As the weather in Florence during our trip turned a bit cold and rainy, we decided to find a place for hot cocoa and ended up at Rivoire, a popular and fancy cafe located on the side of Piazza della Signoria. This place is an institution: opened in 1872 by Enrico Rivoire, a chocolatier of the Savoy royal family, this place, run by the Bardelli brothers, has a fantastic view on the Piazza that is perfect for people watching, in an elegant setting.

We found Lo Scudo while walking behind the Duomo in Florence, attracted by the meat displayed at the window. We loved it so much that we went there twice during our trip: once for lunch and once for dinner, trying various dishes and of course the steak. This place is less than two years old but the owners, Alessandro and Federico succeeded in creating a nice atmosphere, very welcoming, where tourists and locals mingle. This is the kind of restaurant that truly knows what hospitality means and their food was superb.

Time for ramen! That is what Jodi and I thought when planning a day to the city and we decided to go to Ippudo West Side for lunch. Early enough to get a seat before it started to get packed. As we were showed our seats at the counter, the hostess shouted in Japanese something like “there are two guests sitting at the counter”, followed by a “welcome” from the staff.

The first time I went to Junior’s was more than a decade ago, one of my friends talking about the cheesecake all the time and since then, I consider this deli to have the best in New York. There was just one location I never went to: the original one in Brooklyn that opened in 1950 under a different name, being a diner first. For sure, this was less crowded than in its sister restaurants in New York and I felt that it had an authentic feel to it, some sort of nostalgia.

When Schnackenberg’s closed in Hoboken, I was so disappointed. I liked that place that was like an old school luncheonette serving classic American dishes at a reasonable price. And so, replacing it by a salad joint was kind of an insult to the history of the previous place. Setting foot at The Garden Street Farmers Market, Alfalfa was even a pop-up in Schnackenberg’s. So, after several months, thinking about eating a salad (it happens), we decided to try this place. As we entered, I noticed that it was completely gut renovated, with only few tables left and a side with books and pillows that give a relaxed feel to the joint.

Going to Black Barn is like stepping in a farm in the heart of New York. Located North of Madison Square Park, this place is a true find: this farm to table restaurant’s kitchen is headed by Chef John Doherty who spent 25 years in the kitchen of the Waldorf Astoria. For sure the decor is amazing and I wished I could have visited their second level: thanks to their high ceilings, they built the structure of a barn and the main dining room overlooks the open kitchen and a wine cellar that is quite impressive.

We were walking on the Upper West Side and looking for an ice cream shop when we stumbled upon Emacks and Bolio. I admit that I thought it was some ice cream parlor with innovative creative flavors rather than an established company founded in 1975 in Boston with a concept, three years before Ben and Jerry’s. Its founder, Robert Rook was a music lawyer who worked with Aerosmith, Boston, The Cars, U2, James Brown, and Al Green, as well was an advocate for the homeless, and it is apparently two homeless men who asked him to give his shop their names. The first …

Sometimes you get excited going to a place but unfortunately, your plan does not go the way you thought. That is what happened with Redeye Grill, a restaurant located across from The Carnegie Hall that went recently through renovation and had one of the best banana cream pie I tried in the city. We decided to go on a Friday evening not knowing that they have live music. Fortunately the weather was nice and we decided to sit in one of their tables outside. I wonder if it was not a mistake! We sat there with their menu for a bit before our waiter came asking if we wanted some water and if we were ready to order. We were and I was surprised to see that he did not write down our order, impressed by such memory.

It has been three years that I discovered Thai Select, a Thai restaurant in Hell’s Kitchen. As we were looking recently for a place to eat, walking towards Port Authority on 9th, we stumbled upon it and decided to have dinner there. The place did not change besides the Halloween decor that was all over and the room in the back with its backlit photo still looks beautiful.

We passed many times in front of Motel Morris in Chelsea, a place that only has such name because of the nostalgia of the 1960s from the owners. Yes, it is just a restaurant and not attached at all to a hotel. But an interesting restaurant for the atmosphere it carries: retro from its decor and popular from its crowd.

Menu wise, for brunch, it proposes an elevated all American menu with classics like burgers and eggs. And, reminiscent of diners, floats but spiked with alcohol, like the bourbon cherry coke float that is an interesting …

As we were in Long Island City, we decided to find a brunch place and ended up at Café Henri few steps from the subway station. We went for an 11:30am brunch and I could not believe how crowded this place was! Luckily, we got a table fairly quickly. I love the decor there, with his big chandelier hanging from the ceiling and the core color of the walls that gave an old feel to a place that definitely feels like your neighborhood joint, like stepping in a restaurant in Paris without the price of the flight.

