Cafe Blossom: New York, New York
The owners of Blossom must have a thing about doors. Or perhaps it’s feng shui. To enter the downtown outpost of Blossom, you don’t enter through the obvious door, the one adjacent to the dining room—but instead, you open the door that looks as…
Community Food & Juice: New York, New York
What else would you expect of a restaurant sandwiched between Columbia University and the Cathedral of St. the Divine except an oasis of political correctness? With those two proud bastions of liberalism as neighbors, it’s almost a certainty that…
Gazala’s Place: New York, New York
Recently voted BEST FOOD nabe in New York (by Time Out New York), Hell’s Kitchen has to be one of the most gastronomically diverse neighborhoods in the country. Each May, more than a million people wander along the mile-long smorgasbord that’s known as…
Clarke’s Miami Beach: Miami Beach, Florida
With its neon green shamrock sign, it’s easy to mistake Clarke’s for yet another Irish burger-and-beer joint or a Cheers wannabe. The mistake, however, would be in not moving beyond the signage—and missing the inviting interior and genuine conviviality…
Trestle on Tenth: New York, New York
One of the many joys of life in Manhattan is turning a corner—and finding something you hadn’t noticed before. This restaurant, for example—how could Trestle on Tenth have been here on the corner of 24th and Tenth Avenue since the summer of 2006—and…
La Bottega @ The Maritime Hotel: New York, New York
It’s always gratifying to return to a place where you enjoyed a meal or a few—and to find, a couple years later, that the place is humming along just fine. Admittedly, in the case of la Bottega Trattoria at the Maritime Hotel, there’s the nearly…
Commerce Restaurant: New York, New York
Nestled in the West Village, Commerce is the sort of street where a mother could send her son running to borrow a cup of sugar—back when mothers baked, that is. We have a friend who grew up in a brownstone right down the block from what was once the…
Florent: New York, New York
For the first time in twenty-three years, the L on the front window was missing—leaving only F ORENT. And therein was the story. After more than two decades of 24/7 service spent slinging bistro fare (and neighborhood civics lessons) to transvestites,…