Trip To New York--June 2008

Some NY greats: Italian finds including the best antipasto, a wonderful breakfast and lunch place, theater district dining, and some of the top American restaurants

I am definitely a lucky woman. I live in beautiful Paris and visit the spectacular city of New York at least twice a year to see friends and family (and eat!!). I spend a few days in my mother's apartment which is in Riverdale (a gastronomic no-man's land) and then move on to the Village where I stay with my cousins Boots and Larry. Although Larry makes a wonderful breakfast of freshly squeezed orange juice, various breads and wonderful coffee, I do at times venture out to City Bakery. The staff know me, as I do go there several times on every trip. It was actually a French cook who told me about their Pretzel Croissants; chewy croissants made in the shape of pretzels with a texture between a croissant and (you guessed it) a chewy pretzel. They are quite filling and I love them. I have a picture of them along with some of the beautiful muffins on this blog. On the weekends, City Bakery serves a wonderful caramelized French toast and everyday you can get their stupendous macaroni and cheese. I never liked that when I was a child, but I do now. At lunch, there is always a beautiful array of delicious and healthy salads and sandwiches, and on weekends the compulsory bagels with smoked salmon and cream cheese. They are known for their tarts and cookies, but I prefer their breakfast pastries.

After years of going to the top American restaurants in the Zagat Guide which have been written up ad infinitem and tend to be very noisy, I prefer the smaller quieter delicious places. The prices in NY are extremely elevated, but one can find places that are more reasonable. My new favorite place is Ama on MacDougal Street. I was told about it by my friend, Mary, and I asked Boots and Larry to go there with me last fall. It is wonderful. Since that first visit, Boots and Larry have been back there many times. It is a simple restaurant with delicious food and wonderful friendly personalized service. Here are some of the dishes I have had there: Orrechiette with Broccoli de Rape e Saliccie, Cozze (mussels) Tarantino with White Wine, Lemon and Fresh Thyme, Panzerotti (little deep friend ravioli-type things) filled with Tomato-Mozzarella and with Spinach-Ricotta, Grilled Branzino, Rombo con Piselli et Cicorria (peas and chicory), Mezzalune di Melanzana (half-moon pasta filled with eggplant), Capunti di Altamura (pasta with a fresh tomato sauce. We have had every dessert on the menu and the standouts are Panna Cotta di Castagna or whatever flavor they are serving that day, Cioccolato Caldo Freddo (molten chocolate cake with dark chocolate ice cream), Ama--the classic sponge cake bathed with amaretto with cherry crème brulée, and biscotti. Doesn't it sound wonderful?? This is a great place.

My mother dragged me kicking and screaming to a French restaurant. I am a stickler for eating American, Italian, Thai or Japanese food when I am in NY but think it is a waste for me to get French food. However, Cafe Boulud was just wonderful. We had a lovely lunch with my cousin, Judy, and the waiters assured me that the food is American with a French twist. I had House Made Farfalle (not French!!) with Ruby Red Shrimp, Zucchini, Corn, Baby Yellow Squash in a wonderful light cream sauce. For dessert we shared Coffee Opéra (yes, it's French), Chocolate Pain de Gênes with a Marscapone Mousse and an Amedei Chocolate Cremeux with Amaretto Ice Cream. You guessed it! Everyone in my family loves chocolate.

The next day I had tickets to see South Pacific at Lincoln Center. My favorite restaurants in the theater district are Esca and Orso (both Italian) but I was not going to be near either one. So I chose Cafe Fiorello and was very pleased with the spectacular antipasto spread that they have. You can choose four or seven items either vegetarian or vegetarian and fish. One thing is more beautiful than the next and everything is excellent. There are about twenty different savory seafood salads and even more preparations of beautiful vegetables. Not only that, but there are lasagnes and frittate. I sat at the counter and was entertained as the different dishes were placed in their spots. The longer you are there, the more wonderful items are introduced. I had a light lunch but decided that I will definitely go back even if I don't have Lincoln Center tickets. See the photos of the antipasto spread.

My friend, Chris and I always dine out together and usually choose one of the big Zagat choices like Gramercy Tavern or Union Square Café or Tabla or Aqua Grill in Times Square. I have to say that I am tiring of them because, despite the quality of the food, they tend to be expensive and noisy. We went to Blue Water Grill this time and although the food was fine, the noise level made it difficult for us to talk. I had a fancy sushi roll (Spicy Yellowtail and Shrimp with Bok Choy, Arugala Aioli and Tempura Flakes) and a Blacked Swordfish with Sweet Potato-Crabmeat Hash. They were both too complicated to be good. Chris was smart and ordered oysters and a grilled sea bass. Those were delicious.

For my last night, my cousin Gary took his wife Lynn, my mother, and me to the wonderful Italian restaurant, Felidia. There you will have a quiet evening with excellent food and service. It is definitely pricey, however, The bread selection with accompanying olives started us off in fine style. I had a spectacular Ravioli con Cacio et Pere (pungent cheese and pear) with fresh pecorino. Just lovely. After that, I had Spigola Selvaggia Con Sedano e Funghi. This is red snapper with celery, sautéed mushrooms and a mushroom tomato broth. Lynn was the other inventive eater in our party an she had Sautéed Chicken Livers on a bed of Polenta with Frisé and Liver Paté followed by the Spigola. I ordered Granita di Caffé con Panna in memory of a wonderful dessert from Doney's in Rome that I had when I was 16. It was served with biscotti and brioche.

Cousins and friends live in the Upper West Side and I have had the good fortune to go to Gennaro's. It is in the west 90's and they don't take reservations or credit cards. But if you get there at 7, you can get a seat. It is noisy but fun and not so noisy as other restaurants can be. Everything on the menu is wonderful--especially their antipasto and pasta dishes. In addition to the dishes on the menu, they have a long list of daily specials that the waiter recites at table side. They do take-out, and I guess people opt for that rather than wait on line. I was introduced to Gennaro's by my cousins, Kate and Alex and after that, went there with foodie friends, Pat and Tim. You never leave this place hungry or dissatisfied.