In my first visit to Blanca back in September 2018, I was a solo diner and had just moved to New York City pretty recently. I wrote down, “Really good. Definitely get the drink pairing. Michelin 2 star. $300 per person including drinks.” The vibe and space was absolutely fantastic. I then met my partner, and the pandemic arrived. Blanca shutdown and just simply never reopened until a few weeks ago.

This apparently is one of Jean Georges Vongerichten’s upscale farm-fresh eatery, and it has a Latin American fusion influence. We came here without reservations on a weekday night and were seated at the communal table. The spring pea guacamole with warm crunchy tortillas was actually pretty good. The chips themselves were nicely salted, and the big tortilla that came with the guacamole was more crunchy than the latter. The split pea guacamole had a nice fresh texture.

This place was really really good. Korean Michelin 2 star and well worth it. Probably one of the best Michelin star restaurants I’ve been to in NYC.

Place is pretty good but veggie centric. Pretty much farm to table kind of foods.

2016 and 2017 Michelin 1 star. Tasting only for dinner. Atlantic food. Fantastic.

Ramen omakase. Really good. Everything is homemade. $130 per person.

Really good for the price point. $39 tasting 3 courses, no tip, and no dessert.

Marc Forgione is one of the Iron Chefs on Iron Chef America. This is his first restaurant, and at the time of this writing it has 1 Michelin Star. Like Michael Voltaggio, this restaurant is one of his babies, so he periodically is cooking in the kitchen to make sure everything comes out as he desires. Unfortunately he didn’t cook today, but I just want to preface this by saying this is definitely one of my favorite restaurants ever that I’ve tried so far.

I first found out about WD~50 from my friend who wanted to try it out for the longest time. On research, I found out one of the Bravo’s Top Chef previous contestant owns this restaurant. His name is Wylie Dufresne. He is well known for pushing a movement towards molecular gastronomy, which is basically a different way to cook things. This 1 Michelin Star restaurant’s menu is pretty sparse in choices in that you basically choose from 2 different types of tasting menus, the cheaper or the more expensive.