Debbie "HTG" W.'s Profile

As far as Im concerned, its the best spanish restaurant in New York.  Im a huge long time fan of the spanish restaurants in Newark and Harrison NJ, and always felt that NY restaurants couldnt measure up, but La Nacional is my one exception to that rule.

La Nacional is both a restaurant, and a club, and last night was my first time back in years and I was so happily surprised to see that they added a beautiful room with more of  a restaurant feel, rustic strong wooden tables, great lighting and a really comforting vibe. (in addition to their original room, simple tables in a bare room which has a charm of its own, reminiscent of a simple cafe in a simple neighborhood anywhere in europe).

The food is as outstanding.  The Chorizo is a must get, the tortilla is excellent, the garlic shrimp and fried artichokes are delicious the salad is simple and provides a nice balance to the heavier dishes.  The signature dish-- their paella is also must have, and is wonderful not only in flavor and texture, but is also quite beautiful, served in a cast iron shallow skillet.  The dish its cooked in is integral because not only does it create a moment when it arrives at your table, its also responsible for the creation of "side rice"  which was our name for the sticky slightly crusty quality of the rice that clings to the bottom and sides of the pan.  

We skipped dessert because we were stuffed, but even if your'e stuffed, dont skip coffee.  La Nacional provides a rare opportunity to enjoy a 'cortado' in New York (espresso 'cut' with a bit of milk) and they also make excellent cappuccino and i cant even begin to describe the third coffee we ordered-- ok i guess i can-- coffee, whipped cream-- chantilly cream i think?-- pure heaven for everyone who has ever been jealous of an irish coffee but didnt want the alcohol.  

HIGHLY recommended.

Back so soon?  Hell yea.  Went to check out the 'Bar' side and really loved the vibe there with the retro modern tables and chairs, and fantastic small plates and half entrees.  The menu is slightly different from the main dining room but there is no lapse in quality or style here.  Foie Gras...Saffron pappardelle with rabbit...Veal flank steak with garlic foam...lamb with goat cheese...all good but the BC goes to...(da da da daaaaaa) the Upside Down Tuna Tarte (tarte? tartare? yes to both).  Outstanding.  

Beware, although they claim to serve their bar menu all afternoon, they actually close from 3-5 on Tuesdays, and occassionally for private parties (i got burned twice on this) so call ahead if you go outside of standard 'lunch' and 'dinner' hours.

Four stars may seem like too much, but lemme explain because i cant really compare the Southwest porch to four star restaurants.  Four stars because its unique and its creative...because its free...and because it adds to the sum total of things that are "so New York".   I love that you can sit down in a park on something other than a cast iron tiny table with two tiny metal or wood chairs, and I love the attempt to do something a tiny bit exotic.  

We didnt pick the best day to visit (due to massive construction turning the lawn into the ice skating rink) but how can you go wrong sitting in a very pretty very comfortable corner of a great NY park, eating Tom Colliccio's 'Wichcraft sandwiches?

I really love that Southwest Airlines created this beautiful 'deck' for lack of a better word, where you can (but arent required to) order drinks or food while chilling out on what is essentially a beautifully decorated modern back porch with the feel of a miami beach hip rooftop deck.  They even have outlets for your laptop and as an extra nice touch-- airline peanuts with your drinks.  Way cute.  Good food.  Four stars for me!

In a world where homemade fresh ice cream is really hard to find (ie, NYC) the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory is a rare treat.  Add in the outstanding ambiance-- particularly at night overlooking one of the most beautiful views of New York City and the Brooklyn Bridge-- and you've got a winner.  

It probably wont be the best ice cream you've ever had in your life, but I'd be hard pressed to tell you a better place to get ice cream in New York.  Extra points for having homemade hot fudge.

Our night at Telepan was so &^%$&( good that I've been putting off writing it up because I havent felt like I could do it justice.

But now enough time has gone by, that I feel like I have to get something up, even if its not perfect.  

Telepan is comfortable, its relaxing and its unpretentious.  Telepan is also exciting and unique.  It is slow food that is also incredibly creative.  The geniuses behind Telepan care about where food comes from, and that it is prepared in ways that are respectful to the foods origins (if you care about such things, you know what i mean) and they are even socially responsible.  Most importantly, Telepan is responsible for one of the best meals I have ever had.

Talking about what we ordered wont help you much, since the menu changes seasonally, but it really doesnt matter, regardless of what you order, your meal will be full of surprises and new tastes and strong flavors.  We swooned over our foie gras, and fought over their version of "ham egg and cheese" (yea, sophisticated food can be comforting and comfort food can be sophisticated) and even the beet salad was cantputyourforkdown delicious.  All of the pastas were outrageous (they really know their way around a mushroom)  and whatever you choose for an entree-- fish, meat or chicken-- you will be thrilled with the freshness and the flavors.  

Desserts arent really my thing, but I tasted a little of everything and what I loved about these desserts is that they were really fun, which was the perfect ending to such a satisfying meal.  What makes a dessert fun?  Its easy to share, its a little unexpected, and its a play on something simple from your childhood but tastes much much better.  Like peanut brittle ice cream over crunchy peanut butter and deep dark chocolate or graham cracker ice cream and marshmallow served alongside a rich chocolate brownie.  Fun right?  So save room. But with food that good you really dont need to be hungry to eat it.

I hear they have an outstanding brunch....cant wait to find out.

LOVED breakfast inside this absolutely stunningly preserved old vinegar factory.  Take the very old very beautiful staircase up to the top floor above the market and you will find a massive open space.  The ambiance is both industrial and farmtable, which makes a suprisingly comforting combination.

