NYC Hotspot Find: Flinders Lane
FLINDERS LANE, EAST VILLAGE It took dinner at Flinders Lane to realise how much I’ve missed the food back home in Australia. If you’re lucky enough to have travelled there, you’ll know modern Australian cuisine as a beautiful multicultural collision that takes the best from South East Asia, Greece, Italy and even India with British … Continue reading
NYC Hotspot Find: Joseph Leonard
JOSEPH LEONARD, WEST VILLAGE Brunch at Joseph Leonard can be likened to attending your cool stylist friend’s brunch party. You feel slightly jealous as you enter into her tiny but bright West Village apartment filled with all the curious antiques she’s discovered on her travels. You can’t help but notice how she seems to have … Continue reading
NYC Hotspot Find: Hi-Collar
HI-COLLAR, EAST VILLAGE I keep saying “this is my new favourite restaurant” but this time it really is, promise. Hi-Collar is one of those no-details-spared Japanese hotspots. It’s a Parisian-inspired cafe by day and restaurant/sake bar by night. The place literally transforms as soon as the barman stealthily slides the wall-to-wall cabinet door to reveal … Continue reading
NYC Hotspot Find: Saxon + Parole
SAXON + PAROLE, NOHO Saxon + Parole is a solid NoHo restaurant where you can expect an excellent meal with a memorable bottle of wine. You’ll even enjoy all of it in the restaurant’s lively atmosphere with its sophisticated NoHo crowd. Meat-lovers’ ears will prick up when they hear the specials because there’s bound to … Continue reading
NYC Hotspot Find: Bohemian
BOHEMIAN NYC | NOHO Hidden behind Japan Premium Beef on Great Jones Street, lays a Japanese restaurant shrouded in secrecy – an almost impossible feat in a city run by publicity and where speakeasies and members clubs are a dime-a-dozen. Somehow though, Bohemian pulls off the member’s only restaurant concept in a way that weeds out … Continue reading
NYC Hotspot Find: Charlie Bird
CHARLIE BIRD, SOHO Lingering lunches at Charlie Bird are my new favourite weekend pursuit. Modern Italian food isn’t always done with as much flair in this town, there’s always that fine line that’s crossed where the food is more American-Italian than it is Italian-Italian, but Charlie Bird gets it right. I’m even poised to say … Continue reading
NYC Hotspot Find: Uncle Boons
UNCLE BOONS, NOLITA Let’s say you’re reminiscing about your last trip to Thailand, when you were nursing that ice-cold beer and grazing on Thai food with that unmistakable fresh, dynamic flavor. You want to recreate that, but you’re stuck in Lower Manhattan, that concrete jungle we all know lacks quality Thai, considering every other cuisine … Continue reading
NYC Hotspot Find: Mast Brothers Chocolate
MAST BROTHERS CHOCOLATE, WILLIAMSBURG A must visit spot as you wander the streets of Williamsburg is Mast Brothers Chocolate, an artisanal chocolate factory and store best known for its chocolates that surely inspired Brooklyn’s now ubiquitous craft movement. We can thank founders Michael and Rick Mast for their devoted chocolate making process where only the … Continue reading
NYC Hotspot Find: Taïm Falafel & Smoothie Bar
TAÏM FALAFEL & SMOOTHIE BAR, WEST VILLAGE In the beautiful tree-lined West Village lies Taïm (pronounced ta-eem) a quaint little falafel and smoothie bar serving up unadulterated Israeli falafel in the form of sandwiches and platters. Taïm, meaning “tasty” in Hebrew, has no difficulty living up its own name by offering crunchy on the outside, … Continue reading
NYC Hotspot Find: Extra Fancy
EXTRA FANCY, WILLIAMSBURG If I really think about the establishments popping up around Williamsburg one theme comes to mind – not so fancy and extra fancy. It’s a veritable hodgepodge of highbrow, lowbrow, cheap, expensive, dive-y and upscale and Extra Fancy is a bar/restaurant nodding its head to this wonderful characteristic of Williamsburg. Don’t let … Continue reading
NYC Hotspot Find: Dimes
