An Italian Gourmand in New York:
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"In my opinion, the cities where restaurants are open around the clock, such as New York, Paris and Barcelona, are the best and most enjoyable. There we are free to follow our own biological clock. Get up whenever we awaken, eat whenever are hungry, and sleep when we are tired.
"It has been a long time since I was in New York and I noticed that the remaining classic restaurants are now almost museums filled with nostalgia. These days New York seems to offer great quantity of standard quality Sushi and Sashimi.
"Fusion restaurants, featuring minimal furnishing and table decor, as well as low lights insufficient to see what's in one's plate are all the rage these days. What counts seems to be the appearance rather than the food itself. In fact it seems that the young, good looking waiters and waitresses in their black uniforms, or perhaps I should call them fashion models, are what truly matter. Though they give the place a great image, unfortunately they offer no professionalism whatsoever.
"In the good company of people who, like me, appreciate excellent food and quality wine, I started trying out the following the restaurants that are currently considered 'in.'
-
OCEAN GRILL
Ocean Grill
384 Columbus Ave. (between 78th & 79th Street)
Tel. 212.579.2300
Area: Upper West Side, opposite the Museum of Natural History, convenient for a stroll in adjoining Central Park after the meal.
Type of cuisine: Seafood Fusion - RUBY FOO'S
1626 Broadway at 49th
Tel. 212.489.5600
Area: Midtown West, Easy to find as it is identified by a huge red light billboard with several windows on Broadway.
Type of cuisine: Pan-Asian, Japanese with a wide, comfortable Sushi Bar - BLUE FIN
1567 Broadway at 46th
Tel. 212.918.1400
Area: Times Square. It's part of the "W" Hotel, but has its entrance and windows on Broadway's Theatre District.
Type of cuisine: Innovative American and Fusion
"As we weren't particularly impressed, we decided to change course and focus on lesser known and less glamorous restaurants, which turned out to be more genuine. We skipped the well known NOBU, as we had already tasted its menu in Milan and London, so we decided to try different New York places.
- BLUE RIBBON
119 Sullivan St. (between Prince and Spring Street)
Tel. 212.343.0404 (They do not take reservations, though)
Area: Soho, convenient for a stroll in nearby Greenwich village.
Type of cuisine: Eclectic Japanese.
This was by far the best find. It's an apparently anonymous small restaurant in Soho, between Prince and Spring Street. It does not have a sign and is difficult to find. It's worth the trouble though, as they prepare exciting Japanese dishes in an open kitchen. - CHIMICHURRI GRILL
606 Ninth Ave, (between 43rd & 44th Street)
Tel. 212.586.8655
Area: Midtown West
Type of cuisine: Argentinian.
Truly a pleasant small restaurant where we enjoyed the best meat. -
BRAZIL GRILL
787 8th Ave. at 46th
Area: Theater District
Type of cuisine: Brazilian Churrascaria.
We were pretty much satisfied here as well.
Virgil's Real BBQ -
VIRGIL'S REAL BBQ
152 44th St, (between Broadway and 6th Ave.)
Tel. 212.921.9494
Area: Time Square (the upper room is less crowded)
Type of cuisine: Soul, typical black southern cuisine.
Cheerful place where we ate outstanding pork chops with classic southern sauces and country music in the background. - ROSIE O'GRADYS
800 7th Ave. at 51th Street
Tel. 212.582.2975
Area: Midtown West
Type of cuisine: American, Meat and Seafood.
Here we had the classic, succulent New York steak with baked potato. - PEKING DUCK HOUSE,
28 Mott Street (between Chatham Square and Pell Street)
Tel. 212.227.1810
Area: Chinatown.
Type of cuisine: Chinese.
The Peking duck is excellent. Allows for a nice stroll in Chinatown before landing at Bar Palermo, in adjacent Little Italy, for a true espresso coffee.
"
Finally, for the sommeliers among you, here are the three worst and three best wines.
- Sauvignon Blanc 2004 "Canning Perrice" Long Island New York (55/100)
- Riesling Semi-Dry 2003 "Johannisberg" Columbia Valley Washington (66/100)
- Chardonnay 2003 "Ma Belle Fille" di Sonoma (74/100)
- Zinfandel (Primitivo) 2002 R. Biale "Black Chicken" Napa ( 82/100)
- Pinot Noir 1999 "Eyrle Reserve" Willamette Valley Oregon (83/100)
- Cabernet Sauvignon Araujo "Eisele" 1997 Napa Valley (86/100)."
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