Chef Yu

520 Eighth Avenue

(between 36th and 37th Streets)

A favorite go-to spot for quick Chinese takeout near work. It’s also a terrific option on a Sunday afternoon where most restaurants near Penn Station are closed.

 

Nice ambience, with nice pricing. They also offer lunch specials during the weekday.

 

A bowl of wonton soup is $1.95.

 

Vegetable rice noodles are $8.50.

 

And so is an order of beef chow fun.

 

It all comes with complimentary tea.

Final Thoughts

Good, decent Chinese food in a comfortable setting with friendly service.

Salinas

136 Ninth Avenue

(between 18th and 19th Streets)

One night, after having dinner in Chelsea, I was looking for a dessert spot.

Stopped in at Salinas, a beautiful Spanish restaurant known for their fresh-cut flowers and sat at their bar with its white marble counter.

 

Ordered an arroz con leche con membrillo—a basque rice pudding with quince, citrus compote, whipped sweet Manchego, PX reduction. Very light dessert that’s not too sweet.

 

Paired perfectly with the Muga rosé.

Pros:

Gorgeous restaurant.

Gorgeous bathroom.

Cons:

Actually both a pro & a con. Although not offered on their bar menu, the bartender kindly put together for me a dish of mixed olives. Not at all what I expected and was underwhelmed. I probably should have been more specific and requested martini olives.

Final Thoughts

Perfect spot for a quick drink!

Co. (aka Company)

230 Ninth Avenue

(corner of 23rd Street)

Another brick-oven pizza restaurant! This one is located in Chelsea.

I have wanted to try their pizza for a few years, but it’s never been a destination spot for me so whenever I stopped by the restaurant was too crowded and the wait was too long. So this time, I made sure to show up when the restaurant opened for lunch.

Décor is a bright, open space.

 

I particularly liked the bar set-up. Fantastic people-watching spot!

 

The paper menu was the table setting. Genius!

 

Started out with the roasted beets salad, which came with toasted pinenuts, dill, chives, and citrus-fennel yogurt vinaigrette. As a fan of red beets, I LOVED this salad especially the yogurt vinaigrette.

 

For the pizza, I ordered the Popeye pizza pie, which came with pecorino cheese, gruyère, mozzarella, spinach, black pepper and garlic. Although, they are “individual” size, I found the pie more than suitable for sharing for two.

 

And the spinach was charred! Delish!!

 

For dessert, we selected the carrot cake, which came with candied walnuts, maple mascarpone, and gingered carrot. Perfect dessert for two! And a light treat!

 

 

As it was lunch, I chose the ginger-yuzu homemade soda for my drink. Very sweet, but wish they included actual ginger. Instead, they only had the syrup.

Pros:

Helpful and friendly staff.

Charred spinach on the Popeye pie!!

Cons:

Wish they offered a lunch special.

Only offered pizza as their entrees.

Final Thoughts

Will definitely return, if just to rate their bar service!

Halloween Red

It’s Halloween.

Which means it’s officially Red Wine Season!

I’ve wanted to try an Apothic-brand wine for years now, so Halloween seemed like the perfect time to try one.

I chose the appropriately named Apothic Dark. Very cool gothic-looking label.

 

 

And very cool, black cork!!

 

 

The wine itself is dry with hints of coffee and dark chocolate. The finish is smooth and silky. Pairs wonderfully with chocolate—in particular Nestlé Crunch’s chocolate bar!

Cheers!

Café Angus’ Bistro

258 West 44th Street

(between 7th and 8th Avenues)

If you are looking for a non-touristy spot for a meal in the Theater District, Café Angus’ Bistro is a wonderful gem of a choice.

Located next to John’s Pizzeria, there is a secret alleyway entrance along with a main entrance.

The menu is a mix of Belgian bistro meets Scottish fare.

We started off with Scotch Eggs—egg yolks wrapped in sausage. Hearty fare, indeed!

 

Along with Ratatouille Bianco. Interesting . . .

 

And in a Belgian bistro a must-order dish is the steamed mussels. Café Angus prepares its mussels with white wine, cream, peas, and bacon. Sauce was absolutely delicious.

 

Of course we ordered a side of their truffle fries (drizzled with truffle oil)

And regular fries to dip in the yummy mussel sauce.

The truffle fries absolutely put the regular fries to shame.

Pros:

Easily one of the best steamed mussels in the city.

Truffle fries!!!

Cons:

Service seemed a bit overwhelmed—we arrived after a matinee show around pre-dinner time—but the crowds arrived early and they were understaffed.

Final Thoughts

Would definitely return for the fries and mussels if in the neighborhood.

Ngam

99 Third Avenue

(between 12th and 13th Streets)

If you are looking for a Happy Hour spot around Union Square, Ngam is a terrific option. With its cozy, distressed décor, and Julia Child quote:

Ngam is a funky, cool option.

Cocktails are $6.00 and the Happy Hour appetizer platter ($15) for two containing: spicy kale and mushroom salad, “Chiang Mai” fries (Kabocha pumpkin, sweet potato, red curry mayo, sweet and sour peanut relish), “Por Pia” shiitake mushroom spring rolls (Vermicelli noodles, orange ginger reduction), and “Pra Muk Yang” grilled calamari (Thai spicy lime and chili dip) are standouts.

I went for the Honey Lychee Martini with vodka, triple sec, lychee juice, lime juice, and honey. It comes with a real lychee!!!

As well as the Ginger Caipiroska: muddled ginger, vodka, ginger syrup, lime, and soda. Love the ginger!

The food is Americanized Thai. Not sure that I would go there for regular dinner, but I’ll be back for Happy Hour!

Be Warned: Everything comes with chili!

Serafina (White Plains)

199 Main Street

(at Court Street)

White Plains, NY

I’ve been to the Serafina location near Columbus Circle in Manhattan, so when offered a choice of dining options in White Plains, I decided to try out their Serafina location.

As soon as we entered, we were greeted with a friendly welcome. The service was helpful and informative throughout our entire meal. We must have been waited upon by at least half a dozen different members of their wait-staff. Best of all they were not hovering over us or being intrusive.

We started off with an order of the fried calamari, along with a warm Italian goat cheese salad with baby spinach, honey, and roasted pine nuts. The baby spinach with honey was delish, but wish the warm goat cheese were placed on top of the greens as opposed to on a toasted piece of bread.

 

 

Continuing my craving for Neapolitan pizza, we ordered the All’uovo: tomato, mozzarella, prosciutto, sliced tomato with one egg. We were instructed to “break” the egg and spread the yolk throughout the entire pizza. Cold yolk on cool or cold pizza is definitely not recommended! So best to eat when it comes piping hot from the oven.

 

Our favorite dish though was a rather unique appetizer dish: avocado and shrimps “san pietro”—avocado and baby shrimp served with arugula, grape tomatoes, and cannellini beans in a champagne mustard sauce. The baby shrimp tasted like lobster and the mustard sauce added a very nice hint of spice to the dish.

 

We paired our meal with a rosé (Bertaud Belieu Cote de Provence, St. Tropez)—in spite of it being past rosé season—and a prosecco (Prosecco Flor Serafina Label).

 

Pros:

Friendly service.

Nice, bright atmosphere.

Cons:

It’s located in White Plains.

Final Thoughts

I would rate the White Plains location higher than the NYC location due to the more attentive service and interesting menu options.