Category: New York Restaurants by Area

New York City Restaurants by Neighborhood

Artisanal

2 Park Avenue at 32nd Street
212/725.8585
about $125 for two, with two drinks, without tip
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Known for its cheese selections, I took advantage of Restaurant Week and was greatly disappointed with the Artisanal discounted menu. Who wants to be tied down with a choice of either hanger steak or salmon? Four of us ended up ordering from the regular menu anyway and spending $70 each. The crispy skate wing was really good, served with blood orange a la Grenobloise and cauliflower. I regretted not picking one of the seafood choices because my lamb cassoulet with white beans wasn’t the best version I’ve tasted. My friends’ cod special and wild mushroom risotto with butternut squash seemed like more interesting. At least my frisée salad provided me with some comfort. Though we all enjoyed the ritual involved in our prosciutto and cheese fondue, I will most likely stick with the cheese flight without any dipping involved next time. I like my French bistro food, but I can name a handful of other places in the city that would have a more robust selection.

Bar Jamon

125 East 17th Street on Irving Place
212/253.2773
about $125 for two, with a few drinks, without tip
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Jamon is Spanish for ham and Bar Jamon is the most recent translation in the New York City scene. Mario Batali’s latest digs is right next to Casa Mono, his fifth restaurant in New York City. The space is good for fifteen couples at most, but more than thirty were inside, even on a Tuesday night. We squeezed ourselves in to eat tapas and drink Spanish wine and new guests jumped to the next stool that freed up. A little jazz and a little Wilco were playing when we were there, but the music was so faint compared to the collective noise of those who had the same idea as we did.

With two bottles of Tempranillo, we shared two plates of ham cured for fourteen months. We also got the sardines en escabeche and marinated anchovies with migas de chorizo or sausage crumbs. We snacked on a plate of two kinds of cheeses and enjoyed their bread with some good olive oil. We didn’t think we’d stay past 9pm because of the crowd but as soon as we snatched the stools in the back, we ended up staying for two more hours.

Bar Jamon is a scene all right, but it’s a New York City scene and that you can’t pass up.

Gam Mee Ok / Gahm Mi Oak

43 West 32nd Street between Fifth and Sixth
212/695.4113
about $30 for two solontangs, with two drinks, with tip
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Solontang is bone marrow soup that the Koreans have perfected. Gam Mee Ok slow-cooks beef bone marrows in large vats of water until the broth becomes milky white. It is served in a clay pot with rice and noodles and all you have to do is sprinkle it with scallions and add some salt to bring out the beef taste.

Gam Mee Ok also makes the best radish kimchi in New York City’s Koreablock.

Related post/s:
I love Han Bat three blocks away

Honmura An

170 Mercer Street off Houston
212/334.5253
about $125 for two, with two drinks, without tip
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Updated, 2007: Honmura An is now closed.

When it’s cold outside, all I want is a hot bowl of soba. When I have money, Honmura An is always my first pick. It’s one of the few places in New York City that still makes its own soba. If you come at the right time during the week, you can watch one of the Japanese guys cut the buckwheat into single noodles in the back of the restaurant. It’s pretty cool to watch the precision involved in soba-making.

If you go on a Saturday, several limos pull up outside dropping off well-dressed Japanese people for brunch. Even when it’s packed inside, the cherry blossoms and the clean lines of its furniture design provide a haven from busy Houston Street. The dinner menu is a little more pricey and a $50 tasting menu requires at least two people to order per table. I usually order the nameko mushroom hot soba with an avocado or salmon salad to start. Whatever I’m in the mood for, I end my meal with their homemade green tea ice cream.

Joe’s Ginger

113 Mott Street on Hester
212/966.6613
about $60 for two, with two drinks, without tip
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Updated, 2006: Joe’s Ginger has move to 25 Pell Street off Mott, 212/285.0333

There is now an alternative to Joe’s Shanghai. I come to Joe’s Ginger now to avoid the long wait for a table at Joe’s Shanghai. It’s a lot smaller and less noisy, plus the waiters have time to talk to you about their suggestions like the kamote tops, a vegetable more familiar to the Filipinos than the Chinese, or the deep-fried whole quail. Some of my other favorites are the fish with yellow chives and the string beans with minced pork. Seasonal vegetables include peashoot leaves, swamp cabbage (or kang-kong) and baby bok choy flash-fried in garlic. Start with the mandatory xiao long bao, or soupy buns, and taste what made Joe’s Shanghai open up Joe’s Ginger in the first place.