http://www.26seatsonb.com/

Proprietor/Chef: ?

Category:

Neighborhood: Alphabet City
168 Avenue B, New York, NY 10009
(212) 677-4787

Mood: Homey classic french food without the flair.  Not ideal for romance (or parties larger than 4), but it has its own intimacy and charm.

Tastes Like: classic, simple, hearty, traditional and beautifully plated food.  It doesn’t get any better than this.  Price points are wonderful.  I’ve tried everything from their comforting French onion soup, varietal of salads, pissaladiere, pate with lovely tart cornichons, duck with a marvelous sauce, to lamb, hangar steak & the special of the day, sea bass.  Their wine is lovely…all I’m missing to complete the set is their dessert.  Have not yet tried.

Must Haves: Duck, Sea Bass, Pate, Hangar Steak, French Onion Soup

Stay Away: NA

Ambiance: Intimate, very cozy… and about 26+ odd seats in change.

Service: The times I have been here, we have been well served by two authentic Frenchmen who were eager and happy to please us in any way shape or form.

Rating: 4 stars

Caveat: There can be quite a bit of a wait sometimes…. Call ahead to make reservations.  And yes, they take last minute reservations.  They are quite nice like that.

Proprietor/Chef: ?

Category: Chinese

Neighborhood: Downtown Flushing
Main Street and 40th Rd Flushing, NY 11355

Mood: This is simply a “to-go” stall.  If you’re in Flushing & the mood for cheap duck buns, GO HERE.

Tastes Like: mini delicious treats!  Savory, salty duck with a touch of sweet hoisin sauce.  Combining all ingredients in a warm steam bun topped with sliced green onions.  Heaven of the stars.  You can probably down it in 3 quick bites.  Do yourself a favor, and get more than 1.  For a buck a piece, I’d say it’s a bargain…so don’t go complaining about how little meat, too much sauce there is.  It can’t get any better than this.  And of course prices have gone up, so has everything else.  These are the times….

Must Haves: DUCK BUNS!

Stay Away: NA

Ambiance: Highly unmarked & un-noticed stall off the main strip of downtown flushing.  i’m not even sure I have the name of this place correct.

Service: Efficiency is key.  Quick just about every time… you take your buns to go.

Rating: 5 stars

Caveat: Cash only.  Of course.

www.yamawestvillage.com

Proprietor/Chef: ?

Category: Japanese

Neighborhood: West Village
40 Carmine St, New York, NY 10014
(212) 989-9330

Mood: Cheap lunch combos.  Otherwise, there are ton of sushi places that are more fresh and safer on your wallet.

Tastes Like: simple, manageable, decent food.  This place is my staple go-to for lunch when I’m in the mood for Japanese because they have a great lunch box.  I always pick sushi & salmon, which usually comes with a rice ball, salad, picked veggies & soba noodles and of course miso soup. Their rolls are so-so, as there are times when the rice is dried or the quality of the fish is par.  But considering the value of the meal here, it really is a bang for your buck.

Must Haves: Try their lunch combo … plentiful choices to pick from whether you’re in the mood for teriyaki, kats or sushi!

Stay Away: NA

Ambiance: Cute patio area in the back … I always try to sit outside as the inside is a little bit quiet & depressing.

Service: Service has been great for the most part.

Rating: 2 stars

Caveat: I’ll be the first to admit, I would probably not come here for dinner.  The menu is inexpensive and I’ll presume it is based on the quality of the fish. If I happen to be in the area maybe I’ll dine in, but I could think of a handful of other restaurants I’d rather go for dinner.

www.harrysnyc.com

Proprietor(s)/Chef: Harry/Peter Poulakakos, Danny McDonald, Michael Jewell / Joseph Mallol

Category: American/Steakhouse/Brunch

Neighborhood: Financial District
1 Hanover St, New York, NY 10004
(212) 785-9200

Mood: A hearty brunch where being sober is not allowed!  Unlimited champagne cocktails every Saturdays only with your choice of an entree.  Doesn’t get any sweeter than this.

