Posts Tagged ‘Brooklyn’

Foodies, Get Your Forks Ready! It’s Restaurant Week (er, Restaurant Month) Again in New York City through February 12

This year 515 restaurants are giving foodies a chance to enjoy some deep discounts while tucking into wonderful chef creations. Offering two-course lunch (starter and main, or main and dessert) and three course dinner (appetizer, entrée, dessert) prix fixe menus priced at $30, $45 and $60 with some variations, these New York City eateries invite you to sample their culinary wizardry without breaking the bank. Fortunately, the “week” lasts until mid-February so you have time to choose. Check the details as some meals are only offered on certain days. And, no worries, none of these will give you an experience like the one “enjoyed” by invited guests at Le Menu — you can still order a hamburger at some, no strings attached.

Here are 23 exceptional choices for your consideration for Winter Restaurant Week 2023.

Courtesy David Burke Tavern

David Burke Tavern’s three-course Restaurant Week dinner is priced low at $45, offered Tuesday through Sunday. You’ll be able to try Burke’s signature entrees like DB brined and roasted chicken with toasted faro, wild mushrooms and kale; and wild mushroom ravioli with its intriguing combination flavor profile of parmesan, sage, pomegranate and chocolate balsamic. All can be complemented by a selection from the special Restaurant Week $40 wine list. Three sides are also being offered for a reduced price of $15. The restaurant offers a $30 two-course lunch Restaurant Week menu as well.

Seeds and Weeds credit Hallie Burton

New York City has recently announced the arrival of the Tin Building, the sprawling culinary marketplace at The Seaport brought to life by Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. Weekly lunch specials can be found at four of the building’s new restaurants: T. Brasserie, a French brasserie; The Frenchman’s Dough, where freshly made pizzas and pastas are served daily; House of the Red Pearl, a sexy fine dining restaurant serving Chinese-inspired dishes; and Seeds and Weeds, a sustainable and artisanal plant-based eatery focusing on using the fresh ingredients of the day. Seeds and Weeds also offers a Restaurant Week dinner.

Courtesy The Fulton

Nearby, set in the heart of the Seaport with stunning river views, The Fulton serves up Restaurant Week lunch and dinner menus featuring the celebratory-feeling petit seafood plateau of oysters, shrimp cocktail and sashimi; and mains such as ume sesame crusted salmon. And, here’s where you can order a French take on a hamburger, Fulton’s Gruyère cheeseburger au jus.

Street Performers Courtesy Mercado Little Spain

How about a movie with your specially priced dinner?  Mercado Little Spain from superstar chef Jose Andres is hosting Monday Movie Nights on the big screen at Spanish Diner, extending beyond the end of Restaurant Week until February 27. Grab some complimentary popcorn and settle in to watch a selection of Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar movies while munching on Spanish Diner’s beloved huevos rotos (broken eggs) and fricando de ternera (traditional Catalan beef stew). Movies are shown at 7:30pm with a lineup of Bad Education, Volver, Parallel Mothers, All About My Mother, Julieta and Matador. Come prepared to read subtitles and have a great time. Not enough evening entertainment? On Thursday evenings from 6-8pm, Mercado Little Spain is bringing in street performers who will roam the market space.

Courtesy Tavern on the Green

You can’t find a prettier place to dine at than Tavern on the Green. Tavern’s $45 lunch includes a choice of appetizers such as Tavern black bean soup, baby spinach salad and grilled portobello mushroom flatbread. Entrées include pan-roasted medallions of monkfish and Angus skirt steak. For just $15 more, you can enjoy a lovely dinner including additional appetizer choices like caramelized garlic shrimp and a three-leaf salad. Dinner offerings include hearth-baked Chatham codfish and mustard-crusted organic chicken breast. For dessert, there’s New York cheesecake, warm apple crisp and carrot cake.

Courtesy Piggyback

Who doesn’t want to enjoy a cocktail tasting with their Restaurant Week special? Piggyback, sibling to the Lower East Side’s Pig and Khao by Chef Leah Cohen, is an Asian-inspired gastropub in Chelsea. Tuesday through Friday, diners can enjoy a three-course lunch prix fixe menu for $28 or a three-course dinner experience for $60 from Tuesday through Saturday. In addition, a vegetarian prix fixe dinner option is offered for $50 per person. Highlights include lumpia Shanghai, Malaysian fried chicken and sticky toffee cake. For those not observing Dry January or if you’re dining in February, Piggyback also offers a cocktail tasting for $32 per person.

Courtesy The Grid at Great Jones Distilling Co.

Whisky drinkers can add a flight of spirits to their meal at The Grid at Great Jones Distilling Co. At this restaurant within Manhattan’s first whiskey distillery since Prohibition, you’ll enjoy a three-course prix fixe menu along with a Great Jones Distilling Co. whiskey flight of three signature whiskies, all for only $45. The menu takes advantage of the season with mushrooms in their porcini mushroom veloute appetizer and the forest mushroom fusilli. Dessert is a fabulous sticky toffee pudding that blends perfectly with a whiskey. This is also the home of another delicious NYC burger, served with Great Jones bourbon and bacon jam. There’s no way to lose here!

