All'onda (NYC, NY)

I cannot believe I made a horrible choice of coming to All'onda. Of all the great Italian restaurants in NYC, I pick All'onda! First of all, it's a small restaurant with bad service and small portioned food for over the top prices. In other words, this place sucks.

FOOD: 
Appetizers: So I really like to try different foods, and I like raw fish, so I ordered the himachi. It was good, but more of like a pre appetizer. It. was. so. tiny. Little cubes of raw fish and a tiny bit of red kuri squash, in a soy blend. Over powering on the soy and the Himachi didn't taste fresh. Honestly, I very easy going with fish...but I have to say, this was really disappointing. And guess what: they charged me $20 for it! I mean, who do they think they are? Per se? Any way. To get my mind off the Himachi, I ordered classic razor clams. Coming from a New Englander, I expect them to be at least decent. They were served with sopressata and miso, along with herbs. I mean, it was pretty good! I had a little "party of flavor" in my mouth, but only for a second; there was a very fish aftertaste.

Main Courses: So for a main course here, we ordered the "Lumache" which is a duck ragu with chocolate. Yeah, I know right? Chocolate? Who puts chocolate in pasta? Well, we thought it would be interesting to try...Crap on a plate. It was horrible. The ragu tasted like cardboard and the chocolate added unneeded sweetness to the dish, completely ruining it. So after that, we were kind of edgy on what else to order, but after hearing such great things about the rest of menu we gave it another shot. Apparently, the "house specialty" is the Bucatini, which is a smoked uni pasta with spicy breadcrumbs. All right. First things first when naming the food. If an Indian doesn't think the pasta's spicy, then it's spicy. But when an American Indian doesn't think the food is spicy, we have a problem. "Spicy" is like "rotten" here. The dish lacked flavor and the uni was bits and pieces of chopped up uni, flash fried. It was way too creamy (I felt like I was eating a bowl of oatmeal) and there was no protein whatsoever. So much for a "house specialty"...Anyway! After that, we were sick of their so-called pasta, so we ordered the Monkfish. The monkfish was served with sea urchin polenta, arugula and squid ink. We couldn't even taste the monkfish because of the unappealing squid ink and basically a soup of polenta. The only average dish here was the risotto astice. It was served with lobster, saffron and fennel. The saffron gave it a nice color, but the lobster was a bit chewy. Again, the portion was really small.

So at the end, we left the restaurant hungry. We then ended up going to Eataly, Joe Bastianich and Mario Bitalis food hall. Now that was real Italian food. Do. Not. Come. To. All'onda.

Annisa (NYC, NY)

Okay. Manhattan is home to thousands of culinary experiences, ranging from Classy to  Hole in Wall. Annisa takes classy to a whole new level, treating us with a culinary we will never forget.
A quaint, but formal ambiance suits the food and the location (West Village) in a perfect manner, along with a dressy attire.

FOOD: On a rainy day, a nice, hardy piece of meat will suit us just fine. The seared Buffalo shell steak with marrow, vegetables and horseradish is a must have at Annisa. The steak is served rare, but upon request may be cooked to a different level; you can never go wrong with medium well. The steak was cooked to a perfect medium well; so juicy, and the vegetables complimented it just fine. For our fish fans out there, the sautéed filet of rainbow Trout, is another smart choice. The fish is served with artichokes, chamomile and enoki mushrooms. Just the right portion with just the right components, set out the perfect dish for me. The mushrooms went perfect with the chamomile and the fish was a light delicacy. Also, try the seared scallops with Foie Gras, Asparagus and hazelnuts. This dish blew me away, with it's unique turn out of such delicate, yet simple ingredients, that transformed into a unique, one of a kind dish. As well as that, try the pork loin. The pork loin is served with radishes and smoked avocado. It's a grilled Koji-Marrinated Berkshire Pork Loin. It was very tender and the radishes balanced out the meal with a nice vegetable touch of avocado.

So Annisa is very formal, but they only seat 13 tables, so book your reservations quick!

Le Colonial (NYC, NY)

New York City is filled with thousands of cuisines, ranging from French to Asian, but why have one, when you can have both? Le Colonial brings the elegance to 57th Street, giving the tourists and New Yorkers a taste of unique fusion to wow our minds.
Beautiful plants line classy tables, with outstanding service and a sheik ambiance, making us feel like we're in France and Vietnam at the same time.


