In the rare occasion nowadays, I am able to sometimes grab dinner solo somewhere. I often debate about the cuisine, and I rarely want to eat something super posh right after work. I noticed a new location of a burger chain opened up. I often confuse the Black Iron Burger with the Blacktap Burger places but not this time. I walked in with no reservations at this 54th and 7th ave location and sat at the bar.

The Kyuramen restaurant chain has been slowly making its way throughout the greater NYC area. They just opened a location out in Long Island City which is not too far from where we live. This restaurant had construction signs early in the pandemic and just never opened until now. We thought we would be able to get seated right away on an early Sunday afternoon, but they checked us into Yelp and we had to wait around for about 15 minutes for a table of 2.

Carla is a local neighborhood restaurant close to Long Island City and Queensboro Plaza. At first glance, the restaurant’s menu seems very basic, but sometimes I think this could be misleading. I had been periodically glancing at the menu, and I noticed it changing every so slightly on a monthly basis. Since we had a lazy Saturday, we decided to try this place out. The restaurant’s motto is all about good vibes.

Zaab Zaab is a highly rated New York Times restaurant that serves North Eastern Thai food. We have been trying various Thai flavors that are very different than your typical Thai restaurant. I’ve noticed that these North/Eastern restaurants tend to have much more bolder and spicier flavors that are a bit more adventurous than what you’d normally expect. This is located fairly close to the 7 or E train by exiting off Jackson Heights / Roosevelt Ave.

Zaytinya is located right next to the N (yellow) line off 28th St inside of the luxurious Ritz-Carlton hotel on the first floor. This is another restaurant of José Andrés, and the menu has a lot of classical Turkish, Greek, and Lebanese influences. What was appealing to us was the menu had hummus, and the prices did not seem too expensive despite being inside a luxury hotel. When you enter the restaurant, it has a very open and modern Greek ambiance to it, similar to many other Greek restaurants in the city.

LumLum is a fairly new Thai restaurant to the city. What attracted me was that it has a lot of Northern Thai flavors and influences in the food. Think Thai but modernized somewhat. When you see some of the photos below, you will see what that means. The restaurant is run by 2 sisters who grew up in Thailand. When you arrive, both the interior and exterior are very social media friendly.

When I first saw the word “sobremesa”, I instantly thought of dessert since that is what it means in Brazilian Portuguese. This restaurant is more of a taco place and is relatively new in the Long Island City neighborhood, and it’s located in a barren neighborhood with a bunch of empty warehouses. Surprisingly, there was a beer place opened next door, and there was an outside picnic area where people can enjoy their tacos in a social environment.

The summer heat is starting to come to NYC, and it makes everyone including me feel especially groggy. This was also a lazy weekend since we’re mentally preparing for the humidity to rapidly increase. Fortunately on this day, it was not too bad. Instead of ordering for delivery, my partner wanted to travel to eat Thai somewhere. We centered on the Woodside area since we had visited before at Thailand’s Center Point.

Per Se is Thomas Keller’s acclaimed interpretation of the French Laundry restaurant in New York City and has 3 Michelin Stars. I don’t think it’s a replacement for the French Laundry, but it might be indicative of what to expect if we did ever go to Napa Valley to try it out. This restaurant is located in Columbus Circle at the top floor inside the mall. When we walked in, we were astounded by the huge ceiling and the vast feeling of space.

I’ve somehow gotten my partner to enjoy pasta a bit more. Some sacrifices have to be made such as looking for lasagna, but it’s worth it. I have to thank Tony Soprano and how he always made Italian sandwiches and pasta look so delicious. We had to stop by the pharmacy, and nearby was this incognito Italian wood fire pizza place. We were able to walk in without reservations on a Saturday evening around 5:30 PM.