Jaunted - Tag: New New York Restaurants

Bronx: New York's Best BBQ: Now In Real Restaurant Form

BS — 2009-01-05T11:01:47-05:00

Discerning BBQ fiends know that NYC's best ribs and pulled pork are found far from the trendy new high-end BBQ joints in Manhattan. The best, they know, are at Mo Gridder's, the eatery-on-wheels that has long had foodies trekking to Hunts Point in the Bronx.

Good news: The often hard-to-find BBQ truck has quietly opened up a permanent location in the Belmont neighborhood to complement its truck service. Well, "real restaurant" might be a bit of an exaggeration, as it's more of a trailer park and picnic tables setup, but it's at least permanent.

You won't spot the celebs that frequent those downtown hot spots, but if you're willing to make the trip, Mo Gridder's is about as authentic BBQ as you'll find this side of the Mason-Dixon.

Related Stories:
· Mo Gridder's [Official Site]
· Opening Report: Cult BBQ Favorite Mo Gridder's Opens Sit Down Location [Eater]
· New New York Restaurants Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Adam "Slice" Kuban]

New York: Flex Mussels

BS — 2008-12-17T12:00:32-05:00

New York has plenty of restaurants that focus on just one food item done to perfection—baked potatoes, peanut butter, empanadas, to name a few. So why not mussels?

OK, mussels may not have the broadest appeal of any food, but those who know them love them, and this new entry is the second location of Flex Mussels--the renowned shellfish purveyors whose first outpost is in no less a mussel authority than Prince Edward's Island.

Of course, this is the big city, so Flex comes complete with 20 different varieties of trendified mussel dishes, like the Dubliner, with Guinness, toasted walnuts and caramelized onions; the Geisha Girl, with sake, green onions, pickled ginger, garlic and bird's eye peppers; and the Big Apple, with Ephemere apple beer, button mushrooms and cream.

Wow. We though butter and garlic was pretty good. For the record, the Upper East Side establishment does have a few choices for non mussel-heads, like fish and chips, a lobster roll and seared scallops.

Related Stories:
· Flex Mussels [Official Site]
· New New York Restaurants coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: peskymac]

New York: Sorella

BS — 2008-12-10T13:45:28-05:00

December 2008 is probably not the best month in the history of the world to open a restaurant serving pricey small plates of high-end food in a neighborhood only recently getting accustomed to fancy eateries.

But that's exactly what Lower East Side newcomer Sorella is doing, and we're hoping this is one collection of tiny, fancy plates that's able to weather the storm. The kitchen is helmed by Emma Hearst, the former chef at Union Square Caf�, and the menu is inspired by her trek though Northern Italy's rustic village cafes.

Sorella does what a lot of similar restaurants attempt to do and fail: It puts a trendy, modern spin on Italian classics without seeming too silly or over-the-top. Crispy veal sweetbreads are served with quince bacon marmalade; risotto is spiked with hazelnuts, sage, robiola cheese and a gooey "squash fondue;" and the pate de fegato is sort of an uber-classy breakfast sandwich—an English muffin smothered in duck fat and topped with chicken liver mousse, a fried egg and, of course, bacon.

Related Stories:
· Sorella [Official Site]
· New New York Restaurants coverage [Jaunted]
· Food Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Sorella]

New York: Baoguette

BS — 2008-12-03T11:00:24-05:00

While it hasn't yet completed the full mainstream crossover of, say, Pad Thai, the bahn mi sandwich has been a hit on the foodie scene and now seems poised for a breakout. This French-influenced Vietnamese staple does a delicious job of turning the basic sandwich staples--crusty bread, spiced meat and crunchy vegetables--into an exotic specialty.

Baoguette, which opened this week in Murray Hill, might be just the place to bring bahn mi to the masses. The new "gourmet sandwich caf�" (see, not a restaurant!) from the husband-and-wife team behind popular eateries Bu'n and Bao Noodles, offers made-to-order bahn mi sandwiches in a tiny, ten-seat Murray Hill shop formerly home to a Blimpie's.

Baoguette's signature sandwich is a baguette loaded with pork terrine, pate, pulled pork and fresh herbs, and there are also BBQ chicken, corned beef and catfish takes on the bahn mi. The best part is the decidedly mainstream-friendly pricing--$5 to $7 each.

