Frevo was a restaurant that has been on my partner’s list for some time. When we went to Atomix Bar, the chef had also highly recommended the restaurant. The head chef Franco Sampogna is Brazilian and comes from the region that my partner is from. The entrance to the restaurant has a very tiny art gallery, and it’s been recognized on the Michelin Guide with 1 star. We were able to reserve this a few weeks back without any issues.

Le Rock is one of those new hot and busy restaurants around the Rockafeller area because it comes from the team of Frenchette. The majority of the menu is in French, and it had been receiving pretty stellar reviews for the most part. We walked in at 5:45 PM, and we were very fortunate that they were able to seat us due to a prior cancellation. We were told that we would have to be done with dinner within 90 minutes.

We were around the Meatpacking District area walking around, and I had stumbled onto this restaurant Pastis in my search for food. I remember reading that this restaurant was a happening place and was one of Keith McNally’s restaurants. Keith McNally is a restaurateur that has opened many NYC restaurants including Augustine, Balthazar, Minetta Tavern, and Cherche Midi. We were able to easily book a reservation for a Tuesday evening at 5 PM without any problems whatsoever.

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.

We’ve been to Boucherie before on 6th Ave near the West Village. We expected the food here to be similar but not the same as that location. I was craving for prime rib, and disappointingly, all the other places in the city were pretty expensive at $70 and up. But this restaurant had roast beef for a reasonable price, so I was expecting it to be similar enough to satisfy that hunger.

We have not tried too many Brooklyn restaurants near the Barclays Center area for quite some time due to the pandemic. On this early brisk and semi-cold night, we had an interactive theater outing over at the One Hanson Place building in Brooklyn. After the event was over, a friend that we met at the event impromptly invited us to meet his friend at this restaurant. This was less than a mile away, and since we didn’t have other plans, we decided to try it out.

Le Bernardin is a three Michelin Star restaurant in New York City that primarily deals with seafood. The head chef is Eric Ripert, who is very well known in the higher end spectrum of the culinary world. We actually saw him on the floor with a mask on talking to some of the wait staff. This particular occasion was for a birthday celebration. Our reservation was at 5 PM, and it had to be reserved a month in advance.

This French restaurant is located at the southern part of Vernon Blvd right across the street from Cafe Henri. We were able to walk in without reservations. The interior is quite cozy in this COVID environment as it has this very French (Paris) cafe feel to it. Each table was separated by a plastic wall. Be warned though that this place only accepts cash or AMEX. More on that later, so onto the food…

This place is across the street from Food Cellar. It’s nestled in a garage and used to serve a lot of steak dishes. The menu has changed into a more casual patio like experience (I am guessing just for the summer). When we arrived, there was no table service. Instead you have to go to the counter and place your order there. The menus are shown via QRCode. After you place your order, you carry the utensils, dishes, and drinks back to your table.

This is a restaurant from the same people that brought Maiella. Even though that restaurant was modern Italian, this one was more of a modern French. It sits across the park near the Hunters Point library. We came here on a Sunday, prior to the day that New York City had to shutdown dining in restaurants due to the corona virus. Because people weren’t really out and about, the restaurant had many empty tables.