Food and Things » Restaurants

Vareli in Morningside Heights is a Welcome Addition to the Upper West Side Dining Scene

Laura Weiss — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 15:37:15 +0000

Vareli, Morningside Heights, NYC

If you don’t mind wading through clots of soused Columbia Students, Vareli in Morningside Heights is a nice spot for some of the best food on the Upper West Side.

The restaurant, which specializes in Mediterranean-themed small dishes dishes and tapas, is situated on the ground floor of the building that also houses that long-time Columbia drinking spot, The Heights. So if you want to avoid the weekend scrum, best to try this place on a weeknight.

Inside, the decor is plain but the food makes up for it. It’s very good and it’s consistent. I ate at Vareli’s about a year ago and had a delicious meal then too. Friday night, I selected roasted baby beets with kefalograviera cheese, pine nuts, and pickled onions and red beet coulis. The salad was tasty but the texture was a bit mushy, not what I expect from a beet salad.

Then, I tucked into some of the best grill octopus I’ve eaten anywhere. Unlike many versions of this dishes which can be tough and rubbery, this preparation was tender, moist and flavorful. It was helped along by Moroccan olives, serrano peppers and a bed of labneh yogurt.

My hubby chose pan seared scallops. He’s very fussy about his scallops. Mostly, we only eat them on the North Fork, right off the boat. But these were remarkably tender and delicious.

Entrées are mostly in the $20 range. Small plates are in the single digits or low teens.

Vareli

2869 Broadway, New York 10025

(Btwn 111th & 112th St)

212 678-8585

Cascabel UWS: Tacos Disappoint But Other Dishes Shine

Laura Weiss — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 20:28:31 +0000

Cascabel to open soon on the Upper West Side. Photo: Laura B. Weiss

Before Hurricane Irene, Cascabel on Broadway at 108th Street was one of the few restaurants in the area that was open. That was also true immediately after the storm had sped north to New England. So I wound up eating there twice in two days.

The tiny place was a mob scene, filled to overflowing with Columbia students as well as with locals chowing down before le deluge.

What do you order at Cascabel? Well tacos, of course!

Day 1 (pre-Irene), I ordered carnitas. Sorry to say the shredded pork was dry as dust.

Day 2 (post-Irene), I went back to Cascabel with my hubby. He tucked into hanger steak tacos and declared them, “great.” I took a bite, and found them dry, as, you guessed it, dust.

But there were winners. We fought over the queso fondido, a molten pool of chihuahua cheese, studded with house made chorizo and roasted poblano. The guacamole was satisfying, nicely hot, but not chunky enough for my taste.

On Day 2, Cascabel was packed with college kids. The service is amiable and the food comes out quickly. Plus, it’s cheap.The taqueria has located itself in just the right place, near starving hoards of Columbia students.

Cascabel (UWS)
2799 Broadway (Broadway at 108th Street)
NY NY 10025
212 665 1500

Upper West Side: Henry’s Signs Up to Support School Gardens

Laura Weiss — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 16:09:59 +0000

Henry’s, an Upper West Side American-style pub, is one of twenty restaurants in Manhattan and Brooklyn to sign up for a program to give back a portion of each guest’s check to a citywide school garden program.

The program, which takes place June 24-30, is to support the efforts of Grow to Learn NYC, a government-private partnership to spur the creation of school gardens citywide. Some of the city’s top restaurants are participating, including Gramercy Tavern, Ma Peche, Northern Spy Food Co. and Back Forty. Many will be offering a special Greenmarket menu for the week.

Details follow:

School gardens get a boost in a week-long restaurant promotion.

Henry’s
2745 Broadway @ 105th Street.
NY, NY 10025
212 866 o600

The Best Hot Dog In the New York Area

Laura Weiss — Sun, 29 May 2011 14:39:22 +0000

The Truck. North Fork Table and Inn, Southold, Long Island, NY

What’s the best hot dog in New York? Well, you’ll have to travel a bit to find it. For this beautifully-flavored and sauced hot dog, you’ll need to hop the Jitney or rent a car and travel out to the North Fork of Long Island. There, at a food truck operated by the award-winning North Fork Table and Inn, located in Southold, are some very fine wieners.

