David Burke at Bloomingdale's - NYC

Branzino over risotto

I came to David Burke at Bloomingdale's on a weekday for lunch with a girlfriend visiting from LA. We went to Equinox down the street and wanted a cute place that we could go to for lunch.

There was no wait and the staff seated us immediately. The staff was all smiles (which is hard to do at a restaurant inside of one of the busiest stores at this time of season), especially the manager. He was super friendly and inviting. We were greeted within seconds by our waitress after being seated, who was also, all smiles. She informed us of the specials and when she got the branzino I wanted to yell "SOLD!" Branzino with risotto? Oh dear heavens. My girlfriend and I eat risotto in our sleep!

We started with the tuna tartare wontons which were light and yet filling at the same time. They were plated so wonderfully (see photos) with avocado, mmm mm mmm.

We decided to order the fish tacos and also the branzino and split both with each other. The fish tacos you ask? OUT OF THIS WORLD. Holy cow. If you eat at David Burke and don't order the fish taco's, please don't write a review, thanks! The fish melted in my mouth and it was literally bursting with flavor. Absolutely excellent.

Now onto the branzino. Thank God this isn't on the menu. Because if it was, I would be eating it every day (breakfast lunch and dinner). Seriously...this was likely the best branzino I've ever had in my life. It.was.soo.good! They should put this on the menu. The manager came to check and make sure everything was tasty and we were never unattended to. Great service in a busy restaurant. 

I imagine during holiday season and definitely on weekends this place gets super packed but the turnover seemed to be flowing nicely so I don't imagine someone would wait long. I definitely will be returning!

Cafe Charlotte - Miami Beach

Chicken Marsala

My girlfriends and I have done the whole Miami Beach "scene" restaurants (and quite extensively). Ugh. Been there, done that. This was our "last hurrah" week as one of my girlfriends is moving to Brazil and I moved to NYC months ago. We wanted to go somewhere different and more authentic. A friend of mine in NYC recommended Cafe Charlotte.

Cafe Charlotte? On Washington? Argentinian Italian restaurant? What? I had never heard of such a place. Then I checked to verify on my trusted Yelp. 4.5 stars? So..we decided to try it out. We made a reservation and arrived to a cute little restaurant that makes you feel like you are eating at home. We wanted authentic and authentic we received. 

We started with a bottle of white wine and I ordered a glass of Malbec. For the price, I was pleasantly surprised. This was super cheap and actually decent wine.

None of us ordered starters. I ordered the chicken marsala for my main course. My girlfriend had some sort of seafood dish with fish, mussels, shrimp, and tomato sauce. I completely forgot with the third person had  but it also involved fish. All dishes were so tasty. I am a huge fan of chicken marsala and usually am disappointed when I order it. At Cafe Charlotte, the chicken marsala was so robust in flavor. I was again, pleasantly surprised. I also tried both of my girlfriends dishes and enjoyed them.

Now on to round 2. Another 2 friends of mine asked for a low-key dinner spot that did not have a crazy "scene". I told them we were eating at Cafe Charlotte and they ended up coming (my 2 girlfriends left). Both "new" friends ordered the large skirt steak. Both LOVED it. No wonder it's highly recommended everywhere.

This is a great lunch or dinner spot but try to make reservations as it is rather small and when we went there, a large party occupied most of the restaurant. 

YUM!

The Lodge - Buffalo

Scallops

I am originally from Buffalo and rarely visit. When I do, I like to visit the "newest" restaurants. The restaurant scene has been picking up in the past few years and venturing over to the more "modern" side of things. Lovely.

I asked my friend Sean where to go for dinner and he recommended The Lodge. I was like hmmm...it's a restaurant...on Chippewa. My memories of Chippewa st are a drunken blur so I couldn't fathom a high-end restaurant on this street but when I googled it and saw the pictures of the interior, I decided to take my mom for dinner.

We went on a Sunday evening and while it wasn't crowded, it wasn't "dead" either. I was immediately taken aback by the decor. This $#&T exists in Buffalo??? what?? How the hell did another Yelper say this reminded him of a mall restaurant?! Uhhh...buddy I don't know what malls you frequent but if you're talking about comparing this place to Jack Astor's, you MUST be reviewing the wrong restaurant.

I digress. We ordered the scallops to start and both had the chicken for our main courses. The scallops were so well plated (see photos) and the chicken was extremely tasty. For it to be that tender, I thought they must have cooked it sous vide but I was like how in the world would chefs in Buffalo even know what that is?! Honestly, I have eaten at various chefs tables at many 3-star Michelin restaurants and they plate pretty similarly. I was impressed.

