With 18,696 restaurants located in the five burroughs of New York City (according to the official tourism board), it's easy to find a tasty bite.
The sheer enormity of it all can be a bit overwhelming. But we packed as much as we could into two short visits recently on the way to and from Italy.
Between catching the "Late Show with David Letterman" at Ed Sullivan Theatre (yes, right after the blackmail expose) and Broadway's "God of Carnage" with Jeff Daniels and James Gandolfini at Jacobs Theatre, it was walk, walk, walk and cab, cab, cab to some of New York City's hottest new restaurants and comfort-food mainstays.
We walked our way to a fabulous a la carte brunch at Dovetail on the upper West Side. From Midtown, we entered Central Park South and meandered under colorful fall foliage and along streams with thirsty squirrels. We passed the world-famous Tavern on the Green and its topiary animal wonders, then under the stone pedestrian bridge where "Law & Order" episodes sometimes find victims in the dark tunnel.
We popped over the bridge and onto 67th Street, and within a block or two found a sculpture listing all of the Nobel Peace Prize winners in the U.S. We were getting hungry, and it was time to dine.
Dovetail looked unassuming from the outside, but it soared with its a la carte brunch. Served Sundays only, it costs $28 per person and begins with sweet and savory house-made breads and canapes brought to the table.
That particular day, canapes were shots of vichyssoise, fresh grouper ceviche and duck meatballs on skewers, among others. The servers were super friendly and fast - like in most all of the other restaurants we dined in.
Grabbing our attention were entree options of braised lamb lasagne, crab Benedict with spicy Hollandaise, and seared cod with cranberry beans, cabbage and sun chokes. But we opted for the vegetable salad - fresh, flavorful, crunchy and packed with a variety of East Coast produce all artfully displayed with house dressing on the side.
Desserts of moist prune brownies, blackberry cheesecake and more were all included and brought to the table. Afterwards, we walked off the meal at the swap meet with hundreds of vendors across the street.
Ladies who shop will love the food and the prices at David Burke at Bloomingdale's. The dual concept restaurant spans the 59th Street block of the world-famous department store with the Burke Bar Cafe on one side and Burke in the Box take-out and eat-in on the other.
"Bringing together delicious, affordable fare, top service and a fun atmosphere, David Burke at Bloomingdale's satisfies the cravings of New York City's most discerning shoppers, visitors, and residents," says publicist Jackie DeGiorgio of the Becca PR firm that represents this hot spot. "The restaurant has recently debuted a $20.09 three-course prix fixe nightly, by which all of the dishes are served as full-size portions."
If you enjoy the above-mentioned restaurant, then you'll go crazy over Fishtail by David Burke, by far my favorite restaurant in the Big Apple on this trip.
Yes, we do have the freshest seafood in Hawaii. But Burke, an acclaimed chef with restaurants in Chicago, New York and Las Vegas, does, too.
Located on Manhattan's tony Upper East Side at 135 East 62nd St., between Park and Lexington avenues, Fishtail by David Burke offers two stories of dining in a historic townhouse. Ground level is an oyster bar, and the second-floor dining room features a Warhol print and lots of red colors, including artful red-glass buoys.
We walked there all the way from the Rockefeller Center after seeing "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" with uproariously funny Danny DeVito as his guest.
Chef de Cuisine Patrick Vaccariello made the table rounds and told us Burke owns a company fishing boat out in Brielle, N.J. Their goal is to make Fishtail a sustainable seafood restaurant.
"As more and more people become aware of overfishing and environmentally destructive fishing methods, we have created a menu that reflects our goals," said the chef. "Our menu provides diners with the highest quality ingredients and maintains the integrity of each item on the plate."
We felt good about ordering sustainable East Coast oysters, little neck clams and stone crabs. Sip some bubbly and eat Blue Point oysters from Virginia, Belon from Maine, and Malpaque from Cape Cod. Other starters may range from taco trio of fresh fish to dry-roasted "angry" mussels, which are steamed Nova Scotia bi-valves in a fiery chile oil.
Walking down quiet 10th Street in the West Village, we found Bar Blanc Bistro in an old carriage house. The Dutch-African chef, Sebastian Zijp, used to cook at Gramercy Tavern and Bouley Upstairs, among others.
John Marianic of Esquire magazine writes Zijp, is "a master of separating out the distinct forms of each ingredient in a dish." We saw this in his signature dish of baby Boston lettuce and hearts of palm salad with poached egg, aged pecorino cheese and balsamic vinegar oil.
