Upper West Side Eatery Osteria Accademia Launches Weekend Brunch Menu
Osteria Accademia, noted in The New York Times as one of the city’s favorite destinations for cozy Italian dining, has launched weekend brunch and daily happy hour specials. Brunch is a mature, adult affair with a well-curated playlist of music playing softly in keeping with partners Huseyin Ozer (Bodrum, Leyla) and Murat Akinci’s mission of providing the Upper West Side community with a cozy spot where it is easy to lose track of time over good food, fine wine, and intellectual conversation.
Read full storyHortus Brings their Asian Fusion to a New Spring Menu that Should Not Be Missed!
If you've been following my stories at all, you know that I truly LOVE Hortus. I honestly recommend the contemporary Asian restaurant to anyone looking for recommendations on fine dining in NYC. The restaurant has a new Executive Chef in Geo Park and I was excited to see what was new at one of my favorite restaurants.
Read full storyEnjoy Amazing Food and Tuscan Fare at Duomo 51
Duomo 51, Italian for “Cathedral,” is a new Tuscan restaurant from owner Sammy V. Gashi and the Ramerino Italian Prime team in the heart of Midtown Manhattan. The restaurant is tucked away on the seventh floor of the DoubleTree Hotel directly across the street from Rockefeller Center. The elevator opens to an expansive dining room that leads into the glass-enclosed terrace that is more causal and offers sweeping views of Rockefeller Center and St. Patrick’s Cathedral where guests can enjoy a snack, cocktail, or a full meal. The terrace features a retractable roof that will be open during the warm weather months and will include an outdoor cocktail bar. Duomo 51 offers elegant private event spaces with many different attractive set ups based on the size of the party and occasion.
Read full storyLa Pulperia: Exquisite Latin Fare in Hell’s Kitchen
La Pulperia opened in Hell’s Kitchen in March of 2021 to provide diners fun, innovative Latin American cuisine and cocktails, showcasing renditions of familiar dishes infused with cross-cultural flair. The kitchen is led by Executive Chef Miguel Molina, who prides himself on his creativity reimagining dishes from Latin and South American countries like Peru, Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico, to create and plate dishes that are totally unique.
Read full storyThe Juicy Lounge – Bringing Quality Juice to Manhattan
The Juicy Lounge is a brand-new smoothie and juice spot in the Hudson Yards area. Restaurant industry veteran David Lindo has created a juice bar featuring slow-pressed juices, juice shots, smoothies, a coffee program from Harlem-based Dell’Aria Coffee Roasters, and small bites in an artsy modern boutique space that breaks the mold of chain juiceries, filling the space between them and bodegas.
Read full storyBear Donut Introduces The Doffle
Bear Donut is a reimagined retro American donut shop with South Korean flair. The new shop, located on 40 W 31st, bakes fresh donuts twice a day; 10am and 2pm. Bear Donut’s chewy and crispy donuts are made with sweet rice flour in a bubble-ring shape dressed with powdered or glazed toppings like Powdered Sugar or Pink Chocolate Glaze. Their classic ring-shaped donuts are also made with sweet rice flour in flavors ranging from Classic glaze to a sour Grapefruit Poppy. The shop also features house-made soft serve ice cream in Milk and Thai Iced Tea flavors, as well as specialty Bear Draft Milk and Draft Oat Milk drinks in such flavors as Black Sesame, and Lavender, Bear Donut's drink selection only get better with coffee from La Colombe in the forms of fresh brew, cold brew, draft latte, and Bear Donut Coffee, a coffee float made of iced or hot coffee with milk soft serve. I’ve written all about Bear Donut before, check out my first visit here.
Read full storyOsteria Accademia: Fantastic Italian with an Academic Themed Ambiance
Osteria Accademia is a new Italian restaurant with Mediterranean overtones from restaurateur Huseyin Ozer of Upper West Side mainstays Bodrum and Leyla. Now partnering with Murat Akinci in this new venture. The duo conceived the restaurant with the Upper West Side residents in mind, creating an environment that makes them feel like they are in an Upper West Side brownstone dining room. The restaurant’s name is a nod to the universities, schools, and academies that the neighborhood is known for. Their goal for the restaurant is to provide the community with a cozy spot where it is easy to lose track of time over fine food, good wine, and intellectual conversation.
