SUTTON PLACE AREA IN NYC

First Taste of Sutton Place on June 15, 2013.

Come try sampling a from our neighborhood restaurants and enjoy!

LAFAYETTE CAFE BAKERY AND BISTRO

As they always say, something happens for a purpose.

After showing an apartment in the Lower East Side, it was convenient to take the subway to get tickets to a show at The Public Theater on Lafayette Street.  And that's when I stumbled upon Lafayette.  I had heard that the Chinese Brasserie which used to be in that site was going to leave.  And I've read somewhere than Andrew Carmellini was opening a new restaurant in NoHo.  So of course, I hurriedly picked up the ticket and darted to Lafayette for a quick late lunch.

This place is big and bright.  I love the decor.

As you enter, on the right is the Bakery and Pastry shop where you can grab sweets and breads.  In my case, first I ate and then grabbed extra calories to take home.

I sat at one of these smaller tables to have lunch.

The Bakery as you enter

I had a wonderful salad with a delicate dressing.  It's made with frisee, and mache.

My main course which is really an appetizer are 4 large prawns with a nice light dip.

An array of pastries on your way out.

Anyone for a tart?

On the right are canelelle - one of my favorite pastry.

LAFAYETTE

380 Lafayette St
(between 4th St & Great Jones St)
New York, NY 10003
Neighborhood: NoHo

(212) 533-3000

http://lafayetteny.com/

ALGERIAN RECIPE

Sometime earlier this year, I was invited to a Middle Eastern Cooking Demonstration and contest.  Each Chef represented a country.

This flyer was distributed to us so that we can make it at home.

I am delighted to have had this recipe which was actually prepared in front of us while attending a Middle East cook off contest sponsored by an organization at the UN which was held at the Consulate of Kuwait.

NOMAD - A Moroccan Restaurant in the East Village

Do not be confused!  I just blogged about The Nomad in the Nomad Hotel located in the Flat Iron district - 29th Street and Broadway.

This restaurant is located in the East Village on Second Avenue between 5th and 6th Streets.

It is a casual place and a trendy Moroccan decor, affordable prices, with good portions.  They actually claim to be a South African restaurant.

One of our appetizers was Tabouleh.  This one had grains in it - maybe because it's Moroccan style rather than the general Middle Eastern version we are accustomed with.

The special Moroccan stew with prunes and nuts was tender and flavorful.  If you don't like prunes, you can request for them to remove it.

You know me, I'm always curious to try other dishes that I've never had.  So, I chose this chicken cooked in filo-type dough sprinkled with some powdered sugar and cinnamon.  It's alright but there were other dishes that I tried at the table.

The mini crab cakes and shrimp as appetizer could be one's main course.

THE NOMAD in THE NOMAD HOTEL

First thing I have to say is I'M IMPRESSED!

My new favorite in NYC!  It certainly fulfills presentation, price point, service and taste!  Yes, a little pricey but not exhorbitant and not to mention the outstanding nouvelle decor.  I praise them for their creativity and new techniques.  I was happy from appetizer to dessert and how prompt and responsive our server was.  Although, there was one server that seemed a bit snobbish who sat us down.  The suckling pig, although small in portion (but honestly, it's a healthy portion unless you like to eat like a glutton) fit the description of being crispy skinned.  That passed my suckling pig test even though the crispy skin was placed on top of a pork confit. They did have a good slice of pork belly with crispy skin on the side as well.  My lobster with its sauce was delicate.  The milk and honey dessert is very light and not too sweet.  I'm so glad it's the dessert we ordered.  I highly recommend this place.

This restaurant was established inside The Nomad Hotel about 13 months ago from today.  It's no surprise why I love this restaurant without even knowing its background prior to eating here.  This restaurant is under Chef Charles Humm of Eleven Madison which is an expensive Michellin Star acclaimed restaurant not far from this restaurant.  Charles Humm spent his cullinary experiences in Switzerland, New York and California; which is why he is able to compose that clean fresh California taste, with sophisticated European Swiss taste and meet New Yorker's expectations!

The black canopied entrance of this fine handsome building opens to a unique boutique hotel where the restaurant awaits you.

Such elegance but not pretencious.  The sky above is open because the roof is made of glass.  There is always light that shines during the day as if you are outdoors. 

There is a bar area behind the restaurant and another separate room on the other side with a very large fireplace. You can either dress up or dress casually which is why it's very trendy.





I opted for the healthy julienned snow pease with mint and pecorino cheese in a light salad dressing.

This is the appetizer or small orders.

This first course of our dinner was this  poached egg with pancetta (minced), some cheese, brown butter and quinoa and some asparagus.  I think it would have been a nice brunch to itself!

They will give you war focaccia bread with rosemary and chickpea.  We had to ask for seconds as we were 3 people and we needed it to soak up the sauce from the egg.

I had to try the steamed lobsters poached with fennel, vermouth and asparagus.  The sauce is so light and delicate, it does not drown the lobster taste.

Next time, we shall order the Roast chicken for 2 as shown in the menu above.  It has foie gras between the skin!  We saw this ordered by quite a few tables.  It comes out perfectly brown roasted served topped with a bunch of rosemary standing up like a tree.

