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New York City Restaurants

As you know I'm a big foodie. I was just in NYC, and ate at quite a few great restaurants thanks to my friend Mel Barlow. One of them, Rayuela I already blogged about, but I thought I'd throw the rest of them down in a list. I'm going to start/keep blogging all my favorite restaurants A: so I can have a record of all my favorite places, and B: if you're in NYC or are going to NYC, then you can have some places to try out.

So here they are.. Obviously nothing will make it into the blog if I don't like it, but I'm listing these in the order of what I liked the most:

1. Rayuela- A hopscotch of food from different places. I blogged about this one here.
2. Macondo- A blend of tapas. Blogged about this one too here.
3. Brown- Organic gourmet. Blogged about it this one here.
4. No. 7- Contemporary American Food
5. Frankies 17- A lighter side of italian
6. Moto- Gourmet American, Great live music. Great rustic old brooklyn vibe.
7. Walters- Great late night gormet wings. Other food is great too.
8. Diner- Gourmet Diner food. Hip greasy diner vibe.
9. Relish- Awesome breakfast, and another hip diner vibe.
10. Roebling Tea Room- fun light food, breakfast was great, and rustic atmosphere.
11. Smac- Awesome assortment of Mac 'n Cheeses. I had the Buffalo Chicken mac. Sooo good!
12. Fette Sau- BBQ meet, their own beer on tap that you can buy growlers of. Rustic butchershop vibe.

New additions:
13. Alta- Amazing tapas in a small low key area close to Union Square. A new fave.

Rayuela NYC

If you haven't figured it out by now, I'm a total foodie. Food is such a great part of any culture, and amazing food is the ultimate experience. Rayuela was just that. Previously I blogged about Macondo, which is the sister restaurant to Rayuela owned by our wonderful friend Hector. Hector is from Spain, and has opened both restaurants in the last year and a half, and the news is spreading fast. Both of Hector's restaurants have the right ingredients: Amazing food that people talk about, fantastic ambiance, a strong botiquey brand design, and a great location in the lower east side of Manhatten. Rayuela will reside in my top 2(sitting right next to Monsoon)

The experience was a great one. I went with my good friend and fellow foodie, Mel Barlow, who is good friends with Hector. He sat down with us here and there and gave us his recommendations for the menu. Just looking at the menu made me insane. I wanted to order one of everything!

Here is our chosen consumptions based on Hectors recs:

Cocktails:
Gin
lemon thyme, grapefruit juice, G’Vine Gin, Manzanilla Sherry, dash of orange bitters.
Vodka
sage leaves, Anjou pear, Luxardo Maraschino Liquor, Grey Goose Pear.
Rosada
strawberries, peaches, mango, marinated in 44 North huckleberry vodka, Cava Rose.

Food:
Huachinango con Soya
Red snapper marinated in a ginger soy citrus sauce with a rainbow of julienne peppers, cucumbers and jalapeno, sprinkled with sesame seeds

Mushroom Soup (not on the menu, so I don't know the exact ingredients)

Tuna Rellena
Shrimp, crab, and avocado wrapped in sliced tuna served with cucumbers in a soy vinaigrette

Bass Chileno
Grilled Chilean seabass with manchego yucca mangu and a chorizo-salsa verde salad

Carne a la Parrilla
Grilled beef tenderloin with oven roasted potatoes, mushrooms, diced spanish onions, pork belly and cabrales fondue

Rayuela is a must experience if you're in New York City!

Terroni

It's not very often I've found that I get impressed by restaurants in LA. My friend Tahira, who owns a little botique in Hollywood called Krisol, has introduced me to yet another fantastic restaurant in LA. She's definitely earned my trust in the food department. (Check out her store if you're in Hollywood BTW.) We're talking about having a little nickonken photoshow/fiesta in the next couple months.

Terroni is one of the best Italian restos I've been to thus far. (Competing with Bar Bambino in SF). It has risen to one of the tops of my LA list. The food has such delicate flavors and spices. The meatball appetizer is a definite must, as well as the Panna Cotta dessert.

Check it out! http://www.terroni.ca/

Brown.