The hostess Sarah was wonderful. She randomly offered us a tour of the restaurant when we told her it was our first time there and literally we saw every inch of this place. Gorg. She informed us that the buildout was a cool $2mil. Swanky. Service ON PAR. Food, lovely. Definitely a must-go.

1826 - Miami Beach

Pasta with scallop dumplings and lobster

Okay...I don't know where to begin. I had seen this glass structure on Collins for quite some time and was always wondering what would occupy this beautiful structure on 18th and Collins avenue.

About a year later, I saw on various social media "1826". I asked some friends where that was and they informed me 1826 Collins. I still didn't put two and two together but when a girlfriend of mine wanted to check out the restaurant called 1826, we were pleasantly surprised. I finally got to see what fulfilled the 3 floor glass stand alone structure on Collins.

The ambiance is magnificent. I'm very used to the plush white leather furniture and South Beach gold digging scene which quite frankly I am sick of. This scene and decor completely remind me of major cities like New York. The rustic modern yet elegant feel really surprised me. The crowd did as well. Everyone was pretty attractive and well dressed. No they weren't wearing dresses that were so short that when they bend over you get a free show...they were dressed very chic. Our waiter Fabiano was awesome. It is very rare that I am treated to great service in Miami let alone Miami Beach but he was a pleasant surprise. I had the Sav. Blanc (the $14 a glass wine which was reasonably priced) and my girlfriend had the Rioja. The wine was great and they even brought over a little stool for her purse so that it would not get dirty on the floor. Nice little touch.

Two types of bread came, one with bacon and one regular. Also two types of spread came, butter and a roasted vegetable spread. I was hesitant to try the vegetable spread as I generally do not like anything except for butter or oil with my bread but I decided to give it a try and it was delicious.

For starters we had the tuna tartare with tapioca chips. It came with edible flowers and had a wonderful presentation (see photos). I'm generally not a fan of tuna and rarely try/eat it but it was so well presented that I decided to give it a try. It was really good. Very light and refreshing. 

Now let me brace you for my main course...I am a pasta junkie... Like it could be worse than a drug addiction (ok I'm joking but I'm not). I could bathe in a tub of pasta I love it that much but then my brain kicks in and I realize that I would gain 500 lbs so I try to limit this pasta intake. Ok so anyways, they had a pasta on the menu with scallop dumplings and lobster. What?! I had him repeat it like 5 times. Am I in heaven? I thought. Like seriously...dumplings? Pasta? My head was spinning just thinking about it and almost exploded when I took my first bite. OHHHHHHHHHHHHHH $#*&! I was so tempted to just pick the plate up and lick it clean but then again, I thought okay Melanie pace yourself. It was honestly the best pasta that I've ever had in my life. Seriously. Wow. If you dine at 1826 and do NOT get this heavenly dish, I feel bad for you. You will miss out on the most amazing pasta dish, ever. It was also a perfect proportion. I hate getting presented with a HUGE plate of pasta because like I stated already, I love pasta and I WILL eat the whole thing. No bueno. This was perfect. The portions are smaller at this restaurant and made for sharing but I did NOT share this pasta (okay one bite). 

After dinner, we had a drink upstairs at the lounge but it wasn't that busy because it was still very early. It was great because we were able to just relax with a cool glass of wine with a nice view of Collins avenue. The staff seemed very eager and happy to help and even when I was browsing the menu in the restaurant the gentleman who poured our water (and was not our waiter) gushed about his favorite dishes. It's that kind of passion that is generally lacking in the Miami service industry. It restored my faith in Miami service!

I cannot wait to return! I am already dreaming of the pasta.

Danji - NYC

Himachi

You know when you go to one of those places and they are all like "you need to order 2-3 things per person because portions are small" and you roll your eyes and think to yourself "pshh they are just trying to get me to spend more money" Yeah? Danji is NOT one of those places. You really DO need to order 2-3 things per person and honestly I would do 3 each.

I went with a big group of people and we clearly missed the little paper sign in the window that said their system was down so it was "CASH ONLY" Yeah for 7 people and a huge bill, not so convenient. A little sign in the window doesn't really cut it.

DECOR
Rustic and intimate...very romantic. Just some thoughts that come to mind. This place is small and does not accept reservations (they do only for parties of 6 or more). It also has a Michelin Star (Korean restaurant with a Michelin star? You heard me).