As soon as you sit down, they bring you a basket of several kinds of Zabars fresh baked breads (baked on premises) and the freshest preserves I've ever seen.  I think the last time I was served a bread basket filled with so many different kinds choices, I was a kid in the old coffee shops of Miami Beach and its a practice that should never have died out.

We were in the mood for breakfast so none of us had the salad bar (or salad barrel more accurately) but it looked amazing-- basically the salad barrel gives you the opportunity to graze all you want through  the Zabars prepared foods section which is a fantasy im sure anyone who has ever shopped at a Zabars has had.

I could tell you how good the lox eggs and onions were, or that the blintzes were just right, but i'd just want to rush through it to talk about the greatest french toast imageinable.  I dont know what kind of bread they used, or how they got it sooooo egg soaked without it falling apart, but it was like eating a french toast cloud.  It almost didnt need syrup and it definitely didnt need butter, and it is definitely THE THING to order.  Guard it closely, its been known to inspire wandering by other peoples forks at the table.  

Four stars for the unique ambiance, four stars for great food and five stars for that french toast.

This bright red adorable building in the middle of the block is very inviting on a chilly fall evening, and inside you'll find a terrific neighborhood bistro with a small but delicious menu, and a very colorful clientelle.  Such fun people watching while you eat french bistro classics. Everything was excellent- terrific steak frite.  

I found it odd that there's no music in the restaurant, especially since we arrived early when the room was eerily quiet, but on our way out we decided that its probably the kind of neighborhood place where everyone is table hopping talking to everyone as the night goes on, and music would only be a distraction.

If i wasnt convinced before that Connecticut has amazing restaurants, I am now.  Carol Peck's Good News Cafe is every bit as good as most New York restaurants.  Long story short-- creative, top notch ingredients, everything outstanding.  And the simple entrees were so well prepared that they tasted like some divine chefs secret recipe creation.

The menu is insane. I spent 15 minutes trying to figure out which of the salads to get, and annoyed that I couldnt get them all.  Can you imagine wanting salads that sounded SO GOOD  that you were willing to forego grilled chicken livers, pecan crusted oysters, and smoked salmon with cornbread pudding?

I went with a rare seared tuna with a mixed asian green salad and it may sound standard, but it was anything but.   The tuna quality and the unique taste and texture combination of the seaweed salad with other greens was melt in your mouth delicious.  We also ordered two appetizers that focused on grilled pear.  One was off the specials list with bacon and goat cheese that we lingered over as long as we could and just savored it.  

For entrees, the fishes were great, and the lobster with baked macaroni was as good as promised but the real suprise came from the simply perfect Henry s organic roasted Chicken half with buttermilk mashed potatoes & wok seared seasonal veggies.  Long after we were all full, we were still composing forkfuls of crispy perfectly seasoned chicken with a mouthful of the very buttermilky potatos and passing them around the table.  If you want the epitome of farm fresh ingredients, and you want to taste the flavor of the ingredients, this dish will blow you away.  Dont be afraid that its too boring to order, because its heavenly and if you could have chicken this good everywhere you go, you'd never tire of it.

We were much too stuffed for the desserts, but there was something about the "Better than Yankee doodles chocolate cupcake
chantilly cream & chocolate sauce" that i couldnt get out of my head.  It tasted EXACTLY like a yankee doodle or devil dog or whatever you want to call it, only much much better because the cream was real homemade cream with a texture to match, and the cake was made with eggs and flour and butter and lots of real chocolate instead of the chemicals that go into that supermarket stuff.  So YES if you care about what you put into your body, and subtlety of flavor, it is worth 8 bucks for this 'cupcake'.

I'll never underestimate Connecticut again, and I'll never underestimate simple foods again thanks to Carol Peck.

REALLY fantastic burgers.  Almost as good as my all time favorite PJ Clarkes (almost) so I totally understand why some call this the best burger in New York.   Absolutely the best burger on the UES and highly recommended comfort food when you need it.

I dont know why so many people expect monster size burgers, i find that really huge burgers are lacking in flavor and texture.  Maybe its because a lot of the flavor comes from the surface of the burger.  Anyway...these were delicious and the perfect size.  Get two if you're starving but one filled me just fine.  The only problem is its so tasty that you want to keep tasting it and thats probably the real reason some people complain about the size.

If you are a fan of PJ Clarkes you'll feel totally at home here too because the interior has exactly the same feel, right down to the checkered table clothes, dark wood and menu posted on a wooden board on the wall.

If you hate crowds check it out during the off-hours.  No problems with waiting or bad service in the afternoon.  Oh and the fries were great.  Crispy outside, nice soft potatoey middle, not greasy.  Such a great find and a definite add to my 'best burgers' list.

Maybe the planets were just all aligned for me, but i had a much better experience than most of the yelpers.

Maybe its because I was walking by on the most beautiful autumn sunday of the whole year feeling about as in love with the universe as a person could, or it could be the beautiful view of the river, or the really happy families that were walking around the neighborhood, or that it was the perfect weather for sitting outside at a sidewalk cafe...or maybe it was just that i was starving, but I stopped in on this perfect day in this perfect environment for brunch.

The staff couldnt have been nicer-- very attentive, always walking around with pitchers and carafes to refill water and coffee-- so kind when we accidentally smashed a salt shaker off the table onto the sidewalk, and always present but never rushing us, and so helpful with the menu.

The menu had so many delicious looking things, but i was dying for pancakes and they were great and served with fresh squeezed juice and a choice of eggs or fruit.  Perfect bacon.  The eggs and sausage were great too.  

Ok maybe brunch is their 'thing'.   So maybe the unsatisfied reviews were of dinner.  Or maybe they've improved.  But I enjoyed my morning at Timmys so much that I didnt even notice that i was late for football kickoff.  I'd go back in a heartbeat.