We were back to Long Island City, looking for a place to have lunch and found Café Triskell, a French crêperie coming straight from Brittany from where the owner, Philippe Fallait is from. And I have to say that it felt like a little corner of France, miles away. 

It has been a while since we wanted to try Honeygrow, a casual dining place that serves locally sourced high quality ingredients. So we made it and I admit that I was pleasantly surprised by the experience. First, I like the minimalist decor, very naturalistic and zen, with the light colored wood and the black and white photos.

Few days after meeting Chef Hooni Kim in a cooking class at De Gustibus Cooking School  in Macy's, Jodi, Cindy from Chubby Chinese Girl Eats and her husband Derrick, and I decided to go to Hanjan, one of the Chef's restaurant located few minutes from the Flatiron. 

Hell's Kitchen is definitely not the area where I would expect to see such an elegant restaurant as Chaan Teng. This place opened very recently, replacing a New Orleans based restaurant we passed by so many times but never dared to go in. Well I am glad because Chaan Teng is unique in a way, serving Chinese dishes, but with the Chef's own spin. And, if you are familiar with the restaurant scene in New York, you might know this Chef: Pichet Ong, who has an impressive resume, working at the regretted Spice Market as well as 66, also closed, another Jean-Georges Vongerichten's eatery. Do not see a sign there, I am sure this place, with its vibrant and elegant decor, will be successful.

So I was looking for a new fried chicken place to try and ended up at Sticky's Finger Joint, a restaurant in Hell's Kitchen, located close to The Port Authority Bus Terminal. I knew about this place since its inception as I saw them on the Food Network back in 2012, on a TV show with Bobby Flay, where the owners had three days to open and had to go through the hoops of opening a restaurant, a task not that simple. This is not they first location and I believe they settled on 9th Avenue a year or two ago. I like the decor that is very colorful, with the wall painted like street art. 

Located few steps from Union Square, Al Vicoletto is an Italian eatery and gourmet market. I like the vibe of the place that has a certain energy and a European feel.

At the beginning of the meal, they gave us some bread, as well as a small sandwich bites made with focaccia bread, peck and cheese: a great way to start, although, so delicious that I stopped eating it as I was expecting to have a feast...

One evening last week, I was invited to a workshop by KitchenAid, with Pastry Chef Ron Ben-Israel and Robin and Jeffrey Selden from Marcia Selden Catering. I went there with my friend Malini, The Restaurant Fairy, so now you will know that I am not wearing any nail polish and that it is her hand that you will see on the photos, holding some of the delicious bites we got to sample.

Located at the corner of 93rd and 3rd on the Upper East Side, Korali Estiatorio went beyond my expectations. I love Greek food and was definitely not disappointed after going to a tasting I was invited to. This beautiful restaurant that gets its name from "Coral", to honor the seafood of the Mediterranean sea, is the jewel opened a year ago by Gregori Politis (formerly of Yefsi Estiatorio), a 20-year veteran in the hospitality industry who wanted to bring the authentic recipes from his childhood in Greece to NYC. 

The Old Homestead Steakhouse is not unknown to me, as I ate there few years ago, but skipped it since I started this blog, except for sliders as they offered a very good deal for lunch at the time. But it was way too long and we really wanted to go back to the oldest steakhouse in New York, serving carnivores since 1968! This place did not change and I was glad that they sat us on one of the corners, in a round table with a banquette, that had a good light. This latest detail was not only noticed because of the photos I was going to take, but also because, often, steakhouses are dim.

We were on the Lower East Side and were looking for a place to have lunch when we stumbled upon Cho-Ko, a small ramen joint. The weather was perfect for ramen, so I was looking forward to it. It is a small place and I was surprised it was empty, although we arrived five minutes after their opening time. But it remained empty until we left...

Last week, I was invited at Bustan, a restaurant located on the Upper West Side, that serves Mediterranean cuisine in a relaxed atmosphere. I was not able to meet with Bustan's new partner and Executive Chef Raphael Hasid, but chatted a bit with his Chef de Cuisine, Christopher Burgess, who brings more than 30 years of experience in the industry, having worked even with Michael White or Anthony Bourdain. He explained to me that they are using a taboon to cook most of the food in their tiny kitchen, a taboon being a wood fire oven with a temperature of 800 degrees and a rotating center so the food cooks evenly.

We were at the Flux Factory in Long Island City for the New York Academy of Art Alumni exhibit where Jodi participated with a beautiful painting (see her work at www.jodigerbi.com), and we decided to eat in that area after the show. I just needed Google Map to find Beija Flor (Hummingbird in portuguese), a Brazilian restaurant that serves some delicious food. At first, I was worried that there would be live music as I wanted to have a quiet dinner, being able to hear each other and thankfully, there was not and the noise level was pretty nice.

So my friends and i wanted to eat wings close to Times Square and ended up at Buffalo Wild Wings, a sports bar with a number of TVs that was quite impressive. 

Sometimes, I should just stick to the original plan...It all started with wanting to eat ramen at Jun-Men in Chelsea. But the weather was pretty good for November and, as we walked passed Stage Door Deli, we changed our mind, reserving ramen for a colder day. I was excited for sure, thinking about the Reuben I would inhale in few minutes. 

Taking its name from his owner, Otto Cedeno, Otto's Tacos only serves...tacos. No, there, there are no quesadillas or tortas, only tacos made with a fresh tortilla prepared daily. 

It is a small joint, with lots of people coming to grab a meal and go, or sit at one of the (sort of) communal tables. 

Each time I come back from Europe, there is one thing I want to eat: a burger. As I was still jet lagged, we decided to go close by, at Jack Austin's in Weehawken. Interesting place for sure with all the dog artifacts...

We were walking on 9th Avenue when we stumbled upon Bombay Grill House and the photo of their thali, a plate containing various dishes making a full meal, from appetizer to dessert. I discover Thali many years ago in Mumbai and specifically remembered one that was vegetarian, that I loved, a weird thing to write considering my love for meat...Anyway, I kept Bombay Grill House in mind and few weeks later, we decided to try their cuisine. The place was not that full, although we could see traces of a large table that left probably before we arrived.