DAVIDsTEA, the tea shop that originated in Montreal, Canada and recently opened two shops in New York on the Upper East Side and West Village, is continuing to expand their loose-leaf tea collection by creating a special one for Valentine's day. DAVIDsTEA uses ingredients from all over the world to make exclusive blends that have interesting flavor combinations.
They are offering two "Love Elixirs" for Valentine's day as well as a Sweetheart Collection. Their "Love Elixirs" combine ancient aphrodisiacs from around the world to get him or her in the mood for love.
I arrived at the modest restaurant on Alton Road crammed between a Starbucks and a sushi place. Bernie's L.A. Cafe is pretty plain with the exception of colorful signage on the window, and a bright red tile wall, but edible treasures await for all who venture inside.
Bernie arrived wearing a casual gray t-shirt and immediately greeted me with a smile and a handshake. After a brief anecdote about Castro's Cuban takeover, his parents emigrating to Miami and his subsequent upbringing in a Cuban-Catholic neighborhood, we started to talk about his passion-turned-business. Matz said he's been cooking since he was a kid. His metaphorical bread and butter used to be a media company, which he says went downhill after 9/11. So, after that he went to culinary school. And hated it.
Stop by Mercadito this month and try Chef David Blonsky's smoked pork cheek taco as part of Chef Patricio Sandoval's Tacos for Strength campaign.
“It’s the taco lovechild of the best of Mexican and barbeque flavors," says Chef Blonsky, of Bull & Bear and Public House. More complex than many of the other tacos on Mercadito's menu, tender pork cheek is nestled in a housemade corn tortilla and topped with salsa verde and crispy shallots, queso fresco and espelette pepper. An order of four tacos is $16.50 at dinner and a lunch order of three is $12.50. Five percent of the proceeds from these tacos will go to Share Our Strength, dedicated to ending childhood hunger.
We understand that for some of you foodies out there with a love for football, Super Bowl Sunday poses a dilemma on where to watch the game. Well, you have come to the right place for the solution. Here are some places that you can dine-in or take-out food during the game while satisfying your taste buds.
134 Reade Street 10013 212 941 9401
Iron Chef, Marc Forgione, will be turning his two-star restaurant into a casual bar by bringing in flat screens to watch the game on this Sunday. The menu will include a burger, spicy chicken wings, suckling pig sliders with $5 Miller High Life beers to wash them down. A DJ will also be part of this scene to get the party started.
New coffee blends and trends are already roasting in the new year as Starbucks switches from dark roasts to blondes and multiple celebrities, such as Leonardo DiCaprio, filmmaker David Lynch, Dave Mustaine from Megadeth and Lcd Soundsystem star James Murphy, enter the profitable industry.
After years of everyone being told by the coffee connoisseur that dark roasts are superior, coffee companies decided to attract a new market of coffee drinkers during this economic slump. This trend has already become a norm in many European countries, where they brew the blondes strong.
209 East 49th st. between 2nd and 3rd avenue 212 751 4545
Executive Chef Richard Sandoval opened a new tapas lounge located under another one of his venues, Pampano. This newly designed Mexican tapas bar offers 30 small plates, that are perfect for sharing, to go with their Latin-inspired wine list, tequila menu and eight different flavored sangrias.
474 Columbus Ave. 646-596-7434
My new favorite part of waking up is a breakfast of crunchy granola from Nature's Hand. Their flavors include Maple Pecan, Wild Blueberry, Cranberry Delight, Raisin Hazelnut, and Cinnamon Apple, my favorite of all. Nature's Hand is made in Minnesotra and they use quality ingredients, like real sugar, molasses and honey to sweeten the whole grain wheat and oats. I especailly love the plentiful sunflower seeds in the mix that add a sublte nutty flavor. None of their granola includes unpronounceable ingredients that look like they belong in science experiments.
Eater recently did a poll of the most underrated restaurants in NYC, according to their readers. After they mapped out a list of the Top 20 Most Underrated Restaurants in NYC, readers got a chance to give their opinion on the subject. 85 restaurants later, foodies got a view of what they're missing. The list definitely strikes a chord with us, especialy when it comes to Barrio Chino (some of the best Mexican food in NYC) and Rucola. We also love how the poll introduced us to dozens of restaurants that we haven't tried. What do you think of the list? Are some of your favorites on here?
I’ve been in a Riesling mood lately. This is probably due to the fact that I recently got to meet the makers of Donnhoff and Leitz Riesling, who were generous enough to host a guided, sit down tasting at the wine shop I work at. And by meet, I mean that I shook their hands, gushed like a total weirdo about how much I love their wine, and watched on from the sidelines while they made their presentation. I was entranced as I gathered dirty glasses and rang people up at the register. I can only imagine how great it was for the people sitting at the tables. What’s that saying about bridesmaids and brides, “Always a bridesmaid, never a bride”? Well, I guess I’m always the servant, never the guest. This servant doesn’t give a damn, however, because I was just happy to drink all the left over wine the next day.
The artisanal ice cream extraordinnaires, Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, is coming out with a new collection, which will be available from February 3rd through April and is called Super Pop Cakes!, featuring 5 new flavors.
Sink your teeth into southern-inspired Hummingbird Cake loaded with bananas, pecans, pineapple, and cinnamon.
Icelandic Happy Marriage Cake features a combination of skyr cheese, sweet oat biscuits, and rhubarb compote.
Mango Kiwi Special Cake contains just what it sounds like, strewn with angel food cake.
The Bowery Diner
241 Bowery between Rivington and Stanton Sts (212-388-0052)
The Bowery Diner spawns from Mathieu Palombino of Bouley, BLT Fish, and Motorino. The can-do-all chef once again switches gears and ventures into classic American. Think double-patty burgers, pancakes, french fries, glazed donuts, milk shakes and pancakes. It's a diner, but it's no Denny's. Expect tasty twists on classic dishes, trademarked by Palombino.
Get the RSS FeedMallory Stuchin
Elizabeth Friedman,
Paige Levin,
Christina Norris,
Ryan Roskilly &
Jeremy Schloss
