Le Bon Temps a Le Grainne Cafe

Le Grainne Cafe: Escargot en Demi-Douzaine

Now that the weather has finally become pleasant enough, we've crawled out of hibernation to revisit some of our favorite Chelsea spots. Le Grainne Cafe has been one of our favorites since we discovered it a couple of years ago. 

Philadelphia Edition: Creperie Beau Monde

Creperie Beau Monde: Pears, Chestnut Cream & Chocolate Crepe

We found ourselves on an impromptu trip to Philadelphia this weekend and needed a good place for Sunday brunch. I searched around on the internet until I found a crepe place recommended by Sir Alton Brown. OK, so he hasn't been officially knighted anywhere except for in our hearts. But his word is practically gospel to us, so off we headed to Creperie Beau Monde.

No Shades of Grey at Sel et Poivre

Sel et Poivre: Crab Cakes with Ginger Sauce

Sel et Poivre was our first Press Dinner 3 years ago when we were a Newbie NewbieFoodies.com. It remained one of my all time favorites throughout the years. I rarely visit the Upper East Side, but when I do I make sure to stop by and check in. When I was contacted about doing another dinner I was thrilled to have a reason to force me over there and have yet another lovely meal.

Some lovely minutes at Minetta Tavern

Minetta Tavern: Roasted Bone Barrow

The Mr came home from being out of town all week, so a celebratory dinner was in order. He was in the mood for a burger, so we decided to head out to Minetta Tavern, home of the Black Label Burger. This is one of the few remaining burgers that shows up time and time again on "Best Burgers of New York City" that he has left to try. 

Debonair Bites at db Bistro Moderne

db Bistro Moderne: "I really can't stay..."

Tonight we had tickets to see "No Man's Land" over at the Cort Theatre so I hunted for nearby restaurants and was excited to find that it is close to db Bistro Moderne which has been on my radar for a long time. Not only is their burger often seen on "Best Burgers in NYC" lists, but I've been eager to try any/all of Daniel Boulud's restaurants. The Mr. got stuck in some traffic, so I ordered the "I Really Can't Stay..." cocktail while I waited. Although I really dislike "Baby It's Cold Outside", I really like Rum, Lime, Walnut Infused Sherry, Maple and Egg mixed together and served in my favorite cocktail glass!

By Jean-Georges, I think we've got it! (Nougatine)

Nougatine: Gently Roasted Fennel and Goat Cheese Salad
with Black Olives

Tonight we were going to see Macbeth in Lincoln Center which afforded us the rare opportunity to eat at one of the many fine dining establishments in the Lincoln Center area. It was a tough choice, but it came down to Jean-George Vongerichten vs Daniel Boulud. From there, it was just a matter of finding an open reservation. Nougatine won out and that is where we found ourselves for tonight's pre-theatre meal.

Chez Napolean Conquers Our Hearts

Chez Napoleon: Escargots de Bourgogne

We've been on a bit of a French food kick since The Mr recently had the breakthrough that French food is not just hoity-toity food, but in fact buttery, culinary goodness. We were looking for a new French Bistro to try so I set out on The Googles and finally settled on Chez Napoleon. I was a bit nervous, because it had some very mixed reviews, but after reading through them, I felt like I had a pretty good picture of what kind of evening we were in for.

Wising up to Balthazar

Balthazar: Eggs Benedict

The Mr. has been on the quest to make the perfect Eggs Benedict so we wanted to try the best so we had a bar to strive for. I consulted with the internet and decided that Balthazar would be the best bet for a traditional eggs benedict done right.

Channeling Gay Paris at Creperie

House Special Crepe 

After walking off some of our amazing dinner at The Boil, we found ourselves in Greenwich Village ready for a bite of something sweet. The Mr. knew just the spot to go. We quickly found ourselves at The Creperie ordering the House Special Crepe with Tiramisu, Nutella, Strawberries and Whipped Cream. It was like a little taste of heaven and was the perfect end to a wonderful evening.

Picture of The Creperie after the jump so you know what to look for...

Sel et Poivre: Give me some of that yum-yum

Calves Liver a la Lyonnaise

It's been a while since I first visited Sel et Poivre as I live and work on the West side of this lovely island and getting to the UES is, well, a bit of a trek. However, when an important appointment brought me there this evening, I was very excited to revisit this gem. I was also interested in revisiting "undercover" since my previous visit had been for a press dinner (original Sel et Poivre review).

