NYC Tastes

Even if you don’t know much about the new French dining scene you’ve probably heard of Frenchie. This tiny little restaurant has gotten quite the press and following for its fabulous food and reasonable prices. So much press that it’s a two month in advance reservation. Luckily I planned it to the date and got a reservation for the first seating. The tiny little restaurant is very cozy and inviting. We got a fabulous seat right at the window and started with a nice crisp bottle of Sancerre. Frenchie just opened up a little wine bar across the way a few months ago and we had the perfect view of the lively crowd. We each decided to order the 38 € menu option and added the Foie Gras to share. This was probably the best decision of the night. The presentation of the foie gras was just lovely but the flavor was down right amazing. Pickled rhubarb and strawberries cut right through the fat of the foie gras and brought out a lighter, earthy flavor I’ve never experienced bef...

Day Two of our trip Mr. T and I woke up in London, having had a successful long sleep (which hardly ever happens to us) and hopped on a train to Paris. We arrived right around 5:00 and had just enough time to check into our hotel and grab a quick cocktail at Lockwood before heading to Frenchie Wine Bar for dinner. We had such an incredible meal at Frenchie proper last time (aka  Gramercygate ) we just had to check out the more causal sister restaurant across the street-Frenchie Wine Bar.  We started with a lovely bottle of Pinot Blanc and a bowl of creamy Burrata studded with bright yellow cherry tomato, fried onion and pumpkin seeds. Black Truffle Tortellini with smoked cauliflower followed...a delightful explosion of rich, earthy umami flavors that tasted sinfully decadent but were actually light as air.  This was a dish we both inadvertently ate with eyes closed, lest nothing interfere with the incredible flavors taking over our taste buds. ...

I hope everyone had a joyous night out last night and is looking forward to the coming year! As always I have a Wish List of places to dine at in the coming year. Last year I had 16 places on my list and I made it to 8- exactly 50 %. The list was way too long and aggressive so I’ve been a little smarter about choices this year I hope. I’m also assuming Mr. T and I will have enough money to go on a honeymoon to Paris and London which is why you’ll see some international places in there as well. So here goes nothing- my 2011 Wish List of new places to check out! ABC Kitchen (completed 1/24/11) Flex Mussels Riverpark (completed 2/1/11) Il Trulli Kin Shop Lot 2 Bouley (completed 1/20/11) Lupa Compose (closed) Frenchie (Paris) St John Bar & Restaurant (London) And these two I’m bringing over from last year: Locanda Verde Bonnie’s Grill (wings) We’ll see how I do! Cross your fingers for some good eats this year!

Thursday morning I woke up and had only one thing on the brain- croissants! I took a quick walk over to Poilane bakery and came home with breakfast for me and Mr. T. This little bakery really churns out some fantastic wares. The croissant had prefect fluffy innards with just the right amount of chew and the apple tart was off the charts. The dough was so buttery and crisp I could have sat there all day eating flaky bite after flaky bite. Of course I couldn’t help myself and stopped by Pierre Hermes on my morning walk as well! Some more delicious macarons and a special pastry the Vanilla Infinite Emotions. Seriously have you even seen a dessert that looks so beautiful and amazing? Three different types of vanilla were used for this dessert- Tahitian, Madagascar and Mexico- along with three different layers of frozen vanilla, baba with vanilla and mascarpone cream with vanilla. All the different layers and textures were pretty amazing to taste with each different kin...

Watch out London and Paris here we come. Mr. T and I are heading out for our honeymoon and I have high hopes it will be filled with delicious food and drink. I did some research and planning (although not nearly as much as I wanted too damn work gets I the way) so hopefully we can see and do everything we can. So far our food/drink itinerary is as follows: London Dinners (confirmed w/ Reservations)- J. Sheekeys, St. John, The Bull and Last Hopeful Food Stops The Wolsey and National Arts Club for breakfast, lunch at the Corner Room, fish and chips at the Golden Hind, cupcakes and wine at Fortnum Mason, beers at Southampton Arms and Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese Pub. Paris(Confirmed w/ Reservation) Dinner at Frenchie, Lunch at La Bigarrade Hopeful Food Stops Dinner at Les Fines Gueules, Steak Frites at L’Entrecote, Bread from Poilane, Crepes at Breizh Café, all sorts of fabulous sweet treats from Pierre Herme, Laduree, Hugo & Victor, Sadaharu Aoki. Croissants, Steak Tartare, f...