Recent Recommendations from the Experts! 8/25/11

Thursday’s are for sharing!

Below are recent recommendations the EE team provided to the needy, hungry & thirsty that wrote in to us. Need a recommendation? Ask Eatery Expert

1. Keepin' it healthy & fresh in Flatiron – Periyali (35 West 20th St. nr. Sixth Ave.)

Oktapodi Sharas charcoal grilled, red wine marinated octopus -- A must order!

2.  Hidden gem in Nolita - Ballato (55 East Houston St. nr. Mott St.)

Hearty Italian food since 1956. Ballato knows how to please!

3. Dinner date in the West Village -  I Sodi (105 Christopher St. nr. Bleecker St.)

Brought to you straight form Tuscany. The only difference is that they accept dollars, not euros!

4. First date pleaser - The Monday Room (210 Elizabeth St. nr. Prince St.)

Wine and cheese, please!

5. Group dinner & dancing - Los Feliz (109 Ludlow St. nr. Delancey St.)

A multi-level establishment, including a taqueria, lounge & a dining den!

6. Unique, non-traditional dining experience - Bohemian (57 Great Jones St. nr. Bowery St.)

True definition of a hidden gem. Some people know about it, but can't even find it! Sashimi to burgers, the food is all great!

7. Delicious food with private dining - Freemans (8 Rivington St at the end of Freemans Alley)

They've got 3 very unique and private rooms to accommodate 12, 20 or 30 guests!

8.  Chef's table downtown - Il Buco (47 Bond St. nr. Lafayette St.)

The menu is always changing and the food just keeps getting better!

9. Quality sushi and sake - Kanoyama (175  Second Ave. @ 11th St.)

Oysters, sushi and sake sounds like a perfect night!

10.   Happy hour in Flatiron -The Cellar at Beecher's (900 Broadway @ 20th St.)

Check out their grilled cheese martini!

Chef Profile: Julian Medina

Medina takes Manhattan, bringing Latin flavor to every corner of NYC
by Joleen Zanuzoski, Eatery Expert 


Chef Julian Medina is a man of many sombreros. Not only has he worked as a successful chef in New York City for sixteen years, but he is a businessman, restaurant consultant, tequila aficionado, husband and father. Let's breakdown the levels of the Medina empire as it currently stands:


UNO: Toloache Bistro Mexicano (Theatre District) - Grasshopper tacos, truffle quesadillas, muy caliente cocktails and Mexican food that's on another level. Translation: the really, really delicious level.


DOS: Toloache Taqueria (Financial District) - The casual & fast alternative to the uptown Toloache. The food is just as delicious but designed to take back to the office and distract you because it is so good. Taco Tuesdays ($2) and Burrito Fridays ($6) really give Wall Street a run for its money.


TRES: Yerba Buena (Lower East Side) - Latin Cuisine with an edge, mixing in flavor profiles and cooking techniques from Mexico, Cuba, Peru, Argentina and Chile. Cocktail list is inventive, the scene is legit and you'll keep coming back.


CUATRO: Yerba Buena Perry (West Village) - We feel like if Desi Arnaz or Gloria Estefan were our best friends , they would wine and dine us at YBP. Very old-school Havana ambiance mixed with modern Latin fare.


CINCO: Coppelia (Chelsea) The newest addition to the empire. Step into this Cuban luncheonette and feast on burgers, sandwiches, fries of all shapes and sizes and desserts that will have your pants size going up in no time. We hear that Bobby Flay has stopped in for take-out to bring back to the nearby Food Network offices and is a big fan of this spicy 14th Street enclave. To add to the awesomeness, Pastry Chef mastermind Pichet Ong lends a hand with the sweet treats, serving up decadent American favorites with a little Latin flare. If you've never understood what Nuevo-Latino comfort food was, check out this 24-hour diner immediately.

Cuban sandwich with yuca fries at Coppelia. Photo: Coppelia 

SEIS: Toloache 82 (Upper East Side-COMING SOON!) Scheduled for a mid-September opening at 166 East 82nd Street (nr. 3rd Ave.) Medina is bringing his signature flavors to the UES. Does Medina ever siesta?! We think not and we want whatever he is putting in his margarita because it's obviously magical.


SIETE: Tequila (Very exclusive, limited supply, not available yet) So Señor Medina talks to his pals at Herradura distillery in Guadalajara, Mexico and says "Yo, double age some primo reposado for me," and the guys at Herradura distillery say "Why, of course!" Well, that's how we imagine it happening. The result is  a smooth tequila with a complex palate, just the way Chef Medina likes it. This special beverage will be available for a limited time at Toloache and served as their house tequila for margaritas.