Yet another fantastic restaurant in New York. A hidden little gem in lowest part of the lower east side that has been surfacing amongst foodies in the recent months. Everything is made with fresh organic ingredients that is bought within a day of being served. Something also interesting, is they only use ovens. Nothing is cooked over a burner.

Here's a little idea of what I got to try:
•brown’s macaroni and cheese with 2 year aged gruyere, ricotta, fontina and mozzarella
•red snapper ceviche, corn, red onions, avocado, grape tomatoes, cilantro, house made taro chips
•roasted sweet water prawns, israeli couscous, brunoise vegetables, roasted asparagus, grape tomatoes 
•Avocado Toast, fresh avocados, melted cheese and carmelized onions accompanied by mixed greens (it was recently added, so I'm not sure the exact ingredients)

Is your mouth watering already? Mine is. I must revisit this place. Check out the little news clip on their website that Channel 7 did for them.

http://www.greenbrownorange.com/

Macondo

I'm sure you might have gathered by now that I like to eat. It's pretty rare that I run across a place that is amazing enough to blog about but it looks as though I've found something. I'm in NYC right now exploring and getting a feel for the city. I'll also be heading to pieces of the expo this next week.

That said, I know NY has many great places to consume goodness, but this one in the embarkment of my journey has topped the charts so far. I'd rank it up there with the goodness of Monsoon in Seattle. Macondo is a fantastic gourmet Spanish Tapas spot on the lower east side at crossing of Houston and Allan.

Each dish had it's unique spices and flavors to give those tastebuds a little party. We had the Chorishrimp, Cubanos, and their specialty guacomole which was pretty unreal.

If you're ever in NYC, it's definitely worth your time.

http://www.macondonyc.com/

Acai.

My new found Brazilian love besides the girls. It's the perfect breakfast combined with bananas or strawberries and granola. Not only is it very tasty, but very healthy for you. I couldn't get enough of it when I was there.

Learn more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acai

Buy it here if you live in the states, and better yet, LA: http://www.brazilexplore.com/shop/products.aspx?catid=472

El Califa es el Padrote!

I'm wrapping my time here in Mexico City today. I really love this place. Its not a place that I would have ever thought to be such a cool city, but it has a lot to offer.  Besides the cheap amazing fresh squeezed orange juice that I've fallen in love with, there are some great eats here.

One of the best spots is El Califa. It's hands down the best tacos in the city, not only claimed by myself, but by my lovely Mexican friends. I ate there 4 of the 5 days I've been here. Had to stock up before I head back to LA. My favorite taco is the Gringa. A little pastor, pineapple, onions, cilantro... then a tasty selection of salsas to pile on. 

If you're ever in Mex city, check this place out!

Weirdfish

As you know by now, I love to eat. San Francisco is full of amazing food. Weirdfish, is one of my favorites there. Located in the Mission, it's a weird blend of Mexican and Asian. The decor is a bit of a vintage New Orleans style, but well designed.

One of their specialties is their tortilla soup with avocado. Quite tasty accompanied with one of their mango fish tacos. Snapped a photo with the SD750 to get the deliciousness across.

If live in SF or go for a visit. I definitely recommend it.

http://weirdfishsf.com/

Cholada Rules!

Cholada, and my friends who've partaken can attest, is straight up amazing Thai food. Every person I've brought here has loved it. Don't be fooled by the beach shack look of the establishment. The food quality is up there with well, Thailand, and is the best I've had here in LA. Plus, how can you beat an amazing restaurant right on the beach? It sits right on the PCH and overlooks the ocean. If you're venturing to LA, or live here I definitely highly recommend you give it a whirl. What could be better? A cruise up the PCH on a sunny day, and finishing with a lovely meal at Cholada.

Amazing food inspires!

Il Dolce Cafe

Omri and I found a great little breakfast spot this week across the street from the Fathers Office. It's called Il Dolce Cafe. It's a nice little spot that's well designed, and the food was great. It has a somewhat unique menu that's not so Americana traditional. We had a great server who was friendly, as most actor servers are around here.

I revisited it today while reconnecting with an old friend.  Again, the service was good and contrary to the reviews I just read. It's almost up there with my other Santa Monica fave breakfast spot the Bread and Pouridge. Still going on the list of good restos in LA, since they're so hard to find.