Tastes Like: good brunch staples plus meat or seafood….but way too heavy on the sodium.  I take great pleasure in the little details….the assortment of warm bread and butter was fantastic (I hope they make their own bread) and even the coffee was surprisingly outstanding.  We came here for brunch, but we got here so late, we decided for more tempting offerings like tuna sandwich & cheese steak.  The tuna sandwich was a bit over seasoned with soy sauce.  I would have liked it to be a bit more rare but it’s a burger, not going to complain too much.  The mayo sauce on the side was key and definitely masked the saltiness.  I ended up washing it down with a few bellinis.  Other notables are their omelette, herbs & cheese nothing too special.  The cheese steak quite frankly was possibly the best item on their menu.  Which leads me to assume that the steak here is quite the wonderment.  I can only imagine it to be phenomenal.  Will have to come back for dinner service.

Must Haves: cheese steak.  Take advantage of their unlimited champagne cocktails.  My personal faves are the bellinis and blood orange with a hint of mint.

Stay Away: tuna sandwich. meh.  if the tuna was fresh, there was no need to season the crap out of it.  Tuna at a steak place equals disaster.

Ambiance: The restaurant has two settings, a casual café and prime steakhouse.  Take your pick. The restaurant itself is located in the basement, it’s spacious and absolutely beautiful.

Service: Wonderful. Even when our waitress/waiter was not around, we never had to worry about our drinks being empty for too long.

Rating: 3 stars

Caveat: Brunch is only open Saturdays, NOT Sundays.  I made that mistake once…and it’s great that they can afford to close on the biggest day of the week specifically for brunch.  Oh well, you can’t win em’ all.

www.sobaya-nyc.com

Proprietor/Chef: ?

Category: Japanese

Neighborhood: East Village
229 E. 9^th St, New York, NY 10003
(212) 533-6966

Mood: something warm and soupy.   In my opinion, the best soba noodles in New York city.

Tastes Like: freshly handmade noodles you can see and taste the difference.  A few years back, when I came here for the very first time, I made the mistake of ordering udon noodles instead.  I had more of an udon affinity than I did soba…hence it made the choice very easy.  Since then, I never came back, as I wasn’t really satisfied with my dish.  What did I expect?  This place was known for soba, not udon.  HELLO!  They also have great combo lunch specials for those that have a slightly bigger appetite.  the broth and noodles here are the stars.. and you can get them in a delightful assortment and variations to your liking.  For dessert, I finally got a chance to trying their black sesame ice cream.  the sesame was grinded finely, which left the ice cream soft tinted light purple.  The ice cream was a bit soft and too creamy.  I like rich, nutty where I can taste the roasted black sesame seeds. I would have preferred the seeds to be ungrinded, in the purist form possible.  Soba-ya is always top quality you can rely on every time.

Must Haves: “Kamo Namban” duck soba noodles (hot) and tuna-steak don.  The duck was sauteed, which I was not a fan of..but the duck was fatty enough that it enriched and enhanced the broth to be more fatty, hence flavorful.  The garlic sauce of the rice is light, flagrant and delicious! The tuna lightly seared is always fresh.

Stay Away: udon noodles here are not freshly made!  same broth, so it’s really a personal preference.

Ambiance: this place is always busy, but not so crazy busy like ippudo.  The wait is never that long.  As with all Japanese atmospheres, you are at ease and there is a sense of calm and affinity to peace.

Service: Never once was I rushed at all and there have been instances where we were the last table there.

Rating: 4 stars

Caveat: haven’t found one yet…

www.cafecortadito.com

Proprietor/Chef: ?

Category: Cuban

Neighborhood: East Village / Alphabet City
10 E. 3^rd St, New York, NY 10009
(212) 614-3080

Mood: Loud, entertaining and with friends.  Portions are on the heavy side.