Baar Baar © Noah Fecks

Baar Baar, a modern Indian gastro pub located in the East Village, offers a well-priced opportunity to sample Chef Sarkar’s homage to regional Indian cuisine. For Restaurant Week, the restaurant has put together a three-course dinner for $45, Monday through Friday and Sunday. There are many exotic choices to tempt you to be adventurous including pork belly or lamb keema Hyderabadi to start, beef short rib curry or bronzini Paturi with Bengal mustard cream for mains, and carrot halwa cake with phirni mousse and saffron-pistachio ice cream for dessert. As a bonus, you also get a canape and choice of side.

Courtesy IRIS

Inspired by the rich culinary traditions of the Mediterranean, talented Chef John Fraser explores the cuisine of the Aegean at IRIS, drawing upon his Greek heritage and admiration for Turkish cuisine. The special menus include the likes of delicata squash flatbread or grilled octopus with candied citrus to start, moussaka and branzino fillet entrees, and fig sorbet and pistachio baklava for dessert. The restaurant’s wine program covers Turkey and Greece offering an extensive e selection of vintages from the two countries as well as from other areas of the world. IRIS is perfectly located for those planning to attend a performance at Carnegie Hall or a Broadway play.

Courtesy La Marchande

Moving from the Mediterranean to France, La Marchande is Chef Fraser’s modernized take on the French brasserie in a FiDi location convenient for those working in the Wall Street area. Signature dishes show off Fraser’s global dexterity with French onion dumplings in mushroom consommé, hanger steak with shiso chimichurri sauce, and apple tarte tatin for dessert.

Fandi Mat © Andrea Grujic

Brooklyn’s Fandi Mata is a bi-level, industrial space featuring a Mediterranean-inspired menu. Specials here are a $60 three-course menu and $30 bottle of wine. The menu features appetizers such as spice-crusted tuna topped with ginger Champagne sauce and tahini, and burrata and heirloom tomato salad with spiced date jam, mint, pistachio and pea sprouts. For your mains, creative dishes include ribeye with bone marrow with black pepper sauce, lamb tagine, branzino en papillote, or one of Fandi Mata’s signature pizzas. Dessert is a surprise – it’s the chef’s selection.

Courtesy Lincoln Ristorante

Have you been dying to see the inside of the new David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center? Here’s the perfect restaurant for your pre-concert or post-concert dinner. Onsite Lincoln Ristorante presents an authentic Italian feast for $60. Choose among burrata, frito misto, or a romaine salad with anchovy-garlic dressing to start your meal. For your entree, order the gnocco alla romana with oxtail and shitakes. You can also opt for spaghetti cacio e pepe served with shaved cured egg yolk. Finish with a sweet warm pear and raisin crostata with grappa caramel or pinola al chocolate.

Courtesy IXTA

If Mexican is your preference, you won’t be lacking for choices at IXTA, the Mexican Cocina and Mezcal Bar on the Bowery. The restaurant offer an elevated twist on the traditional flavors of Oaxacan cuisine for $60. Choices include guacamole and flautas dorados to begin, followed by half organic roasted chicken with housemade mole poblano and sesame, braised short ribs, or enchiladas divorciadas. For dessert, you’d be remiss if you didn’t order the restaurant’s fabulous tres leche cake.

Courtesy The Mermaid Oyster Bar

For some delicious fun in Times Square, The Mermaid Oyster Bar is participating with Chef Michael Cressotti’s well-priced, $35 lunch menu and $45 dinner menu. First-course choices include fried Point Judith calamari with hot peppers, lemon and Old Bay aioli; “Dressed” Naked Cowboy oysters (every visitor to Times Square knows him!) with ponzu sesame and nori; or smoked salmon “Niçoise” with haricot vert, cooked egg and cured olive vinaigrette. Entrees include blackened fish tacos with pico de gallo, cilantro crème and slaw; and mussels Fra Diavolo with crushed tomatoes, Calabrian chili and arugula. Add a sweet finish to your meal with a Key Lime tart or salted caramel soft-serve ice cream.

Courtesy Vestry

Über-prolific Chef Shaun Hergatt offers an elegant take on Restaurant Week at his Michelin-starred restaurant, Vestry, with a three-course dinner menu for $60, Monday through Friday. Starters include Carnaroli rice risotto with saffron, tomato confit and pine nuts; or celeriac soup with hot panna cotta, parmesan tuile and extra virgin olive oil. Entree options such as potato gnocchi with wild mushrooms, vin jaune and chives; and Wagyu beef with shitake mushrooms, potato purée and miso-mustard are offered. Dessert choices include Guanaja chocolate with passionfruit and cacao nibs, and homemade cheesecake with honey crisp apple.

Courtesy MIFUNE

Beloved midtown Japanese MIFUNE will be offering a three-course dinner for Restaurant Week. Also a Michelin-starred restaurant, MIFUNE focuses on Neo-Washoku cooking, with the chefs’ signature style an infusion of French culinary techniques and flavors into Japanese cuisine. The typically omakase menu changes for each seating but is sure to be a standout.

Courtesy Dowling's at The Carlyle

Notch the class quotient up at Dowling’s at The Carlyle with special lunch and dinner menus. Chef Sylvain Delpique’s menus include choices such as carrot-coconut soup with pumpkin seeds, mint and basil oil; and tuna tartare with avocado, lemon cream and taro chips. Vegetarian s can choose roasted acorn squash with curried pepper sauce for their main course while omnivores can pick from Faroe Island poached salmon with horseradish cream and asparagus, chicken paillard or lobster Caesar salad. This is where you can also have an exquisite burger, Carlyle style. At dinner, the entrees shine with Peking duck and Steak Diane flambéed with cognac. For a sweet finish, don’t miss the restaurant’s lovely crepes Suzette served tableside or their raspberry soufflé for dinner. That’s true class.

