NYC FOODIE QUICK BITE: BRAEBURN

A hidden treasure lies in the west West Village. Braeburn, a rustic, homey, and comfortable restaurant, accentuated by 150 year old tobacco shed wood and handmade mesquite tabletops, is a really good restaurant, that has flown under the radar. It is casual, yet elegant. The food from Chef Brian Bistrong is really well executed too. I stopped in for a little foodie tasting and was very happy with my meal. 

A starter of Warm Smoked Trout with roasted butternut squash, toasted pumpkin sees, apple-celery salad, and brown butter vinaigrette was really nice, and a perfect welcome to the Fall.

Long Island Fluke with creamless celery root clam chowder, bacon, and early squash, was excellent. I'm pretty sure I saw a few pieces of lobster swimming in that chowder that took this dish to another level. Lobster is the Natalie Portman of food.

Creamless Trumpet Royale Soup with poached wellfleet oyster, and crispy potatoes, was a revelation. With fabulous flavor, a beautiful combination of mushroom and oyster, this dish was simple, yet complex. I loved this dish.

Breast of Long Island Duck with kohlrabi, wheat berries, duck confit, and prune puree, was perfectly cooked, and another fine "welcome to Autumn" dish.

Some knockout desserts like the apple cobbler, banana pudding, almond joy, and chocolate beignets, were fantastic endings, to a perfectly executed meal.

So for a fine meal, in a casual and rustic setting, say "Hello" to the Fall at Braeburn.

Braeburn
117 Perry St. (and Greenwich)
New York, NY 10014
212-255-0696

www.braeburnrestaurant.com

NYC FOODIE QUICK BITE: VILLAGE YOKOCHO

This will be a quickie...This restaurant has no website (really?!), so I can't remember the prices..Village Yokocho, a Japanese tapas spot in the East Village, is a festive and very loud restaurant. Do not go here if you are looking for intimate conversations. Go here if you crave beer and decent tapas of Japanese descent.

Skip the shumai that taste like they just came out of a microwave, instead go for the fried squid legs, they are tasty, addictive, and fabulous! Everything else is just fine, but not worth a special trip. Some cold spicy noodles with veggies was good. A meat dish served in tin foil, actually was better than good, I enjoyed the dish immensely. Have no idea what the dish was too be honest..Octopus balls were fine. Sunomono (Japanese salad with vinegar), with fish eggs, sashimi and uni, was more rice than fish.

Village Yokocho is good for those drunken nights you crave Japanese tapas..Just make sure you bring ear plugs.

Village Yokocho
8 Stuyvesant St. 
New York, NY 10003

212-598-3041

NYC FOODIE QUICK BITE: CAFE MOGADOR

You ever do a mind-reading magic trick where you guess the name of someone's favorite restaurant? Well, the NYC Foodie, Foodie Magician, does it every week. And after someone thought of Cafe Mogador, a packed Moroccan restaurant on St. Marks Place I walk by often, I was intrigued. What made this restaurant always crowded and someone's all round favorite? I needed to find out, and I did this past Sunday.

Take a seat outdoors and watch the East Village pass you by as you dine on tasty Moroccan delights, such as a Mixed Platter ($10) of tabouli, babaganoush, hummus, and salad. Fresh and refreshing, it does Moroccan right. An order of the Lamb Grill ($14), skewered lamb grilled over charcoal served with grilled vegetables and basmati rice, will bring you to Moroccan heaven too.

Not only is this food good, but it is not expensive. A great bang for your buck! So sit back, relax, and be cool in the East Village at this Moroccan haven.

Cafe Mogador
101 St. Marks Pl. (bet. 1st and Ave A)
New York, NY 10009
212-677-2226

www.cafemogador.com

NYC FOODIE QUICK BITE: NORTHERN SPY FOOD CO

I finally made it to Northern Spy Food Co last week, a restaurant people have been raving about for a while now. This small and inviting restaurant, with a menu built around "seasonality, accessibility, and quality, whenever and wherever possible using locally-grown or -produced ingredients" is really good. It's great for a date, or dinner with your sister and her boyfriend.

Heritage pork meatballs ($12) with marinara and pecorino are excellent. Soak up that addictive marinara with some lovely flatbread, and you'll be one happy diner.

A special of wild mushrooms with chorizo and potatoes, topped with a poached egg, in a red wine sauce was delicious.

Another special of crawfish ravioli with a tarragon mascarpone sauce was really nice too. My sister's boyfriend yelped with glee after each bite.

Squid and mussels ($13), with navy beans, cherry tomatoes, and jalapeno was excellent! Addictive and tasty, NYC Foodie style.

Desserts are fine and homey. Chocolate Hazelnut Tart ($6) with crème fraiche & hazelnut brittle is helped with the nice crunch from the hazelnut brittle, and I loved the homemade creme fraiche. Peach pie ($6) with burnt sugar ice cream & oat crumble was also a nice ending. My sister thought her cardamom ice cream was "unique and delish, and fab". I'd have to agree.