APPETIZERS: For appetizers, we ordered the Ca Bam, which is minced monkfish with turmeric, basil, roasted peanuts and sesame crackers. First of all, I could tell that the monkfish was fresh, and second...WOW. All the spices, herbs and flavors blended so well together, converting simple household ingredients into a five star dish. As well as the monkfish, we needed to try a classic Asian delicacy: spring rolls. Spring Rolls are found all over Eastern Asia, and have a huge variety of different kinds. Coming back to classic, of course we'll have fried. "Cha Gio", the spring rolls at Le Colonial, are filled with pork, shrimp and crab, and are served with lettuce greens, fresh herbs and Nuoc Cham sauce. We each had one spring roll, wrapped it in lettuce and mint, then dipped it in the sauce and ate away. This dish blew my mind. Hands down to the best spring rolls I've ever had! They were light, flavorful and very refreshing.

MAIN COURSES: At Le Colonial, there are two options: One, is a classic entrée menu, and Two is a pre fix called the "Express Lunch" ($20). If you order the express lunch, you have a choice 2/3 of a soup, salad or sandwich. The soup is a Pho, a Vietnamese classic soup, served with rice noodles, scallions, beef, all cooked in a hardy ox tail broth. The soup was quite nice actually, but not too light. A perfect sized portion was served along with a burst of flavor, but remember to pace the soup, it's a bit filling. The sandwich, is a twist on the typical American Slider, turned into a beautiful Vietnamese sandwich. I was very surprised when I tried the slider, mostly because it had Kim Chi, a pickled Korean vegetable. It gave the sandwich a nice "tangy" taste, also complimenting the beef and vegetables served under the toasted french roll. For our meat lovers out here (Oh and yes, I know there are PLENTY of you) the pork shoulder is your way to go. Tender pork served with bean sprouts, lily buds and a Vietnamese Jus, is honestly one of the best meat dishes I've ever had. It's SO flavorful, but simple. Also, you need to order some rice to go with it; you can't have an Asian meal without rice. It's basically the number one Asian cuisine rule. Anyway, turning to another side of the world, a French lemon grass chicken is a nice, hardy but light delicacy. Served with roasted corn, Shitaki mushrooms  and cilantro, with a coconut basil sauce. The chicken was very tender, but the sauce made it seem like I was dining in Paris; well, that and the ambiance. The mushrooms balanced out the dish, leaving me full but not too full, and the corn complimented the chicken; balancing the textures with the dish, as well.

So when you're in the New York area, you must come to Le Colonial. Even if you're in New Jersey, this is worth the trip, because you'll never find anything else that's as unique as Le Colonial.

                                       

Rosemarrys (NYC, NY)

If you want a funky, modern, brunch place for the whole family, then Rosemarrys Greenwich Village NYC, is the right place for you. It has moderate  service and awesome food, which come in the form of tapas and bigger dishes.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

You have to try their  mozzarella, tomato and basil stuffed bread. There is so much cheese that you don't know when the bread starts and stops. The tomatoes make it juicy so it balances with the cheese. The appetizers, which are mainly a selection of tapas all exude scents and tastes from all over the world. In case you don't know what tapas are, they are: Small Spanish savory plates, typically served as a snack or appetizer. 

Tapas (Appetizers)
If you are a fish, seafood type of person then try their calamari. It is grilled calamari with almond, celery, raisins and chili oil. 

 Also try the eggplant which is cold and marinated in spices, in an "american curry,". Also they have olives, but they aren't just regular olives. They are heated up with herbs so that they are nice and warm and taste like nothing you've tasted before. 

MAIN COURSE: For the main course, you should try the skirt steak. It comes with a mixed salad, arugla and olive oil with a side of fingerling potatoes. They prepared the steak just the way we asked for it which was medium well, better than a lot of steak houses you will go to. For brunch, you should also try the poached egg with oyster mushrooms, and a salad. It is just amazing! Poached just right, and the yolk tasted quite unique with the mushrooms.  Rosemarry's is definitely  a stand out in New York City.

FOOD: ****

AMBIANCE:****

SERVICE:  ***

The NoMad (NYC, NY)

New York City is filled with thousands of restaurants, but a must try is "The NoMad."