Courtesy Archer & Goat

One of my favorite “finds,” Harlem’s Archer & Goat draws culinary inspiration from the husband-wife owners’ Latin American and South Asian heritages with a menu built around flavors and ingredients from Puerto Rico, Ecuador and Bangladesh. Their three-course $30 dinner is a true bargain and is available Thursday, Friday and Sunday. Try the elaborately prepared crispy Brussel sprouts with cilantro chimichurri and pickled chilis; roasted carrots with tamarind chutney, sesame seeds and dill; arugula salad with spicy chickpeas, tomatoes, cucumbers, and pickled red onions for starters. Follow with Goan shrimp curry or vegetable curry with turmeric rice, zucchini and cabbage slaw; chicken Vindaloo arepas with cucumber raita and cotija cheese; or vegetarian-friendly portobello mushroom arepas with cilantro chimichurri. For dessert, the “chef-wouldn’t-give-me-the-recipe” flan de Celeste with rose whipped cream is a knockout.

Courtesy Benjamin Steakhouse

Steak lovers aren’t left out. Benjamin Steakhouse serves a $45 weekday lunch menu items including, wedge salad classic Caesar salad, junior New York sirloin, grilled Norwegian salmon, New York cheesecake and more. On weekdays also, the restaurant’s special dinner menu, priced at $60, lets you choose from more steakhouse favorites like fried calamari, sizzling Canadian bacon, filet mignon, chicken parmesan and carrot cake.

Courtesy Merchants Cigar Bar

Making sure there’s something for everyone, clubby Merchants Cigar Bar on the Upper East Side is participating in Restaurant Week at their midcentury-styled lounge. To celebrate, in addition to their every day menu, the cigar bar presents a special dinner for $60 including deviled eggs, chicken lollipops, short rib pumpkin ravioli, garlic-ginger prawns, strip steak, lava chocolate cake and more.

The full list of restaurants can be found at nycgo.com.

Posted by Meryl Pearlstein
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Bring the Kids to the New “My Gym” Open House on October 3 in Park Slope, Brooklyn

Are you looking for somewhere to give your kids a chance to play and develop skills at the same time? The award-winning My Gym Children’s Fitness Center, (“My Gym”), invites parents, caregivers and their children to My Gym Park Slope’s new location at 808 Union Street, 2nd floor on Monday, October 3, from 9am to 6:10pm. There, all will experience My Gym programming, tour the brand-new facilities, and meet the staff.

Courtesy My Gym Children’s Fitness Center

Six 45-minute sessions are offered with supervised activities that are age-appropriate. The Open House sessions will include adventure activities, circle time, skill stations, games, puppet shows, and the use of gym equipment and toys. Spots for each time period are limited and pre-registration is required.  Sign up here: https://www.mygym.com/parkslope/events.

Courtesy My Gym Children’s Fitness Center

Popular My Gym Park Slope, Brooklyn, is a state-of-the-art children’s facility with innovative physical early learning programs for children ages 3 months through 10 years. Featuring pre-gymnastics, games, music, rides, sports, puppet shows and more, My Gym helps children develop cognitive skills, confidence, socialization, independence and the positive self-image needed for school… all while they have FUN! Classes run 50 minutes for the younger ages and one hour for older children. On weekends, My Gym offers unique and exciting birthday parties, individually tailored around each birthday child to make them the “star of the day.” My Gym follows New York State safety protocols to ensure a healthful, safe experience for all. Masks are highly suggested but are not required at this time. Detailed health, cleanliness and safety protocols can be found here.

Event detail:

What

Courtesy My Gym Children’s Fitness Center

Open House celebration with 45-minute sessions starting at 9am through 6:10pm. The free Open House welcomes parents and their children, ages 6 months – 10 years old, to enjoy a program of supervised gym activities on My Gym equipment with songs, dance, games and toys. Each session is limited to a maximum of 25 children.

When

Monday, October 3

Sessions are scheduled from 9:00-9:45, 10:00-10:45, 11:00-11:45. 3:25-4:10, 4:25-5:10 and 5:25-6:10pm.

Reservations:   https://www.mygym.com/parkslope/events

Where

My Gym Park Slope, 808 Union Street, 2nd floor, Brooklyn, 718-788-2200,  https://www.mygym.com/parkslope/, parkslope@mygym.com

Posted by Meryl Pearlstein
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How to Survive Dry January This Year

Have you made a resolution to eat healthier, drink less and get into better shape… just like last year? It’s that time when we need to reverse the indulgences of the holiday season and our pandemic binges over the past two years.

Some add vegan eating to this clean-up effort, but I’d suggest that you focus first on one of our guiltiest pleasures, drinking. In this case, the concept is Dry January to reinvigorate a healthy lifestyle for a month by abstaining from alcohol.  And, frankly, if it works for you, there’s no reason not to make at least some version of this a permanent part of every month going forward.

Courtesy Trinchero Family Estates

To kickstart this “new you” process, I’ve put together some suggestions that will fill in the blanks with taste and variety leading to the psychological and physical rewards you’ll experience after you complete your foray into clean living. You may not know it, but if you’ve turned into a pandemic insomniac, this might actually be your ticket to a better night’s sleep and better-looking skin!

Bars and Mocktails

Bars in New York City are jumping on the wellness bandwagon (not just for Dry January), tuning into our desire to scale back.

