Kibo
Located in the old Japanais space near Union Square, Kibo is a BR guest Restaurant, and benefits from the well oiled BR guest machine to ensure quality food, great ambiance and extremely efficient and courteous service.
While I am sure they spent a lot of money on renovations to the restaurant space, to the my untrained eye, the entrance and the dining room looked unchanged from the Japonais days, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing as the space is impressive design wise with a long dining room, ample bar area and tall ceilings. One change worth highlighting is the addition of a new Robata grill, which cooks meats and fish at 1,000 degrees to result in the perfect sear on the outside and juiciness on the inside… More on that later…
The first thing to impress me about the restaurant was the efficient service. Our waitress, Amy W., was just so nice and so knowledgeable about the concept, the menu items, and other interesting details. She was supported by a team that was always coming to clean up the table, pour water (which appeared to be bottled water of some type, at no extra charge) and make sure everything was going smoothly.
We started with drinks, after all, this was a night out to celebrate my four year anniversary of marriage to my beautiful wife!! I have been in NYC for years and have gotten used to the $16 cocktail. When I saw that my wife’s, Kibo San, the restaurant’s signature cocktail featuring Vodka, Pama, Lychee, Egg White Froth, was $10, I thought “this is a bargain.” This statement only applies in NYC, I guess. She enjoyed the light, flavorful (and inexpensive) cocktail. I enjoyed a Six point Bengali Tiger IPA. Looks good, doesn’t it?
Now, for the food… We started with the Japanese Caesar Salad with sesame dressing. For $9 the salad was a generous portion of romaine lettuce with french bread croutons, Parmesan, walnuts, and as a pleasant surprise, slices of apples. Perfect start to the meal with some great liberties taken to adapt/modernize this traditional salad.
Because we had to try the Robata grill, next came prawns. Prepared on a skewer, the portion was three large prawns. The kimchi sauce added some impact, but the highlight was the impact of Robata grill, which as described, perfectly seared the prawns on the outside and cooked it just the right amount to maintain juiciness. The prawns were a highlight – they looked so good when they came out that I forgot to take a picture (and I rarely forget)!
Next, we each had a sushi roll. My wife, California, and I had the Rainbow - tuna, hamachi, fluke, salmon, and tobiko. These rolls were both compact in size but not in flavor. The fish was fresh and the tobiko and strong wasabi made my roll really pop. I got the impression that these rolls resembled the sushi from the other BR guest restaurants ( in a good way).
For an entree, we shared the Skirt Steak with mushroom, shishito, and shallots. It was juicy and flavorful. It went perfectly with the Chicken Soboro (fried rice, but not in the way the habachi/Chinese take out prepares it).
To complete the sampling of creative Japanese delights, our waitress brought over a slice of their soon to be famous 20 layer chocolate cake. It is worth coming to Kibo just to try this dessert. I didn’t count the layers – if you would like to, the slice is pictured below. This was a special chocolate desert from a taste perspective and a flavor perspective . It was topped with homemade green tea ice cream.
If that wasn’t enough, she also brought us two classes of champagne to toast our Anniversary.
Kibo was a perfect place to celebrate a special evening for two. From looking around, it also appeared to be a great place for large groups – lots of 20/30 somethings seemed to file in around 9pm on Saturday night, which is good, because in addition to great food, the restaurant is playing up the fact that they have a DJ and lots of bar space.
When all was said and done, our meal came to $109. In terms of what we had (even without the comped dessert and drink) it was a relative bargain in the NYC dining space.
All the best to Kibo.
Rating:
Food – 8/10
Ambiance – 8/10
Service – 9/10
Category:
Food Type – Japanese
Style – Casual
Price – Moderate
111 East 18th St at Park Ave South
New York, NY 10003
P: 212 824 2770
E: info@kibonyc.com
Rye House
I spend a lot of time in Rye (train station I go to each day for work), so when I had the opportunity to go to the Rye House in NYC on a Friday night, I figured why not keep living the work week…(bleh).
Rye House does a good job attracting a bar crowd and a dinner crowd. I also hear they do a great brunch. We had dinner.
We shared several apps. The onion tart included cream sherry, goat cheese, arugula, pickled shallots. Best part of the dish was the onions. We figured the spring onion soup – sourdough crouton, provolone - would use the same onions, so we ordered after we finished the tart. In addition to the excellent onions, we especially liked the chicken stock base. I would have liked more flavorful cheese that was cooked a little more. Nothing like charred cheese on the bowl.
Henry Fudge—a farmer, businessman and preacher—is the driving force behind Fudge Family Farms.image: fudgepork.com
When I asked the waitress what to order, she responded, “The pork…” I stopped her before she completed her thought because the pork chop was what stood out to me on the menu. The “Fudge Farm Pork Chop” was accompanied by broccolini, mashed yukon golds and garlic butter. I loved how the pork was char grilled . It was very juicy. When I took my first bite, it tasted as if I were eating porterhouse steak.
