Empellon Taqueria

I'm baaaaaaack!  Did you guys miss me?  I know I know... I've been MIA for a bit, but its been hectic the last couple weeks.  I'm excited to be back in action though!

Last week, I met up with two former coworkers for dinner at Empellon Taqueria in the West Village.  I love exploring the West Village but I always get so confused trying to find my way around! Empellon Taqueria is such a cute gem in the West Village but if you don't look closely, you could walk right past its nearly unmarked door (as I did...twice).   

Outside of Empellon Taqueria

When you walk in, you'll find a colorful and awsome looking bar area on the right.  On the left, you'll find a cozy dining area with exposed brick walls, great lighting, and well placed art/fixtures that create a fantastic atmosphere.

Awsome bar with a colorful background and fully stocked bottles

Park Avenue Tavern

I've worked in Midtown East near Grand Central for many many many years now, so it's pretty embarrassing for me to admit that I actually don't know many good places for lunch in the area!  Lucky for me, a former coworker who relocated to LA last year (VL come backkkkkk!) stopped by the office for a quick visit.  No better excuse than this to go out for lunch!  It was raining cats and dogs out so we went right across the street to Park Avenue Tavern!

When you walk in, you'll see a big bar in the middle of the room and booths/tables throughout.  There is also a room in the back so the place is pretty big and can accommodate a decent crowd for lunch. 

Big square bar area in the middle of the space

Booths!  It may be the Jersey girl in me,but I looooove booths!!

Looking at the menu, I love that there is a pretty big menu available for lunch. While I love all the Japanese options in the Midtown East area, its great to find a place with classic American offerings at reasonable prices.  Sometimes you just get a hankering for a great salad, burger, chicken...

Brunch: Le Tarte Flambe

A friend and I stopped by Le Tarte Flambe for a quick brunch before darting up to the Bronx Zoo (for those of you who don't know, I LOVE the zoo!).  This cute spot on the UES offers your standard and non-standard brunch fare!

Cafe Flambee

When you walk in, you'll notice that its a small and narrow restaurant.  The brick wall and fun posters definitely warm up the space!

Funny posters on their walls!

During brunch, you get their regular menu, which features different varieties of their specialty the tarte flambee (bread dough rolled thin and covered with cheese and onions), as well as a brunch menu, which offers the more standard brunch items such as eggs, sandwiches, etc. 

Regular menu

Brunch menu

Bread & Tulips

With a name like Bread & Tulips, how could I resist going in?!  Located in the Hotel Giraffe, Bread & Tulips occupies the space that used to be Barna. 

I arrived a touch early to snagged a seat at the bar to wait for my dining compadre (with a cocktail and my Kindle to keep me company of course).  Bartender was friendly and the bar area spacious.  Also great - you can transfer your bar tap to your table (its surprising how many restaurants won't do that...).

Cocktail menu

Cocktails and Kindle!  Loveee

As dining compadre and I were shown to our table, I did see fresh tulips on every table!  The rest of the space was simply decorated with an open view of the pizza oven.

Seoul Garden

With BCD on hiatus (I hear they are re-opening by the end of this year yay!), this little piggy still needs to get her tofu fix.  What better place than taking this opportunity to revisit Seoul Garden, the KTown fav spot from my early NYU days!

Seoul Garden is on the South side of 32nd street (closer to Broadway) but since it's on the 2nd floor there is no storefront.  I can never seem to remember which entrance is theirs so your best bet is to keep your eyes peeled for their sign and look for the nearest door leading up.  

Look for their sign and head on up to the 2nd floor! (pic from yelp)

After being seated, I'm not sure why I even bother with a menu.  I'm here for one thing only - their soondubu and kalbi combo (listed on their menu as the "tofu soup + beef short rib")!  I'm pretty sure Seoul Garden is the only restaurant in KTown to offer this combo for dinner and yes, after all these years, it's still available!  And it looks like I'm not the only one to favor this option as there is a big "HIT" sticker highlighting this on their menu...

How can you not go with the "Hit"...

After ordering, the banchan (side dishes that come complementary with your meal) are quickly brought to the table and even more quickly cleared by yours truly.  Nothing special about these items (no potato item?  no steamed egg?  ehhh I'll take what I can get) but it didn't stop me from going to town on them.

