TABLE FOR ONE: HUNG RY

I love hand-pulled noodles. In fact, one of my favorite NYC restaurants is Tasty Hand-Pulled Noodles at 1 Doyers Street. So when I heard Hung Ry was opening up, a restaurant specializing in upscale hand-pulled noodle dishes, I was more than excited. I stopped in this past Sunday to get my noodle on. (Yes, I chose noodles over Halloween parties.)

The space is great, with a bar in the back by an open kitchen, and candle-lit tables up front, for your noodle consumption. The decor is the exact opposite of what you would find in Chinatown- existent.

An appetizer of frog legs ($5.50) with celery root walnut salad was delicious. Beautifully cooked frogs legs, deliciously seasoned, and perfectly executed, it made me think that frog legs is definitely an underused meat.

My bowl of mutton sausage, belly, and salted black cabbage ($14) was fabulous. With perfectly cooked noodles made to order, and a great broth that had a wonderful smokiness to it, my noodle soup craving was more than satisfied.

To end, a Concord grape sorbet was the pitch-perfect palate cleanser to a delectable meal.

So get your gourmet hand-pulled noodle on at Hung Ry. There is no other place like it in NYC.

Hung Ry
55 Bond St. ( bet. Bowery and Lafayette)
New York, NY 10012
212-677-4864

www.hung-ry.com

TABLE FOR ONE: RECETTE

The West Village sure has some great restaurants. Some are well known, some are hidden treasures. If you don't know about Recette, you should; it is a great restaurant with unique and fantastic fare.

The vibe is quaint and quiet, homey, yet modern. It's not that big, and would make the perfect date spot, or spot to dine solo, as I did last week. Chef Jesse Schenker and pastry chef Christina Lee's food will have you craving to come back. 

Salt cod fritters ($12) with lamb sausage ragu and curry aioli, bridged land and sea in one "Snack", and it was outstanding. I never experienced that flavor combination before, and it was ingenious. Wonderful. Probably the best lamb ragu I've ever had.

Just as outstanding was my next dish, a sunchoke soup ($13) with diamond shell clams, bacon, and sunchoke chips. Another bridging of land and sea (clams and bacon), I would take a bath in this soup every night. The addictive flavors teased my taste buds, and the soup was devoured in moments.

Grilled pulpo ($17) with black garlic puree, fennel, preserved lemon, and rosemary was also a very unique dish. All these flavors gave a lovely tang on my tongue, a tang I had not encountered before. (In fact, I can't recall the last time I used the word "tang" in a sentence.)

I ended with Recette's deconstructed version of "Smores" ($8), with Graham Cracker Ice Cream, Toasted Marshmallow and “Hot” Chocolate Ganache. This was one of the best desserts of my life. Not only did it look artistically beautiful, a painting in a bowl, everything about it is was absolutely amazing. I was ecstatic after each spoonful. A touch of cayenne pepper, gave this dessert an extra kick, that totally took this dish to another level. A level of sheer awesomeness.

So if you desire a great and unique meal, I urge you to stop by Recette. It is one of the best restaurants in NYC.

Recette
328 West 12th Street (at Greenwich St.)
New York, NY 10014
212-414-3000
www.recettenyc.com

TABLE FOR ONE: ALTO

In my humble opinion the best pasta in NYC is served at Alto. Now, this is a brave statement to make, and of course, it is all subjective. I have had fabulous pastas at some other joints too, such as Marea, another of Chef Michael White's outstanding restaurants. He could just very well be the best chef in America for Italian fare. (I have yet to try every Italian restaurant in America.)

I had been to Alto before, and was blown away with all the dishes, especially the pastas. I had never in my life had such flavorful and wonderful pasta before. Well, last week, after Entertaining with magic, mind-reading, and comedy for two hours, my body craved some magical pastas. Alas, I knew it was Alto I needed to disappear to.

Alto is 3-star dining at it's best. It is definitely an upscale restaurant, perfect for a business dinner, or if you really want to impress a date. There is a waiter circulating the floor with a tray of really good breads, from focaccia to olive rolls, it's all good. I sat at the small bar and the dishes that did appear before me were all absolutely fabulous!

An amuse of potato soup with a fried oyster set the tone for the meal about to arrive before me.

An appetizer of crisp sweetbread with apple gremolata, celery root, and veal cream was excellent. The flavor combination of apple, celery, and veal, was ingenious and great!

