Riverpark (brunch)

While Riverpark might be tricky to locate, it is certainly worth the hunt.  My best advise is to tell the cab driver to drop you off at the corner of 29th and 1st (if you are not traveling by foot/subway...once you are there, you can make the cabbie drive you up the ramp or proceed by foot).  If you hit the water, you went to far.  You will see a newly built glass building adjacent to the water.  To enter it, you must use the revolving doors at the top of the ramp, all of the other entrances are locked.

It sounds like a lot of work for a meal but I promise you will be rewarded for your efforts.  If you managed to avoid getting lost, you will notice the Riverpark garden, which grows fresh herbs for the restaurant.  The dark, modern dining room is enclosed by tall glass windows.  The tables in the back of the restaurant face the East River.  Weather permitting, I prefer to sit outside, along the water.  There are communal tables in the sun and individual tables in the shade.  They even have heat lamps (when it's 70 degrees out) for wimps like me :)

The service at Riverpark, like most Tom Colicchio restaurants, runs like a well oiled machine.  The hostesses are attentive and organized, efficiently doling out the choice outdoor tables.  Once seated, your water is promptly filled and you are warmly greeted by the server.  Throughout the meal our server would check in to make sure we were satisfied with our selections and the maitre di stopped by towards to end to ensure we enjoyed our experience.

The brunch menu features traditional brunch cocktails, like Mimosas and Bloody Mary's, and an impressive wine by the glass selection.  There are small pours for lightweights.

We decided to kick off brunch with the freshly baked Cinnamon Rolls, which were warm, doughy and excellent.  I'm a big icing fan so I would recommend asking for extra if you are like me and suffer from a vicious sweet tooth.

What to Eat:

Riverpark does an excellent Grilled Bread & Avocado starter.  A thick layer of ripe avocado is spread over toasted country bread, and then topped with freshly cracked pepper and sea salt. This dish largely relies on the quality of the avocado and finding ripe avocados in NYC isn't easy.  But Tom C delivers.  The Californian in me loves nothing more than a simple avocado toast on a warm spring day (or any day for that matter).

Fara wins best pick at brunch hands down.  The French Toast at Riverpark is a must.  The quality of the ingredients in this dish is even more impressive than the already impressive avocado toast.  A large dollop of home made whipped cream and sweet red currants top the three slices of thick, doughy brioche.  The french toast was so sweet and tasty it didn't even need maple syrup.  It is just the right size if you made sure to share starters and/or sides with your dining companion(s).

Looking for a classy brunch with a view?  Riverpark is perfect for this (and any) season,

Your foodie friend

Poco

Poco is a cute little restaurant in the East Village that is known for it's bottomless boozy brunches.  In need of a bite before a birthday party in the East Village, I thought I would try Poco for dinner.  One would think a restaurant that does a tasty brunch could serve a competent dinner.  Wrong, totally and utterly wrong.

Poco has a handful of tables that run along the length of the restaurant, which was exactly what I was in the market for on the first 80 degree day of spring.  Sadly, that was just about the last thing I enjoyed about this experience.

I ordered a Margarita.  Pretty standard drink, especially at a Pan Latin restaurant.  It was terrible.  I couldn't put my finger on it.  It's not that it was too weak or too sour, it just tasted bad.  Perhaps Poco used bad ingredients???

And then it got worse.  As you can see from this picture, the octopus was scaley and had holes in it (wtf?).  Perhaps the seafood was so far past fresh the kitchen overcooked it in an attempt to avoid killing its patrons.  No one should order this dish, ever.  It was down right offensive.  After picking around the octopus, so I could munch on the tomatoes and green beans to calm the growl in my stomach, I finally gave up.

But the dish sat there, for at least a half an hour.  No one noticed that the octopus was untouched, asked why, etc...My next tapas dish arrived and due to the starvation setting in, I snarfed it down.  Once that plate was empty, the waitress asked if she could take both plates away, somehow missing the fact that the main ingredient in the octopus tapas remained untouched.  I told her that she needed to take it away and take it off my bill because it was terrible and should not be served, to anyone, ever.

What to Eat:

If you end up meeting someone for a happy hour drink, stick to the beer.  For food, I would recommend the Gambas al Ajillo (shrimp sauteed in olive oil and garlic).  This is a dish for garlic lovers.  The fresh, plump shrimp were generously coated in a garlicky olive oil and placed over slices of toasted french bread.  This tapas comes with four shrimp so it would work as an appetizer for one person.  Since I wasn't sick from my meal, Poco's seafood problem doesn't appear to be universal.

