I decided to post about tapas restaurants because over the past couple of months, it appears as if I’ve been going on an impromptu tour of tapas restaurants in NYC.
The main reason why I like going to these restaurants is because you get to try a number of different things on the menu. Anyone who knows me knows that is my general mantra when I go out to dinner, especially when I go out to dinner with James. (See foodie catch phrase on the side bar “we ½ and ½ ed it”). I realize that not everyone shares my interest in tapas restaurants, one being my friend Laura. She says that she “loathes” going to those restaurants because she always feels hungry after she leaves. Well my answer to that is just order more! The other related thing about tapas is that one would think that you spend less at these restaurants because they are “little plates” so they must be less monies right? Well, because generally I overcompensate for that little portion fact, and order a lot of them, so it ends up being more money than a general single entrée. James and I usually order 4-5 plates, and at a minimum $12 a pop, that’s like $30 per person, which is usually more than what you would spend on a single entrée in a decently priced restaurant.
So what’s all the hype about? Let’s chat shall we??? (In alphabetical order as to not show preference)
Alta: West Village
I got introduced to this restaurant by another food loving friend. She suggested it when we and two other friends had been planning a girls dinner…and we always switched who chose the venue. This time it was her turn and I was HOOKED. I’ll just put it out there, this place is definitely a repeat restaurant (again, see this foodie catch phrase). In fact, I am already planning to go back there next week for a friend’s birthday. So there. Great sangria, nice space, good service. Good locale too. It’s in the West Village, but in a less “crowded” part, where I don’t feel pressured to get a tattoo or a nose ring while I am there.
Top dish(es) pick: Hmm. Menu has changed. Guess that goes to show that I am supposed to post real time. However, do remember having this LIFE CHANGING Brussels sprouts dish. Now if someone can manage to make Brussels sprouts taste life changing, I think they are doing something right, don’t you think?
I got introduced to this restaurant by another food loving friend. She suggested it when we and two other friends had been planning a girls dinner…and we always switched who chose the venue. This time it was her turn and I was HOOKED. I’ll just put it out there, this place is definitely a repeat restaurant (again, see this foodie catch phrase). In fact, I am already planning to go back there next week for a friend’s birthday. So there. Great sangria, nice space, good service. Good locale too. It’s in the West Village, but in a less “crowded” part, where I don’t feel pressured to get a tattoo or a nose ring while I am there.
Top dish(es) pick: Hmm. Menu has changed. Guess that goes to show that I am supposed to post real time. However, do remember having this LIFE CHANGING Brussels sprouts dish. Now if someone can manage to make Brussels sprouts taste life changing, I think they are doing something right, don’t you think?
Amsterdam Restaurant and Tapas Lounge : Upper West Side
Nestled not too far away from Columbia, this restaurant is a place that I would expect Columbia students to be when they want a break from pizza and Ramen noodles and get a little “fancy”. James and I went there a while back, but have no recollection of how we found the place. I do remember thinking that the food was American bar food scaled down to a smaller size and slapped the word “tapas” on it. Maybe because tapas is all the rage and they were just trying to fit in? They do serve some “ethic” type food, which again, in the same fashion, slapped on different ethincities before the actual food names to make it sound more global (INDIAN chicken skewers, Spicy THAI garlic shrimp, etc). It wasn’t the most horrible food, but definitely nothing to write home about, or to trek back uptown for.
Top dish(es) pick: Beef Empanadas
Nestled not too far away from Columbia, this restaurant is a place that I would expect Columbia students to be when they want a break from pizza and Ramen noodles and get a little “fancy”. James and I went there a while back, but have no recollection of how we found the place. I do remember thinking that the food was American bar food scaled down to a smaller size and slapped the word “tapas” on it. Maybe because tapas is all the rage and they were just trying to fit in? They do serve some “ethic” type food, which again, in the same fashion, slapped on different ethincities before the actual food names to make it sound more global (INDIAN chicken skewers, Spicy THAI garlic shrimp, etc). It wasn’t the most horrible food, but definitely nothing to write home about, or to trek back uptown for.
