Sasha's Kitchen: Chopped Apple Salad & Meeting Bobby Flay

I had the privilege of receiving free tickets to attend the New York Food & Wine Festival again this year, courtesy of ShopRite, as a Potluck featured blogger.  I had the opportunity to taste lots of fabulous foods, and try out many of ShopRite's new products that their tasting pavilion.  In addition, I had the opportunity to have a photo taken with and of course meet one of my favorite chefs from the Food Network - Bobby Flay.  As a huge fan of cooking his recipes over the years, and watching him on Iron Chef America, I got him to sign a copy of his Bar American cookbook, and since then I've been cooking tons of recipes from it that we have really enjoyed. Here's the first recipe of several that we enjoyed trying out from his new cookbook.  It's a crisp, chopped apple salad with blue cheese that is healthy and perfect for fall!

Chopped Apple Salad (recipe adapted from Bobby Flay)
4 apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2 inch dice (I used granny smith apples)
5 oz baby spinach (the original recipe only calls for 2 oz but I like more)
2 large heads of belgian endive, thinly sliced crosswise
1 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts (I used pecans)
1/2 lbs crumbled blue cheese (about two cups)

Pomegranate Vinaigrette
3 T pomegranate molasses
2 T red wine vinegar
1 heaping T dijon mustard
1 T honey
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil or canola oil

Combine the ingredients for the salad and toss in the vinaigrette. Happy fall!

Sasha's Kitchen: Chopped Apple Salad & Meeting Bobby Flay

Sasha's Kitchen: Best Manhattan Foodie Spots

In no particular order, the following are my favorite and most highly recommended Manhattan restaurants, in a variety of price ranges. This is not meant to be a list of the best or top restaurants in Manhattan, just some of my favorite dining experiences that I have had since moving to New York nearly nine years ago. I will (at some point) do a separate list of my favorite inexpensive, budget eats, as well. Here are my favorite Manhattan dining experiences, in no particular order.  Just a note: This is not meant to be a cheap eats guide, though there are a few of those mixed in here.  I will, at some point, do a top 25 favorite New York Cheap Eats list.  But for now, happy dining!

1. Blue Hill (Village)- I have already written an entire review of Blue Hill, which might just be my favorite Manhattan restaurant, and the perfect choice for my birthday dinner.  A recap - the seasonal farm-to-table ingredients, artful recipe design and presentation, combined with the friendly and attentive staff make Blue Hill one of the best places to eat in Manhattan - or anywhere.  In terms of the food, this is on par with some of Napa's best restaurants.

2. Tabla (Gramercy/Flatiron)- Tabla is an Indian-American fusion restaurant that is one of my favorite culinary fusion restaurants in New York.  A less expensive alternative is Bread Bar at Tabla.  They make all of their own chutneys - my favorite is the green apple.  Their crabcakes (which I have made myself, using their cookbook) are incredible.  Everything at this upscale restaurant is a treat because of the artful cusine and presentation.  Plus, their use of Indian ingrediants and spices - from tamarind to chat masala is creative and delicious.

3. Lupa (Village) - I have already reviewed Lupa and my favorite dish at this midrange Italian restaurant - the bucatini all' amatriciana.  Delicious, reasonably priced Italian, but you will need a reservation unless you want to eat very late.  This is one of my two favorite Italian restaurants in New York. 

4. Acappella (Tribeca) - Acappella is my other favorite Italian restaurant.  From the loud Happy Birthdays to every step of your meal, the staff could not be friendlier at this high-end Italian.  The cuisine is traditional Italian, and everything is delicious from the veal marsala to the chicken scarpierello to the lamb chops.  They always bring out Italian cordials at the end of what will be one of the best meal that New York can give you.  The caesar salad, lobster arriabiata, and pastas (especially the pesto) are all mouth wateringly delictable.

5. Balthazar (Village)- Balthazar gets French Bistro right on the NYC high-end circuit.  This was another spot for a great birthday dinner (my husband's two years ago) and they have a delicious (and more wallet-friendly) brunch.  The scene is busy, just like a Parisian bistro, but all the bistro dishes from the goat cheese carmelized onion tart to the cote de beuf are excellent.

6.  Stanton Social (Lower East Side)- This is a new restaurant, to me anyhow.  My husband and I had brunch here about six months ago with fellow writer Eric from Jersey City and his girlfriend Jenn.  We were not disappointed.  The entire brunch (like all meals at Stanton Social) consists of small plates - from grilled pizettas to lobster benedict and some pretty outrageous sliders.  The kobe beef sliders were out of this world.  The cocktails are creative and delicious, too.  A bit pricy for brunch, but totally worth every bite.

