Megan D.'s Profile

The desserts far surpass anything else on the menu.  Try them all, if you can.  If you can only try one, make sure it is the Chocolate Hazelnut Banana Nutella Crepe.   Anything with Nutella is automatically delicious and this is not your average crepe.  It comes served with the crepe delicately folded into a plump square.  Stick your fork in it and watch the nutella ooze out.

Otherwise, the appetizers and entrees were nothing special.  Standard midtown.

As someone new to the cool 'hood of Prospect Heights, I was delighted to find this ice cream shop.  Ample Hills is appropiately named.  My first cone was "100 Acres Ice Cream" which is a tribute to Winne the Pooh.  Totally acceptable flavor for a 26 year old.  It was sweet cream ice cream mixed with honeycomb crunches and swirls and gummi bears - what is not to love?  The other flavors were equally creative and I can't wait to try them all AND you can buy pints to bring home.  All the ice cream is made on the premises and on a Sunday night the place was packed with mostly families and little kids everyone.

The staff was very friendly and left you sample the flavors as much as you wanted.  There is also a good Walt Whitman quote about Brooklyn on the wall.

Yummy!

Me likey.

I can understand the negative reviews.  This place is not for everyone.  And it is also way out of the way for most people - located on the West Side Highway.  But I stand by my 5 stars.  The place is unique and very nautical.  I love all things nautical, just put up a buoy behind some bar and I will be a fan.

Rusty Knot looks like the basement of your Grandfather's house who used to me a Marine.  Or it looks like the interior of a yacht in the 1970s.  There is a psychadelic pool table and a big fish tank.  The place is not that big - but I don't think the bouncer at the door ever lets it get too crowded.  I was there with about 6 people and we all comfortably stood around the bar and some of us had stools.  Then there is a paritioned off "living room" area with funky chairs.

A great old-fashioned juke box pumps out classic beats that you can select to be played for free.  Cocktails and special drinks are a tad pricey but they all come in fun glasses.  Beer is cheap and has a good selection of crappy cheap bar and moderately priced good beer.  My friends & I ended up drinking $3 Busch's all night that were served to us in tall plastic reddish glasses like what you get your cokes served in at Applebees.  I liked that.

The crowd was young and surprisingly not pretentious or obnoxious - very laid back for the most part and it seemed like a bar where you could make friends with people.  Very unusual in Manhattan.

So go get drunk off cheap beer, put some songs on the juke box and relax in this nautical fun house of Rusty Knot.

Are you from New York State?  Go to Little Town.  

As a native Buffalonian, I was so excited to hear of this New York-centric restaurant/bar opening in my 'hood.  Everything on the menu - food & drink - is local and from New York State.  Totes Empire State of Mind.

The beer selection is wide and vast.  Although, they are missing my favorite Blueberry beer from Ellicottville Brewing Company.  Minus one star for that.

There are different food specials everyday.  Like one day you can order Rochester's legendary garbage plate.

True to Buffalo, I ordered wings - but they were spicy wings with an Asian twist.  Little Town takes traditional NY dishes and successfully puts a modern spin on them.

The place is not that big, so it would be unlikely to get a table during busy times.  The ambiance is not amazing, but has some cool New York State maps on the walls.  A part of me feels the place would be better situated in Brooklyn or at least Alphabet City.

I basically want to go back and try everything on the menu though.

Support New York!

RED VELVET CUPCAKES
RED VELVET CUPCAKES
RED VELVET CUPCAKES

get the red velvet cupcakes and be happy!!!!!

Total random location.   1st Ave in Kips Bay is full over NYU hospitals and everything is very boring and bland.  So kudos to Tom Colicchio for opening a restaurant in this barren area.

But seriously, what a random location.  When you hit 29th & 1st you have to keep walking through some building Alexandria Sciene Center right on the East River.  So Riverpark kinda seems like a fancy restaurant on the fringes of a fancy hospital.

