Dim Sum du Jour – Review of Northern Manor

BY SARAH IP


Northern Manor
251-15 Northern Blvd
Little Neck
, NY 11362
(718) 281-1500

“Dim Sum taught me Chinese.”

Beef Tripe, Preserved Duck Egg Congee, BBQ'd Pork Bun. Photo by Sarah Ip.

Beef Tripe, Preserved Duck Egg Congee, BBQ'd Pork Bun. Photo by Sarah Ip.

As a kid, I learned the bulk of my Cantonese Chinese food words from simply hearing the ladies who strolled past me hawking their carts’ wares. I never cease to marvel at the sweet, salty, spicy, fried and steamed aromas and textures wafting by me every time I’m out to yum cha. In Cantonese, ‘yum cha’ literally means ‘drinking tea,’ but has become synonymous with the dim sum we know today (or, ‘eating small servings of different foods’). Most traditional Chinese restaurants that serve dim sum have a sit-down menu in addition to the carts of steaming hot plate-sized Chinese delicacies. Wash it all down with jasmine or oolong tea, and you’re good to go. [Read more...]

Beyond Chianti – Celebrating new Italian wines at Cellar 58

“Beyond Chianti – Celebrating new Italian wines at Cellar 58″

Italian wine events news by ELENA MANCINI

Cellar 58
58 Second Ave,
East Village
212-420-1300

Embark on a path to Italian wine enlightenment with award-winning Umbrian chef, Andrea Tiberi, whose latest venture is the opening of East Village wine bar,  Cellar 58.

At Cellar 58, Tiberi will share his recommendations for tasting and collecting Italian wines. Tiberi’s favorite: Sagrantino di Montefalco, a dry, strong, structured wine from his hometown of Assisi. For a full interview with Tiberi and his recipe for red wine risotto with gorgonzola and pears, click on the image below.

red-wine-risotto

After my all too brief three week hiatus in Italy, my love for Italian wines has grown deeper and from refined proseccos from small, family-run Venetian cellars to some choice playfully hearty Lambruscos from Emilia Romagna and crisp Roman Frascatis and Falanghinas, Coda di Volpe and Pampanuto from the southern regions of Campania and Apulia, Tiberi’s tasting tour sounds like just the thing for a novice oenphile like me and perhaps something that you and the wine aficionados in your life might also enjoy.


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"Ambushing the plate" – Review of Go! Go! Curry

“Ambushing the Plate”- Review of Go!Go!Curry

BY SARAH IP

Go!Go!Curry
273 W. 38th St
(between 7th Ave & 8th Ave)
Midtown West / Garment District, NYC
(212) 730-5555
gogocurryusa.com

Guerilla guards the GoGoCurry.  Photo by Sarah Ip.

Guerilla guards the GoGoCurry. Photo by Sarah Ip.

Attack! Attack! Go!

To Go!Go!Curry, at once! If only all lunches could be like this…

Guerilla guards the GoGoCurry.  Photo by Sarah Ip.

Colorful menu board. Photo by Sarah Ip.

My friends and I arrived there around 12:15 p.m. to a relatively empty store. Not more than ten minutes later, a nattily-dressed Japanese couple entered, along with polo shirt-clad Asian guys in their 20s and 30s who were sitting all by their lonesome selves…  Curry seems to be a popular choice among the younger set.

[Read more...]

“Ambushing the plate” – Review of Go! Go! Curry

“Ambushing the Plate”- Review of Go!Go!Curry

BY SARAH IP

Go!Go!Curry
273 W. 38th St
(between 7th Ave & 8th Ave)
Midtown West / Garment District, NYC
(212) 730-5555
gogocurryusa.com

Guerilla guards the GoGoCurry.  Photo by Sarah Ip.

Guerilla guards the GoGoCurry. Photo by Sarah Ip.

Attack! Attack! Go!

To Go!Go!Curry, at once! If only all lunches could be like this…

Guerilla guards the GoGoCurry.  Photo by Sarah Ip.