Le Crocodile ©Meryl Pearlstein

Concord Hill in Brooklyn invites you to dabble in innovative drink and flavor combinations with a deliciously fresh and spicy mocktail named Cruel Summer. Blending mango and orange juices with simple syrup gives a sweet contrast to the chili-based Chamoy hot sauce and Tajin rim. Williamsburg’s Le Crocodile mixes Ghia non-alcoholic aperitif with soda, Fever-Tree Mediterranean tonic, rosemary and grapefruit juice. Brooklyn’s Bohemien Bar expands their cocktail offerings this month with a curated N/A cocktail menu. Welcome to Paradise blends fennel juice and pomegranate molasses. Using a base of Ritual Tequila, The Roselle adds bitter orange cordial, lime, and hibiscus to create a margarita-like alternative.

Courtesy Spiritless

For a wintry cocktail at home, you can create your own bourbon-ish drink with the popular Kentucky-made AF spirit, Spiritless Kentucky 74, enjoying the caramel, vanilla and oak flavors on the rocks, or combined with AVEC mixers and cherries for a Faux Old Fashioned.

Courtesy Greenbar Distillery

Thanks to California’s Greenbar Distillery, you can stock your refrigerator with a range of canned mocktails. Bitters + Soda lovers will enjoy the Earl Grey version made with black tea and bergamot orange. For hard spirit substitutes, try the UnRum + Cola or UnGin + Tonic.

Elixirs, Mixers and Sparkling Water

Courtesy Curious Elixirs

Curious Elixirs are complex booze-free cocktails, handmade in the Hudson Valley with all-organic ingredients. Instead of adding sugar, the drinks are infused with adaptogens. The seven-bottle series has versions of classic drinks like a pomegranate negroni, a spicy margarita, a dark & stormy fusion, the craftily named Curious cucumber Collins, or a more refined Champagne cocktail that has a base of Chardonnay grapes.

Courtesy HOP WTR

Offered in three flavors, Classic, Mango and Blood Orange, HOP WTR is a non-alcoholic brew of crisp, bold hops, sparkling water and mood-boosting adaptogens and nootropics crafted without calories or sugar. The tasty beer alternatives are bright and refreshing, perfect for Superbowl parties or anytime during Dry January or beyond.

Courtesy FREE RAIN

FREE RAIN is a line of adaptogenic sparkling waters that will become your new go-to when it comes to grabbing a drink with your meal. FREE RAIN comes in four fun flavors: Focus: Blood Orange Ginger with Ashwagandha for a clear mind, Arousal: Pink Grapefruit with Maca for a frisky feeling, Calm: Blackberry with Passionflower for a mellow mood and Energy: Cherry Lime with Siberian ginseng for energy.

Courtesy Found Bubbly

A newcomer to the sparkling beverages category, Found Bubbly is said to be the first sparkling water created through Earth’s “naturally occurring mineralization process.” Packed with minerals and electrolytes, the beverage has been “dropping” new flavors sequentially so you can look forward to another flavor in February. For now, you can try natural, cucumber minty, elderflowery, lemony and watermelon.

Courtesy Casamara Club

If you’re a fan of Italian amaros, you don’t need to sacrifice the bitter state of an after-dinner digestif if you’re observing Dry January. Casamara Club is a club soda crafted like a cocktail, mixing amaro bitters made with botanicals with citrus, salinity and a touch of sweetness. The five flavors, Alta (like a Negroni), Como (like a traditional amaro with mint), Onda (an herbaceous lemon drink), Isla (like a rum and ginger ale) and Fora (a strawberry and spice mix), are refreshingly different.

Courtesy AVEC

For a wide range of mixers that double as mocktails, AVEC mixers offers five canned cocktails: spicy marg AVEC ( jalapeño and blood orange), paloma AVEC (grapefruit and pomelo, vodka soda AVEC (yuzu and lime) mule AVEC (ginger), and cran vodka AVEC (hibiscus and pomegranate).

Courtesy Shrubbly

Shrubs, vinegar-based infusions, have been the rage on health-oriented drink menus for years. Now you can have them at home, too, with Shrubbly, a new non-alcoholic beverage full of flavor (shrub base, high antioxidant berries, and a few bubbles) and wellness (prebiotics, apple cider vinegar and wellness shot ingredients). Try the lemon-ginger and pomegranate flavors. Each is 100% organic, gluten-free, fat-free and low in calories, sugar and carbs.

Courtesy SomethingElse

Tea lovers will enjoy this new aroma-focused collection from SomethingElse, masters at creating non-alcoholic beverages using the expertise of chefs and sommeliers. Kally is an innovative blend of teas, fruits, herbs and spices with acidity similar to most alcoholic drinks. The beverages are designed to pair with food and come in four varieties, No.11 Jasmine Spice, No.23 Orchard Sage, No. 70 Vanilla Smoke and No. 93 Berry Fennel.

AF Wines and Beer

Luminara wines © Meryl Pearlstein

Love California wines? Then you’ll enjoy FRE alcohol-removed wines by Trinchero Family Estates. These wines are made using traditional winemaking methods, but then the alcohol is gently removed. You can try their nine varietals including Moscato, White Zinfandel, Rosé, Chardonnay, Merlot, Red Blend and Cabernet Sauvignon and two sparkling versions also available in cans, a Brut and a Rosé. Drink them straight or invent a winter-perfect, alcohol-free libation like Mulled Wine using Fre’s Cabernet Sauvignon as a base. Trinchero also has two new upscale Luminara wines, a Chardonnay and a Red Blend, produced with 100% Napa Valley grapes.