My friend & I wanted to check out the recently opened Terrace.  Truth be told, I was minorly disappointed.  The "Terrace" consisted of about 5 long fancy picnic tables on a concrete terrace overlooking FDR, the East River and the unattrative Queens/Brooklyn skyline.  As far as beer gardens in the city go - I have been to better.

BUT - it was breezy out there and the terrace menu is very reasonably priced with a wide selection of beers.  Most "snacks" were seafoody and I really wanted to try the "mango coconut popsicle."

All in all I would go back, but only because I live in the neighborhood, otherwise the place is a serious hike on Manhattan's east side!

La Follia is a much needed neighborhood upscale Italian restaurant in Gramercy, particularly 3rd Ave which lacks a lot of charm.

The fact that La Follia doubles as a restaurant and 'enoteca' adds even more value to 3rd Ave.

This was a great place to take my out-of-town parents to.  We were seated right away around 8 PM on saturday night and enjoyed an itiimate italian dinner in a rustic setting.  The menu is simple, yet also very inventive.  I opted for the traditional Spaghetti Pomodoro with meatballs and was very pleased, although portions are rather small.

I for sure want to come back and enjoy the wine bar.  It's also great in warm weather since all the big windows are open and you can gaze outside at the beautiful Chase Bank across the street, but hey folks this is Manhattan, not Italy.

Great spot on East Village 2nd Ave.  Not divey, yet also not pretentious.  If feels like a neighborhood bar if you lived in Europe.  I actually think the bar is meant to be Scottish - there is a small display of Scotland flags and memorbilia in the back by the bathrooms.

This place is dark and cozy and romantic.  Drinks are very reasonably priced and there is a fresh juicer for fresh mixed drinks.

But, of course the main selling point is the awesome fireplace with 4 big comfy chairs surrounding it.  How perfect is that.  It's like your in a library where you can drink beer.  Schoolbred's is always a sure bet for a good night of relaxed drinking amongst friends.  I even ended up there on Halloween and it was not at all too rowdy - AND I scored fireplace seats that night.

I was sold on the name alone.  Of course I want to be a 'friend of a farmer.'  And what New Yorkers don't dream of escaping the urban sprawl of NYC for simple country farms?  I know I have that fantasy a lot.

Friend of a Farmer is located on the ever-charming block of Irving Place - one of my favorite streets in the city that sits at the foot on Gramercy Park.  The restaurant is very charming with a bar and small eating area on the 1st floor and a 2nd dining area on the 2nd floor.  Everything is very rustic and you feel like you have been transplanted to some small village in upstate NY.

My 1st experience was for brunch with my mother on a sunny Fall day.  F of a F doesn't take brunhc ressies so expect to wait in a long line outside for a table - but our wait moved fast and we scored a cozy seat at the bar.  I got pumpkin pancakes and my mom got some yummy sandwich with on thick bread with melted cheese and tomato.  Everything is very hearty and good.  My 2nd F of a F meal for for a late lunch on the 2nd floor...I have to say I prefer the 1st floor for it's charm.

In fact, I would highly recommend the bar on the floor as a great way to spend a few hours on sunday with drinks, food, good conversation & people watching.

the bread is amazing.  GET THE BREAD!

On a dead block of 2nd Ave, Posto is a diamond in the ruff.  It's unassuming exterior makes for an ideal neighborhood pizza joint.  In a perfect world, I think I would enjoy eating there at least once a week. The place is small and I have always had to wait for a table, but it is alway worth it.  And the small interior makes it feel very cozy.  In the summer picnic tables are outside for eating - i like that.  And the juke box  near the small bar inside also pumps out some great chill beats for pizza eating and wine drinking.  

Seriously, every single pizza on the menu is delicious.  The ones with red sauce being the best in my opinion like the Meatball Lover's.  Splurge for the full pie, not the personal one - you will eat it all and not be sorry!

Best thin-crust pizza in Manhattan - take that Pulino's!