Located at the NoMad hotel is one of the best continental restaurants in Manhattan. The NoMad Hotel is located on 1170 Broadway and 28th street, right in the heart of the historic NoMad Neighborhood (North of Madison Square Park.) The interior makes you feel like your back in time, to old Europe. 

RECOMMENDATIONS

APPETIZERS: If you're in the mood for fish, try the fluke. The fluke is marinated with sorrel, amaranth and comes with a side of mushrooms. It lays on a bed of tomatoes and greens. If your not a big fluke fan, then try the tuna. The Tuna is a tuna tartare with lemon, black olives and tomatoes. One interesting thing about the tuna, is that it's served on its own bone! The tartare is gently punctured through the bone, and will slide in a smooth motion into your mouth. Another appetizer I recommend is the King Crab Tagliatelle. I'm not that big of a pasta fan, but this dish blew me away! It was savory lemon mixed with Buttery Alaskan King Crab with a hint of black pepper. You should also try the lamb. Its glazed with romaine lettuce, cumin and yogurt. It was cooked amazingly and was very juicy. 

MAIN COURSES:

If you want something on the lighter side, go with the lobster. The lobster is poached and served with zucchini, summer beans and vegetable bisque. The lobster is out of the shell and comes in three pieces. The lobster bursts with flavor, and the vegetables balance with amount of meat. If you want something more to the heavy side, but not too heavy, I strongly recommend the suckling pig. The pig is served with a confit, with cherries, arugula and bacon marmalade. The skin on the pig is nice and crispy, and its so moist inside. The cherries give the pig a nice sweet taste, but not too sweet so that the flavors of the cherries aren't overpowering. At NoMad, there is an option for a meal for two, which is a roasted chicken. The Chicken comes with Foie Gras, Black Truffel and Brioche. It's a huge entree, even for two people, so bring your appetite!

CHEF:
Chef Daniel, originally from Switzerland, began his culinary journey at the age of 14. He went on to cook at the finest Swiss hotels and restaurants before earning his first Michelin Star at the age of 24.

                                                           

Nobu (NYC, NY)

If you want a fancy Japanese sushi restaurant, with very good service and a nice ambiance, then Nobu is what you should try. There are 3 Nobu's in Manhattan but the one on Hudson street is the original, and most laid back.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

At Nobu the sushi specialty roll is salmon, crab and tuna, wrapped in rice and radish. It was good but not the best sushi ever. Also with the eel maki, it was good but not outstanding as I expected it to be. The tuna and eel hand rolls were amazing! They were actually succulent, and a little moist. If you go to Nobu you can't just get sushi, you have to try their wide variety of hot Japanese food. Their specialty is blackened cod with miso sauce. In my opinion that is the best cod I have ever had. It was a huge full piece of cod, coated in a sweet sauce. It was so tender and it melted in your mouth. Also you try the lobster. It is stir fried with a mixture of vegetables, such as carrots, mushrooms, scallions and basil. It was just impeccable, and delicious. Also, we had the rock shrimp tempura. It was crunchy with a hot and spicy sauce. The tempura was not overly coating the shrimp, thus giving it a delicate tempura flavor. Also try the tempura style fish and chips. It was a tempura fried white fish, with seasoned, delicious sweet potato fries. It had the best tempura fry. Crunchy and crunchy ;). We also had a spicy seafood soup. The soup was spicy and clean, with lots of lobster, shrimp, scallops and squid. Also if you have all of those dishes, you need rice. Nobu's rice is a special rice from Japan. It is sticky rice, but not to sticky. DESSERTS: Nobu has a great variety of deserts. We tasted caramelized banana with vanilla ice cream, mochis, espresso moose and chocolate cake block.The banana was sweet and decident, and a hot and cold fusion. The mochis were in three different flavors: Blueberry, Green Tea and Tiramisu.The moose was velvety chifanne like, with a smoothe texture. The cake block was servered with raspberry sauce and fresh raspberrys. It sure was special.