Courtesy Surely

Sonoma Valley also has a lovely alcohol-free wine collection. Surely’s non-alcoholic wine is also made from wine with the alcohol removed. A favorite in their line is their Non-Alcoholic Cabernet Sauvignon, bold and full-bodied, and made with 100% Sonoma Valley grapes.

Courtesy Prima Pavé

For a quick alcohol-free trip to Italy, Prima Pavé Alcohol Free Sparkling Wines are made with a mix of varietals, adding to their complexity and designed for harmonious pairing with food. Handcrafted in Italy with no sugar or chemicals added, Prima Pavé showcases terroir and an intoxicating depth of flavor. Dealcoholized through a proprietary, all-natural process, the sophisticated bubblies come in Rosé Brut, Blanc de Blancs and Rosé Dolce.

DRY Reserve Courtesy DRY

DRY Botanical Bubbly Reserve is perfect for any celebratory toasts you have. The sophisticated alcohol-free Champagne-like beverage ups the flavor game, too, with Lavender 75 and Spiced Pear. More than typical sparkling wine or sparkling apple cider, these two options will look beautiful in your Champagne flutes.

Courtesy Clausthaler

Clausthaler craft non-alcoholic beers taste just like the real brew. The German brewery has the pedigree, too, as they are an exclusively N/A brewery in existence for more than 40 years with a patented process for making beer that doesn’t create alcohol. There are dry-hopped beers, IPAs, and, for a kick, try their new grapefruit beer or their special holiday Santa beer.

Courtesy Bravus

Brewed in California, Bravus alcohol-free beer is a line of flavor-filled, no-alcohol beers that span the range from IPAs and amber ale to dark peanut butter and oatmeal stouts. You can order a set and try them all. Bravus produces craft beer styles taste exactly like their alcoholic counterparts but with less than .5% ABV, thanks to a proprietary brewing process.

Courtesy BrewDog

You’ll never run out of choices with BrewDog’s creatively crafted and creatively named non-alcoholic beers. The brewery has versions continually coming online, some limited like the Ganache AF cherry stout, and others that are mainstays like the flagship Nanny State. Don’t limit yourself – buy a four-variety bundle and sample a bunch.

Courtesy GRUVI

For the dabblers out there, Denver’s GRUVI offers a line of beers AND wines that are all alcohol-free. You can mix it up and have an AF IPA, Pale Ale, Stout, Sour Weisse or Golden Ale one week, then switch over to wines and sparkling beverages with their non-alcoholic dry Seco, dry Bubbly Rosé, or Seasonal Red Blend (which conveniently comes in a can). Or have a beer one day, a wine the next, and so on. Dry January is meant to be fun and tasty. I’m excited about this one, as I love sour beers and this is the first non-alcoholic one I’ve seen.

Travel to Mindfulness

If you’re seriously lacking motivation and could use a bit of non-Zoom, in-person fitness instruction as well, perhaps these alcohol-free resorts in the Berkshires will motivate you.

Courtesy Kripalu

Kripalu is a popular choice for those desiring a no-alcohol, no-frills, all-vegetarian well-being retreat. Days are filled with activities like yoga, dance, forest bathing and spa treatments. Seminars can include lessons in healthful cooking and mindfulness. Beautiful plant-based food choices also include beverages like hibiscus-lavender iced tea.

Courtesy Canyon Ranch

Canyon Ranch offers January programming with learning sessions, fitness classes, healthy meals, mocktail hours and more. The no-alcohol wellness resort also has vegetarian and vegan dining to help you stick to your January resolutions. The resort offers life-enhancing “pathways,” curated programs of varying lengths that include mindfulness, fitness and spa treatments.

Posted by Meryl Pearlstein
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A Dozen Delicious Ways to Celebrate the Eight Days of Chanukah in NYC

Hungry for Chanukah treats? Here are a dozen places to grab some latkes, sufganiyot, brisket and more. Chanukah goes through December 6.

Manhattan

Veselka © Meryl Pearlstein

Veselka

Late-night revelers know Veselka in the East Village. The Ukrainian restaurant has been addressing munchies and warding off hangovers with their hearty borscht and pierogis since 1954. But, truly, it’s their latkes that are a standout for Chanukah. Dense and packed with potato flavor without any trace of greasiness, Veselka latkes have mastered the art of the potato pancake. You can sit outside in one of their private booths with heat lamps or join the party spirit indoors with the cool kids.

Courtesy Dagon

Dagon

Light your Menorah and then then head to the Upper West Side to the new Levantine restaurant Dagon from Chef Ari Bokovza. The pandemic-be-damned restaurant is serving up fresh grated potato latkes with a choice of three creative sides for their first Chanukah meal. Have it your way with a choice of horseradish-za’atar yogurt, smoked salmon, silan (date) and ginger apple sauce, pastrami-spiced short rib marmalade, harissa ketchup, tahini-amba (pickled mango), roasted bone marrow or American paddlefish caviar.

Courtesy The Regency Bar & Grill

The Regency Bar & Grill

Well-known among NYC’s power brokers, The Regency Bar & Grill on Park Avenue welcomes all with its Festival of Lights celebrations for lunch and dinner. Spice up your meal with classic Matzah Ball Soup and Carrots or a stack of potato latkes as you discuss the fate of the world and NYC business.

