The Restaurant at the Setai: Miami Beach, Florida
First of all, have the car drive you around to the 20th Street entrance, back by the cul de sac near the ocean—so that you enter on the residential side of the Setai complex, the side with the 40-story tower—whereupon you’ll proceed through a somewhat…
Evolution by David Bouley: Miami Beach, Florida
With a name derived from Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis (“There are no shortcuts in evolution”), David Bouley’s Miami Beach restaurant is a temple to the elevated and evolved. Ensconced in the fabled Morris Lapidus-designed diLido Hotel (1953, and…
Le Jardin de Russie at Rome’s Hotel de Russie
Ah, Roma—in August…. When the tourists have descended and the locals have fled. And you find yourself there on a holiday weekend, a Sunday at that—when many dining establishments have closed—for the season. There’s only one choice: head to le Jardin de…
Le Grainne Cafe: New York, New York
Remember that afternoon in Paris? You’d been walking along the Seine, worn down a little by your morning at the Louvre—and you turned a corner, and there was this little café. A bottle of Sancerre and a salade nicoise, some bread, some butter—and…
The Stanton Social: New York, New York
Dolled up like a South Beach hotel lounge, the Stanton Social nonetheless fits perfectly into its raffishly chic Lower East Side locale. A beautiful three-level space fitted out with leather handrails and lizard skin banquettes, as well as belt-strapped…
La Palapa Cocina Mexicana: New York, New York
Just saying the name is fun—la palapa—and even more so if you know what it means: a palm-thatched shelter on a beach. Almost immediately, your mind conjures an idyllic scene: you and your sweetie oceanfront, your toes in the water, ice cold beverages…
5 Ninth Restaurant: New York, New York
Friday night in the Meatpacking District, well after ten pm—and the hordes are out. Buddha Bar has a ninety-minute wait and Buddakan is Grand Central. Over at Fig & Olive, the music is nightclub loud. The streets are a parade of stilettos and limos.…
Nice Matin Restaurant: New York, New York
Open since April of 2003, Nice Matin has become the Balthazar of the Upper West Side. There’s a breakfast crowd, and a late-night crowd, and on clement weekends, the stretch of tables along Amsterdam is invariably filled—and not only by locals. The food,…