We came here around 8:30 PM on a rather cold Saturday evening. Typically there is a long line outside, but today people were crowded and bundled up inside. I put my name down for 2. The wait was approximately 40-50 minutes. We had contemplated leaving when we heard the wait time, but we decided to power through and wait. It was worth it. On July 1, 2023, we visited this restaurant again, and it has moved from it’s previous location.

For New Year’s Eve, we were fortunate to book this restaurant in Midtown East at the very last minute. This was always on our list since outdoor dining was a thing as the pictures of its settings looked quite appealing. Most tables have their own electric heater that sat directly above the table, so it wasn’t too cold compared to other places. For what it’s worth, it was in the high 30s with some wind chills.

To the outside world, the pandemic is wreaking havoc like wildfire. However for me personally, the only difference is that people are much more careful about cleanliness. In North Williamsburg, the brunch hipster spots are still thriving, and as you can imagine are very meticulous to avoid any type of spread. Cafe Mogador has been one of those frequent brunch places that many flock to for weekend brunch. This is not the first time I’ve been here as I’ve always been neutral, but at least this time, I’ve taken pictures of some of the food.

Unlike the other cuisines in NYC, Persian food is not something that we actively seek out. However, we often are around this area shopping at the now-closed Bed Bath & Beyond and tend to look for restaurants that are very close. This restaurant was something we surprisingly haven’t tried, so we checked it out. I actually haven’t had Persian food since I moved from LA back in 2016, so I am curious to relive those moments again.

This is a place along Ditmars Blvd in Astoria, relatively close to Taverna Kyclades. There is a lot of interesting outdoor setup on this street. The menu itself appears fairly simple, but this place had been highly recommended to us for the easy going vibe. For this COVID environment, the tables are organized north to south along the side street instead of the main street of Ditmars. It definitely felt a little safer.

This restaurant is right around the corner of Lombardi’s in Nolita. We were hungry, and of course all the super popular restaurants had wait time. This one though for some reason had none, so why not? They served us complimentary bread with olive oil and olives. Nothing much to say, but it was a nice gesture and good too. We also ordered octopus which was cooked in red wine sauce, pan seared and served on arugula salad.

If you’re just shy of Central Park to the south and it’s in the middle of the day, this might be a good option. On the bottom is the mixed grilled meat platter for two people (psita tis oras poikilia). It’s a combination of lambchops, traditional Greek sauce, pork/beef skewers, and pita and tzatziki. All of this was pretty good. The lambchops were ordered medium rare, and it was tender and delicious.

This is a restaurant located close to the end of the Highline. It’s down on 10th ave at the corner. It’s actually next door to its bar. So if you want to visit this place, don’t open the first door on your left. Open the second door. The sour beer on the top was quite good. It had some flavors of a Guinness but obviously with the sour in it.

This place sucks a lot, and it’s expensive. Food was just eh. I got the steak pita, and I was still very hungry. Overrated.

This place was surprisingly good. The shakshooka and bread was really good. Too bad it’s CLOSED.