Top dish(es) pick: Beef Empanadas
Bocqueria : SoHo
James and I had been putzing around the city. We went to a bbq earlier in the day, and were just looking for “a little something”, so we were searching for tapas restaurants in the SoHo area, and Bocqueria came up with the most positive reviews, so off we went. One of my golden rules is to only go to restaurants where I get a recommendation from someone (or something) that I trust. This was just a google search. Well , we were both pleasantly surprised. We sat at the bar cause that’s how we roll when we don’t want to wait 47 minutes to be seated. We still got full waiter service, who was fabulous by the way. Wasn’t too impressed with the house sangria (that we got a pitcher of….lessoned learned), but the food and the service more than made up for it. I would normally tag this place as “obnoxious”, kinda the clientele that think they are the be all and tell all of Manhattan. However, we were there early enough where we were leaving as the majority of those folks were entering. I would definitely go back again, if we were in the nabe, but wouldn’t go cross or down town for it.
Top dish(es) pick: Croquetas Cremosas (Creamy croquettes; three each of mushroom and chard)
James and I had been putzing around the city. We went to a bbq earlier in the day, and were just looking for “a little something”, so we were searching for tapas restaurants in the SoHo area, and Bocqueria came up with the most positive reviews, so off we went. One of my golden rules is to only go to restaurants where I get a recommendation from someone (or something) that I trust. This was just a google search. Well , we were both pleasantly surprised. We sat at the bar cause that’s how we roll when we don’t want to wait 47 minutes to be seated. We still got full waiter service, who was fabulous by the way. Wasn’t too impressed with the house sangria (that we got a pitcher of….lessoned learned), but the food and the service more than made up for it. I would normally tag this place as “obnoxious”, kinda the clientele that think they are the be all and tell all of Manhattan. However, we were there early enough where we were leaving as the majority of those folks were entering. I would definitely go back again, if we were in the nabe, but wouldn’t go cross or down town for it.
Top dish(es) pick: Croquetas Cremosas (Creamy croquettes; three each of mushroom and chard)
Pipa : Grammercy
The day started with me and James running into Jerry Seinfeld at Good Enough to Eat, and the day ended with tapas at Pipa. No apparent correlation, but I am just putting that out there. I got the recommendation from a friend from my old job, and if I was still working at the time, then it was while ago. The first attempt to Pipa was a wash, as it was an hour and a half wait on a Tuesday night. That was almost a deal breaker for me right there. Enough time had passed where I was over it, and me and James gave it a shot. I still can’t figure out the connection, but it has some association with ABC Furniture, and there are all these elaborate chandeliers on the ceiling, all of which have price tags. At first glance, it seems like some really sheesh place. There is some truth to that but I didn’t feel so vanilla when James and I were there. Again, we sat at the bar cause that’s how we roll, and got waiter service. The seating was like a German beer garden, so we were sitting with all strangers, but it was all good. Food was good, no complaints, but nothing that I would jump hoops to wait an hour and a half for.
Top dish(es) pick: Baby Chorizo & Tortilla Española (traditional spanish potato, onion & piquillo pepper omelet)
The day started with me and James running into Jerry Seinfeld at Good Enough to Eat, and the day ended with tapas at Pipa. No apparent correlation, but I am just putting that out there. I got the recommendation from a friend from my old job, and if I was still working at the time, then it was while ago. The first attempt to Pipa was a wash, as it was an hour and a half wait on a Tuesday night. That was almost a deal breaker for me right there. Enough time had passed where I was over it, and me and James gave it a shot. I still can’t figure out the connection, but it has some association with ABC Furniture, and there are all these elaborate chandeliers on the ceiling, all of which have price tags. At first glance, it seems like some really sheesh place. There is some truth to that but I didn’t feel so vanilla when James and I were there. Again, we sat at the bar cause that’s how we roll, and got waiter service. The seating was like a German beer garden, so we were sitting with all strangers, but it was all good. Food was good, no complaints, but nothing that I would jump hoops to wait an hour and a half for.