This is just a tasting menu of Medina's ventures and we are positive there is much more on the horizon. Between getting in his morning workouts at Equinox, making taquito de huevos (scrambled egg tacos) for his four-year old daughter, or grabbing a late night bite at his favorite taqueria in East Harlem, he is always on the move, always creating something new and bringing tons of Latin flavor to New York.

Frita Cubana Burger at Coppelia. Photo: Eatery Expert

Q: What do you say to non-native New Yorkers (usually from the West Coast)  that frequently remark that you just can't get good Mexican food in The Big Apple?
Medina: Like in any country, different [regions] have different ways of cooking. Mexicans that usually live in California or other states [in the West] are from the Northwest [areas of] Mexico and the cooking and cuisine is very different. Here on the East Coast, there are more Mexicans from Puebla and around [that region] and their cooking style, techniques and ingredients are different, too.


Q: Where do you go to eat Mexican food?
Medina: Taco Mix in East Harlem (234 East 116th St nr. 3rd Ave.) is a 24-hour taqueria that I have been going to for years. Also, El Paso (1643 Lexington Ave. nr. 104th St.) is another place I go frequently.


Q: What's your favorite "I just got out of the kitchen and I need a drink!" drink?
Medina: I like to drink everything, but Michelada is great and refreshing. It's Mexican beer with lime and hot sauce and a salt and chili pepper rim on the glass.


Q: What ingredients are always in your refrigerator at home?
Medina: Limes, tortillas, cheese and turkey. My daughter really likes the turkey!


Q: Are there any chefs that you admire?
Medina: Daniel Boulud - he maintains the integrity of his cooking and keeps building more restaurants at the same time and I really respect that. Also, Danny Mena (Hecho en Dumbo).
Check it out: Chef Medina grilled up a Frita Cubana Burger & Cuban Sandwich with Yuca Fries. See how he makes his magic in the kitchen!


Follow Chef Medina on Twitter: @ChefMedinaNYC
Like Chef Medina on Facebook: Chef Julian Medina Facebook Page

Recent Recommendations from the Experts! 8/18/11

Thursday’s are for sharing!

Below are recent recommendations the EE team provided to the needy, hungry & thirsty that wrote in to us. Need a recommendation? Ask Eatery Expert

1. Pre-theater restaurant for "in-the-know" locals – DB Bistro Moderne (55 West 44th St. nr. 6th Ave.)

Pre-theater special for $45.  Tuesday through Saturday.  5PM - 6:30PM.  Also check out their special burger - one of the best in Manhattan.

2.  Outdoor happy hour for a large group on the LES – Loreley Restaurant & Biergarten (7 Rivington St. nr. Chrystie St.)

It's not the Hofbrauhaus, but could be wurst!

3.   Not a stuffy steakhouse in Midtown – Quality Meats (5 West 58th St. nr. 5th Ave.)

They're known for steak and seafood, but be sure to save room for dessert - the ice cream cake is a must try.

4.  Fusion in Flatiron – Basta Pasta (37 West 17th St.)

Japanese-Italian fare.  Say wha?!

5.  "Knock her socks off" romantic date – A Voce Columbus (10 Columbus Circle nr. 60th St.)

Chef Missy Robbin's has transformed this place into a pasta haven!

6.  Frugalistas seek fun night out in the West Village – Miss Lily's (132 West Houston St. nr. Sullivan St.)

Greenwich Village Jamaican jerk hut.  Bringin' the tropics to Manhattan, mahhnnn

7.  Pizza & wine in Chelsea – Co. (230 9th Ave. nr. 20th St.)

Brick oven pizza at its finest from the master's of Sullivan St. Bakery.

8.  Farm-to-table fare in the East Village – Prune (54 East 1st St. nr. 2nd Ave.)

Chef Gabrielle Hamilton's masterpiece.  Their brunch is one of our favorites in the city serving 10 different bloody marys! PLUS - their dinner is equally superb

9. Unlimited Drinks & Quality Brunch - Bocca di Bacco (828 Ninth Ave. nr. 54th St.)

Has lox ever looked so good?! $15 unlimited drinks?! Boozy Brunch in Hell's Kitchen has never felt so much like heaven.

10. Awesome raw bar below 14th Street – Jeffrey's Grocery (172 Waverly Pl. nr. Christopher St.)

Local produce, bread, raw bar and restaurant? Sounds too good to be true!