Northern Spy Food Co is a very good little treasure nestled in the East Village. With food this well executed, it just makes me wish I lived in the East Village. What a great neighborhood.

Northern Spy Food Co
511 E. 12th Street (bet. A and B)
New York, NY 10009
212-228-5100
www.northernspyfoodco.com

NYC FOODIE QUICK BITE: BON CHON CHICKEN

Korean Fried Chicken is awesome. I love it. The crispiest, crunchiest, and tastiest fried chicken you will ever have. The best I've had comes from Mad For Chicken on 32nd and 5th. Mad For Chicken used to be Bon Chon Chicken, but things changed. A new Bon Chon Chicken opened up across the street though, so I had to check it out. It is really good. You can get some tasty dumplings to start, then dive into some sweet and spicy, flavorful, crunchy bites of joy. Even Colonal Sanders would be licking his lips, smiling, and being in fried chicken heaven.

Bon Chon Chicken
325 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10016
212-686-8282
www.bonchon.com

NYC FOODIE QUICK BITE: ROBATAYA

The East Village is truly becoming a mini-Japan, with Japanese joints sprouting up all over. East 9th street is the street I would call "Little Japan", for the numerous Japanese restaurants on it. St. Marks between 2nd and 3rd has many cool Japanese spots too. 

Last week I joined my family at Robataya, a restaurant where grilling the food is front and center. The space, with its grill and grillers up front, and an authentic dining room in back, whisks you away to Japan upon entering. The food is pretty good too.

A complimentary plate of special rice flown in from Japan tasted like...rice. I thought this was a pointless dish.

Grilled sea urchin ($11), sprinkled with salted Konbu seaweed was great! An ocean of deliciousness in my mouth.

Lightly fried white sesame tofu ($6.50) coated in a light batter, served in a soy sauce infused broth was really good too. Delicate and soothing.

Lightly fried asparagus ($8) with white fish paste encrusted with pine nuts and rice crackers was a revelation! I had never experienced a dish like this. Truly unique, with fantastic and new flavor and texture. It was an eye-opening dish.

Simmered shredded beef back ribs ($6.50) with daikon radish, served with bonito infused soy sauce was fine and tasty.

A homemade chicken meatball with salt ($4), was juicy and wonderful. A sprinkle of lemon really took this ball to the next level!

Grilled eggplant with soy ($5) and enoki mushrooms with soy ($6) were fine, but nothing special.

A whole grilled fish ($19) was quite boring and did nothing to my taste buds. Looked cool though!

Kamameshi with snow crab ($15), a special rice cooked and served in an Earthenware pot for two, that takes 30 minutes to prepare, was also quite boring, lacked flavor, and had my taste buds complaining to me. My buds fell asleep.

Robataya is still a fun restaurant to go to, and the prices are not too high either. The portions aren't huge though, so order wisely, and share some good grilled Japanese bites, and you will leave happy. Japan is just a subway, cab, or walk, away.

Robataya
231 E. 9th Street (bet. 2nd and 3rd)
New York, NY 10003
212-979-9674

http://174.132.150.226/~sobayany/robataya/

NYC FOODIE QUICK BITE: OLIO PIZZA E PIU

"When the moon hits your eye, like a big pizza pie, that's Amore." 

When I fall in love, I wouldn't mind getting hit in the eye from a pizza made by Master Pizzaiolo Giulio Adriani (the world champion), the head pizza maker at the new West Village joint, Olio Pizza e Piu. This just opened pizza mecca, housed in a beautiful rustic space that once was Go Sushi, is turning out some fantastic Neapolitan pies! Also to note, this Pizza restaurant might have the best cocktail menu of all pizza joints, with cocktails by Dusan Zaric of Employees only!

I stopped in two nights ago and got my pizza on (yea, I had six slices-oops!)! I sat at the pizza bar which was cool, for I was able to watch this pizza making master do his craft up close. 

The classic Margherita ($12) was delicious. The sweet sauce, helped by some fresh San Marzano tomatoes, and some fresh mozzarella and basil, as well as the perfectly crisp crust, matched by the dough that was just right chewiness, made this a winning pie.

The Mezzaluna pie ($19), with salami and ricotta stuffed into the crust, topped with cherry tomatoes and smoked mozzarella was fabulous! I loved the smokiness of the mozzarella. Another winner!

If you are a fan of lemon (I am), then you will really enjoy the Amalfitana ($16), mozzarella, arugula, lemon slices, parmesan. This lemony goodness surely hit the spot.

If you like to stay in shape and watch your figure like I do, you may as well order another pie. The Campagnola ($21), burrata, parma ham, arugula, and parmesan will do you just fine. I'm a huge fan of burrata, put it on anything (especially Natalie Portman) and I'm a happy man. I smiled after each bite of this loaded pie.

