Location: 401 East 76th Street, New York, NY, USA
Cuisine: British Pub
Best Dish: The salmon burger was absolutely superb. The close runner-up was the succulent Lamb Shank.
Cost: $$$
Overall: A quaint stylish pub filled with classic British flavors and a constantly evolving menu of seasonal delights.
Location: 50 East 86th Street (At Madison Avenue) New York, NY 10028
Price: $$$
Overall: It’s a little taste of Paris’ La Rive Gauche (the Left Bank) on the Upper East Side. A night in this sweet French restaurant may leave you expecting to wander out onto cobblestone streets – and not into a sea of yellow cabs.
Location: 1450 2nd Avenue, New York, NY 10021 (Upper East Side Location)
Cuisine: American/Brunch
Best Dish: The croissant French toast was delicious. It was unique and well done.
Price: $$
Overall: A laid back Brunch option that serves food everyone can enjoy. A good place to take anyone who loved a big messy burger.
Location: 236 East 77th Street
Cuisine: Italian
Best Dish: The homemade crab meat ravioli was tasty.
Overall: A reasonably priced interpretation of classic Italian cuisine, but nothing special.
Our fondest memories of weeknight meals include some TV dinners. These frozen dinners were hardly a treat, instead, they were a convenient source of sustenance when no one had time to cook a whole meal. The steaming little trays with familiar comfort foods compartmentalized for convenience were a familiar staple in many busy households. These days, frozen dinners are still available but are a rarity in most households. High sodium contents and chemical additives force many to abandon the TV dinner. Despite the stigma with frozen goods frozen meals are experiencing a resurgence due to European influence. Our friends across the pond offer a wider assortment of frozen fare with more interesting options for our evolved taste buds. The French in particular, have indulged in frozen fare for years via frozen food specialty stores. Babeth’s Feast brings the concept to NYC’s Upper East Side with its new grocery shopping experience.
Location: 1221 2nd Avenue
Cuisine: Chinese and Japanese
Best Dish: The honey ribs are tender and juicy with a light sweet barbecue glaze but the must-try item is the whole crispy seabass.
Location: 269 Columbus Avenue
Cuisine: Latino American
Best Dish: The Hot Chocolate Brownie is an absolute delight. Creamy ice cream fluffy whipped cream and warm bubbly brownie, how can you not fall in love with all of that? If sweet isn’t your thing, you can’t go wrong with the burger, the patty is everything juicy beefy dreams are made of.
Overall: AG Kitchen is a romantic comfortable space with good food that is well prepared and not pretentious. The menu is diverse enough to satisfy picky eaters but never overwhelming.
Location: 696 Madison Avenue
Cuisine: Italian
Best Dish: We adored the Lamb chops and the Ossobuco, but the Calamaretti was the star. The stuffed was a unique dish that would appeal to any seafood lover.
Overall: A fine space for a dinner with friends or relatives but not ideal for rambunctious kiddies. Families can dine at Nello and often do but the menu may be problematic for the little ones. Nello is a good choice for a very special date night with your spouse or a meal with out of town guests who would enjoy people watching.