Courtesy Zou Zou’s

Zou Zou’s

In the new Manhattan West development behind Penn Station, the lively Eastern Mediterranean restaurant from Chef Madeline Sperling joins Executive Sous Chef Juliana Latif to celebrate Chanukah with an updated take on potato latkes, Zou Zou’s Crispy Latkes with Frizzled Thyme.

Courtesy Balaboosta

Balaboosta

Star of Israeli-Persian-Yemenite cuisine at her Meatpacking District restaurant, Chef Einat Admony has added holiday specials to Balaboosta’s menu. You can order Sufganiyot, the Israeli jelly donut staple of Chanukah, here filled with savory chicken liver mousse and topped with sweet amarena cherry compote. Additionally, try the Zengoula, a fresh Middle Eastern take on Chanukah sweets. The crisp funnel cakes are made with rose water, saffron honey and pistachio.

Courtesy PJ Bernstein

PJ Bernstein

Delis are a no-brainer when it comes to finding latkes on the menu year-round. Steve and Eugene Slobodksi’s PJ Bernstein on the Upper East Side has one of the best choices with more than half century of experience. Served up with apple sauce or sour cream, the latkes are delicious and worthy of ordering a bunch to go to freeze for the week. I’d prefer that you ignore the sour cream and just let the potatoes and apple combination work its magic.

Courtesy 2nd Ave. Deli

2nd Ave. Deli

The Second Avenue Deli may no longer be located on Second Avenue, but no matter, this is the real deal when it comes to deli dining and especially latkes. The latkes at their two locations on the Upper East Side and Midtown have been perfected over the deli’s 65-year history and it shows. They’re crispy with no trace of oil. The deli even uses them to create a crazy sandwich worthy of sharing, the Instant Heart Attack: it’s a mountain of a creation with corned beef, pastrami, turkey or salami between two latkes. I’m not sure that apple sauce would work with that.

Who’s Jac W.? © A. H. Reiss Photography

Who’s Jac W.?

This upstart restaurant featuring a mashup of styles and nationalities is offering latkes for their inaugural season. Indeed, Chef Joel Reiss’s latkes continue the inventive theme with Scallion Latkes turned into a meal with braised short rib, horseradish sour cream, natural jus and chive oil. For a sweet spin on a beverage to accompany, the Who’s Jac W.? sangria is made with Manischewitz wine, brandy, apple pucker, berry syrup and cranberry juice.

Courtesy Samesa

Samesa

Brisket is the name of the game at this Mediterranean fast-casual eatery at Rockefeller Center. After a day of skating or watching the light spectacular on the façade of Saks Fifth Avenue, head indoors to Samesa to warm up with this rib-sticking version made Mediterranean-style with apricots, dates, leeks and oranges as well as the usual holiday root veggies.

Courtesy Butterfield Market

Butterfield Market

Technically, Butterfield Market isn’t a restaurant – it’s where you order your takeout to create your at-home “restaurant.” Lucky for us, Butterfield Market doesn’t restrict selling their fabulous latkes to Chanukah. The light and golden potato pancakes are a tad on the pricy side but they’re worth it. And Butterfield’s homemade apple sauce is truly a thing of gastronomic beauty. Be sure to order a large portion of that as well, as you’ll want to eat it by the spoon even after you’ve finished all of your latkes

Brooklyn

Courtesy Olmsted

Olmsted

The acclaimed Prospect Heights restaurant from Chef Greg Baxtrom is offering a Giant Latke at their popular weekend brunch. Each Giant Latke is served in its own cast iron skillet and is topped with lemon crème fraiche and trout roe, very much Olmsted-style and very much delicious.

Courtesy Clinton Street Baking Company

Clinton Street Baking Company

Combining a brunch staple with a Hanukkah twist, the Time Out Market restaurant-bakery entices you to Brooklyn with its rich Latke Eggs Benedict. Chef Neil Kleinberg poaches cage-free eggs, pairs them with house smoked salmon and adds a bath of classic Hollandaise sauce, all served over crispy potato pancakes.

Posted by Meryl Pearlstein
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Show Your Support for NYC Women During Women’s History Month

March is just a starting point to honor the women who contribute so much to New York City. Here are some places to visit and entrepreneurs to support in recognition of these ladies’ achievements.

Where to Visit

Two New York City parks invite you to enjoy their glorious outdoor spaces while you show your appreciation for the contributions of women.

Bella Abzug Park - Courtesy NYC Department of Parks & Recreation

On Manhattan’s Far West Side near Hudson Yards, Bella Abzug Park honors feminist, civil rights activist, lawyer and U.S. Representative Bella Abzug.

Shirley Chisholm State Park

Shirley Chisholm State Park - Courtesy NY State Parks


Brooklyn’s Shirley Chisholm State Park was named for the first African American congresswoman and the first woman and African American to run for President, Shirley Chisholm

Where to Shop

Courtesy The Lit. Bar

Book lovers can thank Bronx native Noëlle Santos who opened the borough’s first and only indie bookstore, The Lit. Bar, in the borough. The Afro-Latina-owned shop has garnered much attention, bucking the Amazon trend especially when Barnes & Nobles closed its Bronx doors, and offering an inviting wine bar where patrons came to sip and read. When the pandemic hit, Santos jumped into gear, bringing virtual programs to our homes to keep us connected and enlightened.