I would be “fudging” if I were to say I understood the significance of Fudge Farms when I ordered. My internet research on Fudge Farms reveals that several other popular restaurants like Tipsy Parton serve Fudge Farms Pork. Henry Fudge was a visionary in the world of pork. In the 60′s, when everyone was saying that leaner pigs are best, he went the other way. Fudge said “an ideal hog is like a pro football lineman—big, rugged and wide in every direction (fudgepork.com).” His Pork tastes betters because he raises his hogs outside (who knew most are raised inside these days?). He also did a significant amount of research into his breed of hogs, Durocs. According to fudgepork.com, “Durocs are considered the breed with the best meat quality and the pork contains more marbling and fat than most of the breeds currently raised for market.”
Ok, enough about Pork. Rye House also have a great burger on the menu. And don’t forget about the long list of mico brews and specialty cocktails.
Sorry about no photos, It was quite dark in the dining room.
Rating:
Food – 7/10
Ambiance – 8/10
Service – 8/10
Category:
Food Type – American
Style – Casual
Price – Reasonable
Address/ phone: 11 W 17th St (Btwn 5th & 6th Ave), 212-255-7260
Web – ryehousenyc.com
Menu: menupages.com/restaurants/rye-house/menu
Maialino
It wasn’t until people flocked away from NYC for Memorial day that I could get a reservation at Maialino, and the best time we could get was a 9:30 PM. There were several reasons why Maialino is so popular: Danny Meyer, Gramercy Park Hotel, Rockwell group decor…and most importantly, you guessed it, the food.
I had been intrigued by this restaurant long before I knew what it was. For some reason when heading downtown, cabbies always zig-zag through the city and always end up passing the Gramercy Park Hotel. As we pass the park, we look to the right to see the ground floor windows of the restaurant. I always thought to myself ” this is very nyc and I want to eat there.”
Upon entrance, the restaurant isn’t as trendy as I was expecting it to be from the outside view. According to the PR description, Maialino “captures the warmth and comfort of a traditional Roman trattoria, re-imagined for its contemporary setting.” It actually has an Otto vibe… A more expensive Otto vibe. With a large bar up front and different “stations” in the middle of the restaurant (not train stations like Otto, a salami station and a dessert station).
I was particularly impressed with how spread out the tables were for NYC and how good the acoustics were.
We were taken to our table and promptly presented menus. Maybe the style of the menu was designed to be like an old italian restaurant (like Pietros in midtown), with prices written in and a few lines to add new dishes…. My cynical self said this was a smart tactic to be able to up the prices without a new print run. Others will say this adds authenticity.
Since by the time we sat down for dinner it was 10 PM, our goal for the evening shifted from a full meal with appetizer, primi, secondi, and dessert, to trying that the waitress said were the “money plates” of the restaurant, two pasta dishes.
Before the “money plates” arrived, a fresh basket of bread and bread sticks was placed to the table. I would like to re-emphasize the freshness of the bread. It was one of those bread baskets that was worth eating. Fresh foccocia, fresh semolina. I wish they would have offered more before we were finished with the meal.
Onto the best part, the pasta! Tonnarelli Cacio e Pepe consisted of a spaghetti type pasta. It was covered in Pecorino cheese and has a powerful amount of black pepper. The cheese and olive oil coated the pasta to form a consistency that was different from the normal “smooth” sauces I am used to.
The Lasagna al Forno consisted of spinach pasta & bolognese. Looking back, I wanted to take a picture of how the house made spinach pasta was delicately layered, piece by piece over the beef bolognese, but the pasta was gone before I had a chance to take a picture (oops). It was very flavorful… The consistency of the pasta was perfect and the meat added just the right amount of contrast.
As I mentioned, Maialino is expensive, but, when all was said and done, we were out of one of NYC’s top new restaurants for under $75. Now, don’t get me wrong, that $75 went to two glasses of wine and several bites of pasta, but it was worth it. It is definitely a place I want to go back to to try again (if I can get a reservation at a decent hour)!
Rating:
Food – 9/10
Ambiance – 8/10
Service – 7/10
Category:
Food Type – Italian
Style – Casual
Price – Expensive
Address/ phone: 2 Lexington Ave, 212- 777-2410
Menu: maialinonyc.com/_pdf/trattoria.pdf
Opentable – opentable.com/maialino
Frozen Yogurt, Ice Cream, Ices – The Treats of Summer
The frozen dessert landscape has changed remarkably in recent years. While I am happy to welcome many creative new additions to the marketplace, I also enjoy the time tested traditional ice cream and other frozen treats like lemon ice. Here is my guide to frozen treats.
