DBGB

Uber cool and hip industrial spot on the burgeoning Bowery. My second visit proved dissapointing foodwise. Though the bread and salted butter are what you expect from a high end restaurant other features are uneven. There are the sausages made on premises which are hit or miss. My viennoise with emmanthaler cheese(pictured) and served with housemade sauerkraut was a tad bland though sauerkraut was good. At $14 though it is pricey. A side of spaetzle for $6 was also underseasoned. The superstar dessert of rhubarb tart with meringue and ice-cream was a winner at $9. Unprofessional service for a spot of this caliber.
Slowgo!

Pain d' Avignon

Oh the bread.........Pain d' Avignon formerly sold to the trade from their bread ovens in Long Island City. Now in a tiny kiosk in Essex Street Market, one can enjoy the gorgeous breads and rolls at reasonable prices for artisan goods. Baguettes, pecan, cranberry, onion rolls are some of the offerings. These breads have depth, flavor and are perfect! If you are a bread lover.......you......
Must Go!

Hecho en Dumbo

Soaring, industrial space on the now trendy Bowery, Hecho soars with upmarket Mexico City style offerings. There is exposed brick on both sides of the long room and kitchen seating for those who like to watch their food being made. Water is brought over in a Patroon style bottle and they were nice enough to ask if I wanted ice in my water. This is not your chips and salsa style Mexican and you only get their housemade tortilla chips with an order of guacamole($7). The salsa shown above come gratis and include pico de gallo, a red and a green. The crema de elote soup of zucchini and corn with spring onion succotash was a perfect blend of flavors for $7.
The three sopes which you can mix and match- I had the chicken in a chile sauce plus two sopes de nopales(cactus) which included a spread of black bean puree on the tortilla(tasty) for $8. Enjoyed the hip, fab space and not too pricey food.
GO!

The Spot

A divine dessert bar that creates desserts that are constructed in front of you. The desserts are in the molecular gastronomy realm or as I call it "molecular dessertronomy." Innovative flavor combinations as well as textural combinations. We shared a dessert tapas of three desserts- soft cheesecake, chocolate pudding with bananas as well as a coconut crema. The soft cheesecake was balanced by tangy blood oranges and crunchy granola. The chocolate pudding with bananas featured a crunchy sweet crisp made in house that was also divine. Lastly, the coconut crema served with passionfruit mousse was a refreshing combination. These desserts are delicous and different.
MUST GO!

Roebling's Tea Room

Guest house meets industrial warehouse chic. Roebling Tea Room sits on a corner in a huge converted factory space with some outdoor space to boot. A large menu of teas confirms that this is a tea room. Popular brunch lures in the local hipsters for some interesting brunch items. Do come for the "big pancake" pictured above for $10 which is an absolute killer cake with stewed fruit. $10 buys you this cakey delicacy with butter and syrup that is not only unique, but one of the best in town.
GO!

Joseph Leonard

Farmhouse, shabby chic interior with wood-beamed ceilings and well worned wood tables. A perfect lunch-spot on a snowy day off from work. Lunch time is still pricey though an interesting menu creates a unique experience. There are cornichions and salt on the tables and service is thoughtful though distant. I ordered the crab sarnie with fresh chips as well as a side of winter stuffing. The sarnie came prettily served on toast though tasted better on the onion roll offered by the waiter. The winter squash with sausage and chestnuts was slightly spicy though a little bready. The best part of the meal was a salted caramel pudding with cookies on top which was t.d.f.
Go!

Lansky's

An old-fashioned Jewish deli with some new fangled dishes. Decorated in black and white and clearly an Upper West Side nabe fave. Starters include the requisite sour/half sour pickles and coleslaw. Tangy sour pickles create a tasty start. After watching reruns of deep fried paradise on the Travel channel, I could not resist the Devil Dog which is a deep fried hot dog with three toppings for $5.25.
My dog was a juicy mix of flavors with pastrami bits, brisket and baked beans as well as raw onions. Delish. The other two dishes- mac and cheese croquettes, and potato pancakes were a supporting cast to the deep fried dog. Very accomodating service.
GO!

Cafe Luluc

Charming, and friendly French style bistro with a killer brunch. Minus the long lines on Clinton Street, these pancakes are worth the trip. Topped with fresh fruit they are nicely crispy at the edges and superflavorful. A side of bacon was cooked to order and hot chocolate a comforting breakfast drink. Empty before 10AM on Sunday, affordably priced and offering the usual brunch dishes besides the heavenly pancakes. Great Brooklyn brunch!
GO!

La Lucha

La Lucha stands for a popular free-style wrestling popular in Mexico. It is a stylised little spot on Ave. A. and East. 9th street. Decorated with little Mexican wrestling figurines, it is a hot pink skinny space. There are vintage wrestling movies projected on a white wall which is a nice touch. The food is authentic, quite good and cheap which is why it is popular. Chips are fried up in house and naturally addictive. The guacamole pictured is limey freshness served up with those insane chips. I have been here twice for dinner and once for brunch. At brunch the chiliquiles are the best I have tried outside Mexico- served with chicken there are lots of flavors at once. There Mexican hot chocolate hits the mark with perfect richness. The flautas are served with cheese or chicken and are tasty as is the corn pictured which is one of the spicier ones I have tasted. You can have dinner here for under $20 in a fun, relaxed and unique enviroment.
GO!

Baogette on 7online

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/video?id=7234074

The link with Franny on Channel 7 segment on Murray Hill Vietnamese sandwiches..........
Sorry as you actually have to type in the link or go to Neigborhood Eats with Lauren Glassberg and it is right there.
My comments were "a flavor boom in your mouth" and "delish".

Bklyn Larder

Why go to Bklyn Larder, a small store on Flatbush Ave. on the Park Slope side owned by the Franny's pizza people? Because there are so many special and delicious treats here. Cheeses pictured range from some of the usual to some unexpected Italian hard cheeses. They make their own mozzarella and it is top of the line. I like to try some of their prepared foods for a light lunch or dinner. Polenta with sausage, cous cous with veggies, marinated mushrooms and luscious mac and cheese were the dishes that lined my plate. House baked lemon squares and chocolate chip cookies and of course the Bklyn Larder gelato are ready to take home. All this delish does not come cheap. A can of San Marzano tomatoes, I just bought at NSA supermarket in Chelsea was $6 in this store, but I would not buy my canned goods here, what is special are the cheeses, Larder-made meats and foods made in house.

MUST GO!

Sookk

Sook is an amalgm of Thai cuisines. It's menu explains the different sauces and spices utilized in Thai cooking. The welcoming space on Broadway and 102nd St. is comphy and the staff is super accomodating. Foodwise, there is a lunch special starting at $7 and it is delicious. All the food is served at once and I started with fried chicken and shrimp dumplings(pictured above) and asked for duck with my rama sauce(a peanut based sauce). Though there is no duck with the lunch special, I offered to pay more and they obliged. Food was fresh, spicy, and sublime.

GO!