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The moment has finally arrived; well, almost.  While Townline BBQ doesn't officially open to the public until July 19th, we've managed to get our hands on the menu.  But first, let's do a little background check: Owner Mark Smith & executive chef Joe Realmuto (of Nick & Toni's Hamptons fame) set out on an extensive roadtrip across Texas to sample the Lone Star State's best barbecue joints. After doing their proper due diligence - pitmaster Joe Realmuto completed an intensive bbq class, properly mastering the artistry of low & slow cooking - the two have returned to the beach to peddle their newfound 'cue cooking.  They even picked up a few already christened smokers to get the job done right.   

While Alison's by the Beach is all but a memory, what's emerged in its place is a down & dirty roadhouse pitstop in Sagaponack for weary weekenders to feast and do a little finger lickin'.  Like nothing the Hamptons has seen before, the space is nothing less than down & dirty: the space is decked in unfinished woodbeam ceilings, long communal tables with wood benches to match and dangling bare bulb fixtures.  It's even got indoor/outdoor seating and a centrally located hand-washing station to boot.  Let's indulge an interior shot:

Behold: all things smoked, rubbed.  Let's have a little look at the menu, shall we?

Address: 3593 Townline Road, Sapagonpack NY
Phone: 631.537.2271
For further Beach Reading: The Beach

Until we eat again,
Restaurant Girl
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The newest addition to the gimmicky food set has me recalling Meg Ryan (When Harry Met Sally) demanding, "I want the sauce, but only if it's on the side."  A restaurant that actually wants to put up with New York City's most high maintenance.  God bless him: Saucy's chef, Simon Mann, plans to lure fickle ladies with a build-it-yourself, mix & match menu. Well, there's certainly no better neighborhood to open this type of joint than on the Upper East Side. 

Post-pilates or the exercise class du jour, starved females can retreat to the 75-seat space, outfitted with a mirror & burlap-bag festooned ceiling and black-leather banquettes, to graze on organic chicken, filet mignon or pasta with a choice of fifty globally-inspired sauces: anchovy, tandoori, calamari and a French grenadine sauce.  But the most curious offering is a garlic, bacon & eggs sauce.  Who wants to volunteer their tastebuds?  Calling all picky eaters on the UES...

1409 York Avenue, at 75th St.
212.249.3700

Until we eat again,
Restaurant Girl
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Landmarc
10 Columbus Circle, 3rd floor (TWC)
Hours: Open 7 days a week 7am-11pm.
212.823.6123
DELIVERY - 646.437.3200

Landmarc uptown officially opens today - finally.  With the success.  Landing a prime location in the Time Warner Center, Landmarc will now rub elbows with Cafe Gray, Masa, Porterhouse NY and Per Se.  That's not too shabby for a Tribeca bistro with humble beginnings.  While deemed a "neighborhood spot", Marc Murphy & wife Pamela Schein Murphy's Landmarc earned deserved praise for both its New American fare & unpretentious vibe, fast becoming a dining destination.  To boot, Murphy boasts a wine list with a mere 30% markup, a practical steal in a city where 100% markups are par for the course. 

With an industrial chic space & 300 seats, this is a jackpot for midtowners.  Landmarc's menu remains intact: smoked mozzarella & ricotta fritters, pumpkin & gorgonzola risotto, a bevvy of steaks and daily pasta specials.  One TWC bonus, this outpost also offers a generous raw bar menu.  Let it rain, because I'm eating Landmarc's rigatoni alla genovese in my this fine Nor'easter day.  Just how will does Landmarc travel?  I'll let you know "within thirty five minutes or less..."

Until we eat again,
Restaurant Girl
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52nd Street, btwn. 5th & 6th Aves.
212-582-6900

TYPE: New Greek
VIBE: Sleek midtowner
OCCASION: A serious date, business lunch or family gathering
DON'T MISS DISH: Trio of tuna, scallop & yellowtail crudo
DRINK SPECIALTY: Eclectic wine list
PRICE: $65 & up
HOURS: Dinner, Mon - Thu, 5-10:30 pm, Friday & Saturday, 5-11 pm; Lunch, Mon - Fri, 12 - 2:45 pm. 
RESERVATIONS: Reservations recommended, especially on weekends.
RESTAURANT GIRL RATES: N/A for preview

It had all the makings of a Greek tragedy: A gifted young chef, having just received pivotal acclaim for his Italian-Greek fusion at Dona, prematurely brought down by a greedy real estate developer.  So chef Michael Psilakis returned to his Upper West Side roots where he aptly reconceived his Modern Greek (Onera) into more rustic home-cooking with Kefi.      

