Trick-or-Chocolate-Treats

Not having work due to Hurricane Sandy brought about a day of tasting and re-tasting some of the best chocolate chip cookies on the ever so vibrant Upper West Side. Unlike the eerie and powerless downtown, the Upper West was packed with people roaming the streets, kids dressed up and ready to trick-or-treat, people sitting down for lunch in overly packed diners AND, most importantly, people waiting in line for some of the BEST cookies.

I was quite nifty and cut the entire line at Levain Bakery (not the most approvable move, but hey, who wants to wait on a line) to taste their famous chocolate chip cookies. I am overly obsessed with scouting out the best chocolate chip cookies and had heard about Levain forever but, for some reason, had never made it there. 

Oh My God, people! These cookies are of another world. 

They are absolutely perfect. 

I feel like I have been searching for this cookie all my life and it has finally landed on my local doorstep. 

The cookie is the most absolute combination of soft and crispy. They are thick, warm and soft inside but still remain very crispy on the outside. I've never tasted a chocolate chip cookie that has been able to accomplish this very combination. Ever. 

If you are only planning on tasting one, then go for the Chocolate Chip Walnut and your day will feel complete. Otherwise the Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip is quite as amazing and a must-try as well.

Location

167 West 74th St.

New York

(212) 874 6080

(there is another on 117th St. as well) 
http://www.levainbakery.com/

THEN... being that I was on a role already, I decided to head over to Jacques Torres and scope out its Upper West location only down the block from Levain. 

Jacques Torres chocolate chip cookies are no Levain. Levain is its own breed of cookie. BUT, the Jacques Torres chocolate chip cookie is extremely unique tasting. Its a larger and flatter cookie that has dark and bittersweet chocolate chip chunks inside. They warm the cookie for you before hand so it falls apart in your mouth. The basic chocolate chip is great, as is the chocolate chocolate chunk and the peanut butter chocolate chip cookies as well. I always go for the basic chocolate chip but would recommend doing the chocolate chocolate chip if you're a hefty chocolate person. 

Jacques Torres has a location in Dumbo as well and is great to check out if you're roaming Dumbo and looking to have a warm Winter snack or wandering the halls of Rockerfeller Plaza. 

Both Locations Good For: Date Activity, Chocolate Lovers, Cookie Lovers 

Locations

285 Amsterdam Avenue

New York

(212) 787 3256

Dumbo Location 

62 Water Street  

Brooklyn

718) 875-1269

Website for additional locations
http://www.mrchocolate.com/

Jack's Wife Freda

I've come here a couple of times and since its opening and they've changed around the menu a bit only to improve it for the better (they got rid of some items that really weren't all that great. A definite good sign of a restaurant looking to succeed). Its Israeli owned and has a cosmopolitan Tel-Aviv x French Bistro vibe. I've alway ended up here on a chilly Sunday afternoon and never regretted it.

Food

The food tastes home cooked. Buuuuut.... imagine it's a home cooked meal by a friend or family member that you can always rely on to make really tasty foods that is fresh, light, very simple but also quite flavorful. Other than the french fries which are pretty standard, I had green shakshuka, made with green tomatoes, (yes I'll eat sunny side up eggs in a shakshuka ANY DAY), an amazing tuna salad of Italian tuna mixed with avocado, mushrooms and arugala and an amazing sweet vinaigrette and a Cafe Gitane style avocado toast that was served on a whole grain sourdough type of bread and was not nearly as bland or tasteless as Gitane's. It was served with a sweet tomato sauce on top that the perfect final touch. I'd also recommend the kale salad and the eggplant sandwich.

Ambiance

As I've already mentioned, its got a bit of a warm French bistro/cafe vibe and can feel really intimate.

Its casual and trendy and a no reservation type of spot.

Wait Time

I've never had to wait, but I've also never gone at peek hours. I hear it gets busy though.

Good For: Lunch with friends, casual date, Brunch, casual and trendy

Jack's Wife Freda

224 Lafayette St.

(212) 510-8550

http://jackswifefreda.com/

Bobo and Bobos

Oh God, I had to with this photo. 

