Parm

Parm the quintessential NY description of eggplant, chicken or meatball parmigiana satisfies with old school recipes revisited. The setting a lunch counter with wallpaper reminicent of grandma's kitchen is small, and the tunes like Volare and When the Moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie take you back. If you come early before 6 you will likely get a table, after that name on a list. I came early and sat at the counter. I ordered the garlic knots, baked clams, eggplant parm platter with Sunday salad. The baked clams are simply divine sauce meant to dip and slurp. Garlic knots are light a little sweet, heavy on the garlic and delish. Eggplant was dry sitting under the broiler way too long where it should have been moist with sauce and cheese like Monte's meatballs and polenta. Sunday salad was authentic with ice-berg, California olives, peppers and a good vinaigrette. Fun spot to relive memories.
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Monte's

The resurrected Monte's in a spot also resurrected by time moves into an updated Italian menu. A wood fired oven is the centerpiece and churns out high quality delicious pies. Renovated and reopened it drew quite a crowd on a Saturday night. Meatballs over polenta cooked in the oven satisfies with a hearty sauce and high quality mozzarella ($9) The special pie of escarole, sausage and mozzarella hot out of the oven was pizza perfection. Charred with al dente escarole it had a magnificent flavor reminicent of Zero Otto Noves pies. Thicker not paper thin, lots of flavor.($17) Larger pies called metros are big enough for a family to share. Mighty fine!
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Frasers Bake Shop

Open since 1902, this old school bakery treasure from old Yorkville sits on 1st Ave. near 87St. I am drawn in by it's goods and knowing that I have discovered a remnant of things past. The enormus oven(coal) speaks to the rustic quality of some of the baked goods. Challah looks bandmade and slighly charred on top. Originally a bread bakery when opened they expanded to cakes and pastries. All looked lovely. I went with some classics- black and white cookie, peecan danish, cheese danish, chocolate cupcake($1.25). The danishes which were properly darkly daked and properly delicious. Must get a challah next time.
MUST GO!

Ai Fiori

High end, hotel restaurant in the newish Setai Hotel on 5th Ave. and 37th St. Large dining room on second floor overlooking less glamarous 5th. Ave. The lunch on Saturday boasts all sections of the menu at megawatt prices. We were seated at a four top and enjoyed the moment. A Fisher amber from the Alsace comes in a pretty bottle and is tasty. Ai Fiori has an extensive wine list as well. My friend and I shared two pastas. A Ligurian crustacean of seafood finely added over black squid pasta. The other dish was a tortelli(large ravioli) with ricotta and a sauce of marscapone and a red wine glaze. Total cost of the small plate pastas was close to $50. They were fine, dishes- the seafood pasta ligtly creamy and delicate pieces of scallop and sepia. The tortelli(pictured) glistened and also was mighty fine. For dessert a chocolate caramel(chemuex) with vanilla ice-cream was a divinely decadent finish to a pricey albeit tasty meal.
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Vandaag

A stellar brunch experience starting with the space- bright, light, and modern corner restaurant. Northern European with emphasis on Dutch. Unusual flavor combos make for a comforting yet exotic experience. A latte and Dutch hot cocoa started us off. Latte was perfect and hot chocolate was spicy from cinnamon and...was delicious. A piece of sweet bread rolled around a jam center served on a slab with butter and fig jam was also a winner. The star of the brunch was the Dutch pancake. Served in a round white bowl, it was perfection to look at and eat. Speck, gouda with rind,bits of Fujji apple and topped with Juniper apple syrup. Purely orgasmic. Cleanest, bathrooms by European standard.
MUST GO!

Smorgas Chef

A charming spot that boasts some Scandanavian design elements like preserved trees and wooden benches, plus looks out onto a lovely part of the hamlet. Smorgas Chef has been around awhile and with good reason, the food is good. Scandanavian cuisine is enjoying a rebirth of sorts in NY and this is a fine place to sample some. At brunch, there is a prix fixe for $17.95 or a la carte dishes, we went with the latter. The pancake with vanilla sauce and bacon pictured for $14 and an egg white salmon and jarlsberg omelette for $16. Both were solid choices with the eggy pancake sprinkled with a few strawberries being the clear winner. A delicate plate of cookies sprinkled with powdered sugar topped the meal for $5.
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