Less than two months since the closing of Dona, Psilakis has re-emerged with his signature modern creations.  Likewise, co-owner Donatella Arpaia plays the charming hostess at Anthos in the former Acqua Pazza space.  Albeit less stylish than the yellow & zebra trimmed Dona, this midtowner is a sleek affirmation of Anthos, Greek for "blossoming".  The muted pink and brown decor gets a lift from a soft scattering of cherry blossom accents and art work.

Though Anthos doesn't officially open its doors until Monday evening, I had the chance to preview Psilakis' new Greek fare this weekend.  With the exception of a greek salad and grilled octopus, there is nothing traditional about Anthos.  And other than a creamy dollop of hummus and pita in an amuse bouche, there are no classic meze offerings.  Instead the menu is marked with inspired Greek-inflected dishes, a seamless blending of old and new traditions, determined to elevate Greek to haute cuisine.

Psilakis' distinguished crudo, praised at both Onera & Dona, makes a blessed appearance at Anthos as well.  His talents are instantly evidenced in a trio of raw crudo, an enchanting interplay of bright flavors & textures: mastic oil-washed tuna blanketed with american caviar & lemon confit; beyond delicate scallops layered with pomegranate gelee & fragrant peppermint; and a transcendent fennel pollen-dusted yellowtail, perfectly paired with tangy ouzo macerated cherries.  A crispy-skinned mullet arrived perched atop a mini-lentil stew (sans the broth), marked by a flavorful melange of bacon, celery & carrots.  As far as entrees are concerned, nicely seasoned lamb chops are juxtaposed with a cinammon-scented lamb moussaka. 

While new restaurant are increasingly outsourcing desserts or eliminating pastry altogether, the desserts at Anthos are far from neglected.  In fact, pastry chef Bill Corbett's sugar-coated donuts are enough to merit the trek to midtown alone.  Warm doughy nibbles are meant to be dunked in a luscious bourbon-spiked honey, accompanied by honey ice cream so addictive I could've easily devoured a tub of it.  Corbett pays splendid tribute to Greece with his liberal application of sesame seeds, most engaging in a thick tahini sauce.

Until we eat again,
Restaurant Girl

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Chef Sam DeMarco, formerly of First and District, has marked his re-entry into the New York dining scene with a $3 million venture midtown at the Omni Berkshire Hotel.  Fireside is technically situated within the hotel's domain, but this spot has managed to take on an identity and entrance of its own.  A surprisingly alluring midtown refuge on a frigid winter's night, the fireplace accoutrements, checkered table tops and dark woods, all lend themselves to a cozy, library-like atmosphere.  But perhaps the most charming of all, are the damask-draped nooks, where customers can dine in seclusion or adjourn for post-dinner cocktails.   

Fireside has jumped on the admirable seasonal cocktail wagon, serving up inspired riffs on classics: cider martini, hibiscus sidecar & huckleberry mojito.  Though the huckleberry mojito was an ambrosial cocktail with fresh huckleberries & a tall sprig of mint,  I was particularly partial to "Chef Sammy's Cucumber Gimlet", a soothing and refreshing Hendrick's-spiked concoction.  While the cocktails were decidedly more noteworthy than the fare, Sam's "cocktail cuisine" has a global, comfort food appeal. 

If you can overlook the gimmick factor of cutesy categories scattered about the menu - "sam"wiches,  midtown shuffle and fireSIDES - there are some food gems worth sampling.  Skip the underwhelming chopped salad, cradled in a lettuce cup, as well as the bbq osso bucco; the smokiness of the bbq sauce overwhelmed not only the pork, but also its gentle bed of creamy cheese grits.  Ditto on the beets, a skewer of cloying beets, kumquats and an unremarkable goat cheese fritter.  The wild boar bolognese strozzapreti, laced with a wonderfully flavorful tomato sauce and succulent nibbles of boar, was not to be outdone by a luscious lobster salad riding sweet, fresh-baked brioche buns.  Perfect for after-work cocktails and homey bites, Fireside makes for a solid midtown option.   

