The Standard Grill

I was shopping around in the Meatpacking District and stopped by The Standard Grill for lunch.  I have been here before for dinner and I highly recommended this spot, I am already planning my next trip back!

I absolutely love the decor, it's a warm and inviting brasserie with beautiful red banquettes and dark wood.  My favorite feature is their brilliant use of pennies for their flooring!

They start you off with a nice bag of bread.  Is wasn't warm but it was salty, and a slightly salted bread is something of perfection, love this.

The Tuna Nicoise salad was not a traditional salad, more like tuna on top of a small bunch of arugula and some accompaniments including delicious olives, half a hard boiled egg, green beans, potato and tomato, I had them hold the anchovies.

There were so many options that looked amazing there is something for everyone.  Stop by for dinner, lunch, or brunch and try some of their delicious and unique eats and drinks!

 

 

The Standard Grill
848 Washington St, New York City (cross street is 13th)
http://www.thestandardgrill.com/

T-Bar Steak and Lounge

I am enjoying some time off from work and decided to spend a rainy afternoon the best way possible...couped up in a restaurant with plenty of wine and delicious food!  So, my husband and I headed off to T-Bar Steak and Lounge for a long lunch.

To start, a beet salad, but not just any beet salad, this included the traditional frisee and goat cheese, but to my complete pleasure, it also included crumbled pumpkin seed brittle.  So delicious!

The tune tartare was also fresh and delicate.

The mac and cheese, a side dish, was quite big and very rich and savory.  Loved the cheesy crust.

Finished off with their biscotti plate and a coffee which concluded my perfect UES lunch.

Check out T-Bar Steak and Lounge for a wonderful day (or night) filled with delicious food and perfect service.

T-Bar Steak and Lounge
http://www.tbarnyc.com/
1278 Third Ave, New York City (cross street is 73rd)

Maialino

It was a cold day and all I wanted to do was sit in a warm restaurant with delicious food and drink wine all afternoon so I went to a perfect place for just that, Maialino, located in the Gramercy Park Hotel.  Mailiano has a beautiful and quite fancy dining room but since I wanted something a bit more relaxing, I sat at in their bar area with old rustic wood tables and floor to ceiling windows where the sun just poured in on this particular day.

 

 I love bubbly at lunch and because it was such a cold winter day I went with the chilled, sparkling red which is a bit more complex than say, a Prosecco.  They also provided beautiful rosemary bread to start.

 

 

 

 

 

Maialino has a reasonable weekday price fixe menu, 3 courses - antipasti, entree, and biscotti - for $35.  For the antipasti I had the octopus with heirloom beans and radish.  It was cooked perfectly and quite lovely. 

 

 

 

I then had the Brodetto, a seafood stew, for my entree.  On the cold day this was perfect, light, alittle spice and filled with fresh fish.

 

 

 

The biscotti plate was an adventure, there were so many different cookies that were all delightful, a perfect end to the meal.

 

 

If you have a few hours for lunch and are looking for some great food and wine, Maialino is a great spot for you.

Maialino
2 Lexington Ave, New York City
http://www.maialinonyc.com/#

Catch

On a night of spontaneous bar hopping, I ended up at Catch for a third round of scotch.  By that time, I also needed to get some dinner.  I had been to Catch for dinner before and loved the food so was happy to order a few appz to quell my hunger.  The bar was packed but we were able to order with the bartender.

 

A nice Macallan

 

 

 

We started with the Catch Roll with crab, salmon and miso-honey.  So delicious and very little rice, mostly fish, which is fantastic.

 

 

 

 

 

Sake chicken lettuce cups are fun and delicious!

 

 

 

 

The Grilled Octopus with a wonderful sofrito sauce.

 Yum!

 

 

 

 

 

Mahi Mahi wonton tacos with fresh guacamole.  Crunchy, bright, a bold bite of flavor.

 

 

 

 

 

If you love fish you must swim over to Catch for fun, unique and delicious dishes.  A great spot for groups as well as couples.

 

 

Catch NYC
21 9th Ave, New York, NY 10014
(212) 392-5978

SD26

Last weekend I had dinner at SD26, located at the north side of Madison Square Park.  I had a special five course tasting menu that they put together that evening and it was quite an experience.

 

 

The restaurant itself is beautiful, very modern and stylish but felt warm and inviting.  When we sat down they already had rosemary breadsticks on the table.  I haven't met a breadstick I haven't liked but these were exceptional with little pieces of rosemary, the fact that they were waiting at the table for me, bonus!