7. Geisha (Upper East Side) - Geisha is my favorite upscale sushi restaurant in NYC.  No one seems to know it, but the sushi at Geisha is just as good at the top sushi places in Manhattan.  My husband and I consider eating out here to be a real treat.  It is a gem.

8. Sushi Seki (Upper East Side)- Most Manhattan foodies consider Sushi Seki to be among the best sushi restaurants in Manhattan, and I won't disagree with them.  This sushi is a pretty amazing meal, all prepared the authentic Japanese way.  The quality of the fish here (whether omikase, pieces, sashimi or a roll) is second to none.

9. Bouley (Tribeca) - Bouley is considered by most to be one of Manhattan's finest upscale restaurants.  It's not stuffy at all - the presentation is elegant, artful and romantic.  We dined here for one of my husband's birthdays and enjoyed our candlelight meal.  We had the tasting menu which at the time included a wonderfully presented lobster appetizer and a fois gras.  Everything here is artfully presented and perfectly prepared.  Eating here was a culinary delight, although an expensive one.

10. Mesa Grill (Flatiron) - Mesa Grill is Bobby Flay's flagship restaurant.  I enjoy eating here (especially brunch) and cooking from Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill cookbook, which is the feature cookbook of this southwestern NYC classic.  If you enjoy Iron Chef America on the Food Network, you will enjoy eating here.

11. Kuma Inn (Lower East Side) - Kuma Inn is an fairly inexpensive Asian small plate restaurant.  It's BYOB so bring some Sake or Singha beer to enjoy with your meal.  Make a reservation in advance as it is a small restaurant.  All of the dishes are delicious Asian fusion dishes, perfect for sharing. (cash only).

12. Otto Enoteca (Village) - Otto is Mario Batali's reasonably priced pizza place.  Great and unique pizzas, fine selection of cheeses, gelato and an excellent selection of Italian wine.  I once saw Michael Stipe from REM here too. My favorite pizza on the menu is the spicy, cheeseless Marinara pizza.  They have olive oil gelato here too, which sounds weird, but is delicious (just trust me on this one).

13. Second Avenue Deli (Murray Hill) - This is my favorite deli in Manhattan (although I haven't been to Katz's Deli).  It used to be on Second Avenue in the Lower East Size, but now has moved to Murray Hill.  This is the place to get that true NYC pastrami sandwich  and matzah ball soup you have been craving, but they are quite large sandwiches.

14. Delfriscos (Midtown) - Manhattan's best steakhouse is a class act.  This is an expensive meal, but a steak at Delfriscos is a steak like no other.  In addition to all of the excellent cuts of steak, the sides are all equally delicious.  This is a classic steakhouse, and certainly one of the best NYC has to offer.

15. Strip House - Manhattan's other best steakhouse is a bit less traditional than Delfriscos with a bit more of trendy vibe.  Still, the strip steak, filet mignon and chateaubriand are second to none.  Also, the sides here are equally delicious, especially the black truffle creamed spinach, and my sister-in-law loves the tuna, as well.

16. Paris Commune (Village/Meat Packing) - Paris Commune does not take brunch reservations so get there early if you do not want to wait.  This is my favorite reasonably priced brunch in Manhattan.  The restaurant has that wonderful downtown French bistro kind of feel to it and the food is delicious.  Be sure to order a side of the fresh gingerbread, because Brunch at Paris Commune isn't complete without it.  I also highly recommend whatever frittata is currently on the brunch menu.
17. Corner Bistro - Best burger in NYC, hands down.  It's that simple.  If you want a great burger, come here.

18. Babbo - Mario Batali's classic Italian restaurant.  This is a bit pricier than Lupa, but basically a similar vibe and ambiance.  The food is also similar - Italian cooked Mario Battali style.  My favorite dish on the menu is the Lamb Love Letters.  I came here a couple years ago the night after a U2 Concert at the Meadowlands, to find Bono and his entourage eating a couple tables away.  Babbo is Mario Batali Italian at its best.

19. Sushi of Gari (Upper East Side & Midtown) - Sushi of Gari is another great sushi place.  I used to go here at the time when we lived in the Upper East Sice, and now they have a second location in midtown.  The sushi omikase has wonderful toppings, and the Tuna of Gari is wonderfully fresh and enjoyable as well.