19 East 52nd St., btwn. Madison & Park Aves.
(212)754-5011
Hours of Operation: Breakfast, lunch & dinner, 7 days a week.
Menu

Until we eat again,
Restaurant Girl

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200 Ninth Ave., btwn. 22nd & 23rd Sts.
(212)633-8033
website

TYPE: European American
VIBE: Homey brasserie
OCCASION: A cozy date, bar dining or group dinner
DON'T MISS DISH: Swordfish steak with barbecued creamed chard   
DRINK SPECIALTY: Wines by the glass, carafe & bottle; Signature cocktails
PRICE: $40 & up
HOURS: Dinner, Mon - Sat, 6 PM - 11 PM; Lunch, Mon - Fri, 12 PM - 3 PM (will begin the next couple weeks); Brunch, Sundays, 11:30 AM - 2 PM.
RESERVATIONS: Reservations accepted, recommended on weekends.
FINAL WORD: There's no place like home as Chelsea gets a warm and fuzzy brasserie all its own, with an eclectic menu & inspired cocktail list to boot.

There's nothing glamorous or remotely over the top about Klee Brasserie, the latest addition to Chelsea's dining scene.  Part ski-slope resort, part bistro, this intimate, new spot feels mostly like home.  Candlestick-like fixtures in the front glass windows softly pour out onto the streets, inviting strangers inside to warm themselves over a glass of wine and comforting cuisine.  After cooking stints at Fresh, Jean Georges and Bouley (to name a few), Daniel Angerer has contently settled into a kitchen all his own, partnering up with his soon-to-be wife, Lori Mason.  A culmination of his childhood and vast experience, Daniel's menu seems to be a collection of his travels.  While it looks to both Europe and America for inspiration, he also embraces locally-sourced produce with a particularly strong affinity for his Austrian roots.

The space is simple: exposed brick walls trimmed in mirrors, bright mosaic-tiles and an exposed kitchen all lend themselves to the casual, defiantly unpretentious vibe.  A long maple back bar with seating for 15, is the centerpiece of the restaurant, perfect for a carafe of wine, cheese plate, lobster roll, or a full-blown dinner.  Or plop yourself down on one of the couchy, eggplant-colored banquettes with movable arm rests.  Hell, if you make friends with your neighbors, just lift the arm rest, and voila, a table for four becomes a table for eight.   

The wine list and cocktails are worthy of mention, particularly since Albert Trummer, a seasoned mixologist, designed these well-crafted libations: an Asian pear martini, Holunder margarita with elderflower essence, and a Hemingway special with dark Guatemalan rum.  The wines, all very reasonable, are a quaint and creative collection, featuring untapped wines from Slovenia to California.

Now let's get down the food: the contemporary cuisine
is an inventive selection of seasonal dishes, drawing on produce and seasonings from all over the world.  Of course, there's Austrian-influenced fare, including homemade sausages with sauerkraut, and wiener schnitzel with lingonberries.  And Angerer is just as passionate about his daily pastas & specials: come Monday for Viennese fried chicken or egg noodles with chanterelles; Tuesday for spicy penne or Roman-style baby lamb; Friday for macaroni & cheese with lobster or paella a la valenciana. 

After a long stint working at fish joints, like Fresh, Coast and Shore, Angerer seems to have a way with fish.  Rhode Island swordfish steak has met his meaty match, doused in a zesty, homemade barbecue sauce, and served with a savory creamed chard, reminiscent of sauerkraut.  It's also well done in a fluffy char tartare, simply seasoned with lime and a rich, bright nibble of golden beet caviar.   

The Alsatian thin crust pizza was a perfect way to start the evening; baked in a wood stone oven, the crunchy, uber-thin crust, was peppered with creme fraiche, nicely caramelized onions and smokey lardon bits.  I snuck into the kitchen to sample a porcini mushroom chowder, which was velvety and rich, prepared without any cream (that's right ladies, dairy free), with a simple splash of dill and frizzled leeks for texture.  I would've happily planted myself in its warm embrace for the evening, as even the kitchen was cozy and untypically welcoming. 

If you score a back booth, you can have the best of both worlds - a cozy table with a window seat onto the kitchen and the amber flames from the wood stone oven.  Klee Brasserie manages to be original, without being affected, a welcome comfort in the wake of the overly predictable bistro menus of late.