WINE
I had a glass of the Gruner veltliner der pollenhof-erwin at only $9 a glass. You betcha it was German. German wine? I think it was my first time trying German wine. She brought us some to sample before ordering and I literally asked "Was that water?" It was SOOO smooth. Honestly the smoothest wine I've ever had and so cheap. I am going to look into getting a case of wine for myself as I loved it THAT much. SUPER cheap too. $9 a glass? We aren't talking happy hour people.

FOOD - Tapas style
+ Yellowtail sashimi with spicy sauce - Holy crap. I LOVE me some yellowtail. This was a unique dish because it had a spicy sauce below the yellowtail but the yellowtail was wrapped around some daikon (same taste as a radish, yum). It's a very small portion as the 4 pieces are rather small so I would suggest you ordering this as your own dish and whoever you are with ordering this as well.
+ Calamari - This was actually my favorite dish. Calamari is calamari. It's fried and usually comes with a various array of side sauces and blahblahblah. Hard to really change it up or make it unique but this special blend of seasoning made this my favorite dish of the night. It was SOOO good. This was a bigger portion and can be shared between 2-3 people. Make sure you get the scallion pancake dipping sauce to accompany your calamari (in addition to the sauce they provide with the dish already). YUM.
+ Scallion pancake - Very delicious. It's hard to break apart with chop sticks and I probably looked funny attempting to break it into smaller pieces but yeeeeah. The sauce on the side with this is AMAZING. I asked them to bring me a side of this sauce to dip my calamari in (which I stated above).
+ "KFC" spicy chicken wings - These are spicy. Listen, I'm from Buffalo. We "invented" the chicken wing. I know me some good chicken and these were good. They definitely have my stamp of approval.

Then came the awkward ending when we were told it was CASH ONLY. Ugh. Disastrous ending to a wonderful evening. Definitely recommend this place!

Danji
346 W 52nd St, New York, NY 10019
(212) 586-2880
DO NOT ACCEPT RESERVATIONS FOR PARTIES UNDER 6.

15 East - NYC

Shrimp (omakase) 

The first day that I arrived to NYC (after moving back from Miami), I told a friend of mine to take me for good sushi. In Miami, we don't really have that many great sushi spots. We have several hole-in-the-wall type of places which are okay...we have the chains (for example, Zuma) which are amazing but not unique. However, we do have one which is called NAOE and it delivers an Omakase experience but honestly that is probably the only place. It has 8 seats total and you can only make a reservation through OpenTable. It's safe to say that NAOE is a very unique experience. The word "Omakase" means that you leave it up to the chef, sort of like a tasting menu. I didn't quite fancy the sushi that much at NAOE. I went twice and I really wanted to enjoy it but the flavors were just so unique and new to me (the fish is imported from Japan amongst other places) that it was hard for my tastebuds to enjoy it. Some pieces I did like but the majority were too fishy or just too new for me to fully love.

So...we walked into 15 East and my friend said one word: Omakase! Then of course we ordered wine & sake. Like magic, the hands behind the sushi bar got to work. The fish was beautifully presented and EXTREMELY delicious. I would even recommend this to someone who doesn't like sushi! I don't know what it was but this was a completely different experience than I had at NAOE. The fish was just out of this world. Maybe it was more local or just prepared better. I don't know...but I was absolutely surprised at how much I enjoyed the fish. The last piece presented to us was shrimp. Not just any shrimp. It was alive. Did I eat it alive?  No. However, you could definitely taste how fresh that piece was being that it was alive just 15 seconds before entering my mouth. I definitely will return. Maybe I will try the dining room this time and check out that aspect of this restaurant. I am very impressed.

To book a reservation at 15 East, the easiest way is through OpenTable

15 East
15 E 15th St
New York, NY 10003
(212) 647-0015
www.15eastrestaurant.com

About Me

After graduating from the University of Miami with a BA in Psychology and a minor in marketing, I returned back to the Big Apple. My intense love of food started when I moved to New York City in 2008 where I worked for a fashion designer. After growing up in Buffalo, where, let's face it, food isn't exactly novel or unique, the ever changing food options in NYC exhilarated and captivated me. In Miami, it became official. I graduated to "foodie" status.

If I could have one last meal on earth it would have to be omakase (chefs choice) style sushi (at the sushi counter). I hope to share my love of both fashion and food with the world!