Highpoint

Because I dine out frequently, I subscribe to various sites like Groupon, Blackboard Eats and Gilt City to see if there are any deals on restaurants I already enjoy or restaurants I'd like to try. Because Gilt and Groupon require financial commitments up front, I tend to be choosy about which vouchers I purchase on these sites (unlike Blackboard Eats, where if I think there's a chance I might go, I will take the free discount).

My dance studio is near Penn Station, which means good eats are at least a ten minute walk. When I saw the voucher on Gilt City for Highpoint, just south of Penn Station in Chelsea, I figured, why not?

My voucher included one glass of wine, one appetizer and one entree for each person (up to two people). The problem with the inclusion of wine in a dining voucher is that restaurants tends to serve crappy house wine and offer little choice in what type of wine. We went with the Malbec and it was tolerable (barely). For those interested in ordering a bottle of wine, Highpoint had several solid options under $50.

Our server was attentive throughout the meal, returning to our table to confirm we had enjoyed each dish. Shortly after we were seated, we were presented with flatbread slices and hummus. The lightly seasoned flatbread was warm and soft, and arrived inside a mini shopping cart. This more than made up for the average glass of wine.

The restaurant was at least half empty, but to be fair, it was a Monday night. From walking by Highpoint in the past, I sense the restaurant is never full but I can't understand why. The food and service were terrific. The presentation of each dish at Highpoint was impressive, every plate was beautiful and unique. And when the weather is nice, Highpoint offers sidewalk seating in front of the restaurant. I look forward to returning in the spring to people watch.

What to eat:


Start with the Crispy Jumbo Lump Crab. This is Highpoint's take on a crab cake. Instead of filling it the crab cake with boring breading and peppers, Highpoint's giant crab cake is filled with potato and pomery mustard.

Also try the Day Boat Scallops. The handful of scallops sit on top of a grilled pineapple slice and are surrounded by a balsamic glaze.

For our entree, we enjoyed the Crispy Duck Breast (crispy is a bit of a misnomer). The tender duck was sliced and arrived in the perfect hue of light pink. We enjoyed the cranberries and cranberry sauce served with the duck, a nice change from the typical cherry/orange/balsamic duck that appears on most menus.

Save room for dessert and order the Caramel Experiment for two. If you like caramel, even a little, order this dessert. I felt like I was cheating on the chocolate souffle when we ordered the Caramel Experiment but after devouring the Carmel Experiment, I felt less guilty. This is best described as a caramel fondue. The server presents a large plate filled with apples, berries, chocolate, pretzels, candied pecans and popcorn. Then, the server pours a large pot of warm caramel over Himalayan salt. Supposedly, the more you mix the caramel with the salt, the sweeter the caramel gets. We were so happy with the giant mound of caramel in front of us, we weren't willing to wait to find out.

Need a gem in Chelsea? I found it for you,

Your foodie friend

Mermaid Inn

My biggest challenge as a food blogger is taking a picture of the dish put on my table before I dig in. I am usually so excited (and hungry) when the food arrives, I start eating right away. So this post is picture free (sorry readers!) because we had polished off at least half of the meal before realizing I had forgotten to take pictures.




As readers know from my previous post, I'm competing this weekend and trying to eat fish for dinner a few times this week. Earlier this month, I received a Blackboard Eats Discount for the Mermaid Inn. Blackboard Eats sends an email every few days offering 30% off of your tab at a selected NYC restaurant (this includes booze!). Usually the coupon lasts between one to two months. Sometimes the restaurants are a bust or in Brooklyn (which for a lazy person like me is one and the same...even though I know Brooklyn has good eats too) but I find about once a month, Blackboard Eats emails a discount to a restaurant I really enjoy or a restaurant I would like to try. I would recommend signing up to receive discounts from Blackboard Eats because the discounts are free! (Sign up at blackboardeats.com)



We opted for an early dinner at the Mermaid Inn on the lower east side before the big Giants game (go Blue!) to avoid eating while standing up in a crowded bar. At 5:30pm (not surprisingly), we had most of the restaurant to ourselves. I asked the hostess for a table away from the door because it was "frigid outside" (direct quote from the boring NY1 anchor) and the hostess kindly obliged.