Tastes Like: overly ambitious nuance of what could have been great Cuban food, but executed way too poorly.  On my first initial visit, I wasn’t really in a rice mood, so I got their chicken salad instead.  Plain, flat out boring.  There were big pieces of chicken and apple, and aside from this, the vinaigrette and too much watercress & spinach leaves.  I am certain that this place is authentic surely. You call tell by the thin slices of buttered bread baguettes here.  crisp on the outside yet moist inside with the buttery texture.  Mmmm.. Great Cuban food is about simplicity over an extensive period of time and tons of meat.  I came back in hopes that this place would redeem itself.  I ordered the ropa vieja, which was entirely way too salty.  I had to scavenge for more rice just to try to offset the saltiness.  It didn’t exactly work.  The grilled skirt steak with chimichurri sauce was good, but the sauce was extremely garlicky.  It was a good burning sensation for those that can handle it.  Small dosages, but they could have toned it down without being so overwhelming.

Must Haves: the food .. I’ll pass.  Sangrias, thumbs up

Stay Away: chicken salad

Ambiance: it’s tiny… with another tiny hidden room in the back.  Windows are wide open, which is a nice option on non-humid days.

Service: they were quick, but he didn’t understand a lick of English, which made it very difficult for me to communicate with him.

Rating: 2 stars

Caveat: They don’t do substitutions, which is a major bummer.

www.sarabethseast.com

Chef: Terrence John

Category: American / Brunch

Neighborhood: Midtown
1295 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10128
(212) 410-7335

Mood: Classic American brunch, with great bread basket and delicious homemade jams.  In fact, so good, you can pick up a jar at their in-store locations or Chelsea Market.

Tastes Like: your regular staples for Americano brunch.  Sweet, savory, hearty affairs to lighter options, they’ve got a bunch of assortment.  All entrees come with your choice of blueberry, bran, pumpkin muffin or scones.  Their jams are homemade and quite delicious.  I had the spinach, goat cheese omelette and the thing was the size of my head!  I liked it just fine, but wished there was more of the goat cheese, as there was so much layers of egg (but not that I’m complaining).  I purposely would not go out of my way to stop by here for brunch, but if I am in the area, would definitely come to check out some other items on their menu.  They have an extensive brunch and lunch options.

Must Haves: NA … haven’t found that must yet.

Stay Away: NA

Ambiance: it’s a bit antiquated and kind of stuffy without the pretentious feeling.  Yet, still comfortable and decent vibe for brunch.

Service: she was spectacular because she packed our untouched muffins to go.  Also wonderful on the coffee refills.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Caveat: Their brunch entrees didn’t come with any greens, just an omelette slapped with a side of muffin.  I needed to feel healthy, so we ordered a side salad.  We were charged a small fee, but whatever.  We really needed a salad to complement the dish.

www.calleochonyc.com

Proprietor/Chef: Alex Garcia / Rodney Mitchell

Category: Latin American

Neighborhood: Upper West Side
446 Columbus Ave, New York, NY 10024
(212) 873-5035

Mood: Overly rich brunch with fun infused Latin flavors.  Unlimited sangrias that are self served…. the lines can get lengthy.  Very spacious, makes it ideal for large groups.

Tastes Like: hefty, rich Latin food that is definitely going to add pounds to your diet.  What a great way to spend brunch on a lovely Sunday afternoon.  There are a lot of dishes with Cuban nuances.  The great part about Calle Ocho, if you don’t enjoy the food so much, they have a sangria bar for you to enjoy, about eight different kinds.

Must Haves: Haven’t found a staple dish yet, but I did enjoy my cachapa de salmon.  Smoked salmon, scrambled eggs rolled in corn crepes.  The sauce is lightly drenched, but remain thick and creamy.

Stay Away: NA

Ambiance: it’s very spacious in some parts of the restaurant, bright, colorful, dim & dark in other areas…and very latin at best.  Well suited for their sangria bar if you want to be festive and get your buzz on.

Service: our server had a bit of dark humor to him.  He was funny, attentive and was able to serve all of our needs.