Colorful menu board. Photo by Sarah Ip.

My friends and I arrived there around 12:15 p.m. to a relatively empty store. Not more than ten minutes later, a nattily-dressed Japanese couple entered, along with polo shirt-clad Asian guys in their 20s and 30s who were sitting all by their lonesome selves…  Curry seems to be a popular choice among the younger set.

[Read more...]

Unique dining in Hell's Kitchen – Review of Kashkaval

Kashkaval
856 9th Avenue between 55th and 56th
Hell’s Kitchen, NY
(212) 581-8282 /  kashkavalfoods.com

“Unique Dining in Hell’s Kitchen”

BY HOLLY HAGAN


Tourists, theatergoers and Port Authority characters mingle in the twenty-block radius of Hell’s Kitchen, making it a colorful part of the city.  Unfortunately, this energy and uniqueness has yet to hit the restaurants in the area, and Hell’s Kitchen is not lacking in eating establishments.  The area is overcrowded with Thai and Italian, interrupted with the occasional Japanese or Greek joint, but the restaurants I’ve tried have been bland and uncreative.

Cheese and meat plate. Photo by Holly Hagan.

Cheese and meat plate. Photo by Holly Hagan.

After one of these bland dinners on Saturday at a Thai-French fusion restaurant that played cheesy power love ballads from the 80s and 90s (think “Hello” by Lionel Ritchie and “Everything I Do” by Bryan Adams), I was ecstatic to find a place that served up real cheese just down the street. [Read more...]

Unique dining in Hell’s Kitchen – Review of Kashkaval

Kashkaval
856 9th Avenue between 55th and 56th
Hell’s Kitchen, NY
(212) 581-8282 /  kashkavalfoods.com

“Unique Dining in Hell’s Kitchen”

BY HOLLY HAGAN


Tourists, theatergoers and Port Authority characters mingle in the twenty-block radius of Hell’s Kitchen, making it a colorful part of the city.  Unfortunately, this energy and uniqueness has yet to hit the restaurants in the area, and Hell’s Kitchen is not lacking in eating establishments.  The area is overcrowded with Thai and Italian, interrupted with the occasional Japanese or Greek joint, but the restaurants I’ve tried have been bland and uncreative.

Cheese and meat plate. Photo by Holly Hagan.

Cheese and meat plate. Photo by Holly Hagan.

After one of these bland dinners on Saturday at a Thai-French fusion restaurant that played cheesy power love ballads from the 80s and 90s (think “Hello” by Lionel Ritchie and “Everything I Do” by Bryan Adams), I was ecstatic to find a place that served up real cheese just down the street. [Read more...]

"Gilded cocktail, relaxed style" – Review of Flatiron Lounge

“Gilded cocktail, relaxed style” – Review of Flatiron Lounge

BY ELENA MANCINI

37 W 19th St.
Flatiron District, NYC
212-727-7741
flatironlounge.com/

Hours:  Sun. – Wed. 5pm – 2am / Thurs. – Sat. 5pm – 4am

Born about a century and a half ago in California, the cocktail is a quintessential New York institution. From the 15,000 + speakeasies and gin dens that operated in Manhattan during Prohibition Era New York, to world-famous cocktail establishments like the Algonquin, Windows on the World and 21 Club, the city epitomizes the ultimate in cocktail-sipping experience.

Grey Goose Vodka Martini with a twist

Grey Goose Vodka Martini with a twist

A fixture of American culture, cocktails are the substance of predilection for ushering in celebration, lubricating social static and “drowning one’s sorrows,” as the all too cliched, but true phrase goes. Cocktails also provide a beloved setting for the exchange of intimacies, commiseration, the birth of dangerous, albeit risky new ideas and the unleashing of bold seductive ploys. Consumed in immoderate amounts and cocktails can bring out the dark side of most of these scenarios, but that is hopefully that’s just stating the obvious.

In recent decades, the art of the cocktail and that atmosphere in which it is consumed has degenerated considerably. [Read more...]