The Mermaid Inn is a nautically themed restaurant that offers a small menu focusing on fish and shellfish dishes. While the menu is a bit limited, oyster aficionados can order from a long list of oysters from both coasts. The Mermaid Inn succeeds in a nautical decor that is kitschy without being cheesy. And when it isn't "frigid outside", the lower east side location has a garden in the back and sidewalk seating in front of the restaurant.



My only complaint for the night is that I had to really push the server to let me have the haricot verts with our cod. The haricot verts was a side for the special (and happens to be my favorite vegetable). On a very slow night with few other tables to service, I found it irritating that I had to harangue him into asking the chef to have the side of my choice (which the chef agreed to).



What to eat:



The Roasted Day Boat Cod. The pan roasted cod was hearty, yet still savory and flaky. The haricot verts were satisfyingly crisp and drizzled in olive oil.



The Lobster Mac and Cheese. While the menu states that this dish includes truffle, we couldn't taste the truffle. But the dish really didn't need truffle because of all of the flavor from the cheese blend and the lobster. This side is incredibly tasty and included a generous portion of lobster.



Insider tip:



Sunday night is Lobsterpalooza. The diners sitting next to us took part in the Lobster special, which looked fantastic. The lobster was over a pound and came with a side of corn on the cob and roasted potatoes. At $24, this is a steal I will be back for.



Had enough fish this week? I know I have,






Your foodie friend

Barbounia

When I want to go out for a nice meal and try to order something healthy, I find the white fish at Greek and Mediterranean restaurants light yet satisfying. Since I'm competing this week, I am trying to eat more fish.



Barbounia is a Mediterranean restaurant just north of Union Square. The white walls practically sing to you that delicious Greek food is in your future. Barbounia is a blend of Greek, Southern Italian and French food, but I go there for the Greek food (readers, stick to the Greek food, the Greek dishes are by far the best dishes on the menu).



Most Greek restaurants have an old school, family feel and wouldn't work for a fun Saturday night dinner with girlfriends. But Barbounia's lively music and trendy crowd makes for a festive evening.





Barbounia offers an extensive International wine menu, featuring affordable choices and high quality half bottles, like Pascal Jolivet's Sancerre.



I could tell you all about the restaurant (ok, I will obviously tell you all about the restaurant) but the most important thing you need to know is that Barbounia has the tastiest bread in town. The long loaf of bread is taken out of the wood burning oven, placed on a carving board, and served piping hot on your table. There is a sharp nice for you to slice up the loaf but I would recommend using a fork as well to avoid searing your finger tips.



The fresh bread is lightly spiced and is perfect for dipping into the traditional Greek dips featured on Barbounia's menu (although I am certainly guilty of enjoying most of the bread without first dipping it into the hummus).



Barbounia's menu offers several seafood options for appetizers and entrees. In the past, a few of the dishes tasted too salty. If you like your food without salt or only lightly salted, as I do, I would recommend telling the waiter you would like your dish without salt. That way you can decide how much salt you want in your dish.



What to Eat:



The dips at Barbounia are all delicious. You can order each dip separately or a combination of any 3 or 5 dips, which include Greek staples like tzatziki, spicy feta and roasted eggplant. And by ordering the dips, you have an excuse to keep asking the busboy for loaves of bread.



When I visit Barbounia, I frequently order the seafood special for an appetizer and/or entree. This time, we ordered the scallop appetizer, which included three large scallops. The scallops were tender (not chewy or fishy). I would recommend ordering this appetizer if it is offered as a special.



The Fish of the Day, which happened to be a grilled lup de mar for two people. You can choose to have the whole fish or have the fish filleted. We opted to have the fish filleted to avoid choking on bones (they really did a great job filleting the fish). The white fish, light and flaky, was exactly what I was in the mood for.























Roasted Lemon Potatoes. When you order the market fish for two, it comes with two sides of your choice. For one of our sides, we opted for the roasted lemon potatoes. The potatoes were marinated in lemon and perfectly cooked. Sometimes potatoes are over cooked/too hard/dried out but these potatoes were soft and flavored with the perfect amount of lemon.












Insider tip: Barbounia is great for group brunch on the weekends (they take reservations) and has an excellent happy hour scene.