Its from a picture book that is so on point with its comparison of Parisians vs. New Yorkers called Paris vs. New York: A Tally of Two Cities by Vahram Muratyan. And, being that I'm about to review a restaurant named for this term, I had a total excuse for posting this photo.

Some definitions of the word bobo... to give you a better idea of the term.

Webster Dictionary:

"A member of a social class of well-to-do professionals who espouse bohemian values and lead bourgeois lives"

Urban Dictionary: 

"Bourgeois Bohême, in French. 

Yuppies or dinks who live as is they weren't, love to differentiate themselves by visiting foreign countries before the herd of ordinary tourists flock after them (Croatia a few years ago, now the Baltic states), eat alternative/fair trade/organic food such as "bio fair trade Miso soup". They tend to live in mixed neighborhoods to be near the poor, but they send their children to private schools to avoid too close a contact with the natives and they price all the poor out of the neighborhoods they gentrify. Of course they concentrate in some parts of Paris and never could live in "la province". They often vote for the Communists or the Greens but take the fullest advantage of the tax gifts offered by right-wing governments."

Anyhow, to go off of the Urban Dict definition of those who "eat alternative/fair trade/organic food" Bobo the actual restaurant sources lots of their ingredients from local farmers and their new Italian spot Rosemary's (about this in a later post) has a garden on its rooftop. It is also quite obviously serves French food and spells things out in French like "Steak Au Poivre Vert" to explicitly point out its cuisine relationship to the word.

Food

French and/or American --> Seems some sites and critiques are confused about this. NY Mag says its French, UrbanSpoon says its American. What exactly is American food anyway? Other than McDonalds and Apple Pie?

Anyway, I will stop with all the tangents and get right to it.

As a vegetarian, the options are a tad limited. But with a few entree fish choices of salmon, halibut or seared bass paired with a few salad appetizers I was more than satisfied with options. The meal itself was quite tasty. All the salads were pretty standard. My salmon was fresh, not chewy but not the best salmon I've ever had either. Definitely better than a lot of other places though. And the french fries were well worth a revisit. Fresh, thick, but not too thick, crispy and with the perfect amount of salt. I am a french fry fiend and these were good!

The cousins I was with order the steaks and said they were really great.

Overall, food is good and I'd recommend taking co-workers, families or going with a group. Not great for kids though. 

Ambiance

We were seated at the back outdoor patio which was gorgeous on the late summer evening. See photo below. It was breezy and the weather was beautiful which may add to my biased towards this outdoor patio situation. The indoor seating seemed cool and I would not be opposed to a revisit on a weekend night. All the wait staff are friendly, helpful and accommodating  We ended up being an additional person and they had no problems adding another seat to our table (as they shouldnt). I'd recommend coming here with anyone that is looking for something that isn't too noisy but still trendy and with satisfying food. Its a good spot to bring parents on a weeknight as well. 

No need to be overdressed for this scene either, although I'd ALWAYS recommend looking presentable and put together. 

Resos & Wait Time 

I made reservations for 8pm in the late summer for a group of nine and did not have to wait a minute to be seated. If we hadn't been such a large party we probably would have been able to sit without a reservation. 

Good For: Dinner, Lunch, Date Spot, Double Date or Dinner with Friends, Dinner with visiting guests, Co-Workers  Dinner with parents/in-laws or those you are looking to impress, not too scenie, but still a trendy vibe.

Bobo

181 W 10th St.

(212) 488 2626

http://www.bobonyc.com

Rubirosa

I cannot count how many times I've hit up this joint. Yes, I do admit that it was partially due to its locality while I was living in the neighborhood but more importantly due to its reliability. Rubirosa has never failed. I have even had a fresh Rubirosa pie at a food fair last week, made in a portable brick oven, and it was still good quality. At the actual restaurant the staff were friendly and the food is always light and fresh.

Food

Pizza/Pasta/Italiano

I'll get right to it!

