Back in New York City!

May 26, 2018

Back in New York City!

My heart skips a beat when I see the New York skyline when I go visit. For me, it instantaneously brings back memories of the time I lived there, worked there and all my wonderful, albeit exhausting visits since the time I moved to London. I have many friends in NYC and at times it feels like home.

This visit I went with the family. In some ways it's nice to go see the city with the fresh eyes of youth, as the city has changed so much since the quite dangerous but exciting 80's. The lower East Side is vibrant, downtown is buzzing and full of life, the West Village is still wonderful and home to many interesting restaurants and bars, and as my children claim, Brooklyn is definitely the place to be when you are young.

Aside from continuously walking around the city to soak in the energy and excitement that seems to be totally New York, I ate my way through my visit. As a totally committed foodie, and many of you may not agree, my opinion is London is hard to beat. London hosts so many varied and innovative restaurants due to its highly international and quite affluent clientele.The French and Italian may argue that their local cuisines win hands down in their respective capitals, but the range of international cuisine London has to offer is second to none and they do it well. Maybe it tastes different because of the European produce. It's come a very, very long way from the time that it was virtually impossible to eat well in London. Also, the size of the servings in New York unnerve me somewhat, and I am a big eater!

For the amount of varied bars and coolness, New York definitely wins. Unless you want to join a members' club in London or go to a gastropub, the buzzy bar scene is unlike New York's, where virtually every other corner you can find interesting places to hang out and have a cocktail.

So....interesting places? I did eat in restaurants three times a day (brunch, lunch and dinner, since I am very greedy). I'll only mention the ones that stay I remember. One thing, aside from Ramen, you need to book. Restaurants in New York get booked up way in advance.

Ramen Ishida. An inexpensive, spotless (Japanese run, of course) and cheerful place with a few high chairs and counters on Ludlow Street. This ramen had chicken, pork, porcini and truffle. Excellent noodle with a western twist.
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La Contenta. Of course we had to have some Mexican. Aside from what you consider Mexican (tacos, margaritas, enchiladas) traditional Mexican (with a French twist, the restaurant claims) is more interesting and tasty. We wandered over to La Contenta at 102 Norfolk Street in the lower East Side. It was perfectly fine Mexican, tiny, and offered a quite a range of tequilas. and agave based spirit mixes. After a few shots, I guess it doesn't really matter what the food is like but it was ok.

Sylvia's. Ever since I watched the YouTube documentary on fried chicken, I had to try Sylvia's in Harlem. Sylvia's in a landmark in Harlem and has been serving southern comfort food since 1962. It was exactly what I expected from the reviews. The chicken was rich and moist and with all the southern sides and extra ribs, I knew this was an authentic waist expanding experience. I didn't try Red Rooster, so I can't say which is better. Glad I went up to Harlem, it's quite trendy and hosts many good new restaurants many say. I'll explore the area more next time.

Katz's Deli. Of course, you cannot introduce people to New York without a good pastrami or rueben sandwich. So off we went to Katz's deli, at the corner of Ludlow and E. Houston. Prepare to eat just half, unless you want to force feed yourself, and take the other half home to give to your mate. This is America. You can take anything you don't eat home. The pastrami sandwich was tasty and so were the different kinds of pickles on the table. It's amazing how crowded and popular the place is!

Wolfgang's on Park.

I do enjoy a good steak and Wolfgang's on Park does it for me. I really enjoy the steak there. 2 Porterhouses served five hungry people with three side dishes. Don't forget the NY cheesecake with a side of cream (the same size as the cake) to feel like a beached whale.

Mission. If you need to have a spicy hit, head to Mission in Chinatown. I was afraid to rub my eyes for hours after leaving and washing my hands several times because I ordered the spicy chicken wings. And I prayed I'd be fine the next day! It's a sister restaurant to one in California and it was interesting.

Sakamai. I really liked the sake bar Sakamai on Ludlow Street. A wide range of sakes and an interesting food menu. Go on a Monday for happy hour. They have sake offerings of the week accompanied by oysters in a yuzu sauce. Yum.

And if you are near Central Park and just want an American experience, go to the Brooklyn Diner on 57th and 7th. It's good as diners go and the kids (they are all in their 20's) enjoyed it. I think it's what they envisioned an American diner should be, even if it is next to Central Park.

Porsena. Finally, a special mention about Porsena 21 East 7th street. The pastas were amazing. The lemon olive cake is worth having. Go check it out. I ordered the burrata and the lamb ragu and finished with the cake. Sigh. I'm going back.

A few places to mention, a bar called Banter in Greenwich village is nice to hang for a few cocktails. The Spaniard on West 4rth is a hopping place at night, a lively bar and good burgers. Good Room is a club in Brooklyn playing good house/techno music and they even featured Brothers Black!

Ok, it's time for the sightseeing photos. The usual. But it never gets old. I'm looking forward to returning to the big apple, as always.

By the way, follow my Dolomites adventure this July!