 

 

 

We ordered a bottle of red wine and presented with a gorgeous bread basket; I went with the walnut bread and foccacia.  The foccacia was light and doughy, not greasy.  Red wine and three bread options, this is a great way to start a Saturday night!

 

 

 

The chef brought out a lovely and very large "amuse-bouche".  Two fish dishes that featured a hint of orange: fried fish on orange marmalade on the left and tuna carpaccio with citrus on the right.

 

 

 

 

 

We were then served with what they said was one of their signature dishes, a ricotta ravioli with soft egg on top.  Quite delicious, the ricotta was absolutely heavenly but it overpowered the egg and that delicious runny yolk was lost in the dish.

 

 

 

 

Then came the pasta, this was my favorite dish of the night.  A linguine with clam sauce, the pasta was perfectly cooked, soft and delicate but with a bite to it.  It was elegant and simple and just wonderful.

 

 

 

 

We then moved on to fish, scallops with green cauliflower puree with pistachio.  This was a delightful dish and a wonderful use of the local produce!

 

 

 

 

For our next course, I had the venison.  It came with simply grilled leeks and onions but the meat really stood out, the star of the dish. 

 

 

 

 

 

For dessert we had two options, a fantastic Tiramisu that was to die for, it was mousse-like which I loved. 

 

 

 

 

And gorgeous Lady Fingers surround a pastry cream and berries.

 

 

 

 

To top us off, we ended the meal with had a collection of cookies and truffles, completely divine.  Restaurant owners take note, your patrons LOVE this stuff, do it more often :)

 

 

 

SD26
19 E 26th St, New York, NY 10010http://www.sd26ny.com/

Cucina Ciano

If you haven't heard, a lot of new and noteworthy restaurants have sprouted up on the upper east side, quite exciting for an upper eastsider.  I was thrilled to hear about Ciano moving up from Flatiron to the UES as a more casual eatery, Cucina Ciano. 

 

 

There were so many things on the menu that looks delicious it was very difficult to figure out what to get.  I made the decision of getting a few small plates so I could try a few dishes.  I started with the burrata "panzanella" salad with arugula, and cherry tomato.  This was a simple and lovely dish, the burrata really took center stage and the arugula offered a nice herbal bite.

 

 

 

 

They have three crostini options and I chose to go with the baccala and potato.  I love white fish so I was excited about this however it was very heavy on the potato, not so much baccala.  If you like mashed potatoes, you would love this, creamy and smooth, and on crostini, it was a carbo load.

 

 

 

 

I almost didn't do it but I really couldn't resist....I had to order the octopus.  This was a balsamic glazed octopus on frisee with artichoke and red pepper.  The flavors were great but it was alittle small.

 

 

 

 

I have to say the best thing I had all night - besides the Chianti - was the brussel sprouts and Cucina Ciano knew what they were doing with these little cabbages.  They were roasted with alittle bit of a caramelized crunch on the outside and just the perfect amount of balsamic vinegar and olive oil.  Truly outstanding.

 

 

 

For dessert, my dining companions and I wanted to try something so we went with the mini cannoli.  There was pistachio (the best one), chocolate chip, and a lemon rosemary.  They could use some better plating but really great cannoli. 

 

 

 

 

Welcome to the neighborhood Cucina Ciano!

 

Cucina Ciano

181 E 78TH St, New York, NY  646.422.7550

 

Hill & Dale

Hill & Dale is supposed to be a great late night spot but I went for dinner on a Friday night and it was absolutely fantastic.  No need to only go for late night, this place has a great menu to share and an awesome happy hour deal. They have an extensive cocktail list and their signature cocktails are $7 during happy hour from 5pm-8pm. 

 

 

I started off with a drink, "The Floozy", which has vodka, mudled strawberries, lime juice and a daisy to top it off.  It was a bit sweet so I had to switch to an Old Fashion on my next round but if you want to feel like you are on a tropical island, this drink will take you there.

 

 

The Floozy

 

 

Any empty Floozy

 

 

 

They had Sigmund's Pretzels on the menu so we had to order one.  If you haven't had a Sigmund's Pretzel yet, stop what you are doing and go get one, they are the best soft pretzel ever.  This apple cider mustard was a great complement.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The deviled eggs were delicious, made with a smoked paprika that was perfect on the creamy yolks

 

 

 

 

 

 

A dozen oysters....$1 a piece during happy hour!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The short rib sliders were fantastic and a good hearty dish, they don't skimp on the meat.  The short rib was very tender and flavorful and the pickled kimchi adds a nice brightness.

