NYC Tastes

It's been a long time since I've been excited about a place in NOHO but guess what, I'm SUPER excited about Fish Cheeks.  This cute seafood-focused Thai spot on Bond has one of the best happy hours in the city and a great menu of spicy, delicious eats.  From 12:00-3:45 and again from 5:00-7:00 each day, Fish Cheeks offers $5 beer, $8 wine and delicious $10 cocktails like the tropical Blank Slate made with Cana Brava Rum, Coco lopez, grapefruit and mint.  They also serve $1.00 Oysters topped with fried shallots and nam jim seafood which make these way more delicious than any $1.00 oyster special in the city (trust me).  Of course the regular items on the menu are incredible as well.  I highly suggest the crispy Fried Chicken Wings with chili, lime and mint and the wonderful Shrimp Sao Nahm layered with pineapple, ginger, chili and fried garlic in a creamy coconut dressing.  In addition to the great food and drink, Fish Cheeks gives...

The flurry of snow that blanketed the city MLK weekend was absolutely wonderful!  I couldn't wait to get outside and soak in the magic of my beautiful snowy city and what better place to do that then Pasquale Jones.   This cozy little spot formerly housed Toby's Public House, a bar/restaurant I always found drab and depressing were it not for the fantastic windows over looking the streets of Nolita.   The space has since been redone and the changes are fantastic. The painted white walls and soft hanging lamps above each table give the space a lively, vibrant feeling while the wood burning ovens and gorgeous glassware add in some rustic, elegant charm. At lunchtime Pasquale Jones serves a small menu of pizzas, pasta and appetizers including their signature Little Neck Clam Pie topped with a creamy garlic sauce, lemon and a flurry of chopped parsley.  The Neapolitan style dough was perfect; light and puffy with blistered edges and a slightly ch...

Bobby Flay's newest restaurant opened last week right off the busy corner of Lafayette and Houston.  With a focus on Mediterranean food and drink, this restaurant is meant to revive the spirit of Bolo, a place Flay and Kretchmer ran together years ago right in my neighborhood.  I remember walking by Bolo, longing to go inside, until one day it suddenly closed and my opportunity to dine there vanished forever.  Well this was one opportunity I wasn't missing out on again. I arrived at Gato right around 5:45 and the restaurant was already filled with a lively mix of business professionals and solo diners.  The big square bar up front served as the focal point for the restaurant and perhaps the reason for so many solo diners was the comfort this space provided.  To my left the big picture windows overlooking Lafayette were perfect for people watching and right in front of me was a great view of the open kitchen where I could see Chef Flay himself working the l...