“Gilded cocktail, relaxed style” – Review of Flatiron Lounge

“Gilded cocktail, relaxed style” – Review of Flatiron Lounge

BY ELENA MANCINI

37 W 19th St.
Flatiron District, NYC
212-727-7741
flatironlounge.com/

Hours:  Sun. – Wed. 5pm – 2am / Thurs. – Sat. 5pm – 4am

Born about a century and a half ago in California, the cocktail is a quintessential New York institution. From the 15,000 + speakeasies and gin dens that operated in Manhattan during Prohibition Era New York, to world-famous cocktail establishments like the Algonquin, Windows on the World and 21 Club, the city epitomizes the ultimate in cocktail-sipping experience.

Grey Goose Vodka Martini with a twist

Grey Goose Vodka Martini with a twist

A fixture of American culture, cocktails are the substance of predilection for ushering in celebration, lubricating social static and “drowning one’s sorrows,” as the all too cliched, but true phrase goes. Cocktails also provide a beloved setting for the exchange of intimacies, commiseration, the birth of dangerous, albeit risky new ideas and the unleashing of bold seductive ploys. Consumed in immoderate amounts and cocktails can bring out the dark side of most of these scenarios, but that is hopefully that’s just stating the obvious.

In recent decades, the art of the cocktail and that atmosphere in which it is consumed has degenerated considerably. [Read more...]

It's official: Frank Bruni will be passing his napkin to The NY Times' Sam Sifton

The food wires have been buzzing non-stop since yesterday, when The New York Times‘s Executive Editor, Bill Keller officially named Sam Sifton to replace Frank Bruni as the Times’s new restaurant critic. Sifton has been serving the dual role of Culture Editor and Dining Editor at the Times. His previous stints include New York Press Restaurant Critic and New York City Public School Teacher.


Frank Bruni (left) Sam Sifton (right). Image from Eater.com

Frank Bruni (left) Sam Sifton (right). Image from Eater.com

One detail surrounding Sifton’s appointment marks a new era restaurant criticism in that his countenance has been previously been publicized and is easily recognizable. This signals a decisive shift with his predecessor, who had been remarkably successful up until very recently at keeping a very low visual profile. According to Eater, there are only three Bruni headshots in circulation during his five year tenure as New York Times Restaurant Critic. The last, and allegedly most accurate photo was only released days ago.

Photo from Eater.com

Photo from Eater.com

With the mystery surrounding Bruni’s oft- feared countenance gone, and Sifton’s appearance a known quantity at the outset, how will the disappearance of the critic’s anonymity affect reviews?

The Gotham Palate wants to know what you think. Please comment and vote on the poll in the footer of this web site.

Share/Save/BookmarkSubscribe

It’s official: Frank Bruni will be passing his napkin to The NY Times’ Sam Sifton

The food wires have been buzzing non-stop since yesterday, when The New York Times‘s Executive Editor, Bill Keller officially named Sam Sifton to replace Frank Bruni as the Times’s new restaurant critic. Sifton has been serving the dual role of Culture Editor and Dining Editor at the Times. His previous stints include New York Press Restaurant Critic and New York City Public School Teacher.


Frank Bruni (left) Sam Sifton (right). Image from Eater.com

Frank Bruni (left) Sam Sifton (right). Image from Eater.com

One detail surrounding Sifton’s appointment marks a new era restaurant criticism in that his countenance has been previously been publicized and is easily recognizable. This signals a decisive shift with his predecessor, who had been remarkably successful up until very recently at keeping a very low visual profile. According to Eater, there are only three Bruni headshots in circulation during his five year tenure as New York Times Restaurant Critic. The last, and allegedly most accurate photo was only released days ago.

Photo from Eater.com

Photo from Eater.com

With the mystery surrounding Bruni’s oft- feared countenance gone, and Sifton’s appearance a known quantity at the outset, how will the disappearance of the critic’s anonymity affect reviews?

The Gotham Palate wants to know what you think. Please comment and vote on the poll in the footer of this web site.

Share/Save/BookmarkSubscribe