Tag Archives: American food
Rider, Brooklyn
I don’t get over to Williamsburg as much as I used to, so when I do, I almost always go someplace I haven’t tried before. In this case we were going to a show and wanted a quick but delicious meal beforehand. Rider, the restaurant that adjoins the National Sawdust concert hall, fit the bill: it’s a casual but chic seasonal restaurant by chef Patrick Connolly, who won a James Beard award in Chicago before decamping to NYC. (more…)
Posted in American, Cuisine, food, Neighborhood, New York restaurants, restaurants, Williamsburg
Tagged American food, cocktails, farm to table, fried chicken, pizza, seasonal, vegetables
Comments Off on Rider, Brooklyn
Loring Place, NYC
As much as I like checking out new restaurants, at a certain point the frenzy becomes a little ridiculous – thus the lack of restaurant reviews here for a while. Is a restaurant really at its best the split second that it opens its doors, and then just something to be discarded in six months or so after when everyone goes chasing the next new thing? Is it worth waiting in the rain outside because even the bar area is “for reservations only” or frantically refreshing your browser two weeks in advance just for a stupid 6pm time slot on a Monday? If you have a little more patience, it’s worth waiting until after the ravenous herds move out, however, because guess what? A lot of the time the restaurant is still good after six months, maybe even better.
Case in point: Loring Place, which is a neighborhood restaurant for me, and I feel very lucky to have it nearby. Sure, I miss Pat Field’s and all the crazy shoe stores and head shops that used to line this stretch of Eighth Street, but this and other excellent-quality restaurants arriving on the block is something I will happily embrace.
Posted in American, Cuisine, food, Greenwich Village, Neighborhood, New York restaurants, restaurants
Tagged American food, asparagus, cocktails, Dan Kluger, farm to table, fish, vegetables
Comments Off on Loring Place, NYC
The Lambs Club
A friend of ours once had a suitor we nicknamed “Dinner in Midtown.” That was what he asked her to do on their first date, and from then on, the prognosis for the relationship was not good. Could anything be less sexy, less likely to lead to a romantic liaison than dinner in Midtown? No.
Little has happened in past ten years of the New York dining scene to change this. Midtown restaurants can be interesting, full of power brokers and good food, or they can be utterly lame, full of frat-guy brokers and Houston’s-esque steakhouse fare. But in either case Midtown restaurants have been consistently unsexy – until now. (more…)
Posted in food, Midtown West, New York restaurants, restaurants
Tagged American food, bars, Eric Wilson, fireplaces, foie gras, New York
Comments Off on The Lambs Club
Eleven Madison Park
The democratization of the food world is in many ways a good thing. An appreciation of taco trucks, Chinatown pastry shops and country barbecue stands has trickled up from the populace to food authorities like the NYT and Food and Wine Magazine, which expanded its circle of “Best New Chefs” to include not just Daniel Boulud and Thomas Keller (both class of ’88) but Roy Choi of LA’s Kogi Korean Barbecue trucks (class of ’10). A more level playing field has encouraged restauranteurs and chefs to strive for greatness, no matter how small or casual the venue.
But what’s been lost in the transition from “gourmand” (farewell, Gourmet) to “foodie” (hello, Yelp) is an appreciation of truly excellent food and service. When seeking out the latest “it” food, be it a pig roast or a roving dessert truck, diners are now willing to endure long lines for bad cuts of meat while Josh Ozersky snacks in the background. Just as it’s important to study the cut and feel of designer clothing to see what H&M should approximate, you have to visit a four-star place like Eleven Madison Park every once in a while to understand what lesser dining experiences lack. (more…)
Posted in Flatiron District, food, New York restaurants, NoMad, restaurants
Tagged American food, bars, Daniel Humm, French food, New York
Comments Off on Eleven Madison Park