Rating: 3 stars

Caveat: make sure you’re only getting one glass of sangria at a time.  You must finish your glass before getting another refill.  The line looks extremely long, but it actually moves quiet nicely.  With the exception of when they are out of glasses… which at that point, hope that you’re tipsy enough so you don’t realize how long you’ve been waiting in line.

http://www.cafehabana.com/

Proprietor/Chef: ?

Category: Cuban

Neighborhood: Nolita
17 Prince St, New York, NY 10012
(212) 625-2001

Mood: Light & hearty snack.  Their entrees aren’t worth it…but get the corn.

Tastes Like: nothing else here is worth noting but the corn, deemed “Mexican” style here.  I would be remised if I failed to mention that this place isn’t really that authentic and maybe a couple of qualifying dishes like their Cuban sandwich, which I failed to pick.  The corn is an appetizer dish that comes in a pair that is grilled and then slathered with cojita cheese, chili spices and a lime wedge on the side.  It was absolutely amazing and I’m pretty sure it had something to do with the simplicity of the cheese, spices and the lime tops it all off.  The grilled steak salad here was a little on the flat side and the dressing was too light.  I expected the fish tacos to be stellar, but they were battered and a bit defeating in taste.  If I were to unmask the batter, I suspect the fish was mediocre in freshness.

Must Haves: Grilled corn “Mexican” style

Stay Away: fish tacos

Ambiance: this cooped up place reminded me of a very casual diner with a tropical feel and maybe some hidden narcotics behind the bar.  I positively felt as if I was in a foreign country, all that was missing was the humidity.  Thank god the a/c was working to full capacity, which I can appreciate.  Likewise, I didn’t mind the tight tables, all elbowed to elbow.

Service: service was good; we had two waitresses that were flying a thousand miles per hour and luckily we rarely had to summon them.  They were surely busy.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Caveat: It gets super duper busy.  I thought we had an early dinner, (7:30pm) and it was already packed.  Be prepared to get on the “list” If you can’t stomach the wait, there is an express “to go” right next door.  They’ve got the corn, but I can’t account for any of their main plated entrees.

Proprietor/Chef: ?

Category: French

Neighborhood: West Village
7 Bedford St, New York, NY 10014
(212) 243-2846

Mood: Light lunch in a casual setting.  Crepes, salads or sandwiches… freshly used ingredients.

Tastes Like: it will satisfy the taste bud, whether you choose to have a light or heavy affair for luncheon.  Best yet, they offer sweet or savory crepes and would love to come back to try it.  The portions here are just right. unfortunate for me, I’ve been in the habit of ordering healthy, so you can imagine my taste buds have been adjusting to lots of blandness.  At least I left without feeling guilty.  My dish was totally nutritious.  Nonetheless, judging from my friend’s choice of dish, this place has potential with an endless variety of sandwiches, soups, salads or crepes to choose from.  Why the hell didn’t I go with a crepe instead?  isn’t that one of those foods that the french do better anyways?  If i’m in the neighborhood, I’d love to come in and try something else.   They have lots of dishes that contain ratatouille.  Yummers.

Must Haves: Le Croque Monsieur…. Although the bread was a little bit on the hard, crisp side.. who can say no to ham and oozing cheese on top?  Beware, it’s a bit messy to eat, since all that cheese is sitting on top, but I would not have sacrificed the cheese any other way.

Stay Away: The chicken salad was ok… the ratatouille was the best thing on the plate. The chicken and veggies were cooked and sliced thinly.  Nothing innovative about that.  Everything else was a little bit bland and wished I had ordered something else.  It looked better than it actually tasted.

Ambiance: tucked in West Village on Bedford street.  it’s tiny and very quaint.

Service: swift, quick, friendly & too quiet all around.

Rating: 3 stars

Caveat: Review is for lunch service only.  I don’t recall them having a dinner menu, as it’s a cafe.  Great for brunch, lunch & dessert.