Their salads are all great. I always go for the fennel salad that has thin shavings of the tastiest pecorino cheese. The Rubirosa and all their other salads are just as good although I'd go for anything with parmesan (or pecorino) shavings. The mozerella sticks are to die for and so unbelievably fresh! The cheese literally oozes out of the freshly fried stick, you just cannot get enough! The pastas are made fresh and the whole wheat fettuccine is my #1 rec. Rubirosa tomato sauce (served with the mozz sticks, on the pizza and with the pastas) is unique to their establishment. It's fresh, flavorful, so light and so airy. It's one of the things that keeps me coming back for more.

And of course, we can't forget about the pizzas. I must preface by saying that we are currently living in a city busting with specialty pizza joints and no, Rubirosa is not the top of the line pizza out there, and it is not the place to seek out if you are a pizza connoisseur who only stands for the best. However, if you are looking for more of a good night out with friends/family or whoever and good food to go along with that then the pizzas will serve their purpose. No one will be dissatisfied. The pizzas are good, tasty and nothing to complain about. They are all thin crust (they've progressively gotten thinner since their opening) and I am a big fan of the Margareta and the Pesto pies. (you can also do a splitsky of half marg and half pesto).

Ambiance

Dark lighting and pretty cool scene. No one is ever over dressed but everyone looks good and is, for the most part, pretty cool. I've gone in jeans and simple heels and I've showed up straight from work. I've come here with my parents, with friends, with cousins and on a date. Every single time it has never failed me and there were positive and some raving (my extremely food-pretentious dad) feedback along with it.

Wait Time & Resos

You need resos for the evening but early dinner is usually ok without. There is no need for a lunch resos either. Just dinner.

Good for: Dinner, Lunch, Cool and Casual, Trendy, Picky Eaters, Intimate Date, Not Too Fancy,

Rubirosa

235 Mulberry St

(212) 965-0500 http://rubirosanyc.com

Mas Farmhouse

My lovely mother was ranting and raving about this spot she tried with my aunt called Mas Grillade. I did some research and found that Mas has both their Grillade and Farmhouse spots. From everything I had heard, Farmhouse was the spot to try .

Food

At first the menu seemed a bit un-accomadating to a vegetarian but after a some immediate reassurance from our waiter we discovered there were lots of options and worth the risk.

Thank god we stayed! Mas Farmhouse is some of the greatest, freshest and most smooth food I have ever eaten. And, no, I don't rave like this very often.I think most food in this city is pretty good, not terrible but not amazing either.

I couldn't say that about Mas. It is A-MA-Zing and what makes it amazing is how simple but yet complex the food is. All of the ingredients are extremely fresh and I believe (although double check on this) a lot of what the kitchen has to offer is farm to table (hence "farmhouse). They are also (as I've already mentioned) extremely accommodating to vegetarians. Make sure to mention it and the waiter will tell the chef and ensure that everything you eat doesn't have anything non-veggie in it. The tuna sashimi MELTED in my mouth and was so unbelievably smooth. The main course fish were even more smooth than the appetizers with creatively cooked and presented veggies accompanying.

I don't know what to tell you, save Mas for a special night, and savor every last bite.

Ambiance

Interesting ambiance.

Its very quiet and people speak in low voices. It has a high end but unstuffy feel to it.  There's no pumping music, or any music for that matter, there are no dim lights or trending decore. The crowd isn't too young or too old and there aren't any business men. Everyone is very proper but there is no need to be over dressed (but not underdressed either). I wouldn't come here with a big group of friends looking to have a drunken night out. All the food is served on beautiful china and there are 3 forks, 3 knives and a butter knife placed in front of you.

In a one simple sentence I'd say the establishment itself and the people who dine there are a cross between classy with a twist of modern

Wait Time & Resos

I made a same day reservation and was still encouraged to order a drink while we waited. We must have waited 10 minutes to sit but weren't lost in the shuffle or forgotten about.

