One of the best restaurants to open up this year is the recent Estela on Houston St. Helmed by chef Ignacio Mattos (il buco, Isa), Estela is a place for some great wine and some great small plates. I stopped in recently and was wowed with how simple dishes could be so wonderful.
Read moreNYC FOODIE OPENING OF THE WEEK: SUSHI DOJO
Masa, Yasuda, Soto, Hideo, Toshihiro, Suzuki..These are the names of some of the best sushi chefs that have graced NYC. And now we must add one more name: David. That's right, as in David Bouhadana, the young chef who grew up in Florida, who is at the helm of the just opened East Village sushi joint Sushi Dojo.
Read moreNYC FOODIE OPENING OF THE WEEK: THE BUTTERFLY
Another day, another Michael White restaurant. After the opening of last month's fabulous Costata, Chef White and his Altamarea team have opened up The Butterfly in Tribeca.
Read moreNYC FOODIE OPENING OF THE WEEK: ODDFELLOWS ICE CREAM CO.
An ice cream gem of a joint has opened up in Williamsburg, helmed by pastry wizard Sam Mason (WD-50). Oddfellows Ice Cream Co. is bringing unique and perfect ice cream to us all, and you will love it just as I did.
Read moreNYC FOODIE OPENING OF THE WEEK: PLAN B
Get some unique Northern Spanish tapas on at the new Nolita joint Plan B on Mulberry Street. What was once a jewelry store, is now a great space serving a contemporary take on tapas influenced by Barcelona and the Basque region. I had a little tasting last week with some delectable bites.
Read moreNYC FOODIE OPENING OF THE WEEK: COSTATA
Michael White is a true culinary magician. His restaurants are awesome, perfect, and delicious. And now Chef White and his team bring us their foray into the steakhouse realm, with the new Costata.
Read moreNYC FOODIE OPENING OF THE WEEK: ABC COCINA
Jean-Georges ABC Kitchen now has a Latin sister next door called ABC Cocina, in the old Pipa space. I had two delicious meals there last week, that were truly enjoyable.
Read moreNYC FOODIE OPENING OF THE WEEK: UNCLE BOONS
A new Thai joint has opened up in NoLita and it's mad cool. Uncle Boons, from chefs Matt Danzer and Ann Redding, is a Thai Rotisserie and grill with a focus on Thai style drinking food -Ahaan Kap Klaem.
Read moreNYC FOODIE OPENING OF THE WEEK: LITTLE PRINCE
There is a new gem of a restaurant in west Soho, and it's called Little Prince. This petit French joint helmed by chef Paul Denamiel (Le Rivage) is wonderful. I stopped in last night and had a truly perfect meal.
Read moreNYC FOODIE OPENING OF THE WEEK: LAFAYETTE
Chef Andrew Carmellini, and partners Josh Pickard and Luke Ostrom, have transformed what was once Chinatown Brasserie, into Lafayette, and it is stunning. Designed by firm Roman and Williams, Lafayette is called a "Grand Cafe" on their website, and it truly is grand. I stopped in on Monday, their first official day of opening, and was in awe of the space.
Read more