Cask (33rd st and 3rd ave)

This place is really good! I think that's a theme... I seem to like most everywhere I go. Some are only "meh" though, and a few really stand out. This place I would go back to / recommend to someone who was looking for a place to eat in the area.

We got to Cask before happy hour ended at 8, so I ordered the St. Murray because it has St. Germain in it; yum. It is a bit sour in case you don't like that, but if you do, it's delicious! They have a whole list of other very good-looking cocktails as well. The place was actually quite crowded with an after-work crowd. Lots of people grabbing drinks, and the wait when we got there was about an hour! Good thing we had a reservation :)

They start you off with a soft little loaf of bread and olive oil. Then I ordered the Prosciutto Flatbread that had fig jam, brie cheese, and arugula on it (and prosciutto of course). I really enjoyed it with the mixture of sweet, salty, creamy, and crunch. My friends also like their meals and the portions were good!

The place has a pretty cool ambiance - low lighting, very homey feel with wooden shelving and tables. They also had greenery (garlands?) everywhere that was intertwined with the soft (aka old school, not LED) xmas lights. It was was beautiful and added to the feel of the place!

Momofuku Milk Bar (13 st and 2nd ave)

So there's a Momofuku place right on the corner of 13th and 2nd, but the Milk Bar is actually on 13th st, just across the street. I went there with a friend, and we were each going to get a compost cookie - however.. the deal is 3 for $5, so of course we had to do that. We each got a compost cookie, and then got a Cornflake Marshmallow cookie to share. It's possible that the Cornflake Marshmallow was the favorite! They have these delicious looking cake truffles that I would definitely go back and try..

Penelope (Lexington at 30th st)

I've had this place recommended to me many times, and always for brunch. However, I'm also told there's always a two-hour wait for brunch, so when I took a Friday off to visit with a friend that was in town, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to try out such a popular place. While we didn't get the brunch menu with the famous Nutella french toast, we had the best lunch EVER at Penelope.

My friend had the chicken club sandwich, and my thought was that a chicken club can only be so good. But she has had many a chicken club, and insisted it was the best. I had no choice but to believe her, especially give the amazing-ness of my dish!! I had the arugula with chicken meatballs. It was to die for.

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I loved it and would go back and get the exact same thing every week. Somehow they perfectly cooked these huge, moist chicken meatballs, that were full of flavor, and served 2 of them along side a bed of arugula with Pecorino cheese. People always put meatballs with pasta... but never again. It was the perfect match of heavy and light, and I didn't think two would be enough - but it was perfect. I finished every last bite and was in a heavenly stupor of amazement the rest of the day. :)

Omai (9th ave at 20th st)

Stop #2 for our around the world dinners: Vietnam. A friend of a friend suggested Omai, and the food there very good. We went a little on the early side, so it was kind of empty when we first got there, but it was certainly packed when we left!

This group likes to do a lot of food sharing, so we started with a number of appetizers: grilled eggplant, crispy spring rolls, lemongrass beef rolls, and something else that was almost quesadilla-like with chicken, but Vietnamese flavors. Everything came with a sweet/sour sauce that had a little kick to it, and it was all very good. I haven't noticed many Vietnamese restaurants around, and I would definitely recommend this place to someone in search of good Vietnamese food.

For my main entree I got stir-fried egg noodles (vegetable) that comes with a few peanuts and a chili lime sauce. This meal is something I ate a lot of while I was traveling in southeast Asia, so I thought it would be a good point of comparison. It definitely passed! Unfortunately they didn't have all the dishes I ate over in Vietnam - like beef with pineapple - but Omai did capture the flavors of that country, and the menu even includes a few up-scale options, too.

Vespa (2nd ave btw 84/85)

Our poor waiter was having his test run... he poured us like a tablespoon of olive oil for bread for 4 people, he broke a glass at someone else's table, refilled our water like once (ok maybe twice), and other than that was perfect. We got exactly what we ordered and it was great - poor guy was super nervous, but so nice! At Vespa we got a delectable bottle of Tempranillo (from 1994?); it was very very good. The owner came and served it to us, and he was a very chatty, funny, pleasant, Italian man.

And then I ordered the cavatelli with pancetta, radicchio, and pecorino. It was creamy, hearty, sharp, and had a nice crunch from the radicchio. So delicious. I hadn't had anything that heavy for a long time, so I was a bit uncomfortable from being so full (maybe I shouldn't have finished it?) but it was worth it. A good Italian experience!

Ikura Sushi (3rd ave btw 16/17)

Another all you can eat sushi and all you can drink sake bombing extravaganza... for about $40 per person. The name of this place might have changed, but the location is correct, and it's so much fun! We went to eat there with a group of THIRTY people, and it was a blast. Kind of weird that they give you Bud Light for the sake bomb instead of Japanese beer.. but it serves the purpose. The sushi was pretty good, we ended up just having them continuously bring a bunch of stuff that we would all split and share (I like doing it that way - brings me out of my box). Dining with a group that large is bound to be hectic, and it was indeed. But we had a great time and when it came time to pay it was a hassle, but the staff there were great. They had a lot of patience with us and were very attentive all night. A good place for celebrating, a fun night out, or even dinner before going out!

GO!99 (86th at 1st ave)

A slice of cheese pizza is really just $0.99! And GO99 is quick, the pizza is decent, and conveniently on my way home :) Can't really argue with that for a quick NYC dinner! Especially because I usually bring it home to add grated parmesan and red pepper flakes. Better pizza exists, of course, but as far as the quick-slice this one is good (and the fact that it's $0.99 makes it better).