The Sundry Tomatoes

RESTAURANT:  Kashkaval Garden DATE: Dec. 9th, 2014 LOCATION: 852 9th Avenue, New York, NY 10019 (9th Ave between 55th & 56th St.) Fast forward past this fall's picks... as I was away on vacation, missing the November dinner.  In October, we went to Umami Burger, which has already been reviewed by Vivian here .  I can only concur with her rave... so *thumbs up* Umami!  While it's easy to become quite burger snobbish and overly critical in the competition of great NYC burgers, Umami wins points for taste and quality, earning a rank within the league of NYC burger-dom.  Ahh but I've digressed as this review is not about Umami... For our end of the year dinner, our group went to Kashkaval Garden in the west side on 9th Ave.  The place is a bit narrow and snug, but our reservation got us a nice private wooden booth in the back of the restaurant.  I was a little skeptical initially about having Mediterranean tapas for a winter gathering, as I associate thi

RESTAURANT:  Red Hook Lobster Pound DATE: Aug. 12th, 2014 LOCATION: 16 Extra Pl, New York, NY 10003 My summer eats seemed to keep circulating back to the East Village.  There are just so many places to eat in the village.  Our designated dinner in August was at Red Hook Lobster (Manhattan location).  I'm fair in knowing our NYC neighborhoods and generally getting around, but I had no clue where Extra Place was until I Google mapped it.  This is a hidden spot that would be hard to find if you are just strolling around.  Red Hook Lobster is down an alley street on 1st Street, between Bowery and 2nd Avenue.   Luckily I did manage to find this place without too much trouble  (thank you smart phone maps) .  It's too bad it was a rainy day, so we did not get to enjoy sitting out at the outdoor patio, which otherwise would've been enjoyable for a summer day.  But just like their outdoor dining area, the inside is simple yet colorful with pops of bold primary colors. 

RESTAURANT:  La Cerveceria DATE: July 15th, 2014 LOCATION: 65 2nd Ave (b/w 3rd & 4th Street) I just have a certain love for tapas, even though it racks up the bill with ordering so many tasty plates.  Luckily I had a voucher so I was able to take advantage of their extensive menu.  I can't judge how true to the Peruvian cuisine this was, but I enjoyed several tapas here.    Both times I've been here, it wasn't packed mainly because the first time was a Tuesday night and the next time, it rained.  Well, rain is an understatement.  It was pouring something fierce that night and my bestie was over an hour late to our dinner date.  So I kept myself company with a sangria.  Now for those that know me, I'm not as much of a wino or fine drinker as my other Sundry Tomato friends, it's really a waste of a drink to give me a full glass of wine (I know, I'm a bit ashamed to admit that...)  I enjoy the sweet girly drinks, which usually are too ex

RESTAURANT:  Frank Restaurant DATE: July 8th, 2014 LOCATION: 88 2nd Ave (b/w 5th & 6th Street) It's been a long break for this foodie, not from eating good food but just blogging about it.  Since I find it a disservice to just skip over the months that I'm overdue, I will dig down memory lane and give my 'brief' take on a few places.  There are some good restaurants I've eaten at before we started this blog, so it's hard now to recall and dissect each long-digested bite.  However, there have been a few that I managed to revisit this year.  These places were so good, it deserved a second round of noshing! Right now it's been cold, rainy and just a little snowy in NYC, so it's kind of hard to think back to this past summer and what July was like.  Thankfully we have photo evidence to jog the old noggin. July was the month that our group of friends decided to revisit one of our favorite restaurants that we've been to since we founded ou

I finally did it! I got up early, I took the train in to SoHo and I waited in line for a taste of the sweet sweet cronut.  Just kidding, this is the one from Dunkin Donuts , I only had to wait 3 minutes. I love croissants and I love doughnuts, and the croissant donut commercial had been taunting me every morning for weeks, so finally today on my way to work I decided to just get one.  Since I have not yet stood in the Dominque Ansel line, I can't compare this to the official cronut, so I'll just compare it to other donuts I've had and to the croissant donut I imagined in my noggin.  The inside is not as flakey and layered as it looks on the T.V. commercial, and it did not have the break-apartness of a croissant. I think in my head I expected it to be buttery and sweet, as if each layer of my favorite croissant had been first dipped in sugar before being placed down atop the layer before it. It was definitely a delicious donut, but it didn't feel SO much better th

RESTAURANT:   Organic Avenue DATE: 12/4/2014 LOCATION:   5 Bryant Park Hello Friends,  I know we've been gone. Don't worry we've still been eating a lot of food, but for me, at least personally, I haven't had anything adventurous enough to write home about. Until NOW! Last night my friend S and I met up for a quick dinner at Mexicue (this review is not about Mexicue even though it was amazing and deserves a review. I forgot to take photos so I'll have to go back and review it at a later time ). On our way to the train, we happened upon a small group of people huddled over a black garbage bag. In NYC this means one of two things: 1. They're all homeless and digging for dinner . This wasn't the case though because hobos usually work alone, and also they smell gross. These people all had decent looking coats on.  2. Someone was selling illegal merchandise, namely watches or  knock off hand bags , which is the norm for a mid-Manhattan side street . I in

RESTAURANT:  GRK Fresh Greek   and  Viên DATE: Summer 2014 LOCATION:   111 Fulton St and  350 Hudson   Hello, Hello! So, I know there's a South Park episode about how Chipotle makes you crap your pants in extremely exaggerated ways. In any case, I have always been a fan of Chipotle, but have laid off of it for a while because I've had too much and now I have moved on to bodega tacos for my Mexican and cilantro fix.  However, I have noticed in the past, and am now finally tasting, that other types of cuisine are adopting the Chipotle model of ordering food , (i.e. pick your rice, your meat, your toppings as you go down a line). For my diary entry today, I will be reviewing two different gourmet-to-go restaurants.  The first one was a Hellenic Chipotle,  GRK Fresh Greek .   So, as is typical, first you decide if you want it in pita (sandwich form) or on a plate (platter form), then you pick a protein, then a tzatziki (the sauce), and then you pick the side if you or

RESTAURANT:  Dig Inn   DATE: July 31, '14 LOCATION:   350 Hudson Hello Everyone! Not that any of you knew where I worked before, and not like I’m going to tell you now, but I have moved to a different location and that means a plethora of new places to go and stuff my face. I’ve tried a few places already, but this will be the first one I review. This is Dig Inn, popular lunch spot for the working crowd in Hudson Square. I shall begin with identifying the   items I ordered this afternoon:   A. Spicy Meatballs over brown rice B. String Beans & Roasted Potatoes  (w/ mustard, spices, thyme & fresh parsley) C. Local Cucumber & Avocado Salad w/ Creamy Chia Dressing (w/ onion, local tomato, local basil) So I started by digging into the Cucu & Avo, which was chock full of onions and  didn't  have a single tomato in site.  Didn't  see that coming, but I enjoyed the onions, and I hate tomatoes in salads anyway so good riddance to you.