Pete's Dish - March 25

You must believe in spring! To help kick off the season, Manon announced their after work special and bar menu. What a lark to receive 30% off all beverages from 5:00pm - 8:00pm daily at the gorgeous main bar! The whole multi-leveled space is an absolute enchantment and the new food menu includes smoked duck on buckwheat, bar crudite, blue cheese and white chocolate crab cakes (imagine?), braised pork sliders and a duo of beets. Manon is located at 407 W 14th St, New York, NY, 212-596, 7255, Manon-NYC.com.

Now, despite the fact that spring hardly has sprung, Easter will still be hopping along soon (April 20^th to be exact). Ken & Cook has an appropriate basket filled with a prix fixe for Easter Sunday. The three course menu will include an appetizer, pasta or entree and dessert for $45 per person—and live jazz! Expect such things as earthy beets, homemade ricotta, radishes, pistachios, lobster ravioli with asparagus sauce, wild mushroom risotto, sauteed wild mushrooms with truffle oil to flood the table with a final flourish of vanilla creme brulee. Ken & Cook is located at 19 Kenmare St, New York, NY, 212-966-3058, KenAndCook.com. 

The Orale MK concept was the mind-child of NYC restaurateurs Alex Mendelsohn and Louis Alvarez. And now, with Beyond Restaurants Group, Cristina Castañeda is on board to translate the former Café Frida space into a new Mexican spot on the Upper West Side. Orale Mexican Kitchen brings Mexican-inspired cuisine to a hipster scene alongside agave-based cocktails. Try the trio of guacamole among signature dishes, as well as bocadillo bites, tacos and a range of platos principales. We look forward to the Mexican Mac & Cheese! 60 seats are most accommodating and a 30-seat courtyard patio is soon to open as well—do you get the sense I can’t wait for spring? Orale Mexican Kitchen is located at 768 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY, 212-749-2929, OraleMK.com.  

The owners of Surya (sadly closed) present Savoury, a new modern Indian restaurant opening March 26th that also happens to be on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Chef/owner Lala Sharma’s cooking is influenced by Western and Southern Indian cooking with the fragrant aroma of spices floating over the intimate lounge, cocktail bar and dining room. Appetizers include warm sprouted lentils tossed with rice puffs with mustard seeds and fried curry leaves and crispy cauliflower in garlic tomato sauce. Yogurt-marinated baby lamb chops, scallops in tamarind-coconut sauce, vegetarian cooking and tandoor cuisine are also among the house specialties. Of course there are requisite biryani rice dishes and crispy, puffy breads such as garlic naan. Why not sip on a lime-green Tandoori Sour with Strawberry Stoli, Midori and sour mix while at it? Savoury is located at 489 Columbus Ave, 212-875-1400, SavouryNYC.com.

Next Magazine - The Year of Living Deliciously

The Year of Living Deliciously

This year revealed many classics, both new and old with some unexpected treasures—in other words, just what you’d expect from old New York. So, here is a taste of what we found to be most tempting and divine as we dined around town!

We luxuriated for hours over the sprawling 15-course tasting menu at Eleven Madison Park (11 Madison Ave, 212-889-0905, ElevenMadisonPark.com). The entire experience was pure theater, involving a misty morning Maine “clambake” as well as glittering striped bass and pink roasted duck. An enchanting beach-ready picnic basket was loaded up with pretzels, a Mason jar of mustard and a couple of chilly beers.

@Nine (592 9^th Ave, 212-265-4499, AtNineNYC.com) was a step beyond many of the other Thai joints in gay HK. While sipping refreshing Fresh & Young cocktails, we delighted in gently fried Crab Ragoon and bright, tangy beef salad. Vegetable pad see ew arrived in a beautifully crafted, crisped cellophane noodle bowl.

If only we could have stayed overnight at Juni (12 E 31^st St, 212-995-8599, JuniNYC.com) to continue our feasting! A spectacular, elegant and seasonal menu offered foie gras with pert apple relish and warm brioche, rich kale soup with simmered pork neck, creamy blankets of salsify agnolotti and sumptuous duck, all served in an intimate, social atmosphere.

Le Périgord (405 E 52^nd St, 212-755-6244, LePerigord.com) was such an old-world experience; a sophisticated, secluded French restaurant on the Upper East Side. Greeted by a lined-up arsenal of waiters, we were led into the dining room full of bloomed roses quietly gracing the tables. We gladly supped on mushroom-stuffed fat quail with black truffle sauce and roasted lobster tails. Sheer heaven.

We dined on caviar with blini, borscht and stroganoff at The Russian Tea Room (150 W 57^th St, 212-581-7100, RussianTeaRoomNYC.com), where the storied opulence has grandly returned with much of the restored, historical elements intact. Contemporary items such as sliders and brined pork chops now share the menu as gracious gentlemen handsomely attired in Russian military jackets wait on you hand and foot.

In a breezy environment evocative of the sand-tanned Hamptons, Greenwich Project (47 W 8^th St, 212-253-9333) presented us with the keenly matched Odd Couple, a pairing of sautéed sweetbreads, salty cubes of bacon and sea-worthy snails, laced with a garlic froth. The halibut with brioche crust was extraordinary! We finished with red velvet cake, of course.

Pennsylvania 6 (132 W 31^st St, 212-727-3666, Pennsylvania6NYC.com) in the Penn station ’hood was surprisingly wonderful. While combating the transient, boisterous commuters flooding the bar, we quite enjoyed embarking on oysters from both the East and West coasts. Blue crab mac followed, lushly robed in a fontina cream sauce. The bone-in pork chop was enlivened by a spicy maple glaze and mashed sweet potatoes.

Joe Allen (326 W 46^th St, 212-581-6464, JoeAllenRestaurant.com) is the lullaby of Broadway on Restaurant Row. Although hardly our first visit, we still started with the aromatic, buttery steak tartare and Caesar salad before moving on to a juicy burger. The chocolate pudding cake and banana cream pie are keepers. Keep an eye out for the fabulous Joan Rivers, a frequent visitor!

Beautifully lurking in the Meatpacking district, Manon (407 W 14^th St, 212-596-7255, Manon-NYC.com) has a revolving menu that rises up like the spring, ladling out vibrant pea soup, sweet corn tortellini, bursting Amish chicken breasts and outrageous smoked butter mashed potatoes.

The winner of the most gorgeous place we encountered this year is…Villard Michel Richard (455 Madison Ave, 212-891-8100, VillardMichelRichard.com) in the legendary New York Palace hotel. We were spirited by our negroni cocktails, lobster bisque, côte de boeuf au poivre, fried chicken and a puff pastry Napoleon piped with ridiculously good cream.

Do enjoy!

Shown above, clockwise: Greenwich Project, The Russian Tea Room, Manon, Le Perigord.

First published in part in Next magazine.