www.inotecanyc.com

Proprietors/Chef: Jason & Joe Denton // Eric Kleinman

Category: Italian/Brunch/Wine Bar

Neighborhood: Lower East Side
98 Rivington St New York, NY 10012
(212) 614-0473

Mood: Loud, rambunctious, dizziness.

Tastes Like: definitely Italian gone very foreign.  The whole menu is mostly in Italian, which is ridiculous if you don’t understand the language for an Americano chica such as myself.  We needed the waitress to decipher at least three different items… when all was said and done, we opted for four dishes total. (side note: four dishes for two people?!  Gone mad, because we severely ordered way too much food)

• Beet salad w/ oranges, hazelnuts, pecorino and mint; nice subtle flavors, but the beets were lukewarm and fell tremendously flat. also less thrilled with the slabs of nuts on top… very little mint & oranges to complement.
• Frittata with asparagus and some other prosciutto meat like substance; this was the worst, unappetizing dish ever.  Two bites total, the second having been forced to be polite.  Never ordering it ever again.
• Truffle toast w/ bottarga; now we’re getting luke warm.  This was pretty amazing, the egg poached perfectly on top and drizzled all over the toast with the sweet scent of truffle.  I could have lived without the bottarga, the waitress mentioned it was caviar, but she failed to mention it was cured.  BIG difference.
• Last & final dish, panini with mozzarella and a smoked pork meat..; wonderfully delicious.. If I could eat the bread and cheese, I’d gladly do so and be content!

Must Haves: truffle toast withOUT the bottarga. their paninis are pressed perfectly with the blend of chewy & a crispy bite

Stay Away: the frittata .. bland and way over the top filled with too much crap

Ambiance: the main floor is bright in a café-esque setting.  believe there is downstairs, but who wants to be trapped in the dark?

Service: not too cheery, warm or inviting.  In other words, usless.

Rating: 3 stars

Caveat: This place is an ITALIAN wine bar, so don’t go expecting any bloody marys or anything. Just saying…

www.barmarche.com

Proprietor: Chris Eddie

Category: Brunch, Bar, French

Neighborhood: Nolita
14 Spring St, New York, NY 10012
(212) 219-2399

Mood: Want coziness & intimacy?   Whether for brunch or dinner, Bar Marche keeps it clean and simplistic, something you can appreciate.  If not for the food, the drinks are creative and excellent!

Tastes Like: for brunch, there didn’t seem anything “French” about it…but you know brunch is good as long as it accomplishes the job of satiating my appetite (and then some).  My usual picks will always include some form of eggs (benedicte preferred), starch and fruit if I’m lucky or pancakes.  I try to stay away from the latter, because I’m usually in a savory mood, but on rare occasions, I love me a great stack of pancakes.  My roommate swears by their blueberry pancakes here, which tasted light & fluffy indeed.  I had the salmon tartare, and while for the most part it was good, one of my eggs were over cooked and the salad was way too salty.  To compensate, they just gave me more salad.  No dressing, just dumped a whole bunch of salt on top… yeah, check!!   if you go here at night for drinks, they have an impressive list of adventurous dare i say exotic listing of drinks?  they taste as interesting as it looks!

Must Haves: Blueberry pancakes! Bass Taquitos!  a fan favorite of my guests when they come here for sure.

Stay Away: Any and all egg dishes.  Over-poached eggs, shame on you.

Service: so-so.  I guess when you’re kinda busy, it’s an excuse, but don’t certainly use it as one.

Rating: 3 stars

Caveat: have not been to dinner service yet, review is strictly for bar service & brunch!

www.cafeorlin.com

Proprietor/Chef: ?

Category: Breakfast, Brunch, hint of Middle Eastern

Neighborhood: St Marks Place
41 St. Marks Place New York, NY 10003
(212) 777-1447

Mood: Waiting up to an hour + for extremely, severely great brunch food.  If you are up for the challenge, it will be worth the wait.