In need of a fun night out in NYC without putting on too many lbs? I found your spot,




Your foodie friend

Asellina

Asellina is the trendy new Italian restaurant on the ground floor of the Park Avenue Gansevoort hotel. I noticed Asellina was participating in NYC Restaurant Week. After going to nycgo.com to confirm Asellina's restaurant week menu offered dishes I would want to try, I thought this would be the perfect start to NYC Restaurant Week.



Cool metal light fixtures with dim light bulbs run the length of the dining room. Throughout the meal, Asellina played music from every genre. When we walked in, the Beatles "Can't Buy Me Love" was playing, when our apps came out, Janet Jackson was singing "Rhythm National" and by the end of the meal, Etta James serenaded us with "At Last".



Within seconds of being seated, the busboy presented us with soft Italian bread and olive oil. Looking over the restaurant week menu, we had a difficult time choosing what to eat because there were so many good choices. Our waitress was attentive and handled our order flip flopping with a smile.



Before we ordered off of the restaurant week menu, we took a peek at the regular menu. We found a ton of great choices (like flatbreads and pizzas) that were not featured on the restaurant week menu. But at $35/person for an app, entree and dessert, (over 30% off of the regular menu), we couldn't pass up the restaurant week deal.



What to eat:



We started with Asellina's veal meatballs, which were laying on top of a bowl of tomato sauce. But not just plain old tomato sauce! Asellina melts a sharp goat cheese into the tomato sauce, creating a heavy, cheesy tomato sauce. Definitely ask for extra bread to finish off the sauce.



The presentation of each dish was gorgeous (my pictures do not do Asellina's handiwork justice).

Also, Assellina's steak is a must. The skirt steak is prepared with a simple rosemary and pepper seasoning, highlighting the quality of the meat.

The hazelnut semifreddo. I'm not a hazelnut person but this is a dessert anyone will enjoy. The semifreddo has an ice cream cake like consistency and is accompanied by a scoop of espresso gelato.


The only complaint was that our desserts came out with the gelato half melted. When we brought this to our server's attention, she immediately apologized, took away the dessert and brought out a new dessert.













This is a NYC Restaurant Week MUST.




Insider tip: Wine is half price on Sundays :)



Have you made your restaurant week reservations yet? I have,



Your foodie friend

Yerba Buena

I have a food love affair with Yerba Buena (it's not cheating if it's food right ;)). Love the food, love the drinks, love the ambiance, love the service. Not often you can say that about a NYC restaurant.





Walking into this intimate lower east side restaurant, I was immediately entranced by the festive salsa music. Yerba Buena is perfect for a Saturday night date or a fun night out with your girlfriends.





Yerba Buena prides itself on serving pan Latin food, a blend of Cuban, Peruvian, Argentinian and Mexican spices, which is a welcome change from the predominantly mediocre Mexican restaurants in NYC. Yerba Buena's cocktail list offers Pervian classics like Pisco Sour, but if you are boring like me, they are happy to make you a good old fashioned margarita. The bartender, to my delight, takes pride in the presentation of each drink and pours with a heavy hand.







The maitre di, Giovanny, pays close attention to his patrons, ensuring that each diner is satisfied with their experience. The service was attentive and the courses were well paced. The waiter allowed us to linger at our table after we had paid (on a Saturday night), without trying to rush us out the door.





Because there was four of us, we ordered about half of the dishes on the menu, sharing appetizers and desserts family style. Every dish, literally, every one of them, was delicious.





What to eat:





Anything. I find at Yerba Buena, you can't go wrong. But since that's not very helpful, here is a cheat sheet of some of my favorites:















The Arepa. This appetizer is a bbq style pulled short rib, topped with slaw on a pillowy bun. Even if you plan on ordering the short rib entree (hint: order the short rib entree), I would still recommend this dish because the dishes have different sauces and are prepared differently.















The Miso Glazed Black Cod. This is just as good as Nobu's black cod, if not better. This buttery piece of fish is glazed in miso and sits on top of a bed of mushrooms and choclo corn (choclo corn is like corn on steroids, the kernels are much larger and have a slightly different taste than regular corn).