Simple banchan

The Breslin

Located in the Ace Hotel, The Breslin is an oasis in the middle of that sketchy wholesale area between Flatiron and Herald Square.  When you first walk in, you are greeted by an upscale funky pub vibe.  It's very similar to Otto's bar area where there are a couple tall tables for you to stand around with a drink or two.  The Breslin is a pretty popular after work spot so come early or be prepared to join the ranks in the bar area while waiting for your table (about an hour for me on a Thursday evening).

When you are seated in the dining area in the back, you'll notice all the wood and fun animal decorations. Its almost like...a farmhouse?  No that doesn't seem to be the right way to describe it - best to check it out yourself!

Wood, booths, animal decorations, and open kitchen in the dining area

Looking at the menu, The Breslin has lots of drink choices including original cocktails (which is always a plus for me in my book!) and beers.  The food menu, however, is actually pretty limited.  Its really meat centered and there is no safe dish - The Breslin is definitely for the adventurous (and carnivorous) eater!

Cocktails and drinks

Dinner menu

Brunch: Untitled (at the Whitney Museum)

Did you know that you can brunch at the Whitney Museum?  And it's a Danny Meyer farm-to-table restaurant to boot!  A fellow brunch junkie and I were looking for a new spot to try and decided to scope out the situation on a recent Sunday morning.

Brunching at the Whitney Museum!

Located in the bottom level of the Whitney Museum, just let the ticket takers know that you're headed to the restaurant Untitled below and you are allowed to pass.  Head on down and you'll realize that this is no dark basement restaurant!  On one side is a great breakfast bar.  On the other side is an entire wall of glass and you can look up to Madison Ave.  It's definitely a great space filled with light and extremely tall ceilings.  I loved the feel in there!

Breakfast bar

Entire wall of glass made the space feel bright an spacious

Spot Dessert Bar

After passing by Spot Dessert Bar on St. Marks for the past couple years, I finally went in and gave it a try!

Located below Pho 32, it may be a little tricky to find Spot Dessert Bar.  But keep a look out for the bright orange sign and follow the stairs down to dessert land!

Look for their orange sign and go down the stairs

It's not a big space, but if you are lucky you'll manage to snag a table without too long of a wait!

Inside of Spot Dessert Bar

Brunch: Vin et Fleurs

What a gorgeous weekend we just had!  It just put me in the mood for a nice long brunch followed by some [window] shopping.  I'm pretty sure everyone else had the same plan in mind, so I decided to avoid the crowd at the mainstream brunch places and headed for the path less traveled.

This past Sunday, my eating compadre and I settled on brunch at Vin et Fleurs.  Located in the Soho / South Village area, this little French bistro and wine bar was calling us with their immediate seating availability and bright open space.  I especially loved that the whole front of the restaurant was open to the sidewalk and enjoyed the fresh flowers on each table.

Inside of Vin et Fleurs

They offer a simple, but very well priced brunch menu.  Their regular menu is also available during brunch.  Take a peek:

Upstate

Sometimes I find myself scrolling through Yelp to look for new neighborhood spots.  One that caught my eye with its strong reviews was Upstate Craft Beer and Oyster Bar in the East Village.

As their name notes, they specialize in fresh oysters and craft beers.  They get a good variety of both East and West Coast oysters delivered daily and the beer selection, which is always draught beer, changes frequently.  During happy hour, they offer a great special of six oysters and a beer for $12. 

Beer and wine list and selection of Oysters available

Beers available that day with the kitchen in the back

While I'm not a big oyster eater, I did enjoy the beer selection.  Upstate is great about giving you a tasting of the beer before you commit to one so don't be shy about asking!  And at $6.00 per beer, there is no guilt with ordering more than one!

Rickshaw Dumpling Bar

Midtown Manhattan has an abundance of good lunch spots, and Rickshaw Dumpling Bar decided to join in too! They opened up a branch on Lexington Avenue and East 45th Street last year.  Walk by during lunch time and you'll often spot a crowd milling around the tiny corner store.  It's take out only here, as there are no tables (except for a 6 foot long ledge along the window).

