Jaunted

Tags: NYC BBQ / Restaurants / Food Travel / BBQ / Jazz / → All Tags

Only New York Does BBQ Like This

Of all the trendy NYC BBQ spots, Blue Smoke probably meets the most skepticism from 'cue purists. There's the uppity Gramercy location, the swank jazz club downstairs, the specialty cocktails (the Blue Smoke martini is Stoli vodka spiked with blue cheese-stuffed olives), and the tendency to offer very un-BBQ items like foie gras and deviled eggs. To be sure, this is not a down-home BBQ joint in Manhattan; this is Manhattan-style BBQ.

But mostly what drives purists crazy about Blue Smoke is that they refuse to settle on just one or even two regional BBQ styles. Their signature ribs come in saucy Kansas City style, smoky salt-and-pepper Texan, and sweet baby back a la Memphis. On top of that they have the audacity to offer Carolina pulled pork, St. Louis toasted ravioli and even traditional Southern fried chicken.

The kicker for the nay-sayers is that Blue Smoke somehow does it all well, hitting the right notes on each region's style (if we had to pick, the peppery Texas ribs take the cake). Plus you can even order BBQ downstairs at the Jazz Standard, where New York avant garde legends like Rashid Ali and Dave Douglas play regularly.

Nope, we're not in Kansas City anymore, but as far as Manhattan BBQ goes, Blue Smoke is the real deal.

· Blue Smoke [Official Site]
· NYC BBQ Coverage [Jaunted]
· BBQ coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Blue Smoke]

Tags: New New York Restaurants / Restaurants / → All Tags

New NYC Restaurant: Zorzi

New Yorkers pride themselves on the city's bounty of restaurants from just about every country on earth. So when opening a new NYC restaurant, it's no longer nearly enough to open a country-specific restaurant. Forget Mexican, think Oaxacan; instead of Spanish, try Basque. And clearly, just Italian doesn't cut it anymore--or even the old standby "Northern Italian."

Chef Marco Berto follows the rules at Zorzi, his new Venetian spot in Murray Hill, where you'd better not ask for fettuccine Alfredo. Berto's traditional menu is, as you might expect, heavy on the seafood, featuring dishes like salt cod risotto and stewed cuddlefish with grilled polenta.

The bi-level restaurant, which opened two weeks ago, features a sleek, steel-accented dining room and a full bar and lounge area serving up Italian cocktails and plenty of Prosecco--a Venetian standard we're thrilled to see on the wine list.

Related Stories:
· Zorzi [Official Site]
· New New York Restaurant coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Zorzi]

Tags: Brunch-Places-In-New-York / Restaurants / Brunch-Places / Brunch / → All Tags

Best Brunches in New York: Penelope

When it comes to trendy brunch spots with fancy omelets and inventive cocktails Manhattan's got the market cornered. But after a night on the town and an early morning walk of shame, sometimes you want a place that feels like home. For that, there's Penelope. The Murry Hill country kitchen serves up specials just like mom used to make--only better.

Buttermilk waffles are covered in seasonal fruit, French toast is drenched in hazelnut spread and farm fresh eggs come any way you want. Rustic wooden tables are perfect for tucking into a copy of the Sunday paper, and mismatched mugs for the strong house brew lend a warm touch to a meal that can sometimes be a pretentious scene elsewhere. If you can't eat in your own kitchen, Penelope is the next best thing.

Related Stories:
· Best Brunches in New York [Jaunted]
· Penelope [Official Site]

[Photo: Towering Flat]

Tags: Bars / Irish Pubs / Manhattan Nightlife / Best-Irish-Pubs-In-New-York-City / → All Tags

Could This Be New York's Best Irish Pub?

We were out in Manhattan this past weekend, and a terrible sequence of events lead us to the horrific nightlife cemetery of the East 30s. It's not there's a lack of bars in the neighborhood--far from it, in fact. But there aren't many pubs that don't feature drunk 22-year-olds auditioning for the remake of Animal House.

Fortunately, we've been clued into Rocky Sullivan's, a gem of an Irish pub. You're not gonna find any $12 lychee martinis at this place. It's almost like a bad joke: an Irish writer and an Irish rocker open a bar. The punch line though is nice cold beer, friendly folks and bands on stage. Thursday night is the award-winning quiz night, for all you know-it-alls.

All of which is to say that Rocky's is slowly becoming the unofficial Jaunted hang out--but only when your editors are in NYC, of course.

Know an Irish pub in New York City that we should check out, let us know in the comments section below.

Best Irish Pubs in New York City Map

Update: Sadly, Rocky's has closed down since we wrote this post. Fortunately, NYC has plenty of other options for getting boozed up Irish style.

[Photo: vermilionink]

Related Stories:
· Rocky Sullivan's [Official Site]
· Jaunted's bars coverage [Jaunted]

Tags: Scarlett Johansson / Oasis Day Spa / Manhattan Spas / → All Tags

Scarlett Johansson's First Brazilian Wax

Scarlett Johansson was a nervous wreck before she had her first Brazilian waxing at the Oasis Day Spa and, according to insiders at DaTommaso restaurant, the waxing crew couldn't stop admiring her body.

Now we aren't going to pretend to know anything about waxing, we are just here to sift the travel advice out of Scarlet's adventure.

Oasis Day Spa, which was voted "Best of NewYork" has three locations:  Park Avenue, Affinai Dumont Hotel, and Jetblue @ JFK Airport.  Something tells us Scarlett's first time wasn't inside JFK's Terminal 6.  On second thought, she is rumored to be fond of confined places.

[On an almost related note--thanks for the First Time stories you guys sent in this weekend--good stuff, and remember, there is still time to enter our Jaunted Giveaway.  Don't worry, Scarlett hasn't entered the above story...yet.]

[Photo: GossipRocks]

Related Stories:
·We Hear... [NY Post]
·Chateau Marmont [HotelChatter]