We came here around 8:30 PM on a rather cold Saturday evening. Typically there is a long line outside, but today people were crowded and bundled up inside. I put my name down for 2. The wait was approximately 40-50 minutes. We had contemplated leaving when we heard the wait time, but we decided to power through and wait. It was worth it.

On July 1, 2023, we visited this restaurant again, and it has moved from it’s previous location. For a table of 4, we just had to wait approximately 30 minutes on a Saturday around 7:30 PM.

After an early afternoon along the mid section of Central Park at the Natural History museum, I was looking for specifically Mediterranean restaurants within a half mile walk. As usual, we did not have reservations in mind, so we were hoping we could walk in. Sorting by the “hot and new” on Yelp, we decided on Miriam which seemed to be a second Israeli location for the owners. Fortunately, the restaurant was quite open around 4:45 PM, and we were able to walk in. If we had came closer to 6 PM, it probably would’ve been much more difficult to secure a spot.

My partner saw on their social media that some of their people had raved about this place for lunch. I took a look at the dinner menu here, and it seemed unjustly expensive for what it was. Usually a good indicator of prices starts with oysters. If a restaurant charges $4 for east coast oysters (average price should be around $3), you would expect the restaurant to have higher than usual menu prices. It turns out that the lunch menu prices were way more grounded, and it was a 3 course prix fixe on weekdays.

Summary

For New Year’s Eve, we were fortunate to book this restaurant in Midtown East at the very last minute. This was always on our list since outdoor dining was a thing as the pictures of its settings looked quite appealing. Most tables have their own electric heater that sat directly above the table, so it wasn’t too cold compared to other places. For what it’s worth, it was in the high 30s with some wind chills. We did dress warmer just in case though.

Summary

To the outside world, the pandemic is wreaking havoc like wildfire. However for me personally, the only difference is that people are much more careful about cleanliness. In North Williamsburg, the brunch hipster spots are still thriving, and as you can imagine are very meticulous to avoid any type of spread.

Cafe Mogador has been one of those frequent brunch places that many flock to for weekend brunch. This is not the first time I’ve been here as I’ve always been neutral, but at least this time, I’ve taken pictures of some of the food.

Summary

Unlike the other cuisines in NYC, Persian food is not something that we actively seek out. However, we often are around this area shopping at the now-closed Bed Bath & Beyond and tend to look for restaurants that are very close. This restaurant was something we surprisingly haven’t tried, so we checked it out. I actually haven’t had Persian food since I moved from LA back in 2016, so I am curious to relive those moments again.

Summary

This is a place along Ditmars Blvd in Astoria, relatively close to Taverna Kyclades. There is a lot of interesting outdoor setup on this street. The menu itself appears fairly simple, but this place had been highly recommended to us for the easy going vibe. For this COVID environment, the tables are organized north to south along the side street instead of the main street of Ditmars. It definitely felt a little safer.

Summary

This restaurant is right around the corner of Lombardi’s in Nolita. We were hungry, and of course all the super popular restaurants had wait time. This one though for some reason had none, so why not?

They served us complimentary bread with olive oil and olives. Nothing much to say, but it was a nice gesture and good too.

We also ordered octopus which was cooked in red wine sauce, pan seared and served on arugula salad. The octopus surprisingly had a very nice char to it. It was crunchy or tender at the right spots. I liked how some parts of it was like eating a soft sponge, and others was like biting into a nice crisp.

Summary

If you’re just shy of Central Park to the south and it’s in the middle of the day, this might be a good option.

On the bottom is the mixed grilled meat platter for two people (psita tis oras poikilia). It’s a combination of lambchops, traditional Greek sauce, pork/beef skewers, and pita and tzatziki. All of this was pretty good. The lambchops were ordered medium rare, and it was tender and delicious. I like the char on this.

Summary

This is a restaurant located close to the end of the Highline. It’s down on 10th ave at the corner. It’s actually next door to its bar. So if you want to visit this place, don’t open the first door on your left. Open the second door.

The sour beer on the top was quite good. It had some flavors of a Guinness but obviously with the sour in it. The sangria cocktail at the bottom was alright. Not my choice, but wasn’t bad.