A wild mushroom soup with ricotta was orgasmic. Yes, I use that word often to describe many dishes I consume in NYC, but what can I tell ya, I'm easy. This perfectly balanced soup, not too light, not too heavy, with mushroom flavor permeating throughout, was outstanding!

Agnolotti filled with duck were incredible. I was in pasta heaven. Dreams do come true.

A tortellini-type pasta filled with braised pheasant was also extraordinary. The flavor so wonderful and exquisite, yet homey, it was as if your grandma made this dish-if your grandma was a four-star, amazing chef.

A finale of Torrone, Piemontese nougat semifreddo, hazelnut cake, and warm chocolate sauce, and Bomboloni filled with apple cinnamon, and a side of caramel sauce, were fantastic endings, to a magical meal. I was stuffed, but those Bomboloni were totally addictive!

So for one of the most Magical pasta focused meals in NYC, Alto is the place to go. Making the food here disappear, will be one of the most satisfying tricks you'll ever accomplish.

Alto
11 East 53rd St. (bet. 5th and Madison)
New York, NY 10022
212-308-1099

www.altorestaurant.com

TABLE FOR ONE: OSTERIA MORINI

A late night pasta craving brought me to Michael White's new Soho Italian joint Osteria Morini last week. The vibe will transport you to Italy, and the food and wine will keep you there.

An appetizer of a selection of street food from Sicily ($8) was tasty and delightful.

Tortellini ($18) filled with meat came with a duck liver panna. This was a very rich and decadent dish, and totally satisfied my pasta craving.

Osteria Morini is bringing great Italian fare, in a casual and rustic setting to Soho. With a kitchen open til 12 or 1am, it will satisfy anyone's late night cravings.

Osteria Morini
218 Lafayette St. (bet. Spring and Broome)
New York, NY 10012
212-965-8777

www.osteriamorini.com

TABLE FOR ONE: PELEA MEXICAN RESTAURANT

Ole! A new Mexican joint has graced our presence in Tribeca: Pelea. With a gorgeous space with high ceilings, there is plenty of room for your tequila imbibing and Mexican fare consumption.

Start with some chips and salsa, and an order of guacamole. Then move on to the flautas con pollo. Crispy shell, tasty chicken, a fine starter. 

Jumbo shrimp al ajillo, with mussels and clams over rice, similar to paella, was great. It had surprising heat and power to it, that was quite welcoming. There was no holding back with the flavor, and it was much appreciated.

So have a siesta at Pelea. With music by a DJ, festive cocktails and bites, you're bound to have fun. Ole!

Pelea Mexican Restaurant
33 Avenue of the Americas 
212-925-1600

TABLE FOR ONE: HILL COUNTRY CHICKEN

The NYC Foodie eats a lot, and definitely needs to watch his figure. So, when trying to keep svelte, the one food I choose to eat is fried chicken. I know that the delicious, crispiness of that skin, and healthy, tender meat, will keep my six pack going strong...

Hill Country Chicken opened up last week, the offshoot from Marc Glosserman's BBQ joint Hill Country, my pick for the best BBQ in NYC. To say I was excited when I heard this fried chicken spot was opening up, would be an understatement. I stopped in Sunday to check it out.

It's a large and bright space, with another large downstairs dining space, reminiscent of Hill Country. It reminded me of a suburbian, country, pancake house. The fried chicken here is really good. There are two types you can choose from: Mama Els' Recipe, which is skinless, with a crunchy, cracker crust and the classic skin-on, signature salty and sweet shake. I grabbed a skinless breast ($5.50) and a drum ($2.25), and skin-on wing ($1.75). Also, a side of cheesy fried mashed potatoes ($2.25).

I really enjoyed this fried chicken. I loved the crunchy, cracker skinless chicken, it was very flavorful, with some very tender and juicy meat. The skin-on wing was fine too. I'm not sure if this fried chicken was mind-blowing, but I know I would come back here in a second! The cheesy mashed potatoes, a nice take on mac and cheese, was wonderful and tasty as well. Perfect for anyone trying to watch their figure.

Hill Country Chicken does fried chicken right. It's definitely a fun place to get your fried chicken cravings taken care of. The staff is also very courteous and nice too. It's just down the block from Madison Square Park, so it's perfect if you wanted to have a great picnic feast! Colonel Sanders would be impressed.

