Upscale Restaurant TBar Steak & Lounge On The UES Of NYC Delights Savory And Sweet Tastes

Nestled in NYC’s Upper East Side neighborhood, TBar Steak & Lounge is an upscale American restaurant featuring a delicious savory menu that consists of steak, seafood, and burger, as well as mouthwatering dessert menu of sundaes and apple cobbler.

Yellowfin Tuna Tartare

The fresh yellowfin tuna is seasoned with soy, ginger, and sesame oil and topped with crispy chips, a side of frisee salad, and toasted baguette.

Pizza Margherita

Simple yet perfectly executed, the Pizza Margherita features super thin and crispy dough topped with copious amount of cheese and tomato sauce.

Guacamole

Perfect for sharing, the guacamole at TBar includes chunks of fresh avocado, cilantro, tomato, and onions with a kick of spice. The guacamole is served with a side of chips and crudites of celery and carrot sticks.

Aged NY Strip

The certified Black Angus Aged NY Strip is seasoned with kosher salt and black pepper, and comes with three different sauces: bearnaise, poivre, or steak sauce. The steak is lean, tender, and juicy all at the same time with crusty exterior full of flavors.

Crusted Tuna

The tuna - raw in the center and cooked on the outside, is crusted with a medley of sesame seeds. The tuna is served over a bed of seaweed salad and