This is a restaurant from the same people that brought Maiella. Even though that restaurant was modern Italian, this one was more New American. It sits across the Gantry park near the Hunters Point library. Our first visit was on a Sunday, prior to the day that New York City had to shutdown dining in restaurants due to the coronavirus. Because people weren’t really out and about, the restaurant had many empty tables.
Indoor dining finally opened again in NYC on September 30, 2020. There are those that feel it’s reckless in this COVID temperament, but we still decided to celebrate by booking an indoor reservation at Cote, a 1 Michelin Star Korean BBQ restaurant. Normally, this is difficult to get a reasonable time, so we were happy it was not too bad. Like all upscale restaurants, they take your temperature via the forehead, and each table is partitioned by a plastic partition. Aside from air conditioning, there’s no way for your aerosols to hit another table unless you tried to spit a few feet up. There’s more than enough space between booths, so it was very enjoyable.
Westlight sits on the 22nd floor of the William Vale hotel in North Williamsburg. When you enter the lobby of the hotel, there is a line to the right that directs you to board the elevator. Upon arrival, the host will seat you on 1 of 2 floors. The 1st floor might be for reservations and has a waiter, whereas the 2nd floor might be for walk-ins. The 2nd floor has a fake grassy area with some patio tables/chairs, and you don’t get waiter service. You order your drinks and food at the bartender, and they will bring out the food to your table when it’s ready. Keep in mind that we’re still under COVID restrictions, so no indoor dining. The host brought us outside on the 1st floor and seat us in a 2-seater that overlooks west towards the Manhattan skylines. It’s simply breathtaking especially on this cooler day of the summer in the core afternoon.
In this pandemic, restaurants are trying all sorts of ways to do outdoor dining. What was interesting about Sapps was that they set up dining tables next door in the front of a mechanic shop but with plenty of distance between tables. They also put out propane powered heat warmers. When you arrive, you can basically choose your own seat, and the waiters will bring the water to you.
Today was our second anniversary, and it’s somewhat difficult to find a decent restaurant that has an outdoor garden that is away from the crowd. After staying up till 4 AM looking for one, I finally found one that was decent. The garden seating area is actually in the back of the restaurant, so there’s very little foot traffic from random people. Luckily the weather wasn’t hot at all.
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.
We were visiting the Edge, which is a touristy spot where you can see the NYC area from 100 floors above, and in this COVID environment, it’s been hard to find some decent outdoor restaurants. We had passed by this place, which is a Jose Andres restaurant, and it seemed interesting. It’s a quasi-indoor place in that you’re eating in the building, but the area feels like you’re in a garage. The garage doors open facing outside, and there are plenty of fans to circulate air. We saw that they spaced out all the tables distantly from each other, so it seemed fine to sit down and eat. This is the Spanish Diner at Mercado Little Spain in the Hudson Yards block.
This place is across the street from Food Cellar. It’s nestled in a garage and used to serve a lot of steak dishes. The menu has changed into a more casual patio like experience (I am guessing just for the summer). When we arrived, there was no table service. Instead you have to go to the counter and place your order there. The menus are shown via QRCode. After you place your order, you carry the utensils, dishes, and drinks back to your table. The waiter will serve the dishes, so you don’t have to go pick up that. When you order, you (can) leave with them your credit card to open a tab. When you check out, they will tell you that gratuity is already included.
It’s been difficult to restart eating out again. Usually we just resort to delivery or takeout from various places nearby. However, it seems that many restaurants that are trying to outlast the pandemic by coming up with ideas to do the outdoor dining experience. Some restaurants don’t have a real patio, and you’re seated outside on the sidewalk within reach of people. And some restaurants like this one have a legit patio experience away from bystanders without worry.
This is the first outdoor restaurant experience in the COVID-19 temperament where we had waiter service. We were walking around looking for something to eat with a friend, and this was nestled in a small street with a group of restaurants. It had space and tents set up to span all of their tables. I won’t talk much about the ambiance at this particular restaurant because I loathe eating outdoors in humid NYC heat in the city. So let’s go straight to the food.