The Clocktower has been on my list for a while and was a former 1 Michelin Star restaurant a few years ago. I ended up circling back to this restaurant because we’re desiring to eat as many baked Alaska places as possible. It’s interesting to see how many permutations of this dessert exists. We were able to book a reservation for 2 for a Friday evening without issue. The restaurant is located inside The Edison hotel on the second floor.

Israeli Chef Efi Naon opened a relatively new Moroccan-Israeli and Middle Eastern inspired restaurant in the Hell’s Kitchen area. I saw this on Yelp a few months ago, and the menu items look reasonably interesting. I was able to book a reservation very easily on a Friday for 5:15 PM without any issues. This restaurant is close to the 50th E train station and relatively near some of the outer edges of the Theater District.

For this week, I offered my partner an option of European or Chinese. Of course they said European. Claud comes from 2 veterans of the Momofuku Ko restaurant, chef Joshua Pinsky and wine expert Chase Sinzer. I remember this restaurant a while back, but it slipped off my radar with all these new openings in the last few years. When I checked Resy, I noticed there were openings on Friday, so the stars aligned.

Foxface Natural was on my list ever since it opened, and I was always curious about how eclectic their food was going to be because of the various game meats they offer. They are one of the few, if not only, restaurants to serve kangaroo tartare. I saw that they had a tasting menu, and that seemed like a good thing to pursue for a Friday evening. I was able to make a reservation for 2 for 5:30 PM on a Friday evening about a week prior.

Sixty Three (63) Clinton was a restaurant that I had my eyes on for a few months now. They change the menu monthly, so it was previously difficult to time the menu preferences to our food preferences. I finally found a menu (July) worth going for, however, little did I know the day of my reservation was the day the menu changed. We had 2 items on the menu with “mushroom”-like ingredients in it.

Konban was a new katsu restaurant that was on my radar for a while. When it first opened, reservations were hard to come by. Now a few months later, it’s easy to make a reservation a week out. Because Manhattan has so few katsu-specialized options, this was going to be a very special experience. I was able to make a reservation for 5:30 PM on a Friday night for two people.

Monkey Bar is a restaurant from the same people that are behind Au Cheval and 4 Charles in NYC. The Monkey Bar has a rich history dating back to the 1930s, where it formerly served New York City’s upper social class. In 2022, it reopened under the ownership of the 4 Charles team, and they created a menu that was very similar to the aforementioned restaurants. I was craving for prime rib, so I wanted to give this a try since I am reluctant to snipe 4 Charles reservations.

We wanted to check out the Tin Building down in South Street Seaport, which is a building by Chef Jean-Georges. It was basically similar to Eataly, where it has a market for different cuisines and restaurants. There are only 2 floors, and there isn’t that much to see in my opinion. However when it comes to food, we decided to try the seafood joint, Fulton Fish Co. We were able to walk in with no reservations at 5:30 PM on a Saturday early evening.

As a splurge due to this incurable money sucking disease of gourmand syndrome, we splurged for Manhatta. Manhatta is known for its gorgeous views at the 60th floor facing up-town. It is part of Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group, which includes The Modern, Gramercy Tavern, Marta, etc. to name a few. Aside from the view that the restaurant offers, the last few years they have made an effort to improve the food.

In 2018, I wrote that I liked this place more than Fogo De Chão, which is a global AYCE Brazilian BBQ chain. After our recent trip to Brazil, particularly Sal e Brasa, I wanted to visit this NYC restaurant again to do a comparison. This restaurant is the only location that exists. We had a reservation for 5 PM on a Friday, and there was hardly anyone in the restaurant.