Good for: Intimate date, high end, classy out-of-towners

DO NOT come here if you are looking for something trendy or drunken night out

Mas Farmhouse

39 Downing St

(between Bedford St & Varick St) 

(212) 255-1790

http://www.masfarmhouse.com

Il Buco Alimentari

Food

Not the greatest vegetarian selection. There's only one fish option which comes as a whole fish that they then fillet, and two pasta options. The pastas are tasty but not unbelievable. The crispy artichoke app is fabulous and worth ordering two portions of, and they aren't cheap on each serving either. All the sides are good and overall the food is good. Nothing amazing and nothing to write home about. Honestly its a trendy, downtown spot with acceptably good food. Nothing more, nothing less.

Ambiance

Bright lighting people! If you're going on a first date and don't want anything too bright, skip it.

It's good for dinner with 4-6 others. Most of the tables are shared communal tables separated by a nice amount of space along with a vase of flowers. You really don't feel or see the group next too you and I find communal tables intimate, and inviting anyhow. You dont need to be decked out too come here, it has a nice homey vibe. But yes, its downtown and yes the people are young-ish or older and very bobo (bourgeois bohemian... I'll use this term a lot so get acquainted).

Good for: Double dates, dinner with friends, dinner with the fam, something trendy-ish.

Wait Time & Resos

You need a reservation and they do make you wait a solid 15-20 once you arrive on a busy night, as I did. You need to be in the hostess's face or its going to continuously be "another two minutes." Honestly, I find this common approach extremely annoying. Either seat me now or tell me its actually going to be 15 min. Luckily Alimentari also offers ice cream, a full bar, cured meats and cheeses in their "store front" so the wait doesn't feel too long.

 Il Buco Alimentari

53 Great Jones St. 

(212) 837-2622

http://www.ilbucovineria.com/

Obsession

For anyone who knows me, this blog is LONG overdue. Of all the blogs I've created in this lifetime (and there are definitely WAY too many) this is the one that most thoroughly defines me and and my total infatuation with restaurant-going, resturaunt-knowing and restaurant-experiencing.

I am a very guilty restaurant maven that guiltily checks into foursquare (@vicdahan) and has one too many lists of restaurants in NY, LA, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and London (the four major cities I visit most often) organized by cuisine/food type, area and whether it's trendy or not. I have lists of different types of recommendations for people and comments on what's good and what I NEED to try next. I obsessively (hence restaurant obsessed) research and read up on restaurants and check my yelp bible for reviews on spots that I've just discovered or am really hoping to check out in order to see if the spot is worth going to.

Readers of this blog must note a couple of things about me:

A. I am a vegetarian and like to eat lots of fish and veggies. Pork, lobster, ham, chicken and such will not be part of my repertoire but please read anyway!

B. When I mention I am restaurant obsessed, I am referring to any store front that is food related. I love a good cup of quality coffee and an amazing chocolate chip cookie or mille feuille (its a napoleon, btw) just as much as a proper restaurant with food and drink.

C. I HATE BRUNCH. I'm not embarrassed to admit it. I don't like eggs (in any form, although I can tolerate a sunny side up). And, more than anything, I HATE WAITING TO BE SEATED FOR BRUNCH. Its the most popular meal of the week, its impossible to ever get seated, and its impossible to get resos. Oh and it kills the option of having dinner because it always ends up being between 1 and 4 o'clock.

D. I make a point NOT to go to places that have the following combination a trendy vibe with excruciatingly bad food (ahem to certain meatpacking spots). I'd rather eat well somewhere else. Its not like there's any sort of restaurant shortage in New York.

Now that I've cleared the air with the former I am going to lay out some of the blog groundwork...

I will review each restaurant, store shop, food vendor with  the following and in the following order.

And, I promise I will keep it short and sweet...

1. Food, the overall quality. I may not always mention what I ordered in detail. Just some noteworthy dishes and whether the food is tasty and worth a revisit.

2. Ambiance

3. Wait Time & Reservations  (I HATE waiting and HATE places that are annoying about reservations or obsessively annoying about their lack of reservations, but more on this later)

... Till my first post