NYC FOODIE QUICK BITE: SPASSO

NYC is in love with Italian food. There are Italian restaurants all over this town, and new ones are popping up on a weekly basis. I popped into the brand new Spasso in the West Village for a truly satisfying quick bite last week.

Charred octopus, ($13) with cucumbers, yogurt, and mint was perfect. I loved that char!

Crispy Eggplant Arancini ($7), with whipped housemade ricotta, and roasted tomato was delicious!

Seafood Stufato ($24), with prawns, mussels, clams, fennel, had wonderful flavor and was great!

If you are a pasta lover like I am, then I highly recommend the Ricotta Strascinari ($20), with braised duck leg, and smoked scamorza. Perfectly cooked pasta, with extremely tasty duck, put me in pasta heaven.

So pop into Spasso in the West Village for another satisfying Italian spot in NYC.

Spasso
551 Hudson St. (and Perry St.)
New York, NY 10014
212-858-3838

www.spassonyc.com

NYC FOODIE QUICK BITE: GRAFFITI

Big flavors loom in the tiny nook of a restaurant called Graffiti in the East Village. Chef Jehagnir Mehta will tease your taste buds with some interesting flavor combinations. 

Green Mango Paneer ($7) will awaken those buds, and take you to India to start.

Pickled Ginger Scallops ($12) with Candied Red Chili is awesome! With both fabulous flavors and textures, it is a treat to eat.

Duck portobello gratinee ($15) with mustard onion confit, is unique and delicious.

The Graffiti Burger ($15), with garlic fingerling potatoes and chipotle mayonaise had good flavor. I prefer my burgers juicier, it was a tad overcooked in my humble opinion.

Desserts ($7) at Graffiti, like everything else, are both playful, fun, and a joy to eat. Hazelnut chocolate caviar cupcake with chocolate chip ice cream surely hit the spot. My sister, the NYC Foodette, fell in love with the warm truffle almond strawberries and pepper ice cream.

Graffiti proves that size does not matter. With big flavors, and playful food, cozy up, and have fun.

Graffiti
224 East 10th Street (bet. 1st and 2nd)
New York, NY 10003
212-464-7743

www.graffitinyc.com

NYC FOODIE QUICK BITE: MPD

Can you party and eat well in the Meatpacking District? Yes. 

MPD, a new restaurant that has opened in the sceney Meatpacking District, whose owners are known to throw some wild and crazy champagne fueled brunches, actually has some really good food! I had dinner last week and was pleasantly surprised with the well executed French-American fare.

A special of New England Clam chowder, with oysters and bacon, was wonderful. My dining companion declared it the best he has ever had. I might have to agree.

Tartare Of Blue Fin Tuna ($16) with persian cucumber, miso vinaigrette, and chinoise cracker was tasty and well-seasoned.

Another special of escargot was lovely. Place a snail on top of some delicious garlic bread and you have one heavenly bite.

Lobster Pasta ($32) with Bechamel, orecchiette, pumpkin, and gruyere was fabulous! Rich, creamy, and sexy. It was like mac and cheese taken to a whole new level. Yes, please.

Bordeaux Braised Short Ribs ($25) with creamy thyme polenta, and truffle honey was fork tender and fine. I was not a fan of that polenta though, the flavor and texture was off, and did not complement the short rib well.

A chocolate dessert was fine, but even better is one resembling a fantastic french toast with apples. It was addictive and dreamy.

So get your party on, and dine well at MPD, the Meatpacking District's new hot spot.

MPD
73 Gansevoort St (bet. Washington and Greenwich)
New York, NY 10014
212-541-6991

www.mpdnyc.com

NYC FOODIE QUICK BITE: SUSHI SEKI

Hey Sushi, you're so fine, you're so fine, you blow my mind! Hey Sushi! Hey Sushi!

The NYC Foodie loves sushi. The NYC Foodie loves late night dining. Well, there are not many spots where you can get sushi, let alone sublime sushi, in NYC after midnight. But, there is Sushi Seki, a restaurant I had heard about for years, garnering raves and fans all across town. I had never been, until last weekend. Sushi Seki is open til 3am. Sushi Seki serves sublime sushi. Sit at the bar as I did, order the Omakase (starts at $60), and get your late-night sublime sushi on. All the pieces served were fabulous. Eating each piece was like going on a romantic date; the fish your date, your mouth the car overlooking the cliff. It's not cheap, but for a sublime sushi experience, it's up there with the best of them. Hai! 