I've known about Rickshaw Dumplings for years but it wasn't until their food truck made an appearance at a holiday party last year that I actually tried it.  Wonder why it took this dumpling lover so long? I've heard very mixed reviews, with negative comments coming mainly from friends who have grown up eating authentic fresh made dumplings like me.  I wasn't wowed by the dumplings I had at their food truck, but I chalked it up to the limited facilities they had working out of the truck.

I've visited the Midtown branch a couple of times since they opened.  While I'm not impressed by the dumplings, it's a nice break from the regular soup/salad lunch options and is still light enough since they're steamed.  I've tried the Pork and Chive dumpling and also the Szechuan Chicken one.  The skin is nice with medium-thickness, but the meat fillings can tend to be a little dry and lacking flavor.  Each order of dumplings comes with a little container of sauce which varies depending on the dumpling you order.  The sauces are tasty and unique!

Brunch @ Little Giant

As much as I dislike making my way down to the LES ( its just so hard to get there!), I inevitably find myself heading there all the time for all sorts of reasons.  Recently, thought, its primarily been food and drink related (no shocker here). 

This past weekend, I made my way there for an early brunch at Little Giant.

Front facade of Little Giant

I love that you can make reservations here (even for brunch).  Readers take note though - even though their website says they open at 10am, we had to wait outside until they "opened" at 11am.  Not sure what that was about, but just wanted to give you all a heads up that if you have an 11am reservation and get there early you may end up waiting outside for a bit until they're ready.

East Noodle (Ramen and Robatayaki)

The best part of living in Union Square is how close I am to St. Marks.  I have several staples that I usually end up at but occasionally I try to branch out and try something new.  This time I decided to give East Noodle (Ramen and Robatayaki) a try.

Just like every other smart diner, I did a quick search on Yelp for East Noodle before I committed.  Surprisingly, Yelpers gave it a 2.5 star rating!  I usually put full faith in Yelp and would stay away from places with 3 stars or less, but something about the “50% off all ramen” signs (I like a good deal what can I say?) and the bustling atmosphere inside the restaurant encouraged me to take a risk.



Despite the low yelp reviews, East Noodle is moving and shaking inside!

First order of business after being seated: order a $2.50 glass of Sapporo draft.  Score!

Drinks @ Zengo

It’s funny how you can work in the same area for years yet still manage to discover new places in the neighborhood.  My friend S recently suggested we go to Zengo for happy hour and, as it turns out, it’s only 2 blocks from my office! 

Zengo, a Latin American/Asian Fusion restaurant, is a stylish space with high ceilings and trendy feel.  They main seating area is spacious and there is a bar both on the main level and upstairs on the second level. 

Zengo Entrace

Inside main dining room area (through the lens of my fuzzy blackberry...)



Pocha 32 (Late Night)

Pocha 32 is the type of place that is best after a night of (heavy) debauchery.  I've never been there before midnight and wouldn't recommend it either... it always seems like an awesome idea at 2am, but not so much the morning after.

Most recently, I happened to stumble in after a night of Halloween festivities.  It's in the heart of K-town and you'll probably have to weed your way through groups of other happy people milling around the countless late-night spots on the same street.  Through Pocha 32's second floor entrance, it looks completely absolutely shady* - loud and very dark with what looks like fish nets hanging from the ceilings.

*Important to note: this is a non-Korean's view of it; this type of dark, no fuss, alcohol-with food-centric place is very common in Korea.

Normal late-night scene inside Pocha 32 (except for the pumpkin and bunny ears which are special for Halloween!)

Sprinkles

Earlier this year, Sprinkles opened its first outpost in NYC.  I was a big fan of the tv show Girls Next Door and Bridget Marquardt, one of the stars of the show, often talked about how Sprinkles cupcakes were her favorite.  When this LA-based cupcakery finally set up shop on the Upper East Side I was excited to finally have a taste!

Its location across the street from Bloomingdale's is definitely convenient (and deadly).  The outside of the store is decorated with colorful cascading sprinkles.  The inside, while not spacious, is bright and clean with strategically placed display cases filled with their different cupcake options - your eyes just can't help but be drawn towards it!  My friend R and I ordered three (yes that's right...I said three!) cupcakes to share: one red velvet, one vanilla, and one salted caramel.

Cupcakes on display!