20. DBGB Kitchen & Bar (Lower East Side)- Wonderful brunch, great burgers, and delicious, creative Sundae Desserts.  This is everything that a new Daniel Boulud restaurant should be and more.  We came here for brunch with my friend Eric a few months ago, but I have been meaning to make it back for dinner.

21. Shake Shack (Bryant Park, Midtown, Nolita, CitiField, Upper East Side etc...) - Shake Shack is NYC's quintessential perfect roadside burger.  The freshly made shakes and sweet and delicious as well.  Shake Shack, owned by who else by Danny Meyer has become such a NYC tradition, loved by locals, that there is even one at Citi Field (though as a Yankees fan, I recommend going to the one in Bryant Park).

22. Markt (Chelsea) - No Belgian food is ever going to come close to the food and all the college memories that I have of Monk's Cafe in Philly, but Markt and B. Cafe (No. 23) almost come close.  This restaurant has excellent Belgian classics, belgian beer and a wonderful ambiance.

23. B. Cafe (Upper East Side) - See No. 22.  B. Cafe is that perfect Belgian place.  There's no pretense, this is just a great place to have a belgian beer like Delirium Tremens, Chimay, Kwak etc... with some steak frites, terrific mussels, belgian fries and a belgian waffle with chocolate for dessert while hanging with some old friends.

24. Crooked Tree Creperie (Lower East Side)  - Such a causual place may not typically be included in a list like this.  But if that's what you are looking for then Crooked Tree is perfect.  For $16 you can enjoy two crepes, a dinner creme and a delectable dessert crepe.  It's not quite Paris but really, what is?  And for such a price you can have a quite enjoyable meal at this lower east side creperie.

25.  Blue Smoke - Another Danny Meyer restaurant, Blue Smoke is my favorite BBQ in Manhattan (and I don't really like BBQ that much).  Everything here is excellent from the desserts, brisket, pulled meat sandwiches and even the chocolate chip cookies.  There's a great Jazz Club here too, called Jazz Standard.

Places I would like to check out but haven't yet: Del Posto, Momofuku Ko, Mas Farmhouse and Gramercy Tavern (can't believe I've never been)

Sasha's Kitchen: Best Manhattan Foodie Spots

Sasha's Kitchen: Restaurant Review: Manhattan's Lupa Osteria

Lupa Osteria has long been one of my favorite Italian restaurant's in New York. Long considered Babbo's less expensive little sister, Lupa shines all by itself. A meal at Lupa never really breaks the bank, but is always an enjoyable food indulgence.

Why did I choose to review Lupa, since it is hardly new to the restaurant scene? It is because I think Lupa presents Italian food in a lively ambiance better than almost anyone else in New York, and I wanted to share of my favorite dining experiences in the city.

If you live in Manhattan and have not been to Lupa, now is the time to make your reservation. You will have to reserve a table at least several weeks in advance, such as on OpenTable, or be prepared for a late night weekday dinner, which is a fun way to enjoy the lively and upbeat atmosphere and delicious cuisine of Lupa. Some of my best memories at Lupa were spontaneous 11 PM meals here with friends when we were out for drinks in the neighborhood. It's worthy to mention that the legendary Mario Batali is also a part-owner of this establishment.

I have dined at Lupa too many times to count. In the beginning, I started coming here around 2001 when I lived in the West Village. It was so good that I kept coming back. When I met Brad in 2004, we started coming here together because it turned out that Lupa had long been one of his favorite restaurants.

My most recent visit to Lupa was a few weeks ago over the holidays with my husband, his sister and her husband. We had a great time at a late night after work dinner, with lively conversation over good food and wine.

My favorite dish on the menu is bucatini all' amatriciana, a pasta dish prepared with the tubular bucatini pasta and the amatriciana. I have actually made this dish at home using my own recipe (click here) but nothing, and I mean nothing compares to the perfection of the crispy guanciale and sauce mastery of Lupa's house "buci." If I had to name the single best pasta dish in any New York City restaurant, this would be it. It's as close to perfection as pasta can be.

The way to order at Lupa is to start with some of their delicious verdure, meats and other small plate appetizers. The menu has a handy Italian index that defines less common ingredients and dishes for you, in case you aren't sure what to order.

During our recent dining experience, we shared several of the verdure, the beets with pistachio and the squash alla romana, both of which we enjoyed. We also ordered a couple salads - my husband and I shared the newest salad on the menu, a salad with apples and Lupa's delicious guanciale, while his sister ordered the escarole, walnut and red onion salad - a Lupa classic. Both were big hits with our table.

