Boqueria is an east coast Spanish tapas chain. The food here is quintessential Spanish shareables, including large paellas. We originally ate here with some friends in the Upper East, but we have also tried this restaurant in Flatiron. Reservations are fairly easy to secure, and it does get busy during core hours. If you have a decent sized party, this is probably a decent restaurant to bring folks that might be into family style sharing.

I’ve never had Portuguese food other than the pastels, so this is the first for me. This special occasion was for a birthday and to try out a different type of cuisine that is largely not as popular as the mainstream French or Asian themed Michelin Star restaurants. We got the tasting menu with wine pairing. The hosts were very nice in that we mentioned we’d like to just have wine pairing for 1 person and not the other, so that we can share since we’re not big drinkers.

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.

We came by in the spring when they boasted of lush flowers and decorations. Apparently the flowers were not real, but that still does not stop it to become a very photo friendly place. It still is nice during the day because they opened the canopy, and so there was a nice breeze coming in. I think for food, it wasn’t a whole lot of hit, but the ambiance is pretty appealing to those who want to get a drink and just enjoy the colors for photos.

We ordered a slew of appetizers. The drink fir trade. The blood sausage, bread, and chicken liver mousse was just OK. There wasn’t much memorable about it. The iberico katsu sandwich was surprisingly very good, and I could probably eat a handful of these easy. The main course, cote de boeuf, was pretty good. I actually did not care too much about the sauces, but the quality of the meat was pretty good and tender.

Got eggs in hell, and it was a nice alternative to shakshookas. Somewhat spicy. The price wasn’t too expensive.

Pretty good. The meat one with all the salami was good.

Jazzy bluegrassy restaurant. Same people as Fine & Rare.

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

Spawned off LA’s Sugarfish. Cheap 6 piece hand rolls. $32 includes tax, tip, and a Mexican coke. Still room for dessert unfortunately.