It’s been three years since I ate at Del Posto. Back then, it was still considered an ambitious restaurant with its grand space with an enoteca, a sort of bar/lounge space that’s considered the casual portion of the restaurant, co-owned by superstar chefs Mario Batali, Lidia Bastianich, and her son, Joseph Bastianich. In winter 2009, Del Posto renovated the space to get rid of the enoteca and make it as luxurious as the dining room itself with a greater ambition to get the coveted 4-star rating from the NY Times.
Since then, I haven’t been to Del Posto as my eyes (and stomach) shifted to other places I haven’t eaten yet. A good friend of mine, Dr. Y has expressed interest to eat here before he leaves New York City back to his home state of sunny California in a few months.
Interior
As we entered the sumptuous lobby, the host greeted us and took us directly to our table. Sitting down on the plush cushioned banquette, I looked at the entire dining room: dark mahogany wood contrasted with lemon yellow walls and touches of marble. Heavy drapes on the windows to hide the bright afternoon sun on a hot July day. Carpeted floors to hush the footsteps of servers and diners as they walk on by.
As a born and bred native New Yorker, I don’t exactly understand the concept of brunch. Brunch to me is basically another way to sneak in more alcohol into your system even though you had your fill of poison the night (or two, if you started on Friday) before and eat somewhat bland food during the late morning to the late afternoon in hopes to get rid of hangover or induce yourself to another drunken stupor. Since I don’t drink that much and I care more about the food, I haven’t encounter brunch food that I truly enjoyed. Until now.
Apologies for the extended delay on updating this blog. I’m packing up my bags to get ready for Paris next week and I’m busy with work and eating out a few more places before I jet out from New York City. I’m sorry, my readers.
Interior: The dining room (left) and down the bar (right)
About a week ago, I had dinner with an old friend, Michael and meeting a new one, one of NY Times’ freelance photographers, Evan Sung at the Meatball Shop in the Lower East Side. A casual, fun, nostalgic meal that’s causing quite a media stir that specializes on their namesake – meatballs.
Entering the small, already bustling restaurant at 6:45 PM, one would see the aged-looking walls decorated in black and white portraits and vintage kitchen tools (like hand-cranked meat grinders) and a tinned ceiling. Two-top tables strewn against the one wall while the wooden communal table takes up most of the space with the bar on the right. Continue reading “Meet-Up Dinner (Sort of) at The Meatball Shop” »
Standing outside the breezy, insanely cold Sunday morning, I was invited by Hagan to join him on his ambitious food project called 93 Plates. Partially, I was regretting saying “yes” to drag my butt out of my warm bed but I refuse to be a flake, suck it up like any other New Yorker (or tourist) who’s walking outside, and travel out to Nolita.
Since I arrived a bit early, I defrosted myself and soak in the interior of the restaurant. Open layout, loft-like, with an Industrial look. It looks Euro-cool to me for some reason.
Several weeks ago, Norman Love Confections graciously sent me a sampler box of their upcoming limited holiday edition. Sure, it seems early to shop for Christmas but time is passing a lot sooner than I’d like these days. The next thing I know, I have to rush to the stores and start shopping for [...]
Taken place on August 13, 2009. Sorry I haven’t been writing, just stuck with work and some stuff in life.
Aureole
The last time I’ve been to Aureole was nearly two years ago for Restaurant Week, in its former location in the Upper East Side. Back then, I used to think the food was ok but nothing extraordinary. I went in to Aureole with not-too-high expectations though its caliber and pricing should not be taken for granted.
Walking up to the desk where all the hostesses were, they all greeted me and walked me over to the dining room, just passing through the casual bar room. Generally speaking, the restaurant seems to be a tad smaller than its former location. It’s one large space that’s divided into two smaller rooms. Both rooms are adorned in lots of wood and marble have that modern, casual, glitz appeal. Technically, when I look over their Aureole Las Vegas site, it does look like they modeled the NYC location after it. Continue reading “Lunch at Aureole” »
[I know I'm supposed to write about the tea outing with Patrick but I need to do this first. I promise things would go back to normal.]
I used to think Grand Central Terminal’s Market has nothing fit for me, in regards to food. It’s just a transfer hub to get to work with the occasional need of caffeine from my beloved Joe that opened ever since the past fall. Arguably, it’s the best thing that happened to this station for me. I depend on my life for good coffee. But I needed more than just coffee and willing to open my mind a bit when I was invited by Susan to try a few things from this vast area.
Waaay back on Friday, January 9th, I’ve invited a whole bunch of friends: Robyn, Kathy, Doug, Helen, Kim, Julie, and Giulia for dinner at Co.
Most of us who are familiar with Jim Lahey’s Sullivan Street Bakery are fans of his bread and wouldn’t pass up the chance of trying out his wonderful pizza. Hell, the biggest temptation was Adam Kuban’s multipleposts about Co. made us all weak in the knees and tortured us with the glorious food photos when he previewed and ate during the soft opening run.
Co’s exterior and interior
Expecting a somewhat of a long wait, knowing that this place is on the small side and I’m in a group of 8 hungry stomachs, I went with Helen early straight after work to get myself on the wait list. Continue reading “Amazing Pizza at Co. (or Company)” »
Two Fridays ago, I’ve arranged a small dinner with Robyn, Jess, and her roommate, Jen to Picholine‘s bar/lounge. Why? It’s because I’m intrigued by their menu, it’s relatively affordable compared to their main dining room’s menu and we’re not dying of starvation. Continue reading “A Brief Dinner at Picholine” »