Frozen Yogurt
Over the last three years we have seen the proliferation of expensive “premium” frozen yogurt in NYC… it started with Pinkberry, then came Red Mango. Even though Pinkberry arrived to NYC first, it is well documented that Red Mango started before Pinkberry.
From there, copy cat after copy cat. The funniest one I noticed a couple of years ago was Red Cherry, which has since gone out of business. Red Cherry doesn’t make sense. Red Mango works because mangoes are not red. Pink Berry, the same thing, there is a chance that a pinkberry exists, but you are more likely to come across a blueberry or a blackberry. There are plenty of red cherries…
Another relatively prominent expensive yogurt place is BerryWild.
Maybe some of you will disagree, but for me there’s very little difference between the three… I feel the yogurt all tastes relatively the same. All charge about the same and have similar topping offerings.
The Pinkberries of the world have almost totally displaced an old NYC favorite, TastiDelight. I never really enjoyed Tasti-D. While we used to order Tasti-D, the premium price for a styrofoam cup of this stuff always bothered me more than paying a premium Pinkberry or Red Mango that at least come with fresh fruit toppings.
Another frozen yogurt category is “weigh and pay.” We have these places that bank on the human instinct to not be able to control themselves. There’s 16 Handles and Phileo Yogurt (by way of Philadelphia, could you tell?), which my friend calls “yogurt land.” Both offer lots of machines featuring tart and not tart flavors. They let visitors take what they want, top it with healthy toppings or candy, weigh it, pay (enough to buy gallons of yogurt from the grocery store), then enjoy.
Recently I went to Jersey and visited Bischoff’s. Since 1934, Bischoff’s has been serving up ice cream sundaes in the same way. My family has been going to Bischoff’s for three generations. My dad, who grew up in Teaneck, used to take dates there in High School.
While I enjoy fro yo as a grab and go treat in the city or the mall, it is nice to sit down and have real ice cream. We asked and they don’t even have frozen yogurt at Bischoff’s! Take a look at these two sundaes that cost a total of $16! There were four of us and we couldn’t finish either one of them.
A City Ice Cream Favorite – Mister Softee
Summer is here and you know what that means….we will see Mister Softee on every other block in the city. According to the Mister Softee website, Mister Softee is the largest franchiser of soft ice cream trucks in the United States. Mister Softee is light soft serve ice cream – creamy with lots of air. Lots of creative ways to enjoy, including the double cone. Don’t forget to dip your cone in chocolate, strawberry, etc. Check out some Mister and Ms. Softee Profiles on Midtown Lunch.
On the topic of Mister Softee, please keep in mind that not all Mister Softee trucks are created equally. If you are in the mood for Mister Softee, please look at the truck carefully. If it doesn’t specifically say Mister Softee, it isn’t (meaning, they buy cheaper, less enjoyable product and try and sell it for the same price). Check out this 2008 article on Mister Softee Knockoffs.
Real Mister Softee
Clearly not Mister Softee!
If I find some better examples of fake Mister Softee trucks, I will update. There are plenty out there, believe me.
Lemon Ice (and other flavors)
There is only one King and he’s from Queens.
I have been enjoying the Lemon Ice King of Corona my entire life but the establishment has been around for twice as long as me (over 60 years). Read my full review.
La NewYorkina Modern Mexican Ice Pops
It was a hot day, I was thirsty and in the mood for something sweet. I had enough Mister softee and fancy frozen yogurt for the week. I walked into the Hester Street Fair, and the answer was looking at me. La NewYorkina “modern mexican ice pops.” Such a simple and refreshing idea.
I asked what the most popular flavor was, and Fanny, one of the propieters, served me Mango con Chile (Spicy Mango). The $4 pop was filled with large mango chunks. The chili made for an occasional bursts of spice. If the pop isn’t spicy enough for your taste, Fany offers seasoning to sprinkle (like you would pepper flakes on a pizza).
Other flavors include:
- Fresa-Strawberry
- Tamarindo Fresco- Fresh Tamarind
- Horchata- Cinnamon Rice Milk
- Jamaica- Hibiscus
- Pina con Menta- Pineapple Mint
- Nuez- Pecan
Fanny explained that she makes the pops after hours in a local wholesale bakery after 7pm during the week. It is a simple process from the cutting of the fruit, to the freezing. literally what you see is what you get. Check out these Facebook pics of the process.
At this point, they are getting ready for the Hester Street Fair each week. I see no reason why this concept can’t go bigger with a food truck or even a well positioned storefront.
Find La Newyorkina at the Hester Street Fair, every Saturday and Sunday,
10am to 6pm.
In Summary…
There is a right place and a right time for frozen treats and we certainly have a lot of options in the NYC Metro area… Enjoy! Please comment below on any of your favorites that I missed.
New York City Street Fair Food Guide
It’s that time of the year. Last weekend as I walked my way through NYC, I stumbled across three New York City street fairs.