Read full storyPavé: Your Soon-To-Be New Favorite Café
Pavé is a European-style cafe/bakery from Chef Jonghun Won (Jungsik, La Tabatiere) and Jin Ahn (noreetuh, Jungsik, Per Se). The goal of Pavé is to rekindle the art of baking bread fresh throughout the day through timeless artisanal simplicity. Chef Won and his team meticulously prepare fresh bread by the petit baguette or full loaf for purchase, as well as sandwiches, reminiscent of those found at small shops in Paris. Chef Won believes that the most beautiful sandwich begins with freshly baked bread, filled with simple, sustainable, and organic ingredients. He and Jin have enlisted Executive Chef Peter Hong (Gramercy Tavern, New York Palace Hotel) to create their menu, which will include French classics like Jambon Beurre, a sliced baguette with a slab of butter and Dijon mustard, filled with French ham; a Croque Monsieur, béchamel with ham and Dijon mustard on sourdough bread with Gruyere cheese freshly melted over the top; and a Vegetarian Caprese with plum tomatoes, mozzarella and basil pesto on fluffy olive ciabatta bread.
Read full storyThe Chick Inn Is Bringing Top-Shelf Chicken to Kips Bay
The Chick Inn recently opened its second location and are bringing their chicken dishes and comfort food classics to Kips Bay. The chicken-any-way-you-like-it restaurant from the team behind Fumo and Uncle Tony’s Pizza opened its first location in Harlem during the pandemic, offering Peruvian-style rotisserie chicken, spicy fried chicken sandwiches, and an American-style, comfort food menu you can enjoy on a regular basis.
Read full storyGamehaus is Bringing All Kinds of Games to Long Island City
Gamehaus is the newest two-floor indoor/outdoor multifunctional hotspot nestled in the heart of Long Island City. The venue serves as a sporting club, restaurant, arcade and beer hall. Gamehaus features a selection of over 20 beers (predominantly from New York City and microbreweries in the tri-state area) as well as an array of craft cocktails, mocktails, bar food and elevated comfort food classics.
Read full storyRamerino Italian Prime: Prime Italian Cuisine Right Around the Corner From Bryant Park
Ramerino Italian Prime, located steps away from the New York Public Library and Bryant Park, is owned by Sammy V. Gashi, an industry veteran with a career spanning 25 years. Gashi currently owns and operates San Marino SoHo and Antica Ristorante on Stone Street as well. Ramerino Italian Prime is his take on rural Tuscan cooking and is named for a staple of the region’s cuisine, rosemary.
Read full storyParma Nuova: Keeping Italian Cuisine Alive on the Upper East Side
Parma Nuova is a new casual fine dining Italian restaurant from Owner-Manager Giorgio Manzio, who has partnered with La Masseria Group; Giuseppe “Peppe” Iuele, Vincenzo “Enzo” Ruggiero and Executive Chef Giuseppe “Pino” Coladonato. Together, they have taken over the space of Parma an Upper East Side stalwart that opened in 1977. Parma Nuova, meaning the new Parma, retains the trademark fine dining quality service of La Masseria with a focus on the flavors of Parma, Italy in a more relaxed environment.
Read full storyGilligan's brings great food and tropical flare to SoHo
Gilligan’s is a one-of-a-kind tropical oasis of an eatery located at 310 W Broadway. The SoHo restaurant offers a fresh, seafood-forward menu, with seafood sourced from the best farms and fishermen on Long Island, as well as toasty signature pizzas coming from the kitchen’s stone oven and creative cocktails The expansive outdoor space brings a taste of the tropics to Downtown Manhattan with tropical décor and the ingredient-driven dishes Gilligan's is known for. I DEFINITELY had some favorites and (spoiler) I loved my experience at Gilligan’s. Let’s just get into my review, shall we?
Read full storyMasseria Caffè: The Local Coffee Shop Offering an Italian Café Experience
Masseria Caffè is a quaint little café located at 891 9th Avenue. If you’ve read my story on Masseria Dei Vini, you know I’m a huge fan of the Masseria brand and partners Peppe Iuele, Enzo Ruggiero, and father and son team Pino and Vito Coladonato have opened a traditional Italian café right next door. The café offers espresso, cold brew, and nitro brew are all made with Lavazza coffee in the state-of-the-art espresso machine as well as other classic Italian staples such as macchiato, and cappuccino.