SUCKLING PIG:  The confit of pork is topped with a perfectly crisp suckling pig skin.  Covered by vegetables on top is a roll of succulent pork belly with dark crisp skin served with cooked prunes around the plate.  (I claim myself as a connoseur for suckling pigs having grown up in a country that served it in special occasions - which was often enough during a year)

I watch what I eat so we ordered a side dish of vegetables.  On the right is a mixture of snow pease, pease, and fava beans.

AAAH!  The dessert!  Given the restrictions I have for eating too much sugary stuff, I had to pick the most incredible and unusual dessert from the list that I could learn something new from.

Above is Milk & Honey dessert.  The scoop of "ice-cream" is really the smoothest cold milk that is not too sweet.  The crispy white cracked things around is really milk - probably bubbly and dried up to create a delicate crisp cookie.  The brown cookies crumbled around must be the shortbread which when I first imagined was not this way; so I was pleasantly surprised!
This is a light dessert to try!

MANZANILLA - NYC

My two friends have lived in Spain and I have visited Spain before.  When this restaurant announced that they were opening one in New York outside of Spain, we decided we really had to try it. This restaurant is owned by Dani Garcia

Tonight, we decided to try dishes that were notable because we've read it in articles about the restaurant.


Above, we chose the croquettes with cuttle fish and squid ink.  This is fabulous!
It's like a seafood truffle.  Outside is crisp like a fallafel and inside is creamy squid ink with cuttlefish.  The flavor is not fishy at all and you wouldn't even know you are eating squid.



On the left is the Oxtail brioche.  The presentation is a work of art.  The Oxtail is like pulled pork - it seems that they've stewed the meat and served it sandwiched between this light "brioche" bread. Oxtail Brioche steamed brioche buns, pulled oxtail, mushroom, kale

Photo on the right is the dish called Black Rice. Black Rice bomba rice, squid ink, shrimp cuttlefish ribbons, citrus aioli. I highly recommend this dish too.

Bacalao dish with mussels. 

Suckling Pig slow cooked fossil farms suckling pig, crispy skin, butternut squash puree, sauteed escarole. (that is the description)

Except, the skin on top was not the skin I was expecting.  I know suckling pig and grew up eating it with skin. I've had better suckling pig or pork belly with crispier skin.  I was disappointed with this dish because I was hoping to have real crispy skin.



For dessert, we ordered Marbellas Full Moon. The moon is supposed to be the white circle sitting on top of chocolate with toasted hazelnuts and some thin pieces of chocolate.  The moon has orange in the center with white chocolate wrapped and held by a thin "skin" of white thin edible cover.  You must try this - not only is it a work of art, it is delicious.

 

Above is the rice pudding.  There are tiny chocolate-like pieces that resemble chocolate rice crispies (Rice Krispies - the cereal).  The white cloud on top with red sprinkles is like cotton candy

At the end of the day, we had a great experience at this restaurant saved by the dessert.  And when I got back home to recollect what we ate, the more I admired Dani Garcia's restaurant.  I plan to come back!

http://www.yelp.com/review_share/8PhNloDttHqI4UbzdJH5TQ/review/-FEzZfJSNRjMJxl-HokiYg?fsid=aA4sMhYHEzs1lFPXBIYgdA

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g60763-d3894123-r157651475-Manzanilla-New_York_City_New_York.html

MANZANILLA

345 Park Ave S  New York, NY 10010
(212) 255-4086

manzanillanyc.com

WASAN - Authentic Japanese Restaurant

This little restaurant in the East Village has a very small sign on its door.  You might pass it.  Located on 4th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues.  In the past few weeks, I've returned to this restaurant because their dishes are not the usual you see in other Japanese restaurants.  And best of all, I find it reasonable for what they have to offer.  Supposedly, in Japan, the good restaurants do not have big signs.


Look at the door knob on the left arched door. That's how small the sign is for this restaurant.



As a sushi aficionado, I had to order a hamachi sashimi with jalapeno sauce as shown in their menu

We ordered the dessert that had beans.  Here, the beans is the bed where the delicate light "mochiko" desserts are served.  It is a nice light dessert. And the beans are not the usual red.  This is more black and it's deliciously delicate.

One of my favorites is this fried oyster where they pour a very light delicious broth on top when it gets to your table to be served.  It's usually the special for Thursday nights.  But I've seen it too on Saturdays.



For those who love foie gras, this is the Japanese way they serve it.  I think it's glazed with some soy or teriyaki type sauce laid on a piece of endive with sushi rice.



They do have a wonderful large salad, but tonight, I opted for their Brussels sprouts with gooey cheese

On the right is the way they present the eel dish.  It is more substantial than the usual eel sushi.

On the right is their version of the sukiyaki.  I notice it did not have the thick cellophane-like noodles. 

And if you love cooked fish, you can order the Hamachi collar which can either be deep fried or grilled upon request.  This alone makes a good size meal.

This place reminds me of some places I've eaten in, in Tokyo.  They also offer Japanese cooking lessons in the premise but in Japanese or Nipponggo.

TO EAT HERE IS LIKE EATING IN A TAPAS BAR.  The portions are not very big and can be shared if you wish.  For this most recent dinner, I opted for eating what you ordered instead of sharing it.



WASAN

108 E 4th St
(between 1st Ave & 2nd Ave)
New York, NY 10003
Neighborhood: East Village(212) 777-1978

http://www.wasan-ny.com