The Braised Beef Short Ribs. The tender short ribs are slow cooked in a mate sauce and then sprinkled with pomegranate seeds. Like any good short rib, the piece of meat is fatty, which makes the short rib flavorful. The short ribs are placed on top of a large mound of crispy shoe string fries.




The paella at Yerba Buena, filled with a generous portion of shrimp, calamari, crawfish and clams, is always a solid choice too.





SAVE ROOM FOR DESSERT!













The churros were soft and crispy, accompanied by a dulche de leche dipping sauce and a thick, Mexican spiced chocolate sauce. The order came with at least 4 churros, making this an easy dessert to share with a group (or hoard for yourself, as I prefer to do when possible).














My other favorite dessert at Yerba Buena is the Mexican spiced chocolate cake with chocolate chip ice cream. The gooey chocolate center melts in your mouth and the chocolate chip ice cream has just the slightest hint of mint. Yerba Buena's Mexican spices in the chocolate cake make Yerba Buena's molten chocolate cake stand out from all of the other plane Jane chocolate molten cakes in NYC.































Insider tip: this restaurant regularly participates in NYC Restaurant Week, which is going on right now! The NYC Restaurant Week menu can be accessed here: http://www.ybnyc.com/media/restaurantweek.pdf




Also, Yerba Buena only accepts cash or AMEX.





In need of a pick me up? This is my go to spot,





Your foodie friend

La Follia

I'm a planner, it's a genetic trait I inherited from my mom. Because I'm a planner, I almost always make dinner reservations and generally shy away from restaurants that don't take reservations.



I thought I would make an exception for La Follia, a recently opened neighborhood Italian wine bar and enoteca. La Follia is divided into a small dining room and a slightly larger wine bar room. The wine bar room features a bar, a handful of small tables, and several communal tables.



When we arrived at La Follia, the hostess informed us the wait for a table in the dining room would be approximately 30-40 minutes. Because we assumed we would wait approximately that long, we were happy to pass the next half an hour in the wine bar room with appetizers and wine. We roamed the wine bar room and settled on a few stools along the wall across from the entrance.

La Follia's wine list features many affordable wines from several regions in Italy. Patrons can order wine by the glass, carafe (approximately a half of a bottle of wine), or bottle. We ordered the Fruili Sauvignon Blanc, which is more dry and less citruisy than a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc but a perfect balance to the bold flavors in our cheese centric appetizers.

La Follia's menu features many crostinis, small plates and appetizers. I would recommend delving into several of these while you wait for your table.

When we had polished off crostinis and bottle of wine, I noticed almost an hour had past and went to see the hostess. The hostess informed us that "our table was finishing their entrees so our table should be ready shortly." That made ZERO sense. A table finishing entrees may still order dessert, drinks and coffee.



After the useless update from the hostess, the waitress and the hostess, to our annoyance, would stop by our stools approximately every five minutes, offering us seats at the communal table. At that point, we had waited an insanely long amount of time for a dinner table in the quieter dining room. If we had been told when we arrived it would take over an hour to have a table in the dining room, we would have taken seats at the communal table long ago.




Over 1 and 1/2 hours after La Follia told us the wait would be approximately 30-40 minutes, we were finally seated. I asked to speak to the manager, informing her that we were told the wait would be a third of what we actually waited. It would have made sense after an hour for the manger or hostess to bring over wine, comp our appetizers, DO SOMETHING besides offering us the communal table. But La Follia did absolutely nothing. I told the manager this was my first time dining at La Follia and was disappointed in the service. After listening to my complaint, the manager apologized.



I sat back down and the manager brought over a carafe (a half of a bottle of wine) for our table, which was chinsy, because at that point, we had already ordered a bottle and a carafe. The manager should have comp'd a bottle for keeping us waiting for over an hour and a half. When our desserts arrived, we learned that the manager included an extra dessert on the house as well. These "efforts" were too little too late.




The food, as described below, was fantastic. We enjoyed all of our dishes (because we were there for almost four hours and there was four of us, we were fortunate to sample many of the dishes).



But within just a few blocks of La Follia, there are several Italian restaurants that take reservations, provide better service and offer similar menus/food quality (keep reading people, I will review them in the next few weeks). Even though the food was great at La Follia, it would take a lot of convincing to get me to go back.