Kiss me

Lick me

Hold me

Stare into my eyes

Massage me

Lets go out again tomorrow night

Lets make babies, now

Meet my parents.

Come back to my place

Marry me

Sushi Seki
1143 1st Avenue (bet. 62nd and 63rd)
New York, NY 10065
212-371-0238

NYC FOODIE QUICK BITE: LENA LATIN GRILL

If you are looking for a restaurant that is between fast food and a table service restaurant, a step above Chipotle, and with a Latin flavor, you can check out Lena Latin Grill in Midtown. I stopped in last week for a little NYC Foodie tasting and had some fine bites. You handcraft your meal by chooseing either a wrap, a salad, or a plate. You choose your protein (chicken, steak, fish, or tofu) and can add sides and sauces. For a quick, casual bite, it'll hit the spot.

Leña Latin Grill
34 W. 35th Street (bet. 5th and 6th)
New York, NY 10001
646-274-1995
www.lenanyc.com

NYC FOODIE QUICK BITE: MANZO RISTORANTE (INSIDE EATALY)

Is it possible to have a fine meal inside a supermarket? The answer is "Yes," if that market is the ginormous Italian market Eataly. Brought to us by Mario Batali, Joe and Lidia Bastianach, this mecca for Italian goodies is unique to NYC, and quite the experience. If you can brave the crowds, there is Italian gourmet everything, from cheeses, pizzas, salumi, breads, fish, vegetables, coffee, gelato, and much, much more! If you are lucky enough to snag a table at the restaurant Manzo, do it. You won't be disappointed. Grab a bottle of wine, and dine on some fabulous Italian fare, and you will forget you are actually dining inside a supermarket. 

I stopped by this past weekend and tried a lovely salad of grilled vegetables. Fresh, pretty, and excellent. Garganelli Alla Finanziera was also truly fabulous. A chocolate hazelnut dessert was a splendid ending to a meal in a market. A super supermarket.

Manzo Ristorante (inside Eataly)
200 5th Avenue (at 23rd Street)
New York, NY 10010
212-229-2180
http://www.newyork.eataly.it/

NYC FOODIE QUICK BITE: KIN SHOP

The NYC Foodie loves Thai food. So when I heard Harold Dieterle, the great chef from Perilla, just opened up a new Thai restaurant in the West Village called Kin Shop, I was ecstatic.

I dropped in last week to find some really good, highly priced, flavorful food. 

Fried Pork & Crispy Oyster Salad ($12) , with celery, peanuts, mint & chili-lime vinaigrette was delicious. The crispy oysters were perfect.

Grilled River Prawns ($4 per pc), with fresh lime & “phuket style” black pepper sauce were fine, but nothing special.

Pan Fried Crab Noodles ($21), with vermicelli noodles, yellow chives, roasted chili & tatsoi were ok. The dish was more noodles than crab, and tasted fine. It's just the $21 dollar price tag that was bothersome. It was way overpriced, especially since there was hardly any crab in the dish. I longed for the crab meat fried rice from Pam Real Thai; absolutely amazing, and half the price!

Massaman: Braised Goat ($21), with fried shallots, purple yams, mustard greens & toasted coconut was truly great. The meat was perfectly cooked, fell right off the bone, and into a simmering, flavorful, and downright delicious curry. To prepare goat this way was a revelation.

Steamed Passion Fruit Pudding ($8), with passion fruit sauce & buttermilk sherbet was refreshing fantastic, and a splendid way to end a tasty, highly priced, Thai meal.

I would definitely come back to Kin Shop, for the great Thai dishes prepared by well-trained, top notch chefs. But, I must admit, paying half the price at a place, such as the wonderful Pam Real Thai, will always be on my mind.

