L'Apicio

Sleek and sexy spot off Extra Place- "the little foodie street". The restaurant impresses visually, with a large open wine closet off the main dining room. Service here is attentive and professional. The bread with plain oil is a yawner as nothing distinguishes it from any other upscale Italian. Many good menu choices abound and I went with arrancini, calamarata pasta, brussel sprouts with pancetta and a dessert of chocolate cake with fresh stracciatella ice-cream and caramel. Total bill was about $52 with tip- no drink. The arranci with fontina were tasty though not dark and a little olive oily like my palate prefers. Pizza Roma on Bleeker has a good one. The best part of the savory was the brussel sprouts- fried, lemony, bacony, delish. The calamarata- with calamari sauce and round squid shaped pasta did not blow my mind. The molten chocolate cake did though with house made ice-cream, macerated cherries and a lovely crust- this was a winning dessert. A good spot for a girls night out or a date to impress. GO!

Fletcher's Barbecue

Barbecue was beckoning on Sunday in lieu of brunch. Fletchers is one of the new New York barbecue joints creating a second barbecue renaissance. Beginning with Hill Country and before that Blue Smoke, barbecue is enjoying new blood- no pun intended. Fletchers teams up a former advertising guy with a Rub veteran. The restaurant is situated in the ever growing Gowanus food strip next to Four and Twenty Blackbirds Pie Shop. The result is a melange of 'cue styles all quite flavorfully smoked. I went with 5 wings for $5 which were a close second to Hill Country's mega flavored chicken. The bean menage a trois was smoky with bacon at $4. The cole slaw- uber crunchy and also a reasonable $4. Most sides are $4 which is $2 cheaper than Hill Country. The mac & cheese with cheese sauce poured over it to order was pedestrian. The open seating feels spacious. Only gripe was the house barbecue tasty like a denser, darker duck sauce and none too complex. If the sauces were amped up it would be a definite........ MUST GO!

Maysville

Monstrously flavored food from the Char4 folks on the edge of the Flatiron. They are known for their large and varied selection of bourbons, but they have interesting beers and wines as well. Lunchtime fills up slowly and the food rocked out. A Full Sail Amber was a nice balance to the smoky sandwich ordered. I went with the pulled pork with fried kale on a dark ciabatta roll. This came with whiskey pickles and housemade bbq potato chips($14). The smoky slightly spicy pulled pork with the fried kale was mouth awakening. The whiskey pickles were pickled root veggies and the good chips made for a great meal. To top it off, I ordered the bread pudding with cherry bourbon vanilla ice-cream($9). The surprise was a smudge of chocolate and candied pecans. Simply DIVINE! MUST GO!

Rock Center Cafe

Oh the view, is magnificent at night. This pricey cum touristy locale is worth the price for restaurant week-$38 at dinner. You can sit nearly on the rink here and enjoy the view and oh the food. The bread basket has a nice parker roll and lentil dip. Loved the cauliflower soup with rye croutons and bacon- this was a superior soup. The pork loin with sweet mashed and brussel sprouts was tasty. The apple pie with salted caramel was big and sugary sweet. There was some discussion about if I could have any dessert on the regular dessert menu- any one, but the layer cake with dulce de leche. I would return for restaurant week otherwise a special spot for visitors at night of course. SLOW GO!

Ootoya

Ooytoya is a authentic Japanese restaurant, so rare in NY these days. There are Japanese servers, cooks and customs. Ooytoa is a chain in Japan and is uber-popular here in NYC in the Flaticon district. I have eaten here twice for lunch and both times, the place fills up with people of all ages and lots of families. First, you are given a hot towel. The menu is extensive and incorporates Japanese home cooking, yakitori's, dons(bowls) and sushi. I went with fish both times and they are served with quite an assortment of little dishes. The Salmon Saikyo(pictured) is marinaed in sakyo miso and comes with egg custard, rice, radish, yams, seaweed with sweet black beans, Japanese pickles and soup for $18. Every little taste on the serving plate is a treat minus the egg custard(beautifully served, but an aquired taste. The Hokke Yuan or grilled "ootoya" fatty horse mackeral steeped in sweet soy sauce served with ponzu sause is equally tasty. The soup here is so very flavorful and your palate is in for a treat at Ootoya. 8 W. 18th St. MUST GO!