Service:****

Ambiance:*****

Food:****

Bhatti (NYC, NY)

A casual Indian restaurant in the heart of little India on Lexington avenue and 27th street. Amongst so many other Bubbling Indian Eatries in the neighborhood, which stands out for its tandoori food and Curries. It is owned by the iconic indian restaurant "Moti Mahal" in New Delhi, India. APPETIZERS: For an appetizer, we had Bhelpuri. Bhelpuri is an Indian snack, made of a mixture of rice puffs, lentil crisps, onion, tomatoes, chilies, cilantro and mixed with tamarind and mint chutneys.  Its flavors are sweet and sour at the same time. We also enjoyed chicken and lamb boti kabobs. They were marinated in ginger garlic, yogurt and roasted black cumin, then were cooked in the tandoor (clay oven). They were very moist and served nice and hot. MAIN COURSES: For the courses, we had chicken biryani, Bhuna Goash and butter chicken. The chicken biryani: a fragrant combination of long grain basmati slow cooked in a special vessel with fresh herbs and spices served with a mint yogurt. The flavors just bursted in our mouths, and were not too spicy, yet not too bland.The Bhuna Goash was a home cooked style Mutton (goat), with a masala of onions, tomatoes, ginger garlic and a nice blend of selected dry spices. The goat was on the bone, but was so moist that it would just slide right off, and be sucked in your mouth. The butter chicken has to be the best dish I had there. The man who invented butter chicken was the owner of "Moti Mahal," hence this is the original recipe. The chicken is first grilled in the tandoor, and then immersed in a butter and cream sauce, then blended in with various exotic spices. Also, we had the Ajwanni Shrimps that were marinated in lemon and ajwan (Indian Spice) and cardamom.  We alsoAlso try the Gilauti Kabob. Bhatti has recreated this kabob, which it's recipe comes from one of the best kabob makers from Avadh-Tunde Mian, and is so unique and it's very soft, which supposedly came from a family who incorporated 160 different spices. DESSERT: Theres only one way to go for dessert at Bhatti:Phirni. Phirni is an almond and rice flour pudding dish. Its a good palate cleanser after a great spicy meal. AMBIANCE: ** SERVICE:**** FOOD:*****

North End Grill (NYC, NY)

If you want an elegant continental dining experience,come on down to the tip of Manhattan in Battery Park, to the North End Grill. Located on 104 North Avenue, North End grill has indoor seating, and a full bar, with a great view of the kitchen and window seating with great views of the Hudson River. RECOMENDATIONS APPETIZERS: For an appetizer, one of my favorite dishes was the clam pizza. It's grilled with chili flakes and lemon. It has a nice flavor that is not too hot and not too sour. This dish is for someone who likes white pizza or flat breads. I would also recommend the Tuna Tar Tar. It's served with a fried quail egg and crispy shallots. It's for someone who likes raw fish. Also try the scrambled eggs with morels mushroom. The last time I saw that in a restaurant in Paris. As well as the eggs, try the duck breast. It is served with sunflower sprouts and an apricot compote. MAIN COURSES: For the main course, I recommend the Ashley Farms roasted half chicken. It's served with foccacia crutons. The chicken was very moist and the outer skin was a golden brown, and nice and crispy.The croutons give the chicken that nice crunch you look for in your meals. If your a fish type of person, I recommend the wreck fish or the Branzino. The wreck fish is grilled and served with bacon, Romano beans, squash and cherry tomatoes. Its a very light fish with amazing flavors. The Branzino is a whole fish, so bring your appetite! It's served with grilled lemon on top. With any entree, you can pick any of these sides: Three spiced fries, Charcoal grilled baby carrots, Grilled sweet corn with red onion Grilled summer squash,and Braised North End Grill rooftop greens DESSERTS: For all the sweet tooths out there, They has an excellent dessert menu. One of the specialties is the Manhattan sundae. It consists bourbon ice cream, cherry meringues and vermouth caramel. It's flavors scream out at you, making you want to dig in more. Also, try the Deconstructed German chocolate cake with coconut milk chocolate ice cream. It's flavors are very rich and creamy. I also recommend the plain cheesecake. It has it's usual simplistic taste, and is a circular shape, with the graham cracker crust only around the cake. It's served with a raspberry reduction sauce. For those wanting something refreshing and light, you must try the sorbet selections. The yellow plum and raspberry sorbets were to the mark. CHEF Chef Floyd Cardoz was the chef at the Taj Hotel in Mumbai, where he first started his culinary journey. He was the head chef at the French Indian restaurant "Tabla," which unfortunately closed its doors. He is also the author of the book "One Spice, Two Spice." RATINGS 1 Star (Poor)- 5 Stars (Outstanding) Service: *** Food: ***** Ambiance: ***** v  iews