Enough Pan-Latin postings? Poco certainly put a halt to my Pan-Latin food kick,

Your foodie friend

Yuca Bar

Since Mitch's cousins are regulars at Yuca Bar on the lower east side, I needed to know why.   Armed with my favorite foodies, we attempted to order half of the extremely large, tapas centric menu family style  The server, however, had the audacity to tell me that we were ordering too much.  If I did, then I would take it home or leave it behind.  And more importantly, the server clearly underestimated how much food I could eat.

Yuca Bar is a typical square box dining room in the Lower East Side. The low ceilings made it necessary to shout across the table, which, as long as you have good hearing, you eventually acclimate (although I felt badly for the servers who will undoubtedly go deaf sometime in the near future).   The better option is the sidewalk seating now that it is FINALLY spring.   Yuca Bar's drink menu had all of the standard Latin themed drinks, mojitos, margaritas, sangria, but the machine making frozen drinks was broken so we couldn't try their revered Yuca Sunrise, a blend of Sangria and Frozen Margarita.   I loved my strong margarita  BUT it was tiny.

Every dish was tasty (and devoured) but a few dishes stood out more than others.  The only disappointment of the night were the desserts.  We ordered three, partly because we were still hungry and partly because the dessert menu listed some of my favorites (chocolate souffle, bread pudding, churros).  The souffle, which was a lava cake, was overcooked, the bread pudding had a strange coconut flavor that was not listed on the menu and the churros weren't doughy enough.  Luckily, the neighborhood surrounding Yuca Bar is filled with bakeries and other fabulous dessert options (e.g. Chickalicious, Big Gay Ice Cream Shop, etc...) so if your sweet tooth is as vicious as mine, you will have no problem finding something worth savoring near by.

What to Eat:

I don't like ribs.  Not sure why, but I never have.  If Yuca Bar's Espresso Baby Back Ribs (Espresso BBQ Costillitas) doesn't turn you into a ribs fan, nothing will.  The meat falls right off the bone.  And the slightly sweet espresso sauce doesn't have much coffee flavor so this shouldn't scare off people like me who don't like coffee.  This appetizer comes with four hearty ribs so it can easily be shared with a group of four.

Another table favorite was the Shrimp Skewers with a Mango and Papaya salad and Coconut Rice (Antucuchos de Camaron).  The chipotle marinated shrimp had only a tiny kick to it which was the right amount for me.  The plump shrimp were grilled to perfection, as you can see from the tiny char marks on the skewers.  The rice served on the side brought back tasty memories of our Columbia vacation. I'd kill for this recipe! 

We only ordered one entree (because the server told us we had already ordered more than enough food), the Brazilian Tomato & Coconut Broth with Shrimp and Octopus (Moqueca da Bahia).   You probably can't go wrong ordering at Yuca Bar but we definitely struck food gold on this choice.  This seafood stew was filled with slices of octopus, medium sized shrimp, and long slices of hearts of palm.  The coconut broth gave the tomato sauce a rich, slightly creamy texture.

Looking for another stop on your Cinco de Mayo Sunday Funday? Yuca Bar will keep the party going,

Your foodie friend

Insider tip:  Yuca Bar offers incredible deals during the week, including: half price tapas until 8pm on Tuesday and half price happy hour drinks on weekday nights until 8pm.

Perla

I had been dying to try Perla.  DYING!  Needless to say, my expectations were high.  We went somewhat last minute and were happy to snag two seats at the bar.  Luckily, the bar area serves the full menu.

While the food may be rustic Italian, there is nothing rustic Italian about the decor and ambiance.  Beautiful 20 and 30 somethings can be seen bobbing their head to solid old school hip hop and R&B tunes. Shiny red leather banquettes line the walls while a communal table runs down the middle of the dining room.

I love Focaccia bread so I was pretty pumped when it arrived.  Dry focaccia, however, is just down right bad.  I figured the amuse bouche ricotta crostini would make up for it but there was barely any ricotta and way too much honey and pepper.  The balance of flavors was all off so it just tasted like peppered honey.



Flavors that tasted off seemed to be the theme of the night.  The Agnoletti we ordered was clearly freshly made but the flavors tasted wrong.  Was the cheese bad?  Or did they use the wrong type of cheese?  Tough to say.  And yet this dish was still better than the Gnocci, which was clearly not homemade and a huge disappointment.  With the exception of the champagne and my company, Perla was not off to a good start.

What to Eat:

The only truly appetizing dish of the night was the Duck Breast, which was placed on a bed of cabbage, and then glazed with a plum balsamic and topped with golden raisins.  The tender slices of duck breast literally melted in my mouth.  The cabbage was lacking -- the duck would have benefited from a more satisfying puree of any sort (celery root, cauliflower, potato, etc...).