Top 10: Fried Foods

It’s pandemonium on Wall Street these days. The stock market is crashing! Standard and Poor’s has downgraded the United States and it’s likely France is next. People are rioting on the streets of London. The world, it seems, is coming to an end. If our time has come there’s not much we can do to stop it so I say let’s embrace the end. Let’s toast to the dark side! Put down that low-cal smoothie. Step away for the steamed tofu. Join us as we celebrate Eating Unhealthy: Top 10 Fried Foods. If the world’s gonna end, we might as well eat like it!

10. Fried Oyster Sliders – The Dutch

(131 Sullivan St. @ Prince St.)

Andrew Carmellini’s foray from Italian comfort food to American comfort food has brought us lots of tasty treats but these just might be the tastiest of them all.

9. Fish and Chips – A Salt and Battery

(112 Greenwich Ave. @ 12th St.)

We’d be remiss to have a top fried foods list without fish and chips and the combination is at it’s finest at A Salt and Battery.

8. Korean Fried Chicken – Mad For Chicken

(314 5th Ave. @ 32nd St.)

Korea town got a little more crowded when KyoChon invaded the neighborhood but nobody has yet knocked off the Korean fried chicken champ.

7. Fried Potatoes – Barbuto

(775 Washington St. @ 12th St.)

You can fry just about anything in duck fat and make it taste good. But this good? Only Johnathan Waxman could do it.

6. Fried Pork Dumplings – Vanessa’s Dumpling House

(118 Eldridge St. @ Broome St.)

The gold standard in all things dumpling fries ‘em up better than any others we’ve tried.

5. Fried Oreos – Led Zeppole

(328 East 14th St. @ 2nd Ave.)

Does this one really need any further commentary? The brains behind Artichoke Pizza do it again.

4. French Fries –  Pommes Frites

(123 2nd Ave. @ 7th St.)

Easily the toughest decision we had to make was which French Fryer to add to the list but the sheer magnitude of fry variations – all delicious – give Pomme Frites the leg up on the competition.

3. Empire Roll – Sushi Sen-Nin

(30 East 33rd St. @ Madison Ave.)

It’s really nothing more than a glorified shrimp tempura roll but the best one at that. Shaped and colored like the empire state building gives it it’s namesake, perfect taste and crunch land it on this list. (we couldn't find a picture, but trust us on this one!)

2. Fried Chicken – Dirty Bird To Go

(204 West 14th St. @ 7th Ave.)

We can’t talk fried foods without fried chicken right? So let’s talk about it. Dirty Bird is nothing more than a small take-out place but what it lacks in size it makes up with some of the dirtiest fried chicken in town.

1. Pretzel Dusted Fried Calamari – ABC Kitchen

(35 East 18th St. @ Broadway)

You don’t win a James Beard award for nothing. You win for taste and creativity, two of the defining characteristics of this dish from Dan Kluger.

Recent Recommendations from the Experts! 8/11/11

Thursday’s are for sharing!

Below are recent recommendations the EE team provided to the needy, hungry & thirsty that wrote in to us. Need a recommendation? Ask Eatery Expert

1. Weeknight dinner with the girls and a lot of wine – Malatesta Trattoria (649 Washington St. nr. Christopher St.)

Casual eatery serving some of the best Italian food this side of town. Don't miss their spinach gnocchi with gorgonzola sauce!

2. Great food AND cocktails to match on the LES – Rayuela (165 Allen St. nr. Stanton St.)

The indoor olive tree is just one of the many reasons why this place is awesome.

3. Fun double date in the West Village – Spasso (551 Hudson St. nr. Perry St.)

Their hand pulled stracciatella and toasted bread is a little taste of heaven!

4. Not your average wine bar – Felice Wine Bar (1166 1^st Ave. nr. 64^th St.)

As the name implies...you'll be very felice when you leave the place!

5. Spanish Tapas bursting with authenticity  – La Nacional (239 W.14^th St.)

Fit for King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain!

6. Upscale sports bar worthy of a chill night out – Warren 77 (77 Warren St. nr. Broadway)

New York Ranger Sean Avery owned.  Cool enough for an athlete, casual enough for the rest of us!

7. Weeknight dinner on a budget – Café Asean (117 W. 10^th St. nr. Greenwich Ave.)

8. Anniversary dinner in the West Village– Mas Farmhouse (39 Downing St. nr. Bedford St.)

Farm to table from the farmhouse...

9. Unique 2^nd date downtown – Desnuda (122 E. 7^th St.)

Oysters, ceviche and wine...very romantico!

10. Restaurant with some damn good beer– Jimmy’s No. 43 (43 East 7^th St. nr. 2^nd Ave.)

Over 50 different types of beer including some of our favorite local beers!