Kin Shop
469 6th Avenue (bet. 11th and 12th)
New York, NY 10011
212-675-4295

www.kinshopnyc.com

NYC FOODIE QUICK BITE: LIEBE

NoLita is becoming quite the foodie destination. A wide variety of great spots are opening and adding to the charm of this area in NYC. If you crave Indian rolls check out Liebe Gourmet Indian Fusion on Mott street. This little take-out spot (with a few seats in back) is serving up some flavorful and tasty rolls for all under $10. You can start with a lovely chickpea salad that packs more power then you'd expect, and a mango or almond pistachio smoothie, a refreshing balance to the flavor that you're about to experience. Then dig into a flavorfull roll with either tofu, paneer (Indian cheese), steak, or lamb. They are all a good bang for your buck, my roll with lamb ($7.45) was the most memorable. Delicious minced lamb marinated with special herbs and spices, rolled in Homemade Indian bread with grilled onions and relishes tickled my taste buds with joy.

Liebe Gourmet Indian Fusion
227 Mott St. 
New York, NY 10012
877-810-ROLL (7655)
www.liebeus.com

NYC FOODIE QUICK BITE: THE LAMBS CLUB

After having two fabulous breakfasts at The Lambs Club, I craved a dinner. That dinner came last week. This sleek spot has well-executed fare when the sun goes down as well.

A complimentary plate of pickled vegetables was unique and beautiful.

Veal Sweetbread ($19), with peppered veal jus and grilled treviso was truly delicious. Tender, juicy, sweetbread perfection.

Grilled Octopus ($16), with lemongrass, turnips, and potatoes, was another fine starter. The octopus perfectly cooked, almost meaty in nature. The addition of lemongrass a splendid touch to the sauce.

The most memorable dish of the night was the Seared Sea Scallops ($28), with Porcini and Vadouvan Sauce. An addition of a curry foam was ingenious, and was a great complement to the scallops. This dish was fantastic!

Roasted Lamb Saddle ($35) with polenta, pignoli, and romaine, was really good too. It would make any carnivore smile. Pair it with a side of terrific crispy fingerling potatoes ($8), and you got yourself some upscale meat and potatoes.

You can end with some Profiteroles ($10) with butter pecan ice cream and fudge sauce or a chocolate pot de creme ($10) with bittersweet chocolate and brachetto sabayon. Although not mind-blowing, they will keep you smiling with satisfaction.

So head on over to the Theater District of Manhattan, before or show, after a show, or just for a well-executed meal. The Lambs Club is one club your stomach and taste buds will be proud to be a member.

The Lambs Club
132 West 44th Street (bet. 6th and Broadway-in the Chatwal Hotel)
New York, NY 10036
212-997-5262

www.thelambsclub.com

NYC FOODIE QUICK BITE: FOOD PARC

I stopped by the futuristic, ultra modern food hall, Food Parc, last week for lunch. Jeffrey Chodorow's take on the food hall, designed by the guy who designed the sets for the movie "Bladerunner", has some tasty bites. It consists of four restaurants under one roof, and I tried food from two of them. You order from screens throughout the space, a technologically advanced way to order. 

First up was RedFarm Stand from dim sum master Joe Ng. A short rib bun ($4.50) with roasted red peppers and scallions, and a duck bun ($4.95) with scallions and hoisin sauce, were fine and tasty.

Katz's Pastrami Egg Roll was great. The concept of bringing this NYC institution's meat to midtown, and putting it inside an egg roll, is pure genius. I loved the crispy outside too.

My favorite dish at RedFarm Stand was the crispy chicken and shrimp pops ($4.95). Crispy chicken encasing juicy shrimp, with a side of peanut sauce, is total perfection for the NYC Foodie!

I also had bites from 3B'S (bacon, burgers, beer). Skip the bacon snack ($3.50), thick-cut Neuske’s bacon and dried cherry BBQ sauce. This bacon had too much seasoning on it. Bacon is so good, it needs nothing on it, let it speak for itself! Instead, order the 3B's Special burger ($6.95), Pat LaFrieda’s No .7 Hanger Blend, American cheese, 3Bs secret sauce, lettuce, tomato, red onion, pickles and crispy onions. This was a really good burger. It has a lot of stuff on it, but I enjoyed it immensely! (I swear I wasn't high)

Stuffed Hash Browns ($2.95), with Nueske’s bacon, cheddar and onions were tasty little bites, and would satisfy anyone who had the munchies. (I swear, still not high!)

So for one of the most futuristic meals in NYC, stop by Food Parc. You can satisfy many cravings, and you don't even need to be high (I'm sure it would be cool too if you were though.)

Food Parc
6th Avenue at 29th Street (at the Eventi Hotel)
New York, NY 10001

www.foodparc.com