NYC Tastes

The birthday celebration continued Monday night at Atoboy, a Korean inspired small plate restaurant from Chef Junghyun.  I actually took Mr. T to Chef Junghyun's first restaurant Jungsik  for his birthday about 5 years ago and we absolutely loved it.  Atoboy is like Jungsik's more casual, affordable younger sister offering a 3 course tasting menu for just $39.  Guests choose one plate from each section of the menu and share family style. Scallops~ jicima, sea urchin and gim ($15 supplement for fresh uni) Beef Tartare~ lardo, yeolmoo kimchi and myungran Corn~ taleggio, bacon and doenjang Sunchoke~ oyster mushroom, black truffle and orange Chicken~ spicy peanut butter and garlic Pork Jowl~ barley, ssamjang and cipollini onion Seaweed Rice ($2 extra) Standout dishes of the meal were the Sunchoke, Scallop with sea urchin and Pork Jowl.  The Sunchoke was simple in composition but the citrus from the ora...

After a few beers at Mikkeller and Friends we walked over to Matarkjallarinn Food Cellar; a warm subterranean restaurant that felt like a sexy log cabin with cozy candlelit tables, plush carpets and piano player up front twinkling away on a mahogany grand piano. Being that this was the final night of our 10 day trip we were absolutely exhausted and more than ready to let the Chef make all of our decisions with the Chef's Tasting menu.  What would follow was three hours of absolutely stunning food. Crab Egg Roll with BBQ sauce & pickled celery on the left of the plate and Seared Scallop with jackfruit and mint on the right.   Tuna Tartare with sliced avocados & wontons with chili oil I've had hundreds of tuna tartare dishes in my life but this was exceptional.  The simple avocado and sesame let the deep fresh flavor of the tuna shine through.  I may never have a tuna tartare this perfect ever again. Beef Carpaccio with rucola, lemon, black tr...

Our third evening in Brussels we reserved for our fine dining portion of the trip with a reservation at Le Rabassier, a small 18 seat spot by Chef and Owner Christophe Durieux.  Chef Durieux cooks and preps all of the food for the restaurant while his wife Eve Renaud acts as front of the house, waitress and sommelier.  Rabassier loosely translates in French to 'a man with a passion for truffles' which is quite fitting as a meal at this restaurant felt like an homage to the great fungi. Le Rabassier offers three different tasting menus; three course, four course, or five course with extra black truffles and an a la carte.  We decided upon the four course menu and a lovely bottle of Sancerre, then settled in for three and a half hours of an absolutely exquisite evening of food. Amuse Bouche- Parmesan Foam with shaved black truffle Amuse Bouche- Black Olive & Foie Gras 1st Course- Roasted Scallop with daikon, ...

There's little in life I enjoy more than a long leisurely lunch with friends and my favorite one yet just occurred at Maroni's in Northport Long Island. This cozy little restaurant pretty much defines the term "quirky".  The 20 seat space felt like both a smoky cafe in Paris and an Italian mothers kitchen with a smattering of rock band memorabilia adorning the walls to confuse patrons even more.  I still don't understand the idea behind the decor but somehow during the meal I learned to love the eclectic setting. Maroni's serves strictly a chef's tasting menu, no a la carte.  Simply state any allergies or special requests and sit back for about 25 small courses to be brought to the table one by one.  Our meal began with thick slices of bacon topped with Peter Luger sauce, a Brussels Sprout Cesar Salad, Shrimp Scampi and an incredible Sea Bass Scallopini tossed with breadcrumbs and lemon. A delicious array of Tuna Tartare & Spicy ...

It only seems right to close out 2015 at one of my old favorites- Gramercy Tavern.  It's been quite a year for Mr. Danny Meyer; Union Square Cafe closing, Shack Shake chicken sandwiches exploding and of course the end of tipping. I have no idea what he's got planned for the coming year but knowing him it will be fantastic.  Here's a look at the current lunch tasting menu: Lobster with celery root and horseradish foam  Flounder with butternut squash, cauliflower and grenada peppers Duck Agnolotti with shell beans, treviso and pecorino Lamb Loin and Shoulder with carrots, kale and sunflower seeds. Chocolate Custard pie with cherry fudge, chestnut and bourbon ice cream (subbed in for the Rice Pudding Quince on the tasting menu) An array of chocolates to round out the coffees... ...and a special Coconut Cream Cake for Mr. T's father; a birthday gift from the kitchen to celebrate his birthday.   Gram...

Mr. T and I were two of only eight lucky people to score opening night reservations for Dominique Ansel's dessert only tasting menu Unlimited Possibilities (aka U.P.).  The tiny space above Dominique Ansel Kitchen was transformed into a cozy candlelit space with jazz music playing overhead and table that descended from the ceiling for us to dine (check out his table descending video  here ). The meal began with an array of fresh veggies, a little something raw to cleanse the palate for the desserts to come. The eight course tasting menu was designed around the "first" of everything in life.  Dominique explained that he not only wanted to focus on the flavors but also recreate the emotions that went along with each of these experiences.  A week before dining each guest received an email asking to reply with his/her first word and course number one was designed around each response. First Word - sweet pea, rice milk, gin, carrot cake, yogur...