Courtesy The Sill

Plants have enlivened many a quarantine apartment over the past year and Eliza Blank has made our spaces just a bit more pleasant.  Her plant shop, The Sill plant shop, has storefronts on Manhattan’s Lower East Side and Upper West Side, and in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, but importantly, she also offers a plant delivery service. For those craving some gardening advice, she has created online workshops to teach us plant parenting.

Where to Eat

Female chefs and restaurateurs are true survivors who know their way around NYC kitchens, enriching us with their passion and compassion.

Courtesy LoLo's Seafood Shack

Lolo’s Seafood Shack

Leticia Skai Young-Mohan created a Harlem favorite, LoLo’s Seafood Shack, which fuses Cape Cod and the Caribbean in a delightful mashup. Leticia took advantage of her kitschy urban backyard during the pandemic and didn’t miss a beat. She has so much faith in New York City, in fact, that she recently signed a lease for a new restaurant-concept called LoLo’s Taco Shack, inspired by her family roots in the Yucatan. We love the name: LoLo’s stands for Locally Owned Locally Operated.

Courtesy Pizza Loves Emily

Pizza Loves Emily

Emily Hyland is the co-founder and partner of the hugely successful Pizza Loves Emily restaurants, Emmy Squared and Emily. Introducing Emily’s Detroit-style pizza to NYC was a brave step given the competitiveness among pizzamakers here. Distinct from usual Italian varieties, Emily’s pies have a pan-fried crust and a crispy cheese rim. Her oversized Emmy burger is another must-try. As a result of COVID, Emily launched and led virtual cooking classes, teaching hungry New Yorkers how to make pizzas and burgers.

Courtesy Kaia Wine Bar

Kaia Wine Bar

Suzaan Hauptfleish brought the taste of her native South Africa to the Upper East Side ten years ago. Home grown with a staff that includes her mother, Suzaan’s Kaia Wine Bar is a popular after-work stop for its South African wine list, small plates and mains. During the pandemic, Suzaan pivoted and provided options for the community – from a weekend farmer’s market to meal kits and takeout cocktails. When outdoor spaces were allowed, Suzaan was ready to build a structure but there was no wood to buy. Undaunted, she bought wooden doors and created a cafe.

Courtesy La Palapa Cocina Mexicana

La Palapa Cocina Mexicana

La Palapa has been a neighborhood favorite for more than 20 years. A star when it comes to helping out those in need, chef/owner Barbara Sibley mustered her staff at La Palapa Cocina Mexicana in the East Village and her two La Palapa Taco Bar to create and orchestrate delivery of more than 17,000 meals to frontline and hospital workers through partnership with Jose Andres’ World Central Kitchen and Hospitality Workers United and to The Brooklyn Hospital Center with the Gotham Organization.

Courtesy Mario’s Restaurant

Mario’s

Mario’s Restaurant has offered classic Neapolitan fare in the Bronx’s “real Little Italy” for more than 100 years. Facing community upheaval when the pandemic hit, owner Regina Migliucci-Delfino assumed her role as queen (“regina”) of Belmont, continuing the tradition of Italian hospitality and family by donating everything she could from the kitchen to her staff and community.

Courtesy Bean & Bean

Bean & Bean

Bean & Bean set out to be a different kind of coffee bar. Rachel and Jiyoon Han, the BIPOC mother-and-daughter duo who run the show, are committed to lessening the gender gap in coffee. Currently, more than half of their coffee is female-powered, and their goal is to reach 100% within the year. Embraced by locals, Bean & Bean has grown from its first location in FiDi adding three more in Manhattan and Queens.

Courtesy Make My Cake

Make My Cake

Aliyyah Baylor is a baking sensation serving up signature creations like German chocolate cake, Red Velvet cake and sweet potato cheesecake from her two Make My Cake locations in Central Harlem and the Upper West Side. The pandemic hasn’t slowed her down one bit. Baylor is planning a third location and the I Like it Black Coffee Shop. If anyone has ever been called a “mensch,” that’s Baylor. She gives back to the community through organizations that improve the lives of New York City’s seniors and children including City Meals-on-Wheels and Black Women for Black Girls Giving Circle.

Where to Stay

Women have contributed much to the design element and management of New York City’s hotels.

Courtesy Boro Hotel

The Boro Hotel in Long Island City is both owned and operated by women. Owners and sisters Liz and Antonia Batalias and General Manager Mary O’Sullivan oversee the property. Their indy touch is felt in the hotel’s industrial décor and breathtaking views of the Manhattan skyline.

Courtesy Lotte New York Palace

The Lotte New York Palace, led by General Manager Rebecca Hubbard, is a hotel-palace in view of St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Rockefeller Center. The landmark property has a hidden bar, a grand staircase and a Bridgerton-like presence, creating a feeling of royalty throughout.

Courtesy The Whitby Hotel

Steps from Fifth Avenue, The Whitby Hotel is led by General Manager Kathrin Apitz with design by hotel founder Kit Kemp whose affinity for color and drama is seen in each individually decorated room and suite.

Courtesy Williamsburg Hotel

The splashy Williamsburg Hotel is owned and operated by Toby Moskovits and General Manager Julita Kropiwnicki.