These are simply the best dogs I’ve ever eaten.

Normally, you’d have to dish out serious bucks to eat at the Inn, where Gerry Hayden, who used to cook for Aureole, now dishes out excellent locally sourced dishes. Award-winning pastry chef Claudia Fleming (late of the Gramercy Tavern) oversees the pastry operation. Where possible, the couple relies on ingredients grown by local farmers or fished from local waters

The Lunch Truck shines as the single best place to get some quick quality grub on the North Fork. The Hartmann’s Atisan All Beef Hot Dog, comes plain or with a variety of toppings ranging from house-made sauerkraut to bread and butter pickle relish to apple cider vinegar-glazed onion. Then, there’s chorizo chili and pepper jack cheese sauce to throw on top. What a decadent meal that would be!

Even piled high with three toppings—we had sauerkraut, bread and butter pickle relish and onions—the hot dog is an affordable indulgence at $4.50.

I’ve heard the lobster roll (“local when available, but usually Canadian, I’m not gonna lie to ya,” says the truck’s sign) is divine. I plan to try that this weekend. It goes for $16.50.

Still, just the dogs alone are worth the two hour schlep from the city. While you’re on the North Fork, visit some vineyards and shop the abundant farm stands. Right now, asparagus and rhubarb are in season. Strawberries, as sweet as candy, will be coming soon.

Restaurants for Valentine’s Day on the Upper West Side and Elsewhere in New York

Laura Weiss — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 19:34:17 +0000

Especially in this down economy, restaurants are hungering for your business on Valentine’s Day. On the Upper West Side, there’s a bumper crop of places to go.

I personally would rather skip the whole hyped-up Valentine’s Day eating out thing and prepare a cozy dinner at home. Why brave the mobs at the restaurants, the often sub-par food, and the indifferent service?

But if eating out will make the day special for you, here’s a list of some places to have romance and a meal on the Upper West Side and elsewhere.

It’s safe to assume that nearly every restaurant in the city will be having Valentine specials, Valentine desserts, Valentine prix fixes, etc., etc.

Upper West Side

Alouette This oldy but goody French bistro is offering a 4-course prix fixe (Open Table) for $60/person.

A Voce Columbus Circle $95 four-course tasting menu.

Big Daddy’s-UWS. If you can’t find a babysitter and need to drag the kids along (how romantic), this family friendly dinner is a good choice.

Isabella’s. Want Italian? This popular place across from the Museum of Natural History may be the ticket.

Telepan. Truffles and more for $78/person.

Elsewhere

Where to Watch the Super Bowl on the Upper West Side

Laura Weiss — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 20:25:05 +0000

Chicken wings are a popular football food. But they usually don't look this good.

The Super Bowl is coming—without the Jets, of course. Still, it’s kind of a national holiday. Bar and restaurant owners on the Upper West Side are offering up food and drink that you can mindlessly consume while watching 350-pound men pummel each other.

There are no rules when it comes to making food for Super Bowl fans, because they will eat almost anything, so long as they can pick it up with their fingers and wash it down with a cold beer. Here are some places to watch the game ( The Super Bowl is at 6 p.m. on Feb. 6):

– Blondie’s, 79th Street between Amsterdam and Broadway: If you’re looking for a real sports bar, you’ve come to the right place. It can get very crowded, so get there early if you want a seat.

– The Abbey Pub, 105th Street and Broadway. Expect a boisterous crowd.

– The Parlour, 86th street, just west of Broadway. A solid Irish pub.

– Bourbon Street, Between 79th and 80th Street on Amsterdam: Beer specials abound at this popular somewhat dive-y spot.

– Lanksy’s, 71st Street and Columbus: The Jewish-style deli is offering a $15 all-you-can-eat wings special, and beer specials for the games.

And for a non-Upper West Side experience…

– Central Bar, 9th Street off of 3rd Avenue. Good football crowds and tasty food.