Until we eat again,
Restaurant Girl

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'Tis the season for new restaurants and there's countless to devoured.  Here's a sneak peek at two of the lastest newcomers.
 
savorNY
63 Clinton Street, btwn. Stanton & Rivington Sts.
(212)358-7125
Website

TYPE: Eclectic small plates
VIBE: Inviting LES nook
OCCASION: A casual date or neighborhood nibbles
DON'T MISS DISH: Chinese bbq duck
DRINK SPECIALTY: 35-bottle wine selection, all available by the glass ($7-$12), or the bottle ($26-$45).
PRICE: $35 & up
HOURS: Open seven days a week. Dinner, 4 PM - until the last diner leaves; Brunch, Saturday & Sunday 12 PM -3 PM.
RESERVATIONS: No reservations accepted. 

This Lower East Side gem has slipped onto the restaurant scene to little, but worthy fanfare.  Owner Craig Gross, a long-time manager at Blue Water Grill, and his partner Joe Dobias, formerly a chef at Quaint in Queens, have teamed up to deliver global cuisine and wines at curiously affordable prices.  Burgundy ultra-suede banquettes, gold-painted walls, and dark wood floors evoke a homey vibe in this small, but polished 22-seat space.  Inspired by dishes from all over the world, with an emphatic nod to its LES Latin & Jewish neighbors, savorNY's menu takes an inventive approach to traditional global fare.

SavorNY not only takes liberties with the food, but also with its wine list.  While most restaurants separate their reds from their whites, Craig distinguishes according to tasting notes: spicy/intense, bold/robust and earthy/mineral.  He's more than happy to walk you through the list, which pays homage to newly developed wines.  The best part is the prices - go ahead and order the best bottle on the menu, it will only set you back $48.   

Let's get down to the food, which is cutely organized into fingers, forks and finales.  As the categories imply, fingers can be happily enjoyed with your hands, while fork requires a utensil or two.  This eclectic collection of small plates runs the ethnic gamut: crab rangoon, Irish lamb stew and chinese bbq duck.  While house cured wild salmon with beet-onion jelly and matzoh is a quirky take on Jewish nosh, ruben empanadas fuse Latin and Jewish staples.  There's even a Wagyu beef with an Argentian slant, which arrives black & blue with crushed peppercorns and chimichurri sauce, terrifically priced at $13.

But don't fill up on small plates as you'll want to stay for the $6 finale.  The churros are a must: cinammon-coated churros with a luscious condensed milk chocolate sauce.  There's also a decadent chocolate mousse with pretzels and the chef's favorite, honey custard with Turkish flatbread crisps, a spin on creme brulee sans the burnt top with a kick of salt.

Sasabune
401 East 73rd St., nr. 1st Ave.
(212)249-8583

TYPE: Sushi
VIBE: No nonsense UES sushi joint
OCCASION: Serious sushi endeavors
DON'T MISS DISH: Baked crab roll, white tuna, & toro - basically, the entire omakase menu. 
DRINK SPECIALTY: Sake & Japanese beer
PRICE: $50 & up
HOURS: Dinner, Mon - Sat, 5:30 PM - 10:30 PM; Lunch, Mon - Fri, 12 PM - 2 PM.
RESERVATIONS: Reservations accepted, recommended for the sushi bar.

When I moved from Los Angeles back to New York two years ago, I had but one regret: Sushi Sasabune.  While I had the pleasure of experiencing sushi at the original Sasabune in Honolulu, it paled in comparison to the Los Angeles spinoff.  As I sat for my last supper, I begged and pleaded with Nobi and Kenji, the geniuses behind the sushi counter, to follow me to the promise land of NYC.  Kenji swore that he would one day meet me here, with Sasubune's sacred sushi in tote.  I savored my last bite of melt-in-your-mouth white tuna sashimi afloat in a puddle of home-made ponzu sauce, buttery salmon with silvers of pickled seaweed atop warm clouds of sushi rice and a heavenly baked crab hand roll that dreams are made of.  After two years of daydreaming about omakase so fantastical words can't begin to do it justice, Sasabune has arrived on the Upper East Side.

Forget the ambience, Kenji's sushi machinations are the draw and there's only one thing on the menu: omakase.  Simply put, omakase means trust me, and that's exactly what you must do when you grab a front row seat at the sushi bar.  Put yourself in Kenji's hands for the sushi experience of a lifetime.  Just trust me.   