For our main courses, my husband and I could not resist ordering the bucatini, because it is simply too good to pass up. In the past, however, I have tried various gnoccis on the menu at Lupa, and this is always a good choice as well - I have enjoyed a goat cheese gnocchi in the past at Lupa, as well as their ricotta gnocchi with sausage and fennel. Some other favorites on the menu are a few of Lupa's daily specials - crispy duck agrodolce on Tuesdays and lamb short ribs on Saturdays, both of which are artfully prepared and mouth watering.

The desserts at Lupa are also enjoyable - we had the black pepper panna cotta and the tartufo, ice cream in a chocolate shell. It was a memorable and enjoyable evening, like every dining experience at Lupa - enjoyed with several glasses of wine, both red and white, from Lupa's extensive Italian wine list.

Sasha's Kitchen: Restaurant Review: Manhattan's Lupa Osteria

Sasha's Kitchen: Top Brooklyn Foodie Spots In Park Slope

PARK SLOPE - 2010

When I moved to Park Slope nearly two years ago, I thought the neighborhood was lovely, charming and full of life.  I loved all the cute restaurants and shops, plus its proximity to the bustling noise and urban center of Manhattan.  However, I didn't realize, until my foodie friends started sending me articles, that it is an epicenter for some of the best food, restaurants and other culinary businesses in the entire New York Metropolitan area.  Yes, Park Slope is famous for something other than baby carriages and puppies (as it is portrayed on the new HBO show, Bored to Death ) - its culinary hot spots.  Park Slope has everything Manhattan has, without the hectic crowds and the noise.  It's also a bit less expensive, which is good in these economic times.  I have found that my trips into Manhattan for dining are far less frequent these days, because it's all right here, and don't let any Manhattanite tell you otherwise.

Below, I highlight some of my favorite food-related spots in "The Slope," in no particular order.  (Note: to be fair, a best of Manhattan entry from me is soon to follow in the next couple of weeks, since I did live in Manhattan for 8 years, before realizing that Park Slope existed).


1.  Bierkraft - Bierkraft is an entire store that specilizes in beer.  They carry every beer (thousands, literally)you could possibly imagine, and those that are simply beyond your imagination, from domestic and international breweries, large and small.  This is the best place in the New York Area, hands down, to buy beer from the typical brews to the eccentric.  If it's a beer, you can find it here, and they also always have 10-12 beers on tap in the store that you can purchase in growlers (click here for the current menu). My favorite season at Bierkraft is fall (specifically October) when they have an enormous selection of pumpkin ales and Octoberfest beers from breweries all over the world, large and small.  In addition, Bierkraft carries a wide selection of cheeses (better than Whole Foods, in my opinion), chocolates and some of the best sandwiches in the New York area.  My favorite sandwich is their Waygu beef sandwich with cheddar cheese, arugula, horseradish, mayo, tomato and onion.  Yum.  The search for the perfect sandwich ends here.  The staff is helpful and always friendly.

2.  Rosewater - I am a big fan of the farm-to-table approach to cooking and dining.  This is one of the reasons that I like Blue Hill, in Manhattan, which I wrote about in December.  Rosewater is just as good, but a fraction of the price.  This is the best brunch in Park Slope, hands down, and that says a lot given that New Yorkers come from every part of Brooklyn and Manhattan for Park Slope's famous brunches in the spring, summer and fall.  Everything is made with farm fresh, seasonal, organic ingedients.  In the summer, they have a duck entree with peaches that is one of my favorite dinner entrees ever.   Some other favorites; pumpkin cashew soup, quince crepes, duck confit sandwich.  They don't take reservations for brunch (so get there early), but make one if you are going for dinner on the weekends because it is a small restaurant, which enhances the lovely dining experience.  The dinner wine pairings are also excellent.  Their use of seasonal organic vegetables and fruits in their original cuisine is second to none.  In the winter, have some of their hot apple cider or hibiscus iced tea.  My husband loves their soups as well, so make sure to order whatever soup they are featuring when you go.

3. Al Di La - Al Di La is Park Slope's most famous restaurant.  There is always a long line and an hour wait for this wonderful small Italian, even if you go at 7 PM on a Monday.  Don't give up because it is worth the wait, and once you get seated, it is quite affordable.  Get the tasting menu as everything is fresh, delicious and artfully prepared.  If you want to avoid the wait, try getting there when they open at 5 PM.  If that's not good for you, check in and wait at their own wine bar around the corner.  The wines there are excellent, and they will tell you when your table is ready.  Once you sip some of those wines, an hour will pass quickly.

