L’Apicio
If you’re bored of the same old same old, try a new joint. This is New York City afterall and new restaurants open every few hours. Besides, these guys have a good track record. What started with Dell’anima, followed by L’Artusi is quickly becoming a thriving restaurant empire. L’Apicio is their newest venture, an Italian-inspired eatery with a long, wood far, expansive and super cozy upfront lounge and plenty of dining. The decor is industrial meets living room — the perfect combination of cool and comfort — with floating black banquettes scattered around the room and sexy, low lighting. (Come spring, there will be plenty of outdoor seating in the courtyard, too!) Enough about the space, let’s talk drinks. These aren’t your average cocktails at all. Beverage director (and master sommelier) Joe Campanale has devised a creative list...
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Milk & Honey
A pioneer on the cocktail scene, Milk & Honey singlehandedly made old cocktails new and exciting again. If you’re a cocktail connoisseur, this is your Graceland. This super stylish, Soho spot with an outpost in London is so cool it actually has members, but non-members can thankfully drink, too. This season, they’ve got an outstanding selection to choose from, organized by Hot Drinks & Flips. Shorts & Sours, Champagne Cocktails, Pick Me Up’s and more. Where to begin? Hmm… well, we’re digging on the Devil’s Share with Bourbon, Orange, Maple, Lemon and Ginger, and the Bumpkin’s Antidote with Cider, Bitters and Sugar. Ooh, lest we forget the Hot Drinks, the likes of an Apple Toddy with Calvados, Cider, Honey, Ginger, Lemon and Spices. What are you waiting for?...
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Pouring Ribbons
Restaurant Girl visits Pouring Ribbons on her search for the best fall cocktails.
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The Beagle
Restaurant Girl hits up The Beagle and its seasonal cocktail selection on her search for the best fall cocktails.
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Heartland Brewery
Restaurant Girl visits Heartland Brewery on her search for the best fall cocktails.
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Mission Chinese’s Fusion
After years of working late nights as a line cook, Bowien found that he and his colleagues were always searching for the perfect Asian junk food to eat after work. Hence, Mission Chinese was born.
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Miranda’s Latin-Italian
What happens when a Mexican chef falls in love with an Italian front of the house guy? Tuck into Miranda for dinner and you’ll get a pretty good idea. The love child of husband-and-wife culinary team, Sasha and Mauricio Miranda, this homey Williamsburg spot, furnished with brick walls, oak floors and reclaimed mirrors, makes you feel a lot like you’re dining in the couple’s kitchen at home. The menu fuses the vivacious cultures of Latin America and Italy, featuring dishes, like Arancini made not with ground veal and beef, but with Chorizo and a garlicky tomato fonduta. Instead of the typical Italian ragu, the Pappardelle at Miranda is made with a deliciously intense, Mole-Braised Lamb Ragu. It’s comfort food with a delicious twist. At brunch, the menu veers towards the Latin American influence with Huevos Con Mole and Pernil (slow-roasted...
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Flor De Mayo’s Chinese-Peruvian
With two locations on the Upper West Side, Flor De Mayo is beloved by its neighbors. Perennially busy and sparsely decorated, this Chino-Latino joint has been serving crowd-pleasing dishes for more than 30 years.
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La Caridad 78’s Chinese-Cuban
Another Chino-Latino fusion restaurant on the Upper West Side, La Caridad has been an institution since the sixties. Established by Chinese immigrants who lived in Cuba before the revolution, La Caridad specializes in working-class fare from both countries.
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Chinese Mirch’s Indian-Chinese
As spice is the common denominator between the regions, (mirch means “spicy” in Hindi ) everything on the menu at Chinese Mirch packs some heat, even a bowl of egg drop soup.
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Vermilion’s Indian-Latin American
The woman behind Vermilion, Rohini Dey, is a force to be reckoned with and what Time magazine dubs, “a culinary superstar.” Following stints as an economist for the World Bank and a consultant at a Chicago financial advising company, Dey, a New Delhi native, was inspired to leave her finance career behind and launch a very novel restaurant concept. Her idea was to celebrate the shared Arabic and Portuguese culinary influences in Latin and Indian regions and the result are dishes, like Duck Vindaloo Arepas and Artichoke Pakoras with Eggplant Coconut Sauce. The drink menu is just as international and unique, featuring a mix of lassis, aguas frescas, and “herb and spice” Latin cocktails. Not to mention that Vermilion’s an unusually sexy restaurant for such seriously ethnic cuisine: The bi-level space is sleekly outfitted with white woven chairs, glossy wood...