Bar Blanc Bistro offers a $16 prix-fixe brunch menu with an entree, a cocktail and coffee or tea. Popular is Chef Sebastian's "hangover cure" of eggs, chicken sausage, fingerling potatoes and caramelized shallots. He also features Moule Frites Monday for $18 per person, and with that you get a bowl of fresh mussels, frites and a draft beer.
If you like the classic flavors of Portugal, Spain and France, cooked by a cutting-edge chef, then take the fastest cab to the new Aldea at 31 West 17th St.
Located on the fringe of Manhattan's Union Square, Aldea is modest both inside and out and resembles a tapas bar in the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona.
Chef-owner George Mendes has been hailed by GQ magazine as "clearly New York's breakout chef of the year, comfortable with the oldest of old-world cooking as well as the snazziest of modern techniques."
Mendes worked with three-star Michelen Chef Martin Berasategui in Spain and Alaine Ducasse in France and he gets glowing reviews from all the big boys in the city.
We chose to sit at the chef's counter, which seats six and faces the open kitchen. The New Yorkers dining next to us were fun, eccentric and talkative chefs, who helped us through the maze of what to order.
The sea-urchin toast with cauliflower cream, sea lettuce and lime was phenomenal. So were the autumn squash soup with smoked jamon (ham), concord grape and chanterelles; and the sea-salted Chatham cod with market cranberry and fava beans, and lemon-basil mussel broth.
While the Garden Restaurant & Wine Bar wasn't open yet when we were in town, we stopped by one day to get a "look-see." Located lobby level of Four Seasons Hotel New York, it's got four towering African Acacia trees that make for a forest in the middle of the metropolis.
"The Garden offers breakfast, lunch and weekend brunch and in the evening, it's transformed into a vibrant wine bar offering over 700 bottles of wines, 150 by the glass, extensive tastings of cheese and chocolates from around the globe and a world-class charcuterie menu,"?according to Leslie Leftkowitz, the hotel's director of public relations.
Choose from creamy Ancient Heritage Adelle sheep and cow cheese from Oregeon, white-truffle salami from Utah or crispy sweetbreads with porcini and asparagus.
Looking for exciting night life? Bombay Sapphire's Master Mixologist James Moreland says Apotheke is the best mixology cocktail bar in town along with the bar at Daniel, which is in one of NYC's top restaurants.
"Insieme" is the Italian word for "together," and that's just what this restaurant is. Located lobby level of the Italian-owned Michaelangelo Hotel at 7th Avenue and 51st Street, Insieme is decidedly modern with shiny metals, oak, cork, travertine and cushy banquettes.
You'll love the menu, both modern and traditional. Choose from octopus carpaccio with fennel and cannellini beans dressed in red-wine vinaigrette to lasagne verde: fresh spinach pasta with bechamel sauce and meat ragu.
Those who want to wake up to a hearty breakfast should look no further than Norma's in the Parker Meridien Hotel in the heart of Manhattan's Midtown. It's on 56th Street between 6th and 7th avenues. The concierges in our hotel highly recommended it. Once we entered the room, we knew we were in for a real treat and that they were right on the money.
"Breakfast is the poor neglected stepchild of New York City dining - often paid sanctimonious lip service for its nutritional importance, or given false airs as a power breakfast, which has everything to do with power and nothing to do with breakfast," according to a New York Times article.
At Norma's, power players were definitely in attendance, but the restaurant had everything to do with breakfast. Our waiter brought us pots of French-pressed coffee and bottomless glasses of fresh-squeezed orange juice.
Although our group was dressed casually, unlike the movers and shaker "suits" at every other table, we were accorded the same service and respect. The only downside was choosing what to order. Everything looked so good from the chocolate-hazelnut and fruit frilled crepes to the over-stuffed croissant of smoked salmon and scrambled eggs.
But we ordered the artichoke Benedict with truffle-porcini sauce; crispy Belgian waffles with fresh berries and Devonshire cream; and the Full Monty Cristo - grilled brioche with turkey, Swiss and honey-cured ham - all dressed up with an incredible mango chutney.
Fugetabout gyros hawked by vendors at the street stands by Times Square. We found our favorite comfort food in New Yawk at Norma's. Of course, there's nothing like a hot pastrami on rye from Carnegie Deli or pizza from Da Nico in Little Italy. But I'm just a novice, scratching the tip of the iceberg - not an expert as are some Mauians who go to the Big Apple all the time. People like Dr. Jane Kocivar and her husband, Nicky "Beans" Matichyn of Maui Coffee Roasters. Chat them up and you'll get the real inside scoop.
All I know is, there are literally thousands of choices - and it's easy to find a good bite.
* Carla Tracy can be reached at carlatracy@mauinews.com.
