We had previously been to The Bar at The Modern, where the value to taste ratio was quite good. In an effort to knock another off our list, we booked The Kitchen experience. On the other side of the bar, there was a dining room with a lot of natural light of the garden of the Museum of Modern Arts. This area served a more extensive tasting menu with wine pairing options.

Foxface Natural was on my list ever since it opened, and I was always curious about how eclectic their food was going to be because of the various game meats they offer. They are one of the few, if not only, restaurants to serve kangaroo tartare. I saw that they had a tasting menu, and that seemed like a good thing to pursue for a Friday evening. I was able to make a reservation for 2 for 5:30 PM on a Friday evening about a week prior.

Sixty Three (63) Clinton was a restaurant that I had my eyes on for a few months now. They change the menu monthly, so it was previously difficult to time the menu preferences to our food preferences. I finally found a menu (July) worth going for, however, little did I know the day of my reservation was the day the menu changed. We had 2 items on the menu with “mushroom”-like ingredients in it.

Monkey Bar is a restaurant from the same people that are behind Au Cheval and 4 Charles in NYC. The Monkey Bar has a rich history dating back to the 1930s, where it formerly served New York City’s upper social class. In 2022, it reopened under the ownership of the 4 Charles team, and they created a menu that was very similar to the aforementioned restaurants. I was craving for prime rib, so I wanted to give this a try since I am reluctant to snipe 4 Charles reservations.

As a splurge due to this incurable money sucking disease of gourmand syndrome, we splurged for Manhatta. Manhatta is known for its gorgeous views at the 60th floor facing up-town. It is part of Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group, which includes The Modern, Gramercy Tavern, Marta, etc. to name a few. Aside from the view that the restaurant offers, the last few years they have made an effort to improve the food.

I’ve heard many things about Crown Shy, both positive and negative. It’s located in the same building as Saga, a Michelin 2 Star restaurant, and also a supposed good bar called Overstory. This year, Crown Shy received a Michelin Star, and various public forums raved about their dishes being inventive and good. Since reservations were easy to get, we decided to spend our Friday at this restaurant. It was very easy to book a 5:45 PM dinner reservation for 2.

This Smith & Mills location is in the small inner plaza where the Rockafeller rink is. It caught my attention because the Tribeca location apparently had received some high regard, so I thought it’d be worth a shot to check out this location. Although the food options are small, some of it looked pretty tasty. This restaurant is fairly close to Naro. We had a reservation for 3 for 5 PM, and the place was not full at all.

Clinton Street Baking Company is a very popular and well known destination for breakfast for decades. Word of mouth has mentioned that their pancakes and breakfast items have been delightful to eat. My party woke up early to park in line before the restaurant opening at 9 AM on a Saturday morning. It was definitely a struggle for me and my partner to arrive here from where we live, considering how annoying the subway schedules are on weekends.

This restaurant is a fairly close walk east of Rockafeller Center. I stumbled onto this restaurant as I was looking for something new and solo-friendly for a Saturday. It turns out that this restaurant has a Friday/Saturday prime rib prix-fixe menu, which has my attention. For $65 per person, you get 3 courses: a caesar salad, prime rib with french fries, and a choice of dessert. That doesn’t seem like a bad deal to me.

Bad Roman is located in the Columbus Circle mall on the third floor. The team that created this restaurant also helped create Don Angie, Quality Eats, Quality Italian, other “Quality Branded” restaurants, Zou Zou’s, and more. There was a lot of social media firepower with this restaurant because of how retro it looked in vibe and style. We were able to book a seating pretty easily for 2 at 5:30 PM.