I can't fathom why this place is so hyped.  Sure, I enjoyed my champagne and duck but there were way to many miss hits to even consider venturing back.

Looking for top pasta in NYC? Perla can't hack it,

Your foodie friend

Emily's Chocolate

No, Emily's Chocolate isn't a restaurant.  This post is a shout out to one of my new favorite chocolate companies, Emily's.  Emily's is located in Washington (not D.C.) but ships everywhere (thankfully, now that I've depleted my stock, I need to order more).  I love chocolate but not all chocolate is created equal (Emily's website features this saying, one of my favorites, on its the website).  Emily's is such high quality chocolate that after eating it, you'll never look at a Hershey's bar the same way.

Not only does Emily's offer mouth watering morsels, the packaging for each product is classy yet fun so it makes for a perfect gift.  Emily's has all of the classics, like chocolate covered almonds and chocolate covered raisins.  It also boasts a few inventive options, like chocolate covered blueberries.  For those that cannot eat chocolate (or those that say they "don't like chocolate", which is my mind is blasphemy), Emily's offers tasty nut and dried fruit assortments.


What to Order:

The Milk Chocolate Covered Graham Cracker-the thick layer of rich, milk chocolate coating the honey flavored graham cracker  makes your inner child (devil on your shoulder) want to shove the whole treat in your mouth at once.  The slightly more mature angel on your shoulder reminds you to take small bites so that you can savor the dessert.  At least this is one struggle you'll enjoy and can't lose.





If I could only pick one (which thankfully I don't have to do, ever) chocolate product from Emily's, it would be the Dark Chocolate Mint Sandwich Cookie.  Each cookie is individually wrapped, presumably to dissuade you from eating the entire tub in one sitting.  Apparently, the Emily's team hasn't met me.  Back to the cookie, the thick layer of mint is sandwiched in between two moist chocolate cookies and then generously coated in a decadent layer of chocolate ganache.  These are so outrageous, I'll never look at a Girl Scout Thin Mint cookie again (fine, never say never but if I had a choice, it wouldn't be close, Emily's wins hands down).

Looking for a great gift to ship anytime of year (or even better, chocolaty treats for yourself)?  Here's Emily's Chocolates website: http://www.emilyschocolates.com/

Your foodie friend

Insider tip:  They make a peanut butter version of the sandwich cookie for peanut butter lovers.

Proof-Washington DC

In honor of spring and Cherry Blossom season, this post is from my recent visit to Washington D.C.

I LOVE DC.  I would move there in a heartbeat.  I would trade the lit up Capital building for the NYC skyline any day.  Sadly, a life in DC is not in my cards.  Instead, I get to enjoy visiting.  The DC food scene has heated up the last five years (finally).  On our recent visit, good friends spoiled us with a night out at Proof, located near the Verizon Center in Chinatown. 

Proof has a fair amount of outdoor seating, which will make this an excellent dinner choice for the next few months.  The menu also features an extensive charcuterie menu so Proof is also a great idea for after work (or before the game, or just because ;)) wine, meats and cheeses.

Our server provided us with clever magnified lights which were necessary to read the menu in the dimly lit dining room.  The modern decor (from what I could see of it) incorporated wine bottles for walling off sections of the restaurant.  Needless to say, I was sold from the moment I saw the wine bottle walls.

Proof offers an extensive wine list but I had a hankering for the Hall Cab we tried to order at Arlington Club a few weeks ago so we decided to bring a bottle with us.  Like most restaurants in DC, Proof only charges a $25 corkage fee.  It seems like the restaurants in NYC that charge a $25 corkage fee are few and far between.

The service was attentive throughout the meal.  Actually, the service during our entire weekend in DC was attentive and warm.  I've been frustrated with the sub-par service in NYC lately and it was refreshing to be waited on by people that actually cared about their job (and did not insult you repeatedly during your meal).

Proof ran out of the entree I picked for the night, the only minor disappointment on an otherwise perfect night. Every dish we had was outstanding, and I'm hoping next year to return when the weather is nice enough to take advantage of their outdoor seating.

What to Eat:

Start with the Whipped Pipe's Dream Goat Cheese with Clover Honey. This is a perfect appetizer to share for the table.  I was not expecting a deconstructed flat bread but it tasted fabulous all the same.  The goat cheese was topped by rosemary, thyme, olive oil, sea salt, and pepper.  While the goat cheese may look like an unappetizing blob in this picture, I guarantee that you will savor every bite.

