Tavola

488 Ninth Avenue

(between 37th and 38th Streets)

My new favorite Italian pizza place! Thin crust pizza with the taste of Naples—what’s not to like?

The restaurant is cozy and comfortable and the food is excellent. Has a wonderful “neighborhood-feel” to it.

 

Started off with a glass of pinot grigio ($9), which was very light and basically tasted like fruity water.

I soon switched to a heartier red—the Nero D’avola ($12). Definitely better suited for pizza and pasta!

For our appetizer, we ordered a roasted beet salad—bronta pistachio nuts, goat cheese, and wild arugula. LOVE red beets ($11.50).

For our pizza dish, we went for the Truscan Brunch Pizza ($16), which was topped with mozzarella, smoked prosciutto, and farm egg, and fresh spinach. Soooo good!!!

 

We also ordered a pasta dish—fusilli lunghi siciliano pesto trapanese ($11.75). Had an interesting salty, anchovy taste.

Though we were full from our meal, our fellow diners insisted that we try one of the restaurant’s homemade desserts. The lady who was sitting in the next table over raved over their gelato dessert, so we of course had to try it.

 

And we were not disappointed. We ordered the Gelato Pistachio Crushed Ameretti ($8.75) and it was a perfect dessert for sharing.

 

 

Perfect ending to a close-to-perfect meal!

Pros:

Excellent thin-crust pizza.

Friendly service and friendly patrons!

Cons:

Opens at 2 p.m. on weekends.

Final Thoughts

Will be a frequent customer.

Bistango

413 Third Avenue

(between 29th and 30th Streets)

Best gluten-free restaurant in New York City. Great place to take friends who can’t or don’t want to eat gluten.

Bistango has several locations in Manhattan, but the one to go to is the one on Third Avenue. The restaurant is cozy and relaxing and the service is excellent.

An out-of-town friend, who can’t eat gluten, insists on coming here at least once for dinner during her once-a-year business visit. She is always in awe that they offer gluten-free bread.

We started off with the Calamari Bistango (sautéed calamari and tomato sauce).  Light and chewy goodness!

My friend ordered the Wild Mushroom and Ricotta Ravioli with pesto sauce. She always orders a ravioli entrée. She was a bit disappointed this time, though, as she felt the dish had too much pesto sauce on it.

 

I ordered the Risotto Primavera, Burrata, and Lite Pesto. LOVED the burrata, but like my friend, I did feel they went a bit overboard with the pesto.

For dessert, we had the Torta Di Carota—carrot cake with buttermilk crème frosting. Simply delicious! Unbelievably moist and light. Could have had two of them and still want more!

 

To accompany the entire meal, we ordered a bottle of the Primitivo—a wonderful full-body red with a very smooth finish. Whenever I see the Primitivo on the wine list, I go out of my way to order it, as it never has disappointed!
 

Pros:

A must-go-to if you are looking for a gluten-free meal.

Good service.

Great carrot cake.

Cons:

Too must pesto on dishes.

Final Thoughts

Will return next year!

Asian Jewels Seafood Restaurant

133-30 East 39th Avenue

Flushing, NY 11354

Mother’s Day 2015. Treated Mom to dim sum. Instead of fighting the crowds and long lines in Manhattan’s Chinatown, we decided to go to Flushing’s Chinatown. Plus, it would be Mom’s first time visiting Flushing.

After doing a bit of research, we chose a restaurant that would take a reservation. If you know anything about Chinese dim sum places, most will not accept reservations. It’s first come, first serve (most make you take a number) and the waits may take as long as an hour, especially on holidays such as Mother’s Day. We also searched for a large, family-style restaurant, as opposed to a hole-in-the-wall dim sum spot, which would be appropriate for a celebratory meal.

 

When we showed up at the restaurant at 10:30 a.m., and a crowd was already present at the restaurant’s lobby. However, my mom walked in like royalty because we had a reservation. The restaurant literally added a table for us. They rolled out a new tabletop and took chairs off of stacks of chairs that were placed against a wall.

The food was fresh and delicious and plentiful.

 

 

The cart ladies were ever-present, and we were also able to order dishes to be made to order (we ordered a vegetarian noodle dish to go).

Pros:

Takes reservations!

Friendly service.

Great variety of dim sum.

Nice, clean restrooms!!!

Cons:

Pricier than most dim sum places.

Final Thoughts

Mom was happy and enjoyed the meal. And in the end that’s all that matters!