By Avi Salzman and Laura Weiss

– Avi Salzman

Which Restaurants Are Open Christmas Day on the Upper West Side and Elsewhere in New York

Laura Weiss — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 03:02:32 +0000

By j.o.h.n. walker via Flickr.

Your Aunt Tilly doesn’t feel like cooking her usual Christmas feast. And you don’t relish the stress of pulling it all together. For one, there’s the shopping marathon. Then there’s the need to cater to a variety of food allergies and sensitivities. This one doesn’t eat dairy. That one is gluten intolerant.

What to do?

This year an unprecedented number of restaurants are open Christmas Day on the Upper West Side and throughout the city.

And they’re not all Chinese. Want to impress your mother? Take her to Le Bernadin, which is open Christmas Day.

Why stay open on what’s normally a day of rest for restaurant workers? The reason is simple. Business is down and it’s an opportunity to ring the cash register a few more times before year end.

By charlesfettinge via Flickr.

Alternatively, if Chinese and a movie is your typical Christmas fare—and you’ve failed to receive your invite to share Kung Pau Chicken with Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan—New York Magazine has a handy list of Chinese joints. Click on Chinese-and-a-Movie

So extend some Christmas cheer to your favorite restaurants:

5 Napkin Burger (Open Table)

Alouette (Newyorkology)

Big Daddy’s – Upper West Side (Open Table)

Bodrum Turkish Mediterranean (Open Table)

Del Posto Christmas Eve (New York)

Fatty Crab (Eater)

Gotham Bar & Grill Christmas Eve (New York Magazine)

Josephina (Open Table)

Le Bernardin (Eater)

Upper West Side: Recipe Has Best Lunch Deal in Town

Laura Weiss — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 22:12:35 +0000

Pumpkin Gnochi. Photo: Intrepidation via flickr.

If you’re looking for a cheap and scrumptious lunch, treat yourself to the two-course special at Recipe on Amsterdam Ave. and 82nd Street.

For $ 11.95 a friend and I had fried pumpkin gnocchi with shredded chicken, turnips, and brussel sprouts, then red snapper resting on a bed of creamy polenta studded with calamari, mussles and other seafood. Both were delectable, though the red snapper beat out the gnocchi by a hair. It was the kind of thoughtfully prepared meal with great ingredients that you’d travel below 14th Street for—and wind up paying triple the price.

Recipe
452 Amsterdam Ave
New York, NY 10024-8604
(212) 501-7755

Labor Day Weekend: North Fork Restaurant Luce & Hawkins Boasts Free Gallery Opening this Sunday

Laura Weiss — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 13:34:02 +0000

Keith Luce, Chef Luce & Hawkins, Jedediah Hawkins Inn, Jamesport, NY. Photo: keithluce.com

If you’re headed out to North Fork wine country for Labor Day (the vines are dripping grapes!), Luce & Hawkins, the recently installed dining venue in the plush Jedediah Hawkins Inn in tiny Jamesport is reviving up with a gallery opening for local artist Max Moran, Sunday, 4-8pm.

It’ll be held in the inn’s newly renovated barn (no charge!). Plenty of local sparkling wines and buzzed-about dishes like Pastrami Cured Bluefish and North Fork Duck Wings will be on hand. (Yes, they’re luscious; I’ve tried them, twice.)

The classy new hot spot, which began dinner service Mother’s Day and lunch service a month ago, is helmed by local boy and former White Hose Chef, Keith Luce.

Upper West Side: Ditch Plains is Bringing Lobster Rolls to the Upper West Side

Laura Weiss — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 13:59:50 +0000

Lobster roll. By brixton via Flickr.

Ditch Plains, the Village lobster roll place, is opening up a storefront on 100 W. 82nd Street, where Barbao and Rain used to reside, reports Grub Street.

It used to be that the Upper West Side was an area where you could get a reliable egg roll. Lobster rolls were for Maine vacations.

I suppose if you get the lobster roll to go and hike on down to Riverside Park, you can sort of imagine you’re sitting on a rocky promontory somewhere along the Maine coast.