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Indochine’s French-Vietnamese
Another serendipitous result of colonial history, French-Vietnamese cuisine combines buttery Gallic extravagance with the fresh, peppery flavors of Vietnamese chilies, cilantro, and lemongrass. Indochine has been serving this sexy fusion of flavors for over twenty years. The room itself feels like a tropical vacation with palm trees, wicker chairs and twirling ceiling fans. Settle into the swanky digs and start with the Duck Confit Salad, a combination of chopped duck, Napa cabbage, carrots, pear tomatoes, orange, apple, coriander, anointed with a Vietnamese vinaigrette. There’s a Five Spice-Roasted Hen and Glazed Duck Breast on Bok Choy with Vidalia Onion Sauce. One of our favorites, a delicious take on the classic French stew, the Vietnamese Bouillabaisse is brimming with sea scallops, prawns, shrimp, baby squid, mussels, and cabbage in a lime leaf and galangal sauce (galangal is a peppery root used...
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Empellon Cocina’s Pumpkin Seed Cake
Dessert isn’t usually the first thing most people think of when going for Mexican food. Then again, you wouldn’t think an acclaimed pastry chef would open a Mexican joint and leave the pastry department to his wife. You’ll want to broaden your horizons and save room for dessert at Empellon Cocina. Alex Stupak pushed the envelope at WD-50 and he continues to do so at his innovative and modern Mexican. One of the best things they’re serving at the restaurant is a Pumpkin Seed Cake. What arrives on the plate is a long, rectangular slice of moist, spicy cake, topped with crumble, strawberries, cajeta, and drizzled with brown butter. The final touch is an ice cream quenelle. Heck, we’d pop in for a shot of tequila and this blissfully complicated sweet...
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Dovetail’s Pumpkin Soup
People have been talking about Dovetail’s Pumpkin Soup for years. While it’s not technically new, it just keeps getting better with age. Owner and chef John Fraser made a splash when he first opened his ambitious seasonal American restaurant on the Upper West Side, earning praise and a Michelin star in the process. This fall, he’s upped the ante on one of his now signature dishes. This season’s version is a luscious, yet light broth (made with pumpkin juice and whole pumpkin puree), scattered with Pomegranate Seeds, Granny Smith Apple Pearls, and Pumpernickel Croutons for crunch. The final touch is the unique addition of homemade Marshmallows, spiced with Vadouvan, a French curry blend typically made with onions, shallots, garlic and cardamom. And if you’re still craving pumpkin come dessert, order a scoop of Dovetail’s Pumpkin Ice...
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Park Avenue Autumn’s Pumpkin & Molasses Cake
This midtown spot not only include a change in the menu but the entire décor and space as well. Park Avenue Autumn is here until late November, with a menu that highlights the season’s best, including Roast Chicken with “Pumpkin Pie”. Except this year the talented Richard Leach has added a new and exceptional sweet to his dessert menu, a Warm Pumpkin & Molasses Cake. A stunning arrangement of four components that include a warm and deliciously dense Pumpkin Cake, sweetened with molasses, alongside a a Sour Cream Panna Cotta Bar, and Chilled Molasses...
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Coolhaus’s Pumpkin Cookiewich
You might be thinking that it’s starting to get too cold for ice cream. Well, it’s never too cold for ice cream, especially not where the Coolhaus truck is concerned. We’d wait in line for one of their killer Ice Cream Cookiewich in rain, sleet or snow. This fall, Coolhaus is featuring lots of terrific, autumnal flavors, like Baked Apple, Balsamic Fig and Mascarpone, and Pumpkin Ice Cream — a flavor we think pairs perfectly with their Ginger Molasses, Chewy Brownie or Oatmeal Cookies. What are you waiting for? Go chase down a...
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Sugar Sweet Sunshine’s Pumpkin Eggnog Pudding
We’ve been fans of this teeny Lower East Side bakery and its pies, cakes and cupcakes for years. We love the story of these two ladies, Peg and Deb, who met while performing in The Music Man, living parallel lives of auditioning and working together at Magnolia Bakery. They launched this itty bitty bakery over nine years ago and we think it gets better every year. Come October, they roll out their moist and surprisingly light Pumpkin Cake. But the best card they’re holding is the Pumpkin Eggnog Pudding Cake, a mildly spiced trifle layered with moist Pumpkin Cake and a thick and luscious Eggnog Pudding....
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