Jaunted's Top Five Picks for New York Winter Restaurant Week 2012

January 5, 2012 at 1:47 PM | by JetSetCD | Comments (0)

The bar at Red Rooster

Yesterday we made the happy announcement that reservations are open for NYC's Winter Restaurant Week. Now, we're going to come through on our promise to let you in on our top picks.

Without further ado, our 5 top picks for New York Restaurant Week Winter 2012:

· Red Rooster, Harlem
3-course lunch for $24.07
If you can get yourself up to Harlem for a midday meal, then this is our highest recommendation. Not only is Red Rooster the current talk of the town, but it's actually worthy of the hype. It's soul food with a Swedish touch, on account of (Top Chef Masters winner) Chef Marcus Samuelsson's mixed African-Scandi background. We just hit up Red Rooster ourselves for their Sunday Gospel Brunch and ummm yeah. We'll be back real soon. Do not miss the Cornbread, Mac & Greens (omg) and Fried Yard Bird.

· Boulud Sud, Upper West Side
3-course lunch for $24.07
Not going to lie. Boulud Sud was the first place we booked yesterday when reservations for NYCRW opened. Why? Oh just because former NY Times Restaurant Critic Sam Sifton named it 2nd place in his Top 10 new restaurant openings of 2011 (Red Rooster was 9th) and we haven't yet been. The place is another of Chef Daniel Boulud's spots, but here it's all Mediterranean. The menu has already been released, and we're eyeing that appetizer of baby squid a la plancha like crazy.

· Maialino, Gramercy
3-course lunch for $24.07
This isn't a proper list of recommended restaurants without a good Italian entry. Maialino is one of restauranteur Danny Meyers' places (he of Gramercy Tavern, The Modern (another Jaunted favorite), Shake Shack and more) and it's pretty much the opposite of Olive Garden. Here you'll find a focus on Roman cuisine, with nary a mention of alfredo sauce. Thank god.

· Kutscher's, Tribeca
3-course lunch for $24.07 or 3-course dinner for $35
This restaurant—a Jewish-American bistro—only opened a few months ago and we're in love with their desire to turn dishes like Gifilte Fish, Matzo Ball Soup and Kreplach into elevated, foodie-pleasing offerings. Not to mention that they're also doing a dinner menu for NYRW, which is rare to find among the more talked-about restaurants.

· Gotham Bar & Grill, Greenwich Village
3-course lunch for $24.07
Of these five recommended restaurants, Gotham Bar & Grill is the one we most frequent. For one, its location in the Village is ideal and, for another, its Chef and Co-owner Alfred Portale works with Singapore Airlines on dishes served at altitude in Business and First class. Also, the food is so so good and the place is always packed with patrons and good energy during a weekday lunch.

Gotham Bar & Grill just at the end of lunch service

[Photos: Jaunted, Jetsetcd on Instagram]

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