No one cooks like Jeanne & Gaston

Rear Courtyard

I was invited to try Chef Claude Godard's relatively new restaurant Jeanne & Gaston. The restaurant is named for his grandparents who owned and operated a hotel and restaurant back in Burgundy, France. Chef Godard is a third generation restauranteur who has earned the title Maitre Cuisinier de France. With this prestigious background, I was surprised when I met Chef Claude who is genuinely gentle and charming.

When I arrived I was escorted through a contemporary-casual dining room to a back garden. This dining area is a serene escape from the hustle and bustle of the city and it was easy to forget we were right off of 14th St.

A Stroll through La Promenade des Anglais

La Promenade des Anglais

La Promenade des Anglais opened in my apartment building a few months ago and has been earning a lot of high buzz ever since. As soon as I saw it turned Martha Stewart into a food blogger, I knew Newbie Foodies had to give her a run for her money. I'm not usually a big fan of Restaurant Week, since it's usually not that great of a deal, but I thought it would be a good excuse for me and a few of my coworkers to take a very special lunch outing.

Le Grainne Cafe once more with Crepes

After trying Le Grainne Cafe last month, this little spot quickly rocketed up to one of our favorite new brunch spots. So when I was looking for a perfect place to take my out of town guests for a lovely brunch, I knew just where to head.

This time, I was determined to get some crepes, so I quickly agreed when my friend suggested we get the Nutella & Banana Crepes to share as a warm-up to our meal. Mmmmm, I was not disappointed.

Crepes Nutella Banane

A Grand Time at Le Grainne Cafe

We've lived in Chelsea for 8 months now and only a few blocks away from the highly recommended Le Grainne Cafe. Recently, yet another person was talking about it, and it was the straw that broke the camel's back. I knew we had to get to this place post-haste.

We arrived a little after 11 and had about a 20 minute wait. I was expecting this since I always see people waiting outside when we walk by. Finally, we were ushered to a table, this is a truly crammed little place in true NYC fashion. We ordered our coffee and enjoyed some deliciously crisp and fresh bread and butter.

Bread & Butter 

A Light Lovely Lunch at La Lunchonette

The Skate 

We took a friend/coworker out to celebrate her birthday today and decided to make it fancy by going French. La Lunchonette is across the street from our office, but we've never visited before, I suppose because it's a little pricey for everyday lunch. But for celebrating a special occasion- it's perfect. Skate was on the menu and ordering Skate is kind of my thing right now, so that's exactly what I did. I've had a few rather disappointing Skate experiences around the city at this point, but this Skate made me happy that I haven't given up ordering this dish. Tender, buttery, and with a zing of lemon, this Skate is the second best I've had (#1 slot still goes to Sel el Poivre). The sides were similarly tasty (and with lots of butter in true French fashion). After enjoying our delightful meals in this charming cafe we found ourselves relaxed and refreshed and ready to tackle the rest of our work day.

A Quick Fix at L'Express

Croque Madame et Profiteroles

After a night full of drinking and dancing we found ourselves in need of of a late night snack. We were craving chocolate so made a beeline for Max Brenner. Unfortunately, we had miscalculated and realized too late that they are not open at 1am on a Sunday night. Then we remembered a little place called L'Express that we used to live across from which was supposed to have some pretty good food- and most importantly, is open 24/7. For some reason, in our year of living in the Flatiron/Gramercy area we never made use of this charming cafe. What a night-saver! This was the perfect place to fill our stomachs and wind down from a great night out.

The Going is Good at Ca Va

Bread and First Wine Tasting 

We had a great experience with a Gilt City tasting menu for two with wine pairings at Olives, so when Todd English's midtown restaurant Ca Va came up, I was quick to snag one. We've been quite busy lately, and to my dismay, I suddenly realized that the certificate had expired. I gave them a desperate call and they graciously let us come in and still redeem it. This surprised me and I wanted to mention since I don't believe a lot of places would have done this.

Our meal started with a Bacon Potato Salad: maple glazed bacon, caramelized red onions, fried chick peas, and fingerling potatoes served over a garlic aoili and garnished with powdered sumac. This was my favorite dish and it made me really wonder about the characteristics necessary to classify something as a salad. Don't be fooled, not a whole lot of veggies happening here.

Bacon Potato Salad

CREPINETTE A LA CREVETTE ET QUEUE DE BOEUF

jumbo prawn, oxtail rillettes, horseradish cream

warm fingerling potato salad with mustard seed

This dish was a very close runner-up for favorite. Very intense mustard and horseradish flavors which somehow worked together instead of one overpowering the other. If you aren't a big horseradish or mustard fan, I would absolutely not recommend ordering this. If however, those flavors appeal to you, you might want to run to Ca Va to order this right now.

