It was a delicious dish: the homemade pasta were amazing and the crab cake perfectly done, really tasting crab, with big lump of it. I liked the fact that there was a sauce for the crab cake (made with pepper) and one for the pasta, more on the lighter side and complemented with tiny asparagus.

We went twice since they reopened and they are definitely working on their menu. They make pizza that is an odd choice considering the multiple pizza places in the city, and their brunch menu is more a bar menu than a brunch menu, lacking the usual egg, pancake or French toast dishes. Of course, they have burgers, and we tried the classic American burger with (lots of) sautéed mushrooms...

We decided to go for brunch at Estela, a restaurant located in Nolita that made it in the news recently, after President Obama and the First Lady ate there. Nothing unusual if it was not that the credit card of the President was declined. He explained later: "I guess I don't use it enough, so they [the bank] thought there was fraud was going on." Fortunately, Michelle Obama's card worked...

It has been a while since we wanted to go back to Maze, one of Gordon Ramsay's restaurants, located in The London Hotel, Midtown. We wanted to go there for a simple reason: the beef Wellington that is one of the dishes cooked in the Chef's TV show Hell's Kitchen, dish that triggers a lot of yelling from the Chef. 

O Mai is a Vietnamese restaurant located in the trendy Chelsea. It is a decent size place with a warm decor and an interesting menu with unique dishes that can satisfy any palate. We went there on a Friday night and the place was packed. This is definitely the place to go if you like loud music, loud people and barely no light to see your food...

It is a wine bar, so it is not surprising that they have an impressive wine list made of bottles not only from France, but also from Mediterranean countries such as Turkey, Italy or Spain. They also propose some American wines from California, if you prefer drinking local...

I passed so many times in front of Thalia, in the Theater District, not really enticed to try it. I should have looked at their brunch menu before. It has your traditional dishes, but some of them with a twist, like the Crème brûlée French toast that was amazing: the bread was perfectly soaked, the top was crunchy and deliciously sweet.

This week, I was invited by Tarallucci e Vino, an Italian restaurant located few steps from Union Square, for a party to promote their events. I admit that I though it would take place at the restaurant itself, but it was no the case: it was located in one of the four large lofts on top of the restaurant.

Menu wise, as I mentioned before, they serve New American cuisine and their brunch, that we tried, offers a good deal: for $19 you get an appetizer (not just a salad as you will see) and an entrée. For $11 more, you get an alcoholic beverage, unlimited, such as a beer or a mimosa. As my drink of choice for brunch is either coffee or fresh squeezed juice, I went for the first option, similar to Jodi.

We were not sure what to get there as there were many yummy flavors proposed. They have of course the classic: vanilla, chocolate or hazelnut, but also some strange one: ginger, currants and cream, Ceylon cinnamon or earl grey tea. They also have a bunch of vegan choices made with coconut or cashew milk.

As we were craving dim sum, we went on the internet to find a place in Chinatown: that is how we ended up at Oriental Garden, on Elizabeth street. I admit that the entrance, with the trash in the front, was not that appealing, but you know, this is part of the charm of Chinatown.

Now, that was a fantastic appetizer: not only because of the burrata that was perfectly creamy, but also because of the pairing of the cheese with the fresh figs that gave another refreshing level to the dish as well as a nice sweetness.