Read full storyBear Donut Brings Rice Flour Donuts to NoMad
Bear Donut is a reimagined retro American donut shop with South Korean flair. The new shop, located on 40 W 31st, bakes fresh donuts twice a day; 10am and 2pm. Bear Donut’s chewy and crispy donuts are made with sweet rice flour in a bubble-ring shape dressed with powdered or glazed toppings like Powdered Sugar or Pink Chocolate Glaze. Their classic ring-shaped donuts are also made with sweet rice flour in flavors ranging from Classic glaze to a sour Grapefruit Poppy. The shop also features house-made soft serve ice cream in Milk and Thai Iced Tea flavors, as well as specialty Bear Draft Milk and Draft Oat Milk drinks in such flavors as Black Sesame, and Lavender, Bear Donut's drink selection only get better with coffee from La Colombe in the forms of fresh brew, cold brew, draft latte, and Bear Donut Coffee, a coffee float made of iced or hot coffee with milk soft serve.
Read full story8282 Is Offering Modern Korean Cuisine with Flair on the Lower East Side
8282 is a Lower East Side gem that should be on many people’s list of restaurants to visit. Located on 84 Stanton Street, 8282 is elevating modern Korean cuisine while keeping things fun, playful and hip. The restaurant is owned by Chef Bong Le Jo(Perry Street, Dovetail and Kissaki), and his partner Jee Kim, who previously owned Pado. Named for South Korea’s area code +82, and a phrase that when translated means “quickly” as a testament to their “get-it-done” attitude, the affianced couple devised the restaurant to keep up with culinary trends in Seoul, tweaking them with a New York lens. To help in this mission and retain the cuisine’s authenticity, Kim makes frequent trips to Seoul.
Read full storyExperience some of the best Italian in NYC at Masseria Dei Vini
Masseria Dei Vini is part of La Masseria Group, which was formed by childhood friends and natives of Capri, Italy Giuseppe (Peppe) Iuele (formerly of La Locanda dei Vini), Vincenzo (Enzo) Ruggiero (formerly of Bice NY), and Executive Chef Giuseppe (Pino) Coladonato and native of Rutigliano, a small town near Bari in Puglia, who met his future partners while working as the Head Chef at Sette Mezzo. The partnership officially formed after the closure of Sette MoMA, with the trio opening La Masseria in the Theater District in September 2004. Since joining forces, they have opened two cafés operated by Vito Coladonato and three additional restaurants, La Masseria Rhode Island in 2009, La Masseria Palm Beach Gardens in 2016, and a second Manhattan restaurant, Masseria dei Vini in Hell’s Kitchen in 2014.
Read full storyMollusca: High-Quality Seafood in the Meatpacking District
Mollusca is a spirited and sophisticated seafood restaurant with influences from around the world, formed in partnership between Alpina Hospitality Group and Eric Agababayev. In March 2020, the Mollusca team and Eric began building the space in the Meatpacking District, working through the pandemic and construction delays.
Read full storyEl Cartel Tapas Bar and Restaurant Brings Authentic Colombian Cuisine to Manhattan
El Cartel Tapas Bar and Restaurant is a new, family-owned restaurant serving Colombian cuisine and culture that has recently opened in Hell’s Kitchen operated by Bill Arango. While the playfully provocative name draws connections to perhaps the most infamous Colombian, Pablo Escobar, it actually comes from a popular Colombian telenovela, El Cartel de Los Sapos. From 2009 to 2011, Arango’s mother owned and operated a restaurant by the same name, El Cartel Panadería y Piqueteadero, in Queens where she also served as Chef. Seeing relatively few restaurants that fully display Colombian cuisine in Manhattan, Arango decided to open the second iteration of El Cartel on the high foot-traffic stretch of 9th Avenue in Manhattan to introduce the bounty of flavors to as many people as possible.
Read full storyManhattan bar The Skinny brings summer vibes to the city with the Wild At Heart Beach Club
Local New York hangout The Skinny is bringing beach club vibes to Manhattan all summer. Located on 174 Orchard St, The Skinny has been transformed into the Wild At Heart Beach Club, an edgy tropical oasis. The bar and lounge has been decked out floor-to-ceiling with palm tree wallpaper, greenery covered wall with protruding hot pink skulls and the ceiling covered with oversized upside-down cocktail umbrellas (aka paper parasol), with more surprises to make you feel like you’ve been whisked off the paradise without a care in the world. Bringing the experience full circle, Wild At Heart Beach Club will be serving beachy-themed cocktails like Mermaid's Wish and Asphalt Oasis and no beach club is complete without specialty frozen drinks or special food items!
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