DIMES NYC, LOWER EAST SIDE Newcomers to the downtown restaurant scene like Dimes (and Skal around the corner) make the once desolate intersection of Chinatown and the Lower East Side the area for cool new restaurant watching. The arrival of Dimes makes me a happy bruncher, luncher, and all day breakfaster. I’m happy because of … Continue reading
NYC Hotspot Find: Bromberg Bros. Blue Ribbon Fried Chicken
BROMBERG BROS. BLUE RIBBON FRIED CHICKEN, EAST VILLAGE NYC’s cult fried chicken favourite now has its own outpost where hungry Manhattanites can indulge in deliciously crispy birds in the bright, low-key, cafeteria-style space. If you’ve not tried Blue Ribbon’s fried chicken before, expect umami galore when you feast on the Chicken Dinner with chips and … Continue reading
NYC Hotspot Find: Pearl & Ash
PEARL & ASH, NOLITA When you dine in a restaurant with an inch-thick wine list you’d expect to be dropping some serious cash. You could go either way at Pearl & Ash, a progressive downtown wine bar serving up globally inspired small plates with a plenty of wow factor. For 10-15 bucks a plate and … Continue reading
NYC Hotspot Find: The 303 at Louie and Chan
THE 303 AT LOUIE AND CHAN, LOWER EAST SIDE This brand-new restaurant and basement bar/music room concept is exactly what discerning New Yorkers have been looking for. I for one am celebrating its arrival to the downtown Manhattan scene. Here’s how your night at Louie and Chan is going to play out – a pre-dinner … Continue reading
NYC Hotspot Find: Contra
CONTRA, LOWER EAST SIDE Contra’s concept of simplicity is one many New York restaurants could learn from. A seasonal menu that changes daily, 5 courses with options to add sides or a special, $55. The food is New American done with elegance and restraint and the beverage program is equally stripped-down, presenting only the good … Continue reading
The Curators: Style Influencer Jamala Johns’ Harlem Hotspots
One of my favourite things about New York City is its patchwork of interesting neighbourhoods, all unmistakably different from each other, full of cool hotspots waiting to be discovered. So, for this edition of The Curators, I wanted to put a spotlight on Uptown’s ever-evolving neighbourhood, Harlem. This convivial neighbourhood is home to some of … Continue reading
Sushi eating tips I learned from Mr. Yasuda
Sushi Yasuda is hands down, the best sushi experience I have ever had. It’s probable that this is because I have yet to visit Japan, but this does not devalue my opinion as Mikee, who visits Tokyo frequently, makes the same claim. The restaurant is notoriously strict with reservations. Not only do you have to … Continue reading
Momofuku: fusion without the confusion
I’ll admit it, I’m a Momofuku groupie. I know, there must be thousands of them around the world planning the next time they can line up for one of those steamed pork buns or burst open that poached eggy goodness into their ramen bowl. There must also be thousands of blog entries all talking about … Continue reading
Eataly is Disneyland for foodies
Any buyer’s remorse I was harbouring from my iPad purchase disappeared when I downloaded the Gourmet Live application. If you have an iPad, download it. It’s free and full of great recipes and articles and you keep getting free content by simply reading more articles. It’s like a free bite-sized version of the magazine. I … Continue reading
Stumptown: Leading America’s new wave of hat-wearing, beard-having, coffee enthusiasts
The last time I was in New York for work, I planned to begin my first day the same way I would start my days in Melbourne, with a good coffee in a city café while listening to nice tunes on my iPod. I was horrified when I arrived to work and had two choices … Continue reading
Taim NYC: Tasty as the name says
I’m finally here – on my long awaited culinary tour of New York City. New York is my favourite place in the world for so many reasons, the energy, the food and the people make New York one of the most inspiring cities in the world. We arrived fairly late last night and knew that … Continue reading
melting butter 