Dessert Club, ChikaLicious

Banana Dessert

We were having a date night when we got an urge for dessert. Immediately, Chikalicious popped into my head, because I've been hearing great things about it for so long. We arrived on E 10th in the East Village and were immediately confused by the TWO Chikalicious locations across the street from one another. We quickly assessed that the Dessert Bar is a bit more upscale, an intimate bar seating environment perfect for a romantic date. However, we really just wanted to grab a quick sweet snack, so the Dessert Club was more up our alley for this evening.

Holding Court at The Plaza Food Hall

The Plaza Food Hall

One of our 2012 goals was to complete the "Todd English Trifecta". This is a completely made-up term that captures the fact that we have now eaten at all of his restaurants in NYC. Note that this is restricted to the island of Manhattan since his Bonfire restaurant is located in Terminals 2 & 7 of JFK. We only fly JetBlue (Terminal 5 baby), so it's safe to say we won't be making it to this location any time soon. But I digress. Tonight we dined at The Plaza Food Hall and we were totally delighted.

Ten outta Izakaya Ten

Izakaya Ten

We walk past this sign almost every single day. But I've never heard anything about this place, so never checked it out. One night we were looking for a date night, but were really hungry, so wanted something close, convenient and without much of a wait. On a whim, we decided to take a chance on Izakaya Ten.

So-Yummy Soccarat - Nolita Edition

Stuffed Dates & Fried Artichokes 

We were meeting up with friends for dinner and one of them suggested Soccarat Nolita. Having enjoyed the Chelsea location of this restaurant, we were interested to see what the Nolita annex is like. First, it's a lot bigger than the Chelsea location, which was good for our group of 8. I also enjoyed the ambience a bit more, which surprised me, since I had assumed they would be similar. But enough about the space, let's get to the food.

We started with a selection of tapas: stuffed dates, fried artichokes, calamari and potatoes. More photos after the jump.

Fresh Food at Fiorini

Fiorini

Chef/Restauranter Lello Arpaia has had a string of very successful restaurants so I was excited when he invited Newbie Foodies to try Fiorini, his collaboration with Chef Xavier Quispilema. The dining room is covered in gold and red brocade fabrics, an aesthetic decision not only made for its luxurious feel, but also for its ability to absorb sound. This makes it easy to actually have a good conversation with your companions, something I always appreciate in a restaurant.