Haru

Sometimes I walk by a place and think “I should go there,” and so I do.  Nice to have friends who are so accomodating I’ve heard of Haru a number of times, including from FeistySis, who’s said she’d gone to the opening of a midtown location (a friend of her had a hand in designing the space), and enjoyed the food.  So why not?We started off with an appetizer of red and white tuna tartare with miso lemon sauce ($9.50).  The sauce itself was really, really delicious – I immediately started trying to figure out how to [...]

Shake Shack (UES)

Yup, yet another Shake Shack opened.  I’ve no shame in admitting my adoration of Shake Shack.  I love the burger, hate the hype.  It’s a good burger, made better by my personal preferences (smaller burger with a lot of flavor going on but not too much in the way of toppings).  It is indeed my favorite burger in the city, though I know that it isn’t going to be everyone’s favorite (too much hype; not enough burger; whatever your preference, this might not be it).  In any case, I’ve enjoyed going to the various other Shake Shacks as they’ve [...]

Zucchero e Pomodori

I’m half-Sicilian, on my mother’s side, so I grew up eating an awful lot of Italian, down to the stereotypical pot of sauce (I refuse to call it gravy, ever) on the stove every weekend. So when Mom came to town for a long weekend, I knew she would want to cook, and I knew I didn’t want to let her. I’d rather take her out so we could enjoy the restaurants near home. Of course, we wound up eating at four different Italian places in four nights. Zucchero e Pomodori was the first, as it was very close — [...]

La Maison du Chocolat

Once again, The Beer Boor strays from his regular duties as a beverage correspondent to discuss indulging his sweet tooth, and learn a bit in the process. This time around, it’s chocolate — specifically, the production of chocolate and one chocolatier’s opinion on how to best savor the experience.
Recently I was invited to attend class at La Maison du Chocolat. Tamanaco, as the class is called, offered the opportunity to learn about the chocolate-making process in great depth, from the cacao trees and their differences through the production of chocolate for chocolatiers industrial and artisanal alike.

The tables in back [...]

Southern Hospitality Brunch

On yet another lovely Saturday date, the BF and I shot over to the Upper East Side to check out Southern Hospitality’s brunch.  Specifically, their ‘all you can drink’ brunch, which I discovered too late was actually an additional $11.95, not just $11.95 for an entree + drinks.  (In my defense, at Philip Marie, the charge for unlimited brunch is $16.95 and includes your entree.  How was I supposed to know?)Despite that, BF decided we should do it anyway.  Okay, that’s fine by me!  We were pre-gaming before hitting up the Met anyways – museum browsing while intoxicated is pretty awesome, btw.  [...]

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