What to Eat:











CROSTINI! And not just because your starving while waiting for your table that might take days (ok, not days, but easily hours). We ordered the burrata, chicken liver, and marscapone & clove honey crostinis (there are two in each order but we were hungry so in the picture you can see one of each, and the panini we ordered is in the background, also tasty).










The creamy burrata was spread generously over warm toasted Italian bread. Same for the marscapone and chicken liver.




When we finally made it to our table, we were ravenous and immediately requested the arancini, fried fontina cheese risotto balls. The arancini, crisp on the outside and cheesy on the inside, were delivered piping hot and promptly. We were happy to see that the arancini appetizer was accompanied by La Follia's light and tangy tomato sauce.




The homemade fettuccine with bolognese was also delicious. It is regularly featured as a special so it's a safe bet you will find it if you visit La Follia. The portion includes a generous serving of the hearty bolognese sauce.




The hanger steak was tasty as well. The texture was a bit strange...The meat was difficult to cut into (see Jesse, I'm blaming it on the meat, not your cutting skills). But it was cooked perfectly (medium rare, as ordered) and very flavorful.




La Follia's dessert menu had something for everyone (chocolate, fruit, creamy, etc). We enjoyed the apple cinnamon bread pudding, topped with vanilla gelato. The tart apple was perfectly contrasted with the cinnamon and the sweet gelato melting on top. Also tasty, but not as delicious as the bread pudding, was the tiramisu and chocolate cake.




Insider tip: leave your AMEX at home. La Follia accepts cash and major credit cards like Mastercard and Visa.

Willing to wait for hours? I know I'm not,

Your foodie friend

Pam Real Thai Food

One of the greatest things about NYC is that people from all over the world bring their (sometimes) fantastic food here. They bring their great great grandmother’s gnocchi bolognese recipe or their cousin’s famous village curry dish, opening ethnic dives and trendy restaurants in every neighborhood.








Unfortunately, most of those fabulous recipes have not made their way to Hell's Kitchen. Hell's Kitchen is overrun by Thai restaurants, largely mediocre to awful. After a few years of suffering through meals at various Thai restaurants, I finally came across Pam Real Thai Food, a worthy pre-theatre feast. This restaurant is a TOTAL dive. They do not take reservations but it won't take long to get a table (the food comes out at lightening speed so the restaurant turns over tables quickly). The original restaurant is on 49th street but the owners have subsequently opened a second establishment on 47th st. I stick to the original.








Pam Real Thai Food's menu offers traditional Thai dishes, including Massamun curry, Pad Cashew nut, and Pad Thai. On a cold winter day, the various Thai soups provide a hearty escape.


What to eat:
















Start with the curry puffs (the app is heavy on flavor but not spicy). The empanada shaped dough pockets are fried and filled with potatoes and onions that have been marinated in Pam Real Thai Foods' delicious curry.














The pad thai here is one of the best in town. We usually order the pad thai with a chicken and shrimp mix but they will add any meat/poultry/seafood combination you request. You can see from the picture the dish has about as much chicken and shrimp as it does noodles. One of my favorite things about Pam's is that you don't have to search each dish for a chintzy portion of shrimp, chicken, etc. Your fork or spoon is bound to find the protein you added to your dish on each bite.















Also, the crab fried rice is a MUST. It is on the separate "Specials" menu. And this dish is special, but not because it is only available on a particular night (it has been available every night for years). Pam Real Thai Food uses a heavy hand on the lump crab, a rare find in fried rice.













Don't forget to order the ice cold Thai beer, Singha, a refreshing (and strong) beer.










Insider tip: Pam Real Thai Food is CASH ONLY. Luckily at this price point, you won't come close to reaching the ATM limit ;)






Need some carbs? I found your spot,








Your foodie friend

Alta

Random fact about me: For years, I've kept a list of restaurants I want to try on a tattered piece of paper next to my desk, crossing restaurants off as I go and adding new ones that I hear about. I sit in front of a computer all day, and a blackberry when I am not in front of my computer so it would make sense for me to make my list digital and bring it into the 21st century. But every time I start to type it, I just can't pull the trigger. For some reason, I have a sentimental attachment to this weathered scrap that has been by my side for years.




