NYC Tastes

Wow 2016 is almost over and what crazy year it was.  If I was to look simply at the year in American culture I would have to use the word devastating.  So many incredible artists passed away, the political state of the nation was a non-stop roller coaster ride of shock, disgust, anger, frustration and for the first time in a while the future feels incredibly uncertain.  Of course the NYC dining scene took a huge hit this year with the closing of classic restaurants like The Four Seasons, Les Halles and most recently Blue Ribbon Bakery Kitchen.  I was saddened most by the closing of my two favorite cocktail bars; underground vodka great Pravda and the gorgeous Campbell Apartment in Grand Central Terminal.  We also lost the fabulous  Juni , my go-to spot for a fancy lunch from Shaun Hergatt.   But I'm always one to look on the positive side and 2016 was actually a good year on a personal level.  Mr. T and I had some great East Coast trips to B...

Mr. T and I took a trip up to the Bronx over MLK weekend for some Italian eats. We had a LOT to fit into one day...we may have overdone it a little bit. We started at Cafe el Mercato for a couple slices.  All the pies here are done Sicilian style with a thin, buttery crust cooked to a crisp golden brown and fresh tomato pomodoro. We could have gone crazier with the toppings like broccoli rabe and pesto, spinach and peppers or even a prosciutto with green fig but we stuck to the basics. There was something so simple and pure about this pizza.  I've honestly never enjoyed a Sicilian slice so much. After the pizza we walked around the Arthur Avenue Retail Market a bit scoping out all the wonderful displays then stopped into the The Bronx Beer Hall, located in the center of the market for a flight of beers. Everything's a little bigger in the Bronx right?  Well even the beer flights fall into this category where the usual 4 oz pours were rep...