This guide will go through NYC street fair food options. I will divide street fair food into three categories.
- Food I look forward to eating at each fair
- Food I never consider eating because I am scared of unintended consequences (i.e indigestion, a lost tooth)
- Pleasant surprises
Hopefully this guide will help locals and tourists alike to navigate NYC street fair food options.
Food I look forward to eating at each fair
I will pick up some pickles if, for some reason, I have no pickles in my fridge.
Kettle corn: I most likely won’t buy this, I have plenty of equally enjoyable Orville Redenbacher at home, but I will try a free sample.
Sticking with corn, how can you go wrong with fresh corn? I like how most use the grill to char the corn.
Another corn product is the sweet corn arepa. How can you go wrong with melted mozzarella and sweet corn?
Food I never consider eating because I am scared of unintended consequences
This may be controversial but I never want a candy apple during the summer. Candy Apples are a Fall food for me. I am also afraid that I will lose a tooth when I bite into the hard shell.
Dirty hands making falafel balls and frying in oil on a dirty street, no thanks. The same applies to Zeppoles. I will sometimes try a spinach pie though.
Fear of indigestion, continued…
No desire to have one of those smoothies. How could they possibly wash all that fruit with no running water? They also use the same dirty blenders all day! If you do happen to be by a fair when it’s closing they may sell bananas and other unused fruit for next to nothing. That I will go for!
I may have a crepe or two in Paris, but not on a NYC street…
Pleasant surprises
I would try a lobster roll at lunch time!
As the summer goes by, I will add some pictures of some of the pleasant surprise food options that I come across.
Street Fair Calendars:
Latin Thing
They say it’s a “Latin Thing”…. I say it is more than that. Anyone and everyone can appreciate this reasonable, hearty and most importantly, tasty food.
I had the Rice & Beans Platter, a choice of white or yellow rice, black or red beans with any meat, salad and choice of toppings. The guy was nice and let me have both kinds of chicken, Pollo Negro (chicken braised in soy sauce & Dominican oregano) and Pollo Ecuatoriano (chicken stewed in tomato sauce & cilantro). Both types of chicken were clearly cooked by a skilled chef. Juicy and flavorful. On top of the chicken, I loaded up with onions, pepper, and salsa (see pics). I tried two of their fresh sauces, jalapeno (mild) and chipolte (spicy). All that for $6.45 – What a deal. The hearty portion should hold me over until New Year’s eve dinner at 10 PM tonight!
Latin Thing is in a sorta strange location (in Little India, not near many residences and businesses). I would imagine they would do better in Spanish Harlem or a more popular/populated neighborhood. For this reason, the fact the place is nothing to look at and has only two tables, I recommend delivery.
Rating:
Food – 8/10
Ambiance – 6/10
Service – 6/10
Category:
Food Type – Latin
Style – Casual
Price – Reasonable
Wanna go?
Address/phone – 61 Lexington Ave, 212- 213-2522
website- latinthingnyc.com
menus – menupages.com/restaurants/latin-thing
Seamless web - seamlessweb.com/food-delivery/Latin-Thing-New-York-City.8448.r
Pranna Restaurant
I should have enjoyed the reasonable happy hour menu and ran, but instead I stayed for a mediocre, “Asian Identity Crisis” meal in a very expensive and very underutilized space.
I liked the $5 Blue Moon with free garlic nan and chutney.
I also enjoyed the high quality and nicely seasoned beef and chicken satay for $6.
With my wife’s strawberry signature cocktail, I could have been out of there for under 20 bucks with a relatively favorable impression.
Instead, we were seated in an empty dining room and were exposed to salty Bacon Wrapped Prawns, mushy and flavorless Steamed Pork Dumplings, with Toasted Rice and Snow Peas.
We sent back the mushy (I am using mushy way too many times in this review, but it was a common theme) Seared Scallops, Spicy Tamarind Drunken Noodles – it’s a shame – the description sounded so good. The Roasted LemonGrass Chicken with Tom Yum Rice was tender but the chicken tasted the same as the satay. I suspect some of the vegetables in the rice were frozen.
Our server was very nice. While I appreciated being able to hear my wife, it was at the expense of a vibe that a place like this should have had.
I love amassing 1,000 Open Table points, but to this day have never had a truly good 1,000 Open Table reservation. I give Pranna less than a year to join the ranks of so many undifferentiated and overpriced attempts to survive in one of the toughest restaurant markets in the world!
Rating:
Food – 5/10
Ambiance – 6/10
Service – 7/10
Category:
Food Type – Asian
Style – Nightclub
Price – Expensive
Wanna go?
Address/phone – 79 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016-7800, (212) 696-5700
website- http://prannarestaurant.com
menus – http://www.menupages.com/restaurants/pranna
reservations – http://www.opentable.com/pranna