I noticed the other day that Alta, a trendy Mediterranean tapas restaurant, had strangely taken up permanent residence on my list. Armed with fellow food and wine lovers in NYC for the night, we decided it was finally time to cross Alta off my list.




Alta has two levels, the upstairs is rumored to be quieter, but wasn't. The dimly lit restaurant hummed with excitement, the perfect ambiance to kick off a Saturday night.

Alta's wine list was impressive, offering over 100 wines from Spain, Italy and France. For a trendy, upscale restaurant, Alta there was a surprising number of affordable wines included on the list. We opted for the Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso from Fruili, priced under $40. This wine was berry heavy and medium bodied, perfectly accompanying the skirt steak and molten chocolate cake.

Sadly, shortly after the wine was poured and our first two tapas arrived, the busboy inadvertently knocked over our friend's wine glass, destroying the shirt he purchased just a few hours earlier. The restaurant, to their credit, was apologetic and when discussed, offered to replace the shirt if the wine did not come out from dry cleaning. Also, the manager came by with another bottle of wine on the house.

Between the four of us, we ordered about 15 tapas. If you go with a group of 9 or more, you can order the whole menu, which is a very cool idea, except that some of the dishes are total misses and you wouldn't want them in the mix.





The tapas arrive at your table as soon as they are ready and in rapid succession. You, as the diner, are tasked with pacing your meal. We enjoyed many of the tapas, especially the fried goat cheese with lavender honey (Micha, Jen was right, we needed two orders). The goat cheese is lightly fried, which provides a satisfying crispness and warm contrast to the goat cheese. The honey has only a hint of lavender and succeeds in not overwhelming the main ingredient.















Some of the tapas, however, should be avoided. No matter how much you love/crave short ribs, don't order them here. The short ribs were flavorless and had the consistency of corn beef.




Also, when we complained that the Pan Roasted Striped Bass was not fresh, the server apologized, took it back and informed us it would be removed from the bill.





What to eat:









Seared Sea Scallops. This was actually one, perfectly seared, giant scallop. The froth was light and perfectly complimented the scallop.











The Philadelphia Truffle Surprise. This fried treat is filled with cream cheese and truffle, nuff said.



Skirt Steak with Chimichurri sauce. This came out medium rare, tender and packed with flavor.



Seafood Paella. The paella includes a generous portion of seafood, including shrimp, mussels and clams. This dish has a sizable kick to it, so if you can't handle spicy food, this dish isn't for you.



Chocolate Molten Cake. Alta hit the nail on the head with this simple yet fabulous dessert. Chocolate molten cake's have become somewhat commonplace at NYC restaurants (to my joy). Unfortunately, many restaurants over cook the cake so that it is dried out (to my disappointment). Alta's Molten Chocolate Cake had a generous portion of rich melted chocolate in the center of a perfectly cooked, moist cake. The dish is accompanied by a creamy, refreshing chai gelato (we asked for vanilla instead). I would have included a picture but we inhaled it.





Like what you see? Keep reading,




Your foodie friend

Bobwhite Lunch & Supper Counter

For those in need of a little grease and comfort after a late night NYC drinking bender (don't worry, I won't name names), Alphabet City's new addition, Bobwhite Lunch & Supper Counter, should do the trick.

Taking advantage of Saturday's 60 degree sunny day (a rare treat for NYC in January), we trekked downtown to Alphabet City to meet up with friends at Bobwhite Lunch & Supper Counter. The restaurant opened its doors just days ago.

The owner, 33 year old Keedick Coulter, hauled his southern roots north of the Mason Dixon line, bringing with him a love for good old fashion fried chicken. Keedick prides himself on offering seasonal items from local farmers at affordable prices. The dark meat fried chicken plate is under $10.

Diners can choose to order at the cashier and take their food to one of the handful of tables in the restaurant or order and dine at the restaurant's counter. The menu currently is quite limited but includes staples like pork chop sandwiches and egg salad sandwiches. Don't forget to ask about the seasonal sides that change daily but typically include collard greens and black eyed peas. Keedick intends on adding more items over the next few months.

Save room for one of the freshly baked Southern desserts, standouts include red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and banana pie parfaits.

What to Eat:

Fried chicken. The chicken is moist and the skin is crispy without being greasy. The fried chicken is accompanied by a fluffy biscuit and a side salad. Also, even though it is currently a seasonal side and not listed on the menu, make sure to order the cheddar grits if it is available.