Until we eat again,
Restaurant Girl

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353 West 14th Street (just east of Ninth Avenue)
(212)524-2500
Comix website

Having been accused of being too positive on an occasion or two, I thought I'd share a restaurant rant with you.  In search of dinner and a good laugh, I ventured to Comix, the Meatpacking's first comedy haunt, an ambitious 14,000 square foot comedy club with purportedly "high-end regional American cuisine".  Equipped with a first floor bar, comedy showroom and a generous downstairs lounge, this uber-mod space is minimally accented to the point of awkward, with a copper-clad bar, mirrors and metal mesh accents.  But comedy this trendy comes with unabashedly, trendy Meatpacking prices. 

After investing in a $30 show ticket, I made a pre-show pitstop at the bar for an over-priced $13 Creme Brulee martini, a gimmicky and cringe-worthy, saccharine sweet attempt at the mixology game.  Already a bit peeved about spending $43 dollars in less than twenty minutes, I was shamefully shooed into the show, a la arriving late for a Les Miserables theater event (they certainly succeeded in the miserable department).

I was commanded to order in hush tones from a gourmet menu, created by Katy Sparks, cookbook author and chef (formely of Quilty's & Compass).  Even with the lights dimmed, I could detect that I was being shortchanged by a $10 chopped salad, a stingy tapas-sized salad, weakly dressed in a lemon-tahini dressing, and oddly paired with an oddly bitter hummus dip and toasted pita.   I could barely concentrate on the jokes as I strategically tried not to gobble it down in one fell swoop.  Next, arrived crab cakes; two $18 crab cakes, the size of silver dollars, which might be more aptly labeled, moist bread cakes, with a trace of crab thrown in for good measure.  Though the mango and basil coleslaw the bread cakes came perched on was sufficiently tasty, I was left desperately hungering for more.  Apparently, the feeling was mutual as my dinner companions and I simultaneously attacked my friend's $17 cheeseburger, all of us still starving for more bang for our buck.  Overcooked and dry, it was nothing to lose a friendship over, so I quickly relinquished, settling for his side of mediocre, suspiciously heat-lamped fries.  As if we'd tempt $10 desserts here and set ourselves up for another in a series of disappointments.

As we peetered out of the comedy space, back through the still empty bar, I wanted to worry for the newcomer's survival in a fiercely competitive restaurant scene.  But, with an $80 bill in my pocket and hunger in my belly, I just couldn't muster up empathy for this new arrival.  Might I be so bold to venture a Deathwatch in honor of Eater, who so brilliantly coined the concept for this very occassion.  Give it six months, then the lights will go out, and the curtain will inevitably fall on Comix.

Until we eat again,
Restaurant Girl

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150 West 57th Street (between 6th & 7th Aves.)
(212)581-7100
Scheduled to open last week in October

Okay, so I'm a food snoop.  Here's the skinny on the Russian Tea Room to come - Gary Robins (formerly of the now defunct Biltmore Room) is set to head up the kitchen at the Russian Tea Room, which will be reinvented by the new owner, who goes only by Hussan.  Having once acted as manager at Gotham Bar & Grill, Scott Kearney is moving uptown to manage the renovated four-story space.  One of four sommeliers (one for each floor) leaked that the new Russian Tea Room will offer formal Russian & French fare, waiters to parade the space in coat tails and all, offering up over 40 vodkas (some never been offered in the US), and an impressive selection of caviars (sadly not beluga). 

After the untimely demise of Warner LeRoy, owner of both Tavern on the Green & the Russian Tea Room, his daughter, Jennifer LeRoy, picked favorites (Tavern on The Green), selling the Russian Tea Room to Hussan.  Though she generously offered to rent the famed Tiffany chandeliers to Hussan for the bargain price of one million dollars a year, he graciously declined.  The Russian Tea Room will return to the restaurant scene with a newly adapted menu by the end of October, latest, first week in November.   

Until we eat again,
Restaurant Girl

I should've known something would go wrong. Too good to be true with no line of frenetic, yogurt-addicted women in sight, I scurried to
what would hopefully be a yogurt utopia, the potential beginning of the end of Tasti-D-Lite.  I would be the first to christen the Pinkberry machine, sample the first bite (of all three flavors).   Say it isn't so - Pinkberry was still closed.  Exasperated, and rightfully so as it was 10:45 in the morning,  I knocked persistently until a manager inforrmed me that maybe, just maybe, they would open around 3 PM today.

Door ajar, I scanned the "work in progress" and I stress "in
progress".  My bet is Pinkberry will open officially tomorrow at 11
AM, but I don't want to get my hopes up again.  Until then, there's
always Tasti-D-Lite.

Until we eat again,
Restaurant Girl