Top dish(es) pick: Baby Chorizo & Tortilla Española (traditional spanish potato, onion & piquillo pepper omelet)
Sojourn: Upper East Side
Are we somewhere downtown?? Well I’ll be damned because this spot feels like it’s in a misplaced neighborhood. The spot has this rustic-chic feel to it (the restaurant says its “warm and sexy”…close enough), something that I would expect in SoHo or the Meatpacking. It’s actually in the family neighborhoody part of the UES. Nevertheless, we were happy to have experienced this gem and were even happier that it was tucked away up there without the big to do crowds. I am pretty sure they have some sort of connection with the downtown Stanton Social , which I happen to be a big fan of. James and I went there before we went to see Chelsea Handler at Radio City for a little pre show meal. We found the place through Open Table, which again, was a kind of out of character thing for me to do. We just did a search on East Side restaurants relatively close to Radio City, and voila, Sojourn it is. I basically got sold on their website “about” link, where they said things like “ethnically responsible food and wine” and “melting pot of cultural influences”. I believe they tried to tag their food as “global”…and that it was. We got many different types of flavors and enjoyed them all.
Top dish(es) pick: Manchego Croquettes & Ricotta and Swiss Chard Ravioli
Are we somewhere downtown?? Well I’ll be damned because this spot feels like it’s in a misplaced neighborhood. The spot has this rustic-chic feel to it (the restaurant says its “warm and sexy”…close enough), something that I would expect in SoHo or the Meatpacking. It’s actually in the family neighborhoody part of the UES. Nevertheless, we were happy to have experienced this gem and were even happier that it was tucked away up there without the big to do crowds. I am pretty sure they have some sort of connection with the downtown Stanton Social , which I happen to be a big fan of. James and I went there before we went to see Chelsea Handler at Radio City for a little pre show meal. We found the place through Open Table, which again, was a kind of out of character thing for me to do. We just did a search on East Side restaurants relatively close to Radio City, and voila, Sojourn it is. I basically got sold on their website “about” link, where they said things like “ethnically responsible food and wine” and “melting pot of cultural influences”. I believe they tried to tag their food as “global”…and that it was. We got many different types of flavors and enjoyed them all.
Top dish(es) pick: Manchego Croquettes & Ricotta and Swiss Chard Ravioli
Son Cubano: Meatpacking
Okay, I have been to this restaurant at least 5 times. That’s huge for me considering a have built a blog around trying new restaurants as often as possible. This restaurant is both a “sure thing” and “life changing” …a rarity in my world. I was first introduced to this place by my sister, solely for the mojitos. They always have excellent music playing, friendly staff, and that true Cuban feel. Not that I know what Cuba feels like, nor is it physically possible for me to fly to Cuba unless I go through Canada. But you get the picture. I have been there for drinks, dancing with the gals, and dinner with James, all of which the restaurant is a great forum for. I guess that’s what makes it so versatile because it has a lot of components for a good time. Highly suggest to go there at least once, and I plan to go at least 5 more times, if not more….
Top dish(es) pick: Empanadillas de Espinaca y Queso (Homemade turnovers filled with spinach and Spanish Manchego cheese), Chorizo Espanol, Chicharrón de Pollo (Chicken drumettes with a spicy guava glaze)
Okay, I have been to this restaurant at least 5 times. That’s huge for me considering a have built a blog around trying new restaurants as often as possible. This restaurant is both a “sure thing” and “life changing” …a rarity in my world. I was first introduced to this place by my sister, solely for the mojitos. They always have excellent music playing, friendly staff, and that true Cuban feel. Not that I know what Cuba feels like, nor is it physically possible for me to fly to Cuba unless I go through Canada. But you get the picture. I have been there for drinks, dancing with the gals, and dinner with James, all of which the restaurant is a great forum for. I guess that’s what makes it so versatile because it has a lot of components for a good time. Highly suggest to go there at least once, and I plan to go at least 5 more times, if not more….
Top dish(es) pick: Empanadillas de Espinaca y Queso (Homemade turnovers filled with spinach and Spanish Manchego cheese), Chorizo Espanol, Chicharrón de Pollo (Chicken drumettes with a spicy guava glaze)