Lamb Stew

Our third course was a French lamb shoulder stew with peas, turnips, carrots, onions, potatoes, garlic, celery, tarragon in white wine and clarified broth. We aren't the biggest lamb fans so weren't as excited about this one, however, it was still quite good.

Dessert Plates

Finally, for dessert there was a chocolate cake with a ganache center served with homemade vanilla marshmallows and homemade graham crackers to create a modern S'mores twist. In case that wasn't enough, they also threw in some petit fours to sweeten the deal. Pun intended.

Like Olives, this is a swanky, modern place perfect for when you want to feel metropolitan and chic. The service was spectacular and the food was incredible. This is a great option when you need a special pre or post theatre dining option.

Don't pass on Sel et Poivre

We were invited to make our first non-museum journey to the Upper East Side to try Sel et Poivre's Tasting Menu. This delightful little bistro has been around for 22 years, so they are obviously doing something very right. It was originally run by a mother and daughter team, but when mom chose to retire, her son-in-law stepped in. It is now run by the husband and wife team of Christian & Pamela Schienle.

Christian was on duty during our visit and was warm and welcoming; he obviously loves what he does and takes time to greet his diverse group of customers. This charming bistro elegantly supported diners in bow ties and cocktail dresses, as well as patrons in more casual attire, with neither seeming out of place.

Now let's get to the food:

Bread Basket (with adorable handle!)

Fresh bread that made a satisfying crunching sound when touched, yet had a soft interior.

Fish Soup

Cheese, Toasts, & Saffron Sauce (accompanies soup)

Traditional fish soup that you can flavor and texture as you wish with the accoutrements.

Celery root remoulade with red beets

Surprisingly curry twist to the remoulade which gave this dish a delightful twist.

Skate Fish with lemon & capers with basmati rice

This is the dish I will be coming back for. I'm literally salivating just looking at the picture. The skate fish was melt in your mouth tender and perfectly balanced with the lemon sauce, large capers, and rice.

Calves liver a la Lyonnais with mashed potatoes and broccoli

We were both nervous about seeing calves liver on the menu as this would be our first experience with non-poultry liver. We were both initially turned off by the taste, but I found that I could find a really nice mix of the sauce, onions, and potatoes which complimented it well. Still can't say I'm sold on calf liver, but if you are looking to try it, I would start here.

Steak au poivre with fries and sauce

Knowing we were a bit nervous about the calves liver, Christian graciously brought us a backup entree. No hesitation here, excellent.

Terrine de chocolate with raspberry coulis

What a nice light way to end an amazing meal. Intense and rich chocolate flavor without making us uncomfortably full.

The final thing I have to mention is Christian's passion for wine. Each course was paired by a glass of wine even more delicious than the last and each perfectly complemented the dish. We were really impressed by the collection.

A fair day for Picnic

We were doing a little apartment hunting on the UWS and decided to use our Diner's Deck. A French pistro called Picnic piqued our interest, so off we went. To my surprise and delight there was a sign outside advertising a Beatles Brunch!

We walk in to a sweet bistro filled with light, but sadly there are no Beatles to be heard. About half way into the meal (and toward the end of the advertised time frame) the musicians arrive and start setting up. Oh boy, there are a lot of them, they have to clear the back half of the restaurant. We wound up hearing 2-3 songs at the end of our meal, but this group really wasn't my style, so we didn't stick around for more.

As for the food? The Mr's Croque Madame was good, but I was disappointed in my Salade Nicoise. For $15 I really hope for fresher greens (these looked suspiciously bagged lettuce-like). The wait staff was great though and it was a very pleasant place to spend an afternoon.

Bread & Coffee

Salade Nicoise

Croque Madame

Pre-Theatre at Marseille

I've visited Marseille a few times now for a nice meal before a show. While they are popular, I have not had problems getting reservations. Also, even though while they have a French influence, they have enough American food on the menu to not make it inaccessible. Throw in that they have great food and get you out the door in time for curtain and it's a perfect spot.

Marseille Burger

Moules Frites

Special: Butternut Squash Risotto

Pasta Pesto

The Mr. went in for the burger; my father ordered the Pasta Pesto, his staple; and I split the Mussels & Risotto with my mother. Mind you that the mussel plate pictured above is POST split. It is a huge helping of Moules Frites! We were all more than satisfied with the food and we all traipsed off to our show very satisfied.