Hi,
Recently I had a friend visiting from San Francisco. All week she requested we eat and a place that had healthy, fresh food. I am a born and raised Northern Californian so I understood what she meant. I grew up with Deborah Madison in my backyard and the disciples of Alice Waters in my city limits.
Can anyone recommend their top favorite healthy-minded Brooklyn and Manhattan restaurants? I am not looking to break the bank account either.
Thanks!
I've made mac n' cheese 3 times now (and I'm not a beginner cook) and each time it doesn't have that creamy factor. It either is too dry, too oily, or too not-right. Does anyone have tips on preparation (e.g. oven temp, time in oven, amount of cream, etc.) THANKS!
I love everyone's ideas! They're good ones.
For me, I'd go with this plan:
-if you have the time, shop online. find great cuts of meat and/or seafood and find a great dessert while you're at it.
-if online is not an option, i'd go to your Stop-n-Shop and find out when the best day is to shop for the freshest ingredients. Find out when they get their meat, produce delivery.
-if this isn't an option because you have a lack of time, i'd talk to some of your friends about ideas. find your friend that is a great cook. enlist his/her help. likely your friend will have good ideas about where to get what, etc.
-and, since you have extra money, buy the best pantry items (good olive oil, spices, etc.).
-lastly, HAVE FUN!
-Shake Shack is great. I think there is too much garlic in the meat, but that's me.
-I also like PJ Clarks (UES).
-People say the Corner Bistro in the W. Village is the spot.
-I eat regularly at Burger in Chelsea and think it's pretty good. I think their turkey burgers are better than their regular beef burgers. And to whomever likes their veggie burgers, FYI: they use Dr. Preger's frozen patties. So, if you like them, you can buy them yourself too.
-My favorite burger joint is Dumont Burger on Bedford in Williamsburg.
I'm a born and raised Californian. I've lived in SF Bay Area and Los Angeles. I am a lover of pizza as well as baked items (cookies, breads, etc.). To me, New York City's food tastes better than CA. I've always thought it's the water. The bread, bagels, pizza, cookies, etc. tastes better here. Call me crazy!
Olives in Soho on Prince (btw Wooster & Greene St) makes a tuna sandy with Grilled Yellowfin Tuna (served with watercress and tomato on seven grain bread). I have to admit it needs seasoning, but if you want to be "healthy" it's a great way to go. My favorite addiction there is their Italian Hero. You won't go wrong with that sandwich.
I haven't scoured the city for the best slice, however, I have a fine palette for pizza.
These are my picks (in no particular order):
Fornino
187 Bedford Ave (off L Bedford Stop)
Brooklyn, NY 11211-2946
Phone: (718) 384-6004
-brick oven pizza with modern topping choices (e.g. truffle oil)
Grimaldi's (over Brooklyn Bridge)
http://www.grimaldis.com/brooklyn.htm
-brick oven pizza - classic New York pizza eating experience
Totono's in Coney Island
1524 Neptune Ave.
Brooklyn, NY
718.372.8606
-brick oven pizza - in fun coney island setting
too bad i missed this posting.
i live in the burg and would have told you to check out:
Diner
85 Broadway, beneath W-burg Bridge
(great food for the prices especially if you're a manhattanite)
Fornino
187 Bedford Ave.,
(excellent brick oven pizza. for me, it's my main stay when i just can't get out to Totonno's)
Fortunato Bros
289 Manhattan Ave.,
(for old skool italian bakery style cookie and espresso)
Da Porterhouse, yo!
I disagree with the water theory. The best pizza I have had outside of NYC was in North Carolina - two brothers who moved down from the bronx to open up a place. It's how you make it as well as the ingredients.
5 bottles of wine and 1 jamesons for 3 people: i'll be shocked to hear from you tomorrow (unless it's under the hangover cure thread.).
sounds like an awesome dinner ahead.
Thanks for everyone!! So I went shopping yesterday at Guido's, an amazing marketplace. Here's the tentative menu:
Spinach salad with Roquefort, glazed walnuts, cranberries
Asparagus Gruyere Tart
Roasted new potatoes with rosemary
Filet mignon with truffled mushroom ragout
Giant apple pie with ice cream
5 bottles of wine
1 bottle of Jameson
We bought the best ingredients we could get and it all added up to a whopping....
$290!!
Lots of cooking to do tonight and I'll report on it tomorrow! Thanks again for everyone's suggestions, I knew I could count on SE posters!
Good luck today, Jenn. We're expecting a full report tomorrow!
@Jenn Sit......it's Thursday - the big dinner day! You HAVE to let us know your entire menu, Campbell's Soup to Planter's Nuts, so to speak. ;-)
Okay, all you responders, fill me in on this yummy treat. What's it like? I've never had it. I do like tart things like sour cream, buttermilk and good yogurt so is it something like those?
And if it's not too nosy, why does the doc want you to drink it? I've read that it's supposed to be good for you, but was there something specific he's thinking it will help? If that's too personal or annoying, no need to answer, but I'm just wondering if this might be something I might want to keep on hand, or whether it might just be a "sometimes" treat.
It's sooo easy to spend $300 on a great dinner. Of course, if you have limited access to ingredients then it'll be a little more difficult. A great whiskey will eat up a big chunk of money. If I were you, I'd get to the store early the day before your dinner and see what was available. Pick the best protiens, veggies, etc. and then go home and find your recipes. Then I'd go back to the store for whatever you need to complete the meal. Coook ahead where you can and finish the rest that night.
Even with high-end foods and multiple courses, you've got a very generous budget. So I'd want to be extra sure to serve several really good wines, and a bottle of top-notch whisky for the prof. Be sure to find out what he likes. If this is his liquor of choice, and if he drinks it regularly, he probably has very definite tastes. If he's not particular about specific brand, he'll almost certainly prefer a specific variety (e.g., Scotch, Irish, Tennessee, malt, bourbon, etc.).
Also, if you decide to server beef, I'd definitely spring for dry-aged prime grade with a budget like that. Very expensive (double or triple the usual price), but also very special.
If he likes whiskey, you could pair each course with a different whiskey. That'd easily take up a huge chunk of the budget and provide a "take away" for each guest (what's left in the bottles). Maybe, appetizer, first + whiskey, main + whiskey, and dessert + whiskey. Would be memorable.
I would do small plates
scallops, filet mignons, small pasta course, small salad, aspaagus is good, maybe a clams dish, somthing very small and rich for dessert,
serve with 3 good wines and espresso could probably do it for about 225.00
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Location: Brooklyn
About: I'm a video editor. I'm passionate about cooking and food in general.
Favorite foods: Family style and comfort foods with a healthy twist.
Last bite on earth: Fried chicken, potato salad and rice balls (it's a childhood favorite meal).