Posted by Meryl Pearlstein
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Your Valentine’s Day Gift Guide for Fans of New York City

Tours and Books

Steinway Factory experience - Courtesy New York Adventure Club

Here’s a way to share your love of New York with tours you can take from your living room. Do you have a love of the piano? Sign up for the Steinway Factory experience. Are you curious about how the subways came to be? Become a savvy straphanger learning about the city’s transit history. Did you know about New York City’s various evolutions as the Center of Jazz in the US? The diverse virtual tours from the New York Adventure Club explore the special nooks and crannies of NYC. An egift card is your ticket to adventure. This might just be the start of a brand- new love affair.

Courtesy John Donohue's All the Restaurants in New York

Brooklyn-based artist John Donohue has created the perfect gift for a foodie, particularly one who’s pining for the pre-pandemic NYC dining experience. Donohue’s signed, limited-edition prints of many of New York’s favorite restaurants are a creative tribute to the city’s dining establishments. They’re also a feel-good gift: you’ll be supporting the city’s badly hurt restaurant industry with your purchase. Fifty percent of print-sale profits go to the Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation’s COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund.  If you’re as obsessed with these illustrations as I am, John’s book, All the Restaurants in New York, will look fabulous on your coffee table, too.

Courtesy Betsy Polivy

Walking Manhattan Sideways by Betsy Polivy is a compilation of the author’s years of chronicling the small businesses on Manhattan’s side streets. The beautifully photographed book will warm your heart as you read about the entrepreneurs who make up the city’s independent and enduring character. The book is a love letter to the melting pot that is New York, and a vicarious trip through the Big Apple.

Cakes, Cookies, Chocolates and More

Courtesy Bake Me A Wish! New York

Celebrate your love this Valentine’s Day with a gourmet, heart-shaped cake from Manhattan’s Bake Me A Wish!  New York. Available in two sizes, the larger ten-inch cake can be customized with the name of your special someone or a very personal romantic message.

Courtesy Levain Bakery

In time for Valentine’s Day, Levain Bakery is finally shipping their Two Chip Chocolate Chip cookie, a decadent take on a classic chocolate chip cookie sans nuts and brimming with semi-sweet and dark chocolate chips. You can skip waiting in the bakery line for your fresh treats:  these oversized cookies are baked for immediate shipment and are packed in a whimsical blue gift box. If you sweetie drools over Levain’s original Chocolate Chip Walnut or Oatmeal Raisin flavors, you can order those, too.

Courtesy MarieBelle Chocolates

Indulge your sweet tooth with MarieBelle Chocolates’ artisanal ganache collections. Each ganache is artfully decorated with a Valentine’s Day design that tells a beautiful love story. Special for the holiday, the MarieBelle Valentine Truffle Box is an assortment of European-style truffles in dark chocolate, matcha and Champagne. The packaging, designed by renowned fashion illustrator Izak Zenou, is a Valentine’s Day collectible. Champagne is always better when it’s wrapped in chocolate.

Courtesy Bushwick Farm

Is your honey sweet, salty or spicy? Bushwick Farm has foodie gifts to sass up your holiday menu for any taste preference. Born in a test kitchen in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn, Bees Knees honey comes in a delightful gift set as do the company’s Trees Knees maples and Weak Knees srirachas. Go for the ultimate buzz with the Threes Knees Spicy Trio for a signature tasting experience.

Courtesy Coffee Project New York

The coffee, candles and macarons gift box from Long Island City’s Coffee Project New York puts a coffee-centric finishing touch on an at-home romantic meal. Light the coffee-inspired candle, pour a taste of three coffees (or just one if you prefer) and linger over strawberry verbena macarons from Le Petit Paris, a French bakery also in Long Island City. Maybe pour a spot of Cognac for an added kick.

And Now for Something Completely Different

Newtown Creek Wastewater Resource Recovery Facility - Courtesy Open House New York

Tired of roses and Champagne? On February 14, the NYC Department of Environmental Protection and Open House New York host a virtual Valentine’s Day tour of the city’s largest sewage plant, the Newtown Creek Wastewater Resource Recovery Facility, where wastewater from storm drains and toilets and sinks of more than one million New Yorkers is cleaned each day in a complex system, including eight giant stainless steel digester eggs. This tour sells out every year, so you’d better hop online NOW. For 2021 it’s virtual – but, next year, you’ll want to reserve the in-person event as soon as it goes on sale. Seriously.

Renew Your Vows - Courtesy Times Square Alliance

Times Square Alliance invites couples each year to renew their vows on Valentine’s Day on the iconic red stairs in Duffy Square. This year’s event is a bit different. Only a few couples will be able to participate live due to social distancing requirements, but you can show your love online by registering for a virtual space. It’s still the ultimate NYC way to avow your commitment to each other anew.

DUMBO in Brooklyn - courtesy Dumbo Improvement District

For a professional holiday photo memory, free of charge, head to DUMBO in Brooklyn on Valentine’s Day weekend. No, it’s not to grab the influencer shot you see all over Instagram with the Manhattan Bridge in the background. A Heart Sculpture, designed and fabricated by Bednark Studios, has been installed on the Empire Stores patio, creating a perfect picture frame. Strike a romantic pose in the middle of the lipstick-red art piece for a photo via the Self Portrait Project, courtesy of the Dumbo Improvement District. From 5-9pm on Saturday and Sunday photos will be projected on the Manhattan Bridge at dimensions of 65 by 40 feet. A link to digital photos will be available on the @dumbobrooklyn Instagram account on February 20. To keep you warm, you’ll also receive commemorative Valentine’s Day hand warmers.

Posted by Meryl Pearlstein
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