As we had to be on the Upper West Side, we checked out a brunch place and stumbled upon The Ribbon, a pretty big restaurant on 72nd and Amsterdam. Yes big place with the bar room when you enter that I bet is crowded and noisy in the evening, and a large dining room in the back, with a view of the kitchen.

After going to The Plazza Food Court and trying No 7 Sub, we decided to go back and get a taste of Chi Dumplings and Noodles, a casual Chinese restaurant located in the back. But we did not go for ramen or noodles: no, we decided to share a bunch of dishes. As the name has dumplings in it, we ordered their vegetable dumplings and their shrimp dumplings. I do not know why but when I see green dumplings I always have an apprehension that it will have too much spinach in it. And it did. At least the shrimp dumplings were decent.

The Plaza is a beautiful hotel and lots of people are missing out on the food court that is in the basement and features various places like Lady M, Billy’s Bakery, Luke’s Lobster or No 7 Sub that we tried recently. Their menu offers only few vegetarian options like the broccoli classic that Jodi tried: made with…roasted broccoli…as well as lychee muchim (that I think is pickled lychee), feta, fried shallots and mayonnaise. I admit that when she proposed me to try, I hesitated, not being a huge fan of broccoli, but was pleasantly surprised. Yes, it tasted good when all mixed together, the feta giving a nice saltiness to the sandwich. On my side, I hesitated between the Dr Melfi made with salami, mozzarella and …

On a recent trip to The Gansevoort Market, we decided to try some pizza sold by the slice from Enzo Bruni, replacing Luzzo’s that used to be there for years. The pizza definitely looked good and they propose a nice selection of vegetarian and non-vegetarian pies. If I had to pick a favorite, it would be the burrata one that had lots of this creamy cheese: the crust was good, puffed up and charred on the sides and thin in the center, like a Neapolitan pizza should be. The one with…

We like sometimes to go to The Gansevoort Market to see what they have to offer and there are often new choices there, the proximity of Chelsea Market close by probably making business more difficult. So, as we were there with Jodi’s cousin Rebecca, I could not resist trying Burger Inc as I saw few months before that they propose a burger with bone marrow, The Don. So I went for it and did not regret it: the bone marrow gave a nice fattiness to the sandwich that had a tasty charred beef patty that was juicy.

I sometimes crave Thai food: comforting, flavorful and not always spicy, Thai cuisine offers a nice selection of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. So, as we were in Long Island City, we decided to try Tuk Tuk, a local restaurant that takes its name from the three wheeled taxi that you see in many Asian countries.

Italians have Eataly and the French have Le District, a market that opened in 2015, located near The World Trade Center that offers classic French delicacies such as bread or cheese. I admit that, I heard about it in the past but waited until we went to L’Appart few months ago before deciding to explore this place, regretting that I did not go earlier. Depending from where you enter, you can end up in the supermarket that had lots of French products, most of them overpriced unfortunately, or on the food court side, starting with crepes that are not good, Bar Suzette in Chelsea Market being a better option.

It’s been a while since we had Vietnamese cuisine and we were looking for a place to eat in Brooklyn before an errand when we saw Hanco’s a casual Vietnamese eatery that serves bubble tea, pho and banh mi. Empty at first, it started to get busy especially with a young crowd attracted by not only the food but also the price. This is a casual place, so you order at the counter and then your number is called in the back, where you will get your tray and can sit either in the front or in the small upstairs dining room. I was not so interested in a bubble tea that is a bit gimmicky and hesitated between a Thai iced tea and a Vietnamese coffee, both containing condensed milk.

We recently made it to L’Appart, short for L’Appartement (Apartment in French), one of the restaurants of Le District, a French food hall located near the World Trade Center. You may not notice it when going from The District Garden (their supermarket) to The District Market with its stations and bar, as it is tucked in a hallway, like a gem that only the gourmets know. As soon as you open the wooden doors, you are greeted by David Coucke, The Maitre D’, with a house cocktail (it was a lychee, ginger and rose cocktail that was delightfully spicy) and introduced to the team, like when you go to a dinner with some friends and the host makes the introductions.