If you weren’t aware, in the middle of last year we moved from Brooklyn to Manhattan.  Right now we’re only a few stops away from the Upper West Side, so we’ve been spending our weekends checking out some of the cool restaurants in that neighborhood.  Today we’re going to feature two of those places, which are within walking distance of each other.  These spots each serve up cuisine from different parts of the world, and they’re both interesting and delicious, so read on!  Just be warned that we will be featuring some images of meat here.

First up is a restaurant that felt particularly appropriate for us – an Israeli place called Miriam.  This is actually Miriam’s second location:  they first opened in Park Slope, Brooklyn a few years ago but recently debuted a second restaurant on the Upper West Side.  As is traditional with Middle Eastern food, we started our meal with a couple of different mezes.  First was their hummus …

… then some falafel …

… and also an order of the whipped feta topped with squash, zucchini, and sliced almonds.

Then for entrees Miriam had the seasonal vegetable stew, which also comes with a side of couscous.

While Cyril tried the lamb shank osso buco, with roasted carrots in a pomegranate sauce on top of pearled couscous.

If you’re in the mood for something different, you can also head a few blocks north to Nina’s Great Burrito Bar.  This is a new location for them too – they were previously in a counter-service spot nearby but were able to open a sit down restaurant recently.  So we went in to check out what Nina’s is all about, and we started our meal with the calabacitas con elote, made with corn, squash, and zucchini cooked with queso fresco and monterey jack cheese.

Then we both had some tacos: for Miriam it was the vegetales.

And Cyril got these birria tacos, with chile de arbol salsa and extra beef broth on the side.

And we also split two desserts – the flan …

… and an order of churros.

We thought that both of these places were really good – at Nina’s Great Burrito Bar we got some elevated classic Mexican cuisine, while at Miriam we had several interesting versions of Israeli food.  It’s amazing that by walking just a few blocks you can eat food from two different continents , and that’s one of the things that makes this city so amazing.  We look forward to exploring more of the Upper West Side, and other neighborhoods around New York, and of course we’ll update you with what we find!

Where We Ate: Ci Siamo & Macchina

We’ve got a ton of New York City food recommendations that we’ve been storing up through the winter, and now we’re putting them all out there!  Last week we showed you two good casual spots in New York where you can grab a quick bite, but today we want to showcase some places where you can sit and have a good meal.  The two spots are connected by their cuisine:  both serve up Italian fare in different iterations, and through they’re in two separate boroughs, they’re both worth a visit to check out – so read on to see some new restaurant recommendations.

First up is Ci Siamo, a new place that opened up late last year near Hudson Yards.  We were really impressed by the interesting-looked appetizers they had on offer, so we got two:  here’s the caramelized onion torta, topped with pecorino cheese and a balsamic drizzle.

And as another round-shaped starter, we also had the focaccia.

For entrees, Miriam had some tagliatelle, made with a tomato and butter sauce.

While Cyril got the potato topini, in a sauce of mint, almonds, and pecorino cheese (sadly, this wasn’t vegetarian because it’s made with chicken broth).

And we also split a side of charred red peppers with capers and feta.

But if you’re looking for some Italian food that’s a little bit different, you can swing over to Brooklyn and check out Macchina in Williamsburg.  Macchina has been around for a few years now but was previously located in Midtown Manhattan – now you’re going to have to travel a little farther for their signature Neapolitan-style pizzas.  We decided to do a little sampling and split two pies:  one spinach kale pesto, topped with ricotta, mozzarella, and a sprinkling of red pepper flakes …

… and one margherita pizza with a ball of burrata melting right in the middle.

And we also shared an order of crispy artichoke hearts.

It was fun getting to check out both of these restaurants – one where we could get some excellent pastas and appetizers, and one where we got inventive pizzas.  There’s thousands places in New York where you can get Italian food, but we like to scope out the ones that rise to the top of the heap and serve up some really good and interesting cuisine.  These are two spots that we think fit the bill, so enjoy!

Where We Ate: HipCityVeg & Breakfast by Salt’s Cure

Earlier this week we featured some cool food spots we got to check out while traveling in southern California, but today we want to feature some places closer to home.  We’ve been searching high and low for some interesting food that we’ve never tried before, and recently we got to check out two casual eateries that are new the New York.  One is an all-vegetarian spot, while the other has plenty of vegetarian-friendly options, but what unites them is that they’re both counter service restaurants where you place your order up front and then someone brings it to you, making for a great place to grab a quick bite.  These two places also both originated in other cities in the U.S., but we’re glad they made it here – and as it just so happens, they’re both within a mile of each other.  So here’s some great food you can grab and eat in a hurry, if you’re so inclined.

The first place we visited was HipCityVeg, a 100% vegetarian chain which originated in the Philadelphia area but has now expanded to Manhattan and Queens as well as DC.  We visited the location just south of Union Square and decided to sample a bunch of things from their menu.  Here it is:  on the left is a smokehouse burger, made from a Beyond Meat patty topped with smoked gouda, fried onions, and barbecue sauce, and on the right is the Basic B burger, with lettuce, tomato, onions, and pickles, plus their house burger sauce.  There’s also a six-piece order of their veggie chicken nuggets with a honey mustard sauce, plus some sweet potato fries.