Tastes Like: Bliss in the morning. The complete roll over package for what you need for brunch and then some.  For their $12 special, I got my salmon eggs benedicte, poached perfectly.  Side of potatoes went well with their “hot sauce” harissa,  which was chunky, hot, sweet peppers.  It scaled the home fry potatoes 10x higher than where it should have been.  The harissa indeed had lots of fun textures and completed the dish well.  Lastly, the special came with a mini fresh squeezed OJ and a coffee.  The cappuccino, if indeed a segafredo brand, was fantastic. I couldn’t believe the difference in upgrade.  My overall experience was killer.  There were certain entrees that definitely had nuances of Middle Eastern, and I had a difficult time buckling down on just one dish to order.  I will be back to try a variety for sure.

Must Haves: everything is good here… their eggs benedicte are perfection … ask for a side of their harissa.  it’s orgasmic.

Ambiance: Adjoined with another room, making this café appear smaller than it really is.  A little bit of a tight squeeze, but you can maneuver around it.

Service: Swift to say the least…and they take credit card!

Rating: 5 stars

Caveat: I think without the little quirks in place (fresh squeezed orange juice, great coffee, great hot sauce) the actual food merits a 4 star, but my overall experience is a 5 for sure.  No other caveat, this place has quickly grown to be one of my favorite brunches in the city!

www.bonchon.com

Proprietor: Myung J. Chung

Category: Korean

Neighborhood: Financial District
104 John St New York, NY 10038
(212) 682-7747

Mood: Junk food.  You’ve got to be in the mood for junk food or else this place will not satiate.  Be prepared for greasiness.

Tastes Like: the perfect fried food minus the grease and breaded battered crap.  I know it’s not really healthy for you, but I love the crispy texture minus the greasy feel on your lips.  I taste nothing but sweet, spicy, and savory sauce.  From the first bite to the last, it’s still crispy & hot.  the west coast version of “bonchon”… get ready for it… is “kyochon”.  In a recent March article of “Saveur”, I read a special on Kyochon and they so happened to name the secret ingredients into this crispy delight of chicken.  Proclaimed ingredients are the following: soy sauce, red pepper concentrate, garlic, sugar, ginger, strawberry jam & soda pop.  Feeling a little inspirational to recreate the glorified  masterpiece….I’ll let you know how it goes if I ever get to that tipping point.  the bulgogi tacos here are quite delightful, a rendition i can easily duplicate and can’t wait to try at home.

Must Haves: Zucchini fries topped with parmesan w/ a side of jalapeno sauce! in the words of my wise friends “O-M-G”.  yes, that’s what she said… it’s extremely savory with a spicy kick to it.  you’ll finish it, no worries.

Ambiance: BonChon just opened in the FiDi area, so everything was super clean & sleek.  Try sitting at the bar… fried chicken & beer deserves its place there.

Service: Generally very good here… you may have to flag them down for attention once in a while, but everything moves rather quickly.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Caveat: Supposedly they deliver..but we just tried ordering and had to order from another location. Bummer!

http://www.adriennespizzabar.com/index.html

Proprietor/Chef: Harry Poulakakos, Peter Poulakakos & Nick Angelis/Nick Angelis

Category: Pizza

Neighborhood: Financial District
54 Stone St. New York, NY 10079
(212) 248-3838

Mood: Take out.  Pizza does tastes better when you eat it in house…but why walk when they deliver?

Tastes Like: The perfect plain, “old fashioned” cheese pizza….an absolute must with garlic on top.  Incredible.  Savory… roasted garlicky, finger licking good.  The oregano and red pepper flakes made the pizza nearly perfect.  Perfect chewy dough of crust, al dente to the cheesiness.  The pizza is not ordinary here; yet, it falls just right below “gourmet” style pizza.  It’s hearty, rustic, and crispy goodness.

Must Have: Plain old fashioned pizza, incredible with roasted garlic on top (and fresh basil if you like it)

Stay Away: Margherita pizza, i’ve had much better.

Ambiance: Not too crowded… high bar tables, beautiful wooden floors and clean décor.  Looks like a little nice, upscale pizza joint to me!

Service: When hunger kicks, it’s calling baby.  Luckily our waitress was extremely nice and we were patient.  Food came, calmed, we quickly dominated it all.  One slice left.  It completely satiated our appetite.

Rating: 4 stars

Caveat: While their margherita pizza is good, it’s not great. I am also convinced that their pizzas are best eaten at the restaurant as opposed to delivery, but this is obviously a broad & applicable generalization across the board