4.  The Chocolate Room - The Chocolate Room has two locations, one in Park Slope and one in nearby Cobble Hill.  We went here a couple months ago with visiting friends from Colorado.  They have everyhting from homemade chocolates, to chocolate cakes, to chocolate beer floats.  Once you leave, you may actually need a week or so to take a break from chocolate.  This is a great alternative to going to a bar on a Saturday night, and has a fun, lively nighlife feel to it.

5.  Weather Up - When one of our friends in nearby Prospect Heights told us about this bar, she accidently referred to it as Weather Underground, which brought nothing but hits for Bill Ayers when I searched for it on google.  I'm glad I finally found it though.  Weather Up is a new bar owned by Sasha Pestrake who owns a bunch of similar style prohibition-era speakeasys in Manhattan: Milk & Honey (the address is a secret; I've never found it myself), East Side Company Bar (more for the proletariat) and Little Branch, my favorite of his bars.  His drinks are masterpiece cocktails, artfully created in ways that few could imagine.  I especially love their "Flips," which incorporate an egg white into the cocktail. Don't be afraid to try it, as your whole conception of the cocktail will never be the same.  There are some other good prohibition era speakeasies that I will recommend in my Manhattan editition in a couple weeks.

6.  Clover Club (In Cobble Hill / Carroll Gardens) - Clover Club is another wonderful prohibition-era speakeasy (see No. 5 above), located in nearby Caroll Gardens/Cobble Hill.  Clover Club is actually one of my two favorites of these bars anywhere in New York.  It is a very pleasant environment to have a unique and artufully created cocktail with friends.  In addition, the small plates are amazing, if you also want to enjoy their food.  Hands down the best bar bites in NYC, paired with some of the best cocktails.  This is a fairly new spot - opened in 2008.

7.  M&S Prime Meats (no website) is a wonderful Italian Market and butcher in Park Slope, right near my apartment.  They make their own motzzarella cheese and actually have classes where you and your friends can learn how to make it as well.  All of the meats are fresh, delicious and reasonably priced, just like all of the other goods they carry in the Italian market.  Plus, the staff couldn't be friendlier.

8.  Union Market - Great organic grocery store with very reasonable prices.  Go here for organic veggies in the Slope if you don't belong to the Food Coop (I don't belong because I don't have the time to do four hours a week of grocery store chores).  Eveyrone here is friendly, helpful and knows their food.

9.  Beer Table - Beer Table is Park Slope's best new restuarant/bar of 2009.  It's a tiny place that has a fantastic brunch and serves wonderful and unusual beers on tap (changing ever day).  Some are inexpensive, some are super-expensive, but everything is delicious.  When I went there for brunch, I had a reaosnably priced banana flavored beer with waffles topped with blackberries.  Delicious.  They have great small plates as well.  They have a lot of very high end beers for true beer connoisseurs.

10.  Applewood - Applewood is another great, upscale restaurant here in Park Slope that uses only the best, fresh organic ingrediants, true to the farm-to-table philosophy of cooking.  Brunch here is delicious, as is dinner.  Can we talk about their lobster appetizer, because it might just be the best lobster I've had outside of New England.  Once again, get there early if you are going for Sunday brunch because brunch in Park Slope is always crowded and no one takes reservations.

11.  Ocean Fish Market - Best fresh fish in NYC at affordable prices.  Click here for a full discussion by me in a prior post on the use of their fish in making sushi (and to find out how my husband proposed over homemeade sushi).

12.  Sheep Station - Howdy! In 2004, after I finished taking the New York Bar Exam, a spent four weeks travelling around Australia and New Zealand.  This was one of the best trips I have ever taken in my life.  Sheep Station may look and feel like a dive bar, but it gets Australia just right.  My favorite item on the menu is their lamb sanwich.  They also have delicious poutine (gravy frieds with melted cheese), which is a Quebec thing, to mix it up a little bit.  We went here with my cousin from Montreal once, who loved it as well, though inexplicably, she did not order the poutine.  Also, they carry some good Australian beers.

13.  Miriam - Miriam is an Israeli restaurant with a huge international wine list, including a wide variety of Israeli wines.  I have only been here for dinner, but am told they have a great brunch as well.  My husband and I enjoyed the lovely meal we ate here, form the tapas middle eastern / Israeli appetizers to the wonderful entrees.

Did I miss somewhere in the neighborhood that you absolutely love?  Let me (and other readers) know in the comments!!!

Parkslope
Brooklyn
Bierkraft

Sasha's Kitchen: Top Brooklyn Foodie Spots In Park Slope