Restaurants

For those of you for whom a visit to London comprises, theater, restaurants, hotel comforts and musical events, the newest part of London is the recently and almost completed redevelopment of Victoria. This huge project which has taken years is …Read More

I’ve been going to P.J. Clarke’s since 1959 when a group of upperclassmen brought a group of “newbies” there in an effort to convince us that we wanted to join their fraternity. I had a rare cheeseburger and a cup …Read More

When we arrive at Casa Lever (the sister restaurant of Sant Ambroeus) we are usually greeted by Antonio, the tall, elegant, Armani-clad manager from Milan who escorts you to your table. We are at Casa Lever principally because I love …Read More

Ahhh, at last a restaurant has arrived on the upper east side that is so quiet you can actually understand your table mates without resorting to reading lips. Majorelle, in the Lowell Hotel at 28 East 63rd Street, is Charles …Read More

Once in a while, we find a restaurant so comfortable in its own skin that we just want to return to it again and again. Such is the case with Sushi Ishikawa, 419 East 74th Street, a small and beautiful 24-seat …Read More

Steven Starr has done it again with Le Coucou, 138 Lafayette St, which is in the Howard Hotel just north of Canal Street. Their quenelles are as good as those at La Grenouille and their duck with foie gras is spectacular. The …Read More

In spite of its improbable “haute cuisine” aspirations, “Dawat” is an unpretentious and comfortable restaurant on East 58th street. Launched by Madhur Jaffrey (described on the “Dawat” website as an “internationally renowned cookbook author, actress and teacher”), the restaurant has …Read More

This small restaurant, Bessou, in NoHo offers Japanese food with modern twists, all served up with excellent service and barley tea. We enjoyed miso-marinated chicken (weekends only, and the “whole bird” option is quite a hefty serving) and fried chicken …Read More

With the closing of La Chine in the Waldorf Astoria, we’ve been searching for Chinese restaurants and were recommended to “Pinch Chinese” on Prince Street. We were told to try the dumplings as the chef and his staff all worked …Read More

For those of us who grew fond of Charles Masson’s welcoming home at Le Grenouille over the years, and who were less than pleased when family trauma caused him to exit the restaurant, life serves us up a helping of …Read More

Is it fair to judge a new restaurant after just one dinner there, on one of their first evenings after their “soft” opening? I thought that Majorelle deserved at least a second look, so we returned recently after they’ve had …Read More

This is a love letter to a vegetable. Last week, four of us dined at the midtown country French restaurant we love, La Mangeoire, when lo and behold, white asparagus appeared on the menu as a special. We all ordered …Read More

Out of the cavernous depths of the now defunct Rouge Tomate has risen, like a phoenix, a new Greek fish restaurant, Avra Estiatorio (sister restaurant to the same name on 48th street). This gorgeous sizable addition to NY eateries has …Read More

A beautiful woman in the fullness of time can benefit from a bit of botox, filler, or even a nip and tuck. The Lowell Hotel was a case in point, and she has now had a very sensitive and time-appropriate …Read More

Up for a pizza adventure? Try Pizza Moto in Brooklyn – a delightful discovery serving Neopolitan-style pizza from a wood-fired oven dating from decades ago. Evolving from a food truck, this outfit is now in a building that, in the …Read More

Don’t fret that the Hispanic Society will be closed until 2019. Take a trip up to Audubon Terrace (the 1 subway or the 4 bus) to catch the American Academy Invitational Exhibition of Visual Arts. The display of a number …Read More

I never really thought of Israeli food as imaginative, but apparently the food scene in Tel Aviv has been booming. And now we can enjoy very creative Mediterranean food in New York. Timna is in the super-hip East Village at …Read More

Even though the atmosphere at Marea is a bit corporate and noisy and the service not too great, it is still the best place for fish in NYC. I love going there for the sea urchins…raw or cooked as a …Read More

Last night we stopped in for some pre-dinner oysters at Felix’s Restaurant and Oyster Bar, in New Orleans. What a good idea that was! Fresh, sweet, but (possibly) too big, the oysters went down a treat. Washed down with Dixie …Read More

Time to forego all the Michelin one-, two- and three-star discussions/restaurant visits and experience where many of Paris’ greatest chefs go to dine when they crave bistro home-cooking at its finest — lovingly created in a tiny kitchen by Raquel …Read More

Formerly the chef at Danny Meyer’s Tabla, Floyd Cardoz is an Indian-American chef with restaurants both in India and here. Paowalla, a casual restaurant in Soho, is terrific. While tagged an “Indian restaurant,” we were delighted that it is more …Read More

I tend to stay away from the upper east side, but there is a fine new edition that is worth the trip ( for us “south half of Manhattan” types): Flora Bar, located in the lower courtyard level of the …Read More

For the last few months, when I’ve been early for a train and wandering through Grand Central Station, I’ve found myself in the new food court across the hall from the escalators to the Pan Am Building (sometimes I have …Read More

We have been vowing to visit the London version of Milos (fish restaurant) and last night was the night. It is a newer, glitzier, somehow less “spontaneous,” more-designed version of our New York favorite. The room is vast, white, has …Read More

  Cookshop is a big, bustling space that exudes “comfortable and warm.” Sort of the feel of a casual restaurant in a ski town in Colorado. We found ourselves there as a group of six, having early dinner before walking …Read More

Peruvian cuisine has always been considered one of the great cuisines of the world. Until recently, it did not receive the international attention it deserved. Recently, people flocked from all over the world to experience its rare palate. Peruvian food …Read More

Five of us had dinner at Tavern62 by David Burke. We were delighted to see David hard at work, everywhere at once, and it was obvious that he’s back in full-stride. Where once there was “Fishtail” there is now a wonderful …Read More

Last night, we had dinner with friends with whom we often wind up going to Indian restaurants. Our friend mentioned that she’d seen a review of Pondicheri in the New York Times and thought we should try it. Pete Wells …Read More

After visiting the Studio Museum in Harlem, we were hungry for the comfort food of Chef Marcus Samuelsson, who was born in Ethiopia and raised in Sweden. I ordered the Fried Yardbird – two pieces of perfectly battered dark chicken …Read More

It has been some years since we experienced the delights of L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon in Soho. Visiting friends from New York wanted to go. It has not changed much. The ground floor bar, which serves on high tables, is …Read More

As my friends and I were finishing a creative and tasty meal a couple weeks ago at Günter Seeger, we all found ourselves concluding: it just seems how uncanny how we love restaurants that Pete Wells finds “off-putting.” It is …Read More

London is changing. London is always changing. If it isn’t buyer’s remorse about the Brexit process, hard or soft, it is the indulgence in new restaurants, the Arts, Antique Shows etc. Frieze is coming. PAD is opening. Olympia is pending. …Read More

We were taken to 15 East by friends who had been there before and liked it. We also enjoyed the experience. An upscale, somewhat minimalist Japanese restaurant with excellent food and service, it has a quiet atmosphere that we liked. …Read More

We were told that Le Coq Rico is the ultimate chicken restaurant by friends who know such things. So we tried it out with another couple. We were all disappointed. We each ordered something different and I must say that …Read More

Gone is the Copacabana. Gone is Rouge Tomate. Gone is gentility. With that, let me introduce you to Avra Madison, a gorgeous new large Mediterranean restaurant, brought to us by the owners of Tao. It’s worth stopping in on a …Read More