Our Place Shanghai Tea Garden

16. October 2006 Chinese, Midtown 0
141 East 55th Street between Third and Lexington 212/753.3900 $365 for eleven, with drinks, without tip ♥ ♥ It was a challenge to organize the Dr.’s second birthday celebration with his married friends but they all showed up for brunch with their children at Our Place. (Part one was at Le Bernardin and tapas with ...

Gari

04. October 2006 Japanese, Upper West Side 0
370 Columbus Avenue off 78th Street 212/362.4816 $130 for two, with three drinks, with tip ♥ I was craving sushi but did not want to go home too late, so I looked for a sushi place around the upper west side. I found Gari on Columbus Avenue with all its Frank Bruni and Food & ...

Prune

29. September 2006 American, East Village 1
54 East 1st Street between First and Second Avenues 212/677.6221 about $75 for three, without drinks, without tip ♥ ♥ Prune’s selections are influenced by different cuisines and that’s exactly what I liked about Chef Gabrielle Hamilton’s style. The tripe is a must-try even though you don’t like tripe. In Barcelona, I ate a lot ...

Boqueria

29. September 2006 Chelsea + Meatpacking District, Spanish 0
53 West 19th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues 212/255-4160 about $100 for two, with a few drinks, without tip ♥ Arabella and I discussed dinner options and cravings one evening: I am Frenched out for the moment (her) and Can we keep it chill? (me). Tapas, an eating concept from the Basque Country, could ...

Applewood

27. September 2006 American, Brooklyn 0
501 11th street off Seventh Avenue, Park Slope, Brooklyn 718/768.2044 $160 for two, with several drinks, with tip ♥ ♥ ♥ I believe it’s called skill when a chef can take a cheap cut of veal and mask it as if it’s not part of the animal’s chewy shoulder. And I believe that it’s only ...