The other standout appetizer of the night was the Warm Duck Confit with Scallion Hush Puppies.  The picture does not do this appetizer justice.  Not even close.  The appetizer is topped with pickled mushrooms and a salsa verde, which I quickly brushed to the side because I wanted to get to why I ordered this.  I enjoyed the contrast of the crispy skin with the tender duck meat.  The duck confit was only bested by scallion hush puppies, a lightly fried corn bread and scallion mixture.  I guess Proof does this as an appetizer because it may be too heavy as an entree.  But I could have handled an entree size (my stomach that is, arteries, maybe not so much).

For dessert, order the Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake with vanilla ice cream.  I usually order a sticky toffee pudding cake when I see it on a menu because it is my favorite non-chocolate dessert.  I was a bit skeptical when the dessert arrived because it had a strange looking wafer on top but looks are deceiving. Proof has hands down the best Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake I've ever had.   The moist cake, mixed with slices of almonds, laid on a bed off melted toffee.  Mitch usually only has a bite or two of whatever dessert I order and leaves the rest for me to devour.  But Proof's sticky toffee pudding cake was so good, he ate half (upsetting the delicate balance in our relationship that is controlled by my unrelenting sweet tooth), the nerve ;)

Looking for a good foodie destination near NYC (and maybe some sightseeing)?  Proof should be your first dining stop in DC,

Your foodie friend

Arlington Club

Steakhouses in NYC have become somewhat of a dime a dozen .  But there are a few that stand out in my mind (stay tuned for a review on my favorite steak house).  Our good friends on the Upper East Side love to sink their teeth in to a prime piece of meat so with the new Arlington Club steak house opening, we thought it was the perfect double date.


Arlington Club is perfect for a man looking to pick up a 45-55 year old women with a frightening amount of plastic surgery, giving the phrase "meat market" a whole new meaning.  Oh, and the food is pretty damn good too.  Despite our 8pm reservation, we had to wait 30 minutes for our table.  If the small bar area wasn't jam packed with cat women pushing our group closer and closer to the door, I wouldn't have minded the wait.

The entire space is stunning, with high ceilings, gold trim, and back lighting that gives the dining room a warm glow.  Arlington Club literally buzzed with energy.

Once we were seated, we were greeted with a bowl of freshly baked popovers, coated in a melted medley of cheese and a side of sour pickles.

The service at Arlington Club was negligent throughout the night, with the exception of the sommelier.  We ordered the Hall '09 Cab but Arlington Club ran out of it so the sommelier came over to apologize and recommend the 2009 CJ Melka.  He promised it was comparable in price and flavor and that if we didn't love it, the restaurant would take it back.  The wine was a perfect match and I am grateful for the fantastic recommendation (I proceeded to go home and order a case :)).  The sommelier came back to check on us to ensure we enjoyed his selection.

The rest of the wait staff, however, could not be bothered with us.  Requests for fresh pepper for a caesar salad were ignored, one steak was under cooked and took over 20 minutes to return to the table, and despite ordering our own appetizers, entrees and a few desserts, the server did not once ask if we were enjoying our meal/dishes.  The only consolation is that the service wasn't down right insulting like some of the restaurants I've visited recently.

What to Eat:

Share the House Fries.  It comes with a house dipping sauce but I don't recall what it was (or if it was anything besides ketchup, I blame the CJ Melka).  These slightly spiced fries were not crispy (my kind of fry) so if you are into crispy fries, you may want to request that they are prepared accordingly.  Whatever spice Arlington Club coated these fries in made them addictive.  The sides (and just about everything we ordered) are large portions so you only need one for every two people.






For an entree, go with the Skirt Steak.  The filet was good but no better than any other filet in town.  The skirt steak, however, was so flavorful I forgot to use the red wine shallot sauce I ordered on the side.  The perfectly cooked meat arrived with a slightly caramelized slice of onion, which I should have requested more of (this would make a great side dish for the table to share).









Save room for dessert, although not an easy task at Arlington Club.  Go with the Warm Sticky Date Pudding.  The server recommended the chocolate raspberry layer cake, which like the filet, was good, but nothing to write a blog about.  The sticky date pudding, however, was outrageous.  The warm sticky date pudding with melted toffee was moist, sweet and gone in a few minutes.  I requested the milk-popcorn ice cream instead of the ginger toffee which was also a hit.

Trendy restaurants on the Upper East Side? Who Knew,

Your foodie friend


Insider tip:  If you are a Caesar salad person, this appetizer is a must.  I don't like Caesar salad but the rest of the diners at the table agreed that it was impressive both in taste and size (it was easily big enough for two people).