

 

Spring Kitchen

474 Columbus Ave, New York 10024
(At 83rd St)

 

(image by: vivien chin)

biscuit french toast

Thick Biscuit French Toast with Strawberries from Jacob’s Pickles in the Upper West Side.  Very Tasty, but way to much for 1 person and maybe even 2.

 

(image by: vivien chin)

lobster eggs benedict

 

From the brunch menu at Mermaid Inn on the Upper West Side.  Perfect combo for the morning.

 

(image by: vivien chin)

oxtail noodle soup

 

This one of my favorite dishes.  The noodles are hand-pulled and Chinatown ice cream factory is next door so it’s a double win when I come here to eat!

 

 

Xi’an Famous Foods
67 Bayard Street
New York, NY 10013

 

delmonico’s_baked alaska_restaurant week

Just had the most perfectly formed and delicious Baked Alaska at Delmonico’s for this year’s summer restaurant week. The Filet Mignon for entree and Lobster Newberg for appetizer were perfect to accompany it. Perfectly cooked and flavorful.  Highly recommend dinner here if you haven’t been.

Delmonico’s
56 Beaver Street
New York, NY 10004

http://www.delmonicosny.com/

jacob’s pickles

Found this new place in the Upper West Side serving growlers of beer and southern style food.  It has some of the best Mac & Cheese that I’ve tasted in the city.  The friend pickles are a favorite of mine for an appetizer.  Their Beer Mussels with Fries are shown above in the foreground and the Mac & Cheese beyond.  Half growlers of beer are available as well as you can see in the photos.  Bring your appetite.  The portions are large & satisfying.

 

Jacob’s Pickles
509 Amsterdam
New York, NY 10024
(212) 392-5407

http://jacobspickles.com/

 

(images by: vivien chin)

 

resto

Went to Resto last night for Restaurant Week dinner last night. I didn’t take many pics, but my favorite things I ate last night were the deviled eggs on top of a pig toast and the Beignets with chocolate sauce. The Beignets are even tastier dipped in coffee! The deviled eggs are from their regular menu and they are just divine. It’s the best combination of food you could ever put together to make a deviled egg. Definitely worth a visit. The food is great!

Resto
111 East 29th Street New York, NY 10016
212- 685-5585

 

 

(images by: vivien chin)

 

morimoto

Some exterior and interior detail shots of Morimoto’sfrom my recent restaurant week visit. Designed by one of my favorite architects, Tadao Ando.

The wind was really whipping the entry curtains. Worth a visit if you get the opportunity to eat there. It’s a little bit of a splurge so save for special occasion. Located at the end of Chelsea Market in New York.

(images by: vivien chin)

restaurant week_morimoto

[Iron Chef] Morimoto always has his restaurant week menu only available on weekdays at lunch so its hard to attend if you work. Finally this year I went because of the MLK Jr. holiday. Delicious and delectable. The black cod bento box w/ sushi, tempura, salad, and miso soup is the best and I chose a berry panna cotta for dessert which was equally as satisfying.

(images by: vivien chin)

soup dumplings

The tastiest morsel of food to warm you up on a cold day. If you are ever in Flushing, go and get some of these little steamed soup dumplings filled with soup and meat. Sooo delicious! Also try the scallion pancakes with beef.

It is right off the Main Street subway stop on the 7 train (last stop on the line).

Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao
38-12 Prince St
Flushing, NY 11354

(images by: vivien chin)

calle ocho

Unlimited sangria bar at Calle Ocho in the UWS!

Started my New Year’s Eve having brunch here with sangria, their delicious bread basket, plantains, and Spanish frittata on crab enchilado.Yum yum.

Reservations needed because they fill up fast as they are only open for a few hours for brunch.

Calle Ocho
(in the Excelsior Hotel)
45 W 81st St
New York, NY 10024

(images by: vivien chin)

rice_restaurant

Wild rice pilaf with beef strips. (top)
Indian curry with rice and mango chutney. (bottom)

Delicious! Try these next time you are at Rice.

Rice
292 Elizabeth St
(b/t Prince St & Houston St)
New York, NY 10012

(images by: vivien chin)

cheese blintzes_sarabeth’s

Recently tried brunch at Sarabeth’s in the Upper West Side and it was spectacular. Passed by this place many times, but never took the time to stop. It is well worth several return visits. I had the cheese blintzes which were little pillows of sweet goodness topped with I want to say sour cream and apple sauce with strawberries. I fell in love with their homemade English muffins. It’s a must try. Not your ordinary Thomas’ English muffin style everyone serves! Comes with their signature preserves.

Sarabeth’s – West
423 Amsterdam Ave
New York, NY 10024

(image by: vivien chin)

luke’s lobster roll

Just found Luke’s Lobster in the UWS. Yummy yummy lobster rolls there with giant lumps of claw meat.

 

Luke’s Lobster – Upper West Side
426 Amsterdam Avenue
New York, NY 10024

 

(image by: vivien chin)

wine & roses

Tried this place out last week. Relaxing way to pass the time during a lazy afternoon. Outdoor space and beautiful weather was definitely a plus.

Wine & Roses
286 Columbus Ave
New York, NY 10023

(images by: vivien chin)

branzino & bone marrow_prune restaurant

Recently had the most delicious thing at Prune Restaurant for Jeff’s birthday dinner.  The Roasted Bone Marrow appetizer is to die for here.  It’s served with toasted bread, parsley, and sea salt.  Soooo buttery and delicious.  I highly recommend it.

For entrée, I had the fish of the day which was grilled branzino stuffed with fennel.  It was cooked to perfection.

Other good appetizers were the Octopus and Squid with Celery and the Butter Poached Fingerling Potatoes.

Prune is definitely a must go.  Great atmosphere and food.  I left very satisfied.

 

Prune Restaurant
54 East 1st St # 1
New York, NY 10003

(212) 677-6221

alice’s tea cup

This is the best little place ever! Alice’s Tea Cup in the Upper West Side has the best tea selection, scones, and food in general. I had the french toast for brunch (1st pic) and it was some of the best french toast I’ve ever had. For tea, had the Silver Needle Jasmine tea which was sooo aromatic and tasty. It complimented the buttermilk scone and raspberry with chocolate scone very nicely. The scones really were the best–so buttery and soft and perfect. This place really has turned the novel idea of a tea party into a great experience with delicious tea and scrumptious goodies. I saw groups with towers of scones, sandwiches, & cupcakes and other yummy things accompanied by pots of tea. Alice in Wonderland is inspiration for this little teahouse/restaurant/cafe/place. I can definitely see myself coming back here for a great cup of tea and scone or anything else on the menu. It’s so relaxing inside that you really could lose yourself in there for a few hours. It’s great. A must try. The tea party is not for little girls anymore! There were more than plenty of adults in here enjoying themselves.

Alice’s Tea Cup
102 West 73rd Street
New York, NY 10023

(212) 799-3006

(images by: vivien chin)

restaurant week_mesa grill

Ate at Bobby Flay’s Restaurant, Mesa Grill for restaurant week.  The restaurant serves southwestern food.  My dishes of choice were a salmon tartare appetizer (2nd pic), grilled mahi mahi w/risotto entree (1st pic), and for dessert pineapple upside down cake with vanilla ice cream.  Everything was delicious!  Great choice for restaurant week.

Mesa Grill
102 5th Ave
New York, NY 10011
(212) 807-7400

(images by: vivien chin)