Catfish Bar & Restaurant

While a long walk up fun Franklin, this Cajun joint is a longer one up Nostrand. Best to take the 2/3 or 4/5 to Franklin Ave and walk to Prospect and one block over to Bedford. This nabe once deep in the cut, is undergoing serious changes- check out ILoveFranklinAve.blogspot.com for more info. At Catfish, with 16 beers on tap you have plenty to choose from and enjoy. I went with a 1/2 of Doc's pear cider- sweet & tasty. The woodsy interior is inviting. I am sometimes confused by Cajun/Creole, but no dispute about the great grub on tap here. Warm cornbread with honey butter tastes very good. The lemon pepper shrimp with Cajun mayonaise is a nice fresh start. The Gumbo File was the star of the show with a rich, dark, dense soup of crab, shrimp and some Andouille sausage for smoky flavor. The vintagey bathrooms with sliding doors held closed with a jimmy-rigged iron piece is mad-cool. The spot was filling up nicely for a Sunday. Would try the Cherries Jubilee next time if I wasn't full from the gumbo. GO!

Guy American Kitchen and Bar

Guy and Heartland Brewery team up to create a mecca to American comfort albeit a pricey one. Is this farm to table-no, but a fun dining expedition. Creative drinks like the Jack Nog with eggnog of course, Jack, honey, cinnamon tasting like Baily's or Kaluha in a glass. Oysters Malibu with spinach, garlic, onions and lemon baked to a tasty perfection. Chipotle soft tacos also a winner with taste and a little spice. The mains were less inspired.......the Motley Ribs with their galactic glaze were less tasty than they looked and an Argentine hanger lacked flavor. The dessert a fruity parfait called Salted Whiskey Caramel Fool with whiskey and layered strawberries & poundcake was a nice finish. Have fun folks this is a Times Square restaurant not "New Brooklyn" dining. GO!

Giovanni Rana

Giovonni Rana is a fifty year old pasta maker from Verona, Italy. It first appears somewhat like Eataly with pasta for sale, a restaurant and some packaged Italian goods. It is not, in that pasta is elevated to a fine art here. The pasta for sale is magnificent showcasing hard to find styles like beet tagliatelle- normally found only in restaurants. Raviolis with paper thin exteriors look great. The beet tagliatelle only $2 for a quarter pound(serving for one) is quite a bargain. You can also dine in and the chef is reputed to be quite good. A great addition to Chelsea Market. GO! GO!

Kristophe

Pan Euro food in a rustic charming W'Burg spot. Think German, Hungarian and Polish. Started the meal with sweet potato pirogies and grilled bacon. The sweet potato pirogies were perfectly pan-fried with sour cream. The grilled bacon was a wickedly fattening treat. The main of Heritage pork chop with mashed parsnips and string beans was a comforting meal. Nicely grilled pork chop though a dad overdone for me made for a filling European trip. There are lots of European beers on tap, I went with the Czech Imperial and it was quite good. Friendly service and not as crowded as other Metropolitan Ave. hotspots make Kristophe a good Winter food spot. GO!

Coffee Shop

On the eve of the impending storm- Sandy, I ate at Coffee Shop. Disasters in NY tend to bring out an odd collection of locals looking for a momentary thrill, before oncoming uncertainty. coffee Shop holds memories of the 80's in all it's glory. The apathetic modelesque servers, the booths and banquettes are all retro fun. The Brazilian/Latin influenced food is a hit or miss and that night it was a big hit. The roast chicken dinner $15.95 took twenty minutes to come out, but when it did it was a thing of beauty. Roast perfectly, darkly with yellow rice, red beans and big pieces of well cooked sweet plantains(maduros). The resulting meal offered comfort on a night most of us needed it. The really should renovate those black, club-club like cubicles called the ladies room Coffee Shop was once-upon a time the highest grossing restaurant in Manhattan and they could well affford it. GO!

Brooklyn Central

There is a "pizza party" at Brooklyn Central on 5th Ave. where the "old school" meets the "new school" in a perfect marriage of flavor. The menu at Brooklyn Central offers traditional pizzas with imported ingredients or "new fangled" pizzas with local ingredients. Friendly service offers delicious "wood fired" Neapolitan pies which are pillowy and slightly charred. I started with a kale salad with candied pecans and citrus with some parmesan($9). The salad was fresh, and flavorful offering a tasty tease before the main event. The Colony pie(pictured) is a new school pie. Tomatoes, local mozzarella, local pepperoni, pickled chilies and honey($15). Amazing, pillowy pie, porkly, spicy and balanced with the sweetness of the honey. The menu here is very well thought out and offers something for everyone. GO! GO!

Maison Harlem

Fantastic French newcomer to Harlem. This corner spot exudes charm in a killer space with a colored windowed pane kitchen. The food here is amazing. Hot, house baked bread with butter is served. Addictive hot bread is the perfect complement to the meal. I stuck with a mushroom theme- cream of mushroom soup(soup of the day) and mushroom risotto. The soup was spot on- and a little bread- a hearty starter. The mushroom risotto with veggies and cheese finished with a balsamic glaze was so unusually delicious- unlike Italian risotto- a wicked flavor. Total- $25. Alot, of inventive desserts are on the menu as well like a pina/colada cake- there will be a next time. GO! GO! Uptown baby!