Looking for a new go to restaurant in your neighborhood? Give me a shout,

Your foodie friend

Junoon

I've never been to a high end Indian restaurant, have you?

I usually eat ethnic food at affordable restaurants, but this place caught my eye (or more accurately, ear...thank you Fara for the rec) because the wine list was unusual for an Indian restaurant. Indian restaurants are known for their curry and tandoori, not their wine lists. At Junoon, the wine list featured top wines from all over the world, including some of my favorites, like Spotteswoode.

The front of the restaurant has a large bar/lounge area which is perfect for a pre-dinner Indian inspired cocktail (or two :)). You can sit at the bar or lounge on the cozy couches.

Diners take the "Junoon walkway" to their tables. The restaurant incorporates ancient looking Indian artifacts into a modern elegance. Junoon features high ceilings and is split into two large dining rooms. The tables are generously spaced out from each other, unlike most NYC restaurants.

The service at Junoon is impeccable. The waiter fielded dozens of our questions regarding the nuisances of Junoon's creative dishes. Also, the servers were well timed and the sommelier was very knowledgeable. We were able to enjoy our meal at a leisurely pace, also unusual for NYC. On our most recent visit to Junoon, we reached out to the sommelier to help us pick an alcoholic beverage that would uniquely compliment the spices in our food choices. The sommelier recommended a cider that was bottled in a wine glass, Farnum Hill Cider. The cider was aromatic, highlighting the apple, which was a nice contrast to the spice and heat in our dishes.



What to eat:

The Piri Pri Shrimp appetizer. The three large shrimp are lightly coated in a sweet chili sauce and plated with avocado and jicama. The chili sauce has a little kick, which is softened by the avocado and jicama.

If you want to start the night with a fried treat, the pakoras were a hit at our table. The pakoras, filled with different vegetables seasonaly, are crispy and hearty.

The chicken tawa masala, which is similar to chicken tikka masala, was very (a pro for some, a con for others). But don't be confused, what it lacks in spice it makes up for in taste.

The menu changes here a few times a year but in the two visits and dozen plus dishes ordered, every single dish has been exceptional.

Fancy Indian? I'm sold,

Your foodie friend.

Remi

For my first post, I thought I would go back to my roots, not just my spaghetti loving childhood days but also my first neighborhood in NYC roots.

For years I lived just outside the theatre district, which as you can imagine, left slim pickings for good neighborhood restaurants. In my hot pursuit for something to keep me full AND satisfied through a musical or play, (those who know me know I need to be fed about every three hours), I discovered Remi. This restaurant is also terrific for a business lunch/dinner.

When you walk into Remi, you will immediately notice the restaurant's high ceilings, which is quite unusual in NYC. Remi is very narrow but the high ceilings create an optical illusion of spaciousness.

Those that know me well know that I almost always show up to a dinner table starving (probably due to some undiagnosed tape worm ailment I suffer from). Nevertheless, Remi has solved this problem by providing its diners with a delicious complimentary goat cheese in tomato sauce appetizer (it's not large but it is larger than an amuse bouche). The various breads served along with the goat cheese and tomato sauce (ask for extra Focaccia bread) give you the stamina you need to look through the large menu and not die from hunger in the process.

Because the menu is a few pages and packed with traditional Italian dishes, there is something for everyone. Definitely order the Pappadelle al Telefono in Salsa Rosa (aka vodka sauce). The home made noodles are not al dente (the way I prefer ;)) and the sauce is a perfect blend of cream and tomato tang. The fresh mozzarella melts because the dish is served piping hot, creating a heavenly goo of mozzarella.

Because this restaurant is located in the theatre district AND near business offices, the prices are pretty steep. BUT, your foodie friend has found two excellent insider tips:

1. The restaurant offers a price fix lunch ($24) and dinner ($35) that features many options(http://www.remi-ny.com/menu/pretheater.pdf) or

2. If you prefer to order off the entire menu and still save, go on Savored (http://savored.com/nyc/), pay $10 and book a table. You will receive 30% off your entire bill (including booze ;)).

Like what you see? Keep reading,

Your foodie friend