Hill Country Chicken
1123 Broadway (and 25th St.)
New York, NY 10010
212-257-6446

www.hillcountrychicken.com

TABLE FOR ONE: A VOCE (COLUMBUS CIRCLE)

Last week, after consuming a lot of free wine in the tents at Lincon Center for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, the NYC Foodie had a craving for pasta. My stomach led me to the Time Warner Center, and into A Voce, the second outpost of this Italian restaurant, helmed by chef Missy Robbins. I took a seat at the bar and ordered the Cappelacci del brigante ($23). The first thing to note is that not only is there complimentary breadsticks at the bar, which are great, there is also complimentary focaccia and ricotta. This blows my mind, because most restaurants would make you pay for a dish like that, and A Voce's just happens to be wonderful! I would have paid for it if they asked me to

The Cappelacci del brigante, hand crafted pasta, marinated mussels, garlic, and marjoram was an excellent pasta dish. I truly loved this dish! Perfectly cooked pasta, light and simple, yet with just the right touch of flavor. The addition of bread crumbs took this dish to another level, adding some beautiful texture and crunch. Pasta craving satisfied.

So get your Italian desires taken care of at A Voce, it's worth it.

A Voce
10 Columbus Circle (3rd Floor in the Time Warner Center)
New York, NY 10019
212-823-2523
www.avocerestaurant.com

TABLE FOR ONE: TAMARIND TRIBECA

Upscale, gourmet, Indian food I do not eat often. You have plenty of great places, in Curry Hill and Little India, with great food, for a great price. When I heard that the restaurant Tamarind, located on 22nd Street, was opening up an outpost in Tribeca, my interest peaked. It had gotten a good write-up in the Times, so I went last week to see if it was worth the hype. 

The place is huge, modern, sleek, and definitely has a more upscale feel to it. Maybe that is why when I walked in alone on a Tuesday with no reservation, and asked the host for a table for one, he first stated, "Well, that might take a while, but you can sit at the bar." Obviously he did not recognize who I was, and obviously he must have been blind, for there were plenty of empty seats available for me. I was seated by a wiser manager a minute later though. (And I do apologize for using Twitter to call the host an "asshole"-you are not, you are just green. I love you.)

And then there is the food-my main concern when dining out!

Bataki Kosha ($10.50), duck with mustard, onion, garlic, ginger and garam masala, hand rolled in a rice crepe with black salt and tangerine chutney, was absolutely wonderful! A true delight. I loved all the flavor in this dish, as well as the crispiness of the crepe.

Hyderabadi Ghazala ($21), slow roasted lamb marinated in yogurt, mint, black mushroom, bay leaf and garam masala, was a lovely dish. It was not mind-blowing, and part of me craved a kick to the dish, but it was fine.

Broccoli and cheese Nan ($5) was a dandy Indian bread.

A dessert of yam mousse, ajwine pastry, and lychee gloss ($13), was unique, original, and a pleasant ending to a nice meal.

So, when you crave upscale Indian cuisine, in a modern and large setting in Tribeca, Tamarind Tribeca, is the place to go. Just make sure you have a reservation, I wouldn't want the host to not seat you.

Tamarind Tribeca
99 Hudson St. (bet. Franklin and Leonard)
New York, NY 10013
212-775-9000
www.tamarindtribeca.com

TABLE FOR ONE: UDON WEST

I have been doing some heavy late-night East Village dining lately, it's something I love to do. St. Marks and its vicinity is filled with some great Japanese bites, and one place that should not be overlooked is Udon West. This is basically an Udon bar, a place to get your Udon soup on, and that is just what I did a last week at around 2am. A soothing, extremely hot, bowl of udon was placed in front of me, with shrimp temura, and I slurped the heck out of it. It was perfect.

Udon West
11 St. Marks Place (bet. 2nd and 3rd)
New York, NY 10003
212-353-3888

TABLE FOR ONE: BAOGUETTE CAFE

Last week I stopped by Baoguette Cafe on St. Marks, part of Michael "Bao" Huynh's Vietnamese restaurant empire. This small little cafe has food with big flavor. It's a great spot.

I started with the spring rolls ($6), and they were fabulous! I always order spring rolls when I dine at Vietnamese restaurants in Chinatown, and these were just as good as any I've had, if not better. Crunchy, flavorful, and tasty, the NYC Foodie was a happy camper!

Baoguette Cafe's version of the sloppy joe, the Sloppy Bao ($7.25), spicy red curry beef, green mango, basil, lemongrass, cilantro, and jalapeno was a fine rendition. It packed some great, powerful, flavor.

So when you are in the mood for some quick Vietnamese bites with a bang, Baoguette Cafe does a body good.

Baoguette Cafe
37 St. Marks Pl. (bet. 2nd and 3rd)
New York, NY 10003
212-380-1487