If you want to head a little ways from HipCityVeg into the West Village, you can also check out Breakfast by Salt’s Cure, which started out as an all-day restaurant in Los Angeles before spinning off a breakfast spot in that city, which then opened a second arm here in New York.  The specialty here is pancakes, but not just any old pancakes –  Salt’s Cure has their signature oatmeal griddle cakes.  Here’s an order of three, made with chocolate chips and butter on top:

You can also get a full breakfast platter, which comes with three griddle cakes (these are the banana and walnut variety), plus two eggs, plus your choice of sausage – the patties here are a vegetarian version made from chickpeas.

It’s pretty cool that within just a few blocks you can find two different quick and casual spots where you can get some great vegetarian food – you have your choice of burgers, nuggets, and fries that are completely meat-free, or unique pancakes and other breakfast foods that are mostly vegetarian.  These are the perfect spots for a quiet, inexpensive breakfast or lunch on the weekends, and we’re glad we got the chance to try them.  We’ll definitely feature more food from around New York in later posts!

Where We Ate: Wau & Parm

Now that we’ve shown you all of our holiday baking for this year, we think it’s time to take a break from the kitchen and instead show you some of the good food we’ve eaten recently around New York.  Today we’re featuring two restaurants on the Upper West Side – these places are less than a mile away from each other but serve up very different cuisines.  They’re a great encapsulation of the diversity of food you can get in this city, and how cultures from all around the world share shoulder-to-shoulder space with each other.  So here’s some of the delicious things we’ve eaten recently, but just be warned that we will show some pictures of meat here.

The first spot we went to was Wau, a new restaurant that features a menu of pan-Southeast Asian food.  You can get dishes from several different countries in this region of the world – for example, here is the poh plah we got as an appetizer, which are Malaysian fried spring rolls stuffed with veggies and served with a chili sauce.

And here’s our other appetizer, the roti canai, which comes from Indian immigrants in Singapore.  It’s a folded-up flatbread served with a curry sauce.

For entrees, Miriam had the mamak mee goreng with tofu, a noodle dish with a tomato-chili sauce that comes from India’s Muslim community.

And Cyril tried the char kway teow with shrimp, a Singaporean dish of noodles and vegetables in a chili soy sauce.

And we ended our meal there with this lychee crème brûlée.

Now if you walk a little farther south, you’ll come across the Upper West Side location of Parm.  This restaurant turned 10 this year, and it’s now become an New York City institution – it’s considered one of the must-try restaurants here, but we’d actually never been before until recently.  Of course we had to try the dish the restaurant is named for, so here’s Miriam’s eggplant parm, served with a side of spicy rigatoni.

And Cyril decided to try the meatball parm.

And just so we could get some veggies in, we also split the arugula salad, tossed with almonds, figs, and Parmesan cheese.

We enjoyed getting to try these two places and what they offered:  Wau was a new spot that served up dishes we’d never had before, from several different countries and cultures on the other side of the world, while Parm is a mainstay that allowed us to indulge in some familiar Italian-American comfort food.  It’s truly amazing that you can find such different – and tasty – places within just a few blocks in this city, and that’s one of the reasons we love being here.  We’ll make sure to provide more restaurant recommendations like this soon!

Where We Ate: L’Adresse & Aperitivo

To take a break from all our recipe posts lately, we’re coming back to you with some more local restaurant recommendations, based on places we’ve tried and enjoyed recently.  Today we’re featuring two places in Midtown Manhattan – which isn’t typically known for it’s culinary scene, because many of the restaurants in the area rely on their convenience of being close to a lot of tourist destinations and get comfortable with that rather than trying to put out an interesting menu.  But we found two places we really like and we’re going to share them here, but be warned that there is an image of meat in this post.

First we got to visit L’Adresse, which has two locations in Midtown:  one at 28th and Broadway, and the one we went to near Bryant Park.  To start off our meal we tried this mushroom flatbread, made with mushrooms plus a truffle mushroom pâté, paired with Asiago cheese, all piled on top of naan.

Then Miriam had more truffles!  This is the tagliardi pasta in a parmesan-asiago sauce, with truffle shavings on top.

And Cyril tried the house burger, topped with Gruyere cheese and some fries on the side.

Next, if you head a few blocks up to the southeast corner of Central Park, you’ll come across a new restaurant called Aperitivo, serving up some really interesting Italian food.  Our first bite once we got there was a pizza:  here’s the margherita, made with just fresh mozzarella, basil, and a tomato sauce.

We also split this arugula salad, topped with pine nuts, shaved fennel and Parmesan, and red onions, all in a charred tomato dressing.

Then Cyril had one of the house specials that day – a butternut squash ravioli in brown butter and sage sauce.

And Miriam tried the penne alla vodka, which is slightly different than what you might be used to because it’s topped with breadcrumbs seasoned with Calabrian chiles.

These two restaurants were nice places to go when we were looking for interesting sit-down spots in Midtown.  It can be hard in that area to figure out what’s good and what’s just a middling place coasting on its proximity to lots of foot traffic, but we’d recommend either of these places.  At L’Adresse we got to try truffles in two different dishes, plus an elevated burger, giving us a chance to splurge a little.  And at Aperitivo, we were able to sample two delicious pasta dishes, and we especially liked the penne alla vodka because the Calabrian chiles gave it a spiciness that we don’t typically see in vodka sauce.  So keep these places in mind if you’re wandering around the middle of Manhattan, hungry and wondering what’s truly worthwhile – these two restaurants rise above the rest and give you some really interesting food.