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Top toque Laurent Manrique takes over for the celebrated Michael Mina at Aqua, an utterly attractive room known for its exquisite seafood presentations. Thankfully, the kitchen is not missing a beat, as evidenced in dishes such as a tartare of ahi tuna with Moroccan spices and the seared diver scallop with a truffle vinaigrette. Deal makers and bon vivants pepper the crowd and seem content to pay the steep prices, especially for cocktails and wine. The service here is exceptional.
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Restauranteur Pascal Rigo has brought his successful 'small plates’ formula to Cortez, a long slice of a dining room where fanciful mobiles loom overhead. Luckily for Rigo, he’s teamed up with husband-and-wife chefs Quinn and Karen Hatfield at this new hot spot and the result is sensational Mediterranean- inspired cuisine. Among the many terrific choices are the Croque Madame topped with hamachi and a quail egg and the date and mint-crusted lamb rubbed with Moroccan spices. Creative cocktails dominate so play along.
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This temple of haute vegetarian cuisine (vegan, no less!) has moved its warm pumpkin-coloured room to a smart Union Square [address]. Chef Eric Tucker is a master with natural ingredients and continues to create dishes that are better than those at the best meat-and-potatoes places in the city. Since everything here is excellent, put yourself in the hands of the chef and order his five-course tasting menu, which is updated almost weekly to capture veggies at their freshest. Lovely wines by the glass.
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Celebrating his Basque roots, chef Gerald Hirigoyen feels right at home at Piperade, [name]d after the warming stew of his youth. While the recipes are country Basque and the room is country rustic (save for the sexy backlit bar), the food is refined, flavourful and arguably the best in the city. The warm piquillo peppers stuffed with goat cheese are a sinful appetiser and delightfully followed by the seafood and shellfish stew in a divine red pepper sauce. Excellent wine list; foodies are flocking here so reserve well ahead.
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