Related Stories:
· Baoguette [Official Site]
· Restaurant Openings [NYM]
· New New York Restaurants coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Jef Poskanzer]

New York: Corton

BS — 2008-11-26T13:00:20-05:00

Holy hype alert! It's been a while since a non-Momofuku restaurant has had every critic in Manhattan simultaneously foaming at the mouth, but it looks like Corton has done the trick.

The new Tribeca restaurant represents an enticing team-up between Drew Nierporent, the owner behind such hotspots as Tribeca Grill and Nobu, and 32-year-old British wunderkind Paul Liebrandt, a chef who New York magazine calls:

A tempestuous diva of the old school who has a reputation for conjuring up impractical, brilliantly abstruse recipes, then bolting (or being fired) from the kitchen shortly thereafter.

You'd better get your meals in before Liebrandt bolts from this one, because the critics are just about calling it the second coming of Per Se. New York, in fact, gives it a rare four stars. The Observer concurs, calling Liebrandt's dishes:

Extraordinary, putting him in a realm with the city’s greatest chefs.

And Time Out New York gave the spot it's first ever six-star review. Holy hyperbole alert?

The best part is the not-nearly-Per Se prices. For $76, diners can choose a three-course prix fixe, choosing anything from Liebrandt's inventive menu of what he calls modern French fare, with offerings like red kuri squash soup with tempura of crab tail, and veal sweetbreads in chestnut crisp and juniper oil. Not exactly recession restaurant pricing, but with this kind of buzz, we’re sniffing a deal.

Related Stories:
· Corton [Official Site]
· Corton on Hudson [NYM]
· Mais O� Est Montrachet? [NYO]
· Corton [TONY]
· Momofuku Bakery and Milk Bar [Jaunted]

[Photo: Corton]

New York: Momofuku Bakery And Milk Bar

BS — 2008-11-19T09:45:15-05:00

Chef David Chang has been delighting and perplexing New Yorkers for the past few years with the insane twists on Asian comfort food he serves up at his Momofuku restaurants, as well as with the insane online-only reservations policy he dreamed up for Momofuku Ko, home of Manhattan’s 12 hardest-to-get bar stools.

Now Chang has expanded with a fourth outlet, opening Momofuku Bakery and Milk Bar adjacent to Momofuku Ssam, and he (along with pastry chef Christina Tosi) is hoping New Yorkers will go as crazy for his sweet treats as they do for his legendary pork buns.

The small East Village restaurant serves up offerings like the compost cookie: pretzels, potato chips, chocolate morsels and other unidentifiable delectables all rolled up in one cohesive cookie. Then there’s a selection of inventive breads like kimchi foccacia and chorizo challah and soft serve ice cream featuring flavors like grapefruit and salty pistachio caramel. Plus, you can even grab some of the famous Momofuku pork buns here as well.

Oh, and the milk. Go back to grade school by washing everything down with a glass of chocolate or strawberry flavored milk, or even cereal milk--yep, that’s milk that’s been steeped in corn flakes so it tastes like the bottom of the bowl.

Related Stories:
· Momofuku Bakery and Milk Bar [Official Site]
· New NYC Restaurant: Momofuku Ko [Jaunted]
· New New York Restaurants coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Momofuku]

New York: Dirt Candy

BS — 2008-11-12T12:15:11-05:00

Vegetarians used to be some of the most insufferably self-righteous eaters around. Even if they weren’t preaching ethics and environmental footprints, they were still serving the blandest food going. Not so much anymore.

One of the most exciting restaurant trends of recent years has been the growth of exciting, creative vegetarian restaurants. Not fake-meat tofu dishes, but crazy, over-the-top, unhealthy concoctions that instead of being stand-ins for meat, actually make the vegetables themselves enticing.

A great new example is East Village hole-in-the-wall Dirt Candy, which goes by the motto "Anyone can cook a hamburger, but leave the vegetables to the professionals."

You can start with jalapeno hush puppies served with maple butter, move on to watermelon radish kimchi doughnuts, have asparagus saffron broth paella for a main and finish it off with hazelnut caramel popcorn pudding.

Everything on the menu can be made vegan by request, but even meatheads will leave with full bellies.

Related Stories:
· Dirt Candy [Official Site]
· New NYC Restaurants coverage [Jaunted]