If you are a famous and talented celebrity magician as I am, you might just be able to appear on the other side of the bar with the chef, and feel what it's like to be a Pizza Master!

The moon hasn't hit my eye yet folks, but six slices of Olio's pizza pies have hit my stomach, now that's Amore!

Olio Pizza e Piu
3 Greenwich Avenue (bet. 6th Ave and Christopher St.)
New York, NY 10014
212-243-6543
www.olionyc.com

NYC FOODIE QUICK BITE: MACELLERIA

Meat in the Meatpacking. That is what occurred last week when a friend and I dined at Macelleria, a rustic Italian steakhouse located in the heart of the Meatpacking district. And it's a good one to boot!

Start with a plate of prosciutto and buffalo mozzarella ($16), the silky meat, combined with fresh mozzarella that will melt in your mouth, is truly wonderful! My dining companion and I loved this dish!

Pastas at this steakhouse should not be missed. Straw and hay tagliolini with peas and prosciutto ($19), was just lovely. Garganelli with oxtail ragu ($19) was really good too. The aromatic hearty oxtail flavor prevalent throughout the dish.

Of course this is a steakhouse, so we got the Prime dry aged Porterhouse for two ($94). We came with an appetite!

A side of roasted brussel sprouts was delicious. The fried zucchini was tasty and addictive, I could have sworn I saw my dining companion hoard some away for later.

You must end with the wonderful cheesecake, it is one of the best I've had. I loved the just barely burnt top of it.

So hopefully the next time you meet in the Meatpacking, you'll have a meeting with some meat, at Macelleria. Call me up, I'll be happy to meat you there.

Macelleria
48 Gansevoort St. (bet. Greenwich and Washington)
New York, NY 10014
212-741-2555

www.macelleriarestaurant.com

NYC FOODIE QUICK BITE: MARCONY

I stumbled upon Capri in NYC last week when I had a nice dinner at Marcony, an Italian restaurant I had not heard of until last week, when I was luckily enough to be invited to a dinner there. It is a beautiful two floor space, serving some good Italian fare.

Start with a refreshing and great key lime martini to elevate your mood!

A complimentary fried ravioli was crunchy and tasty.

Fried zucchini flowers were also tasty, light, and perfect.

A special eggplant rollatini was absolutely wonderful! I wanted to roll around with these guys all night long.

Tricolor gnocchi with sundried tomatoes, pesto, and almond sauce was pleasant and fine.

A special lobster fra diavolo had some sweet and fresh hunks of lobster in it, which was nice. The sauce was not spicy though, and it should have been, if it was truly fra diavolo. It was much sweeter than normal. But, all the fresh seafood did the dish justice. I just would not call it "fra diavolo".

Chilean sea bass in a Vinsanto sauce with zucchini, onions, and tomatoes, was sweet, buttery, and executed perfectly. A really simple and nice fish preparation.

A fine rendition of tiramisu and a chocolate cake that oozed chocolate goodness was a splendid ending to an admirable meal. You will lick your plate clean as my dining companion did!

So get on your culinary ship and sail to Murray Hill, and get your Capri-style fare on.

Marcony
184 Lexington Avenue (bet. 31st and 32nd)
New York, NY 10016
646-837-6020
www.marconyusa.com

NYC FOODIE QUICK BITE: PIES 'N' THIGHS

It was a true NYC Foodie adventure last Monday night, when yours truly, the NYC Foodie, the Foodie Magician, went on a culinary adventure in Brooklyn, with the NYC Food Guy, Lawrence Weibman (www.nycfoodguy.com). Fried chicken was what was on our minds, for there have been a bunch of recent Brooklyn joints that have popped up recently specializing in the bird. We chose Pies 'N' Thighs in Williamsburg. 

Pies 'N' Thighs is a cool and hip spot, with two back porches, where you can indulge in your fried chicken consumption. The truth is though, I wouldn't come to Pies and Thighs for their fried chicken, I would come for their chicken biscuit.

We both ordered the Fried Chicken Box ($11) which comes with the pieces of chicken (leg, breast, neck) a biscuit, and a side. I went with the mac and cheese, Lawrence went with the collard greens. I loved the flaky skin of each piece of bird, but we both agreed the meat and skin both lacked flavor. There did not seem to be any seasoning on it, and it was very mediocre. My mac and cheese was not that good, and the collard greens were just ok. 

What was amazing though was that chicken biscuit ($5). A beautiful chicken cutlet, on a nice biscuit, with hot sauce, and some orgasmic and addictive honey maple butter. After one bite, we were both in foodie heaven. This was fantastic!

I ended with a slice of banana cream pie ($4.50) which was satisfyingly delicious!

So, get your chicken biscuit on at Pies and Thighs in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It's only five dollars, but the feelings you get after each bite are priceless.

Pies and Thighs
166 S. 4th Street (at Driggs)
Brooklyn, NY 11211
347-529-6090

www.piesnthighs.com