New York City Restaurants

I thought I would start a thread dedicated to NYC restaurants.

2013 has been the best year for restaurant openings since 2004. And this expansion has spread beyond Brooklyn to many new areas. One area in particular that is thriving is the Lower East Side with Contra, Estela (not technically LES) Fung Tu, NY Sushi Ko, Pearl&Ash and Skal. Also Russ & Daughters will be opening soon.

I hope others will add to this thread and start similar threads for other large cities of interest.


Chef Fabian von Hauske worked at Faviken and Noma. Chef Jeremiah Stone worked at Isa. Sommelier Linda Milagros Violago worked at Mugaritz

Contra features a 5 course tasting menu for $55 and is clearly influence by the Paris scene with similarities to restaurants such as Bones, Le Chateaubriand, and Roseval.

They have a small focused mostly “natural” wine list again similar to the aforementioned Paris restaurants. We drank a fantastic Frank Cornelissen Orange wine that worked wonderfully well with the food.

The music is good and just the right volume.

We like to sit at the Bar because it is no reservations and the bartender who has taken care of us each time is very knowledgeable about food, cocktails and wine.

Course 1 - Scallop/Marrow/Pear - we did not have the marrow since we do not eat meat

Course 2 - Cod/Green/Garlic/Broccoli

Course 3 - Chicken/Mushroom/Almond - we were given an extraordinary tasty dish with Salsify as the main component

Course 4 - Tangerine popcorn - The popcorn was a flavor component and not actually the whole popcorn which worked well with the rest of the dish

Course 5 - Beet/Hazelnut/Yoghurt

We supplemented the tasting menu with Bread (made in house) and cheese.

The food was artfully presented, energetic, lively, thoughtfully composed with some surprising combinations and overall delicous.

3 Likes

Robert
No uncle boons?

Heard some good things. The menu does not seem appealing to me. Especially as a pescetarian.

yeah that’s true. there’s a little fish, but it’s the chicken salad that keeps drawing me back there. plus i like the divey room.

You can add Rosette to the list of new impressive restaurants in the Lower East Side. Chef Nick Curtin has a diverse resume for a young guy that includes Acme, Compose, Jacks Luxury Oyster Bar and Perry Street.

Some very creative vegetable based dishes. They still seem to be fine tuning a few things but overall it was great experience. I look forward to going back.

http://www.rosettenyc.com

http://www.sproutingfromthesoul.com/2014/02/chef-spotlight-interview-with-chef-nick.html

Nicks a friend of a friend. Will definitely check it out, thanks

Had a 2nd meal at Rosette and it was even better than the first. The Parsnip steak was excellent. They are still working on the winelist. Corkage was $30 on my first visit and $25 on the 2nd. Happy to see the place full on very cold and snow filled night.

Estela is great. Piora and Betony are two other excellent recent new openings.
Carbone is a lot of fun if you aren’t paying.
Le Philosophe opened very end of 2012, slightly creative versions of French bistro fare.

Estela is great. I have loved Chef Ignacio Mattos cooking since Isa. Thomas Carter is the consummate host and have followed him since Blue Hill at Stone Barns.

Two very good lunches at Betony and they have very good wine list.

Great time to be eating in NYC.

Some recent meals in NYC have been fantastic:

Brooklyn Fare - Some of the finest raw fish in the U.S. (have not been to Urusawa lately so I can’t compare), flown in from Japan. Stunning meal. The gentleman next to me had eaten at Alinea and Per Se the two prior nights and he said favorite of the three was Brooklyn Fare.

Luksus at Tørst - Chef Burns was the Head of the Test Kitchen at Momofuku and prior to that he worked at Fat Duck, St John and Noma (three years). Two recent meals were outstanding. Really exciting cooking and to me the closet vibe in NYC in terms of the overall experience to what is happening in Paris. Corkage is $25-30.

Sushi Kura - A secret Sushi spot on St Marks. They have three different levels of menus and you can do a combination of raw and cooked. I think the Chef excels at the cooked portion of the menu. Corkage is $30.

Box Kite - Pop up type restaurant in a coffee shop on St Marks. The two Chefs have worked at ACME and Robertas, respectively. It is a tasting menu with counter seating. The also offer a few seats where you can order A la carte. No corkage, the have a small wine list that has a few ok things to drink.

Degustation - I don’t know how Jack keeps finding amazing young chefs. The current Chef was at JLOB and is doing a fantastic job at Degustation. So many amazing places to eat in the East Village (my hood).

We had a very good 3-course lunch at Costata in the West Village, for the crazy-price of $25, which is their Restaurant Week promotion. Our first courses of beet salad and beef tartare were fresh and nicely prepared. For my entrée, I opted for their White-label burger, thick medium –rare patty, with melted American cheese and bacon marmalade. Melt-in-your-mouth delicious.

This restaurant is run by the same people at Marea and is supposed to be their version of a steakhouse and it also is more casual than Marea. Unless it’s an offline, I admit that I prefer to prepare and eat my steaks at home, but in the case of Costata, I will plan on going there to try their steaks. I also heard that their pasta dishes are worth ordering, too.

Great thread, thanks for bumping it. Rosette is excellent and one of the coolest rooms in the city.

On the casual front, i’d add charlie bird to the list. had a recent meal outside on their patio and everything was really fresh and vibrant.

really need to try luksus.

I’ve eaten really well this year (Arpege, Saison, etc.) but I’m not sure I’ve had a more exciting meal this year than my meal at Atera in June. I think I preferred my Arpege meal by a hair, but the calculus was shockingly close

I thought NoMad was good, not great, last month. Chicken was good but I’ve had better for far less money. Room was cool.

Ryan - I need to get back to Atera. I finally had an amazing meal at Saison last month, after a few tries. Give Brooklyn Fare a try.

It’s on my list. I only get to NY a night every couple months so I have to pick my spots carefully. How tough is a reservation at BF these days?

I’ve heard mixed reviews of Costata but the one time I went I thought it was excellent. Though as with Marea desserts were a weak point. One can always walk across the street to Dominique Ansel to get something to take home.

It is still a tough reservation, but worth the effort. Blanca is easier.

Big fan of Rosette too but the chef is leaving:

Bummer. Thanks for pointing that out, I missed it.