 

 

 

Next cocktail....."Flip The Frog", with muddled cucumber, gin & St. Germain.  Quite refreshing, and went down real quick

 

 

 

Now for the highlight of my week.......the Hill & Dale flatbread.  This flatbread was topped with duck confit, salvatore ricotta, caramelized onions, olives, puttanesca and basil.  There aren't even words to describe how good this flatbread is.  The duck is packed with decedent flavor and is soft and crispy which seems impossible but they did it.  The cheese has such a creamy, smooth consistency that tasted very rich and was just amazing.  Then there were the layers of olives, basil and something of a crunch, I think it was apple but not sure.  All of these ingredients piled on top of this flatbread came together in harmony and made an amazing bite.  The dough needed a touch of seasoning but this flatbread was nearly one of the most perfect things I have eaten. 

 

 

Run don't walk to Hill & Dale and make sure you order the flatbread!

 

 

Hill & Dale

115 Allen Street, New York, NY 10002

They do not take reservations unless you are 10+ people

 

Anassa Taverna

After a recent trip to Bloomies, I went to lunch at the new Greek taverna across the street, Anasssa Taverna. 

 

 

They start you off with crusty bread and their lemony hummus, very bright and light, one of the best I have ever had! I should have ordered a pint to take home.

I ordered a glass of their delicious rose, it was sunny out so seemed appropriate...

 

 

 

 

On to the spreads: tzatziki, skordalia (potato garlic), and eggplant.  These were delicious, the eggplant was my favorite, a must have. 

 

 

 

 

My entree was their Greek Salad with chicken.  A traditional Greek salad with no lettuce was quite good but nontraditional in the fact that in was $18 and only TWO olives...needs more olives.

 

 

 

 

All in all, after a long day of shopping, a glass of wine and some appetizers at Anassa's was a good idea.
 

 

Anassa Taverna 200 E 60th St, New York, NY 10022

212-371-5200

 

Heidi's House - By the Side of the Road

Heidi's is a tiny little restaurant/wine bar on the Upper East Side.  It has a long bar, four tables and a nice selection of food and drink.  There are a number of daily selections so you can try something new on each visit.

 

The wine and beer menu is extensive, I went with a rose and my hubby, the Pumpkin Ale.
 

 

 

We started with the crab dip with veggies and chips.  Very good, you taste the crab not just the cream cheese.

 

 

We then shared a delicious roasted artichoke salad with parmesean and truffle from the specials menus.

 

 

 

I couldn't resist, had to get the tuna tartare with my rose.
 

 

 

 

Heidi's is a great place for a low key evening.  Plan on waiting for a table or seat at the bar and a wait for food, there is only 1-2 servers.  If you have the patience, give it a shot.
 

 

Heidi's House - By the side of the Road

308 East 78Tth St - New York, NY 10075, (212)249-0069

 

 

 

Distilled

I am so happy I had the chance to have dinner this week at Distilled in Tribeca, it was absolutely wonderful. Distilled had been on my list to try for some time now because the menu looked great - both food and cocktails - and it held up to the hype. 

 

In regards to ambiance, it is an great date spot, lively but not too loud, and the food is fun and delish. 
 

They start you off with popcorn that is flavored with garlic, salt, chili powder, and I imagine even more than that; its smoky and not too salty. I love when there is something unique to start, always makes you feel like you are going to be eating well all night.
 

 

Along with the popcorn we ordered the pickles and the wings.

 

Spicy Garlic Dill Pickles
 

 

 

The wings are their signature dish and after eating them, I can tell you they are a must try….and I don’t even like wings! These however I could eat a dozen of. They are twice fried so the skin is extra crispy and they are coated in a finger lickin' sweet and smoky marinade with gochujang, and served with a good but unneeded blue cheese dip on the side. These bad boys don’t need any dip.

 

 

For my entree I had the seared Diver Scallops on smoked duck breast, with ice wine vinegar, and frisée. These were very good but not the choice for someone that is very hungry, which I was. 
 

 

 

Thankfully my hubby got the country fried duck and waffles with a smoked chili maple syrup, whipped honey butter, and thai basil and let me had a few bites.  Note, this was ridiculously good! Highly recommended.

 

 

We also got some REALLY GREAT veggie sides


Brussel Sprouts

 

 

Roasted cauliflower shiro miso, pumpkin seeds, sugar snap peas, and basil

 

 

We finished the night with their deconstructed s ‘more. Props for the inventive idea, but the real things is much better.
 

 

 

Overall this is a very smart and exciting menu that is executed very well. I will definitely go back and absolutely recommend it to anyone looking for a fun and yummy evening.
 

Distilled

http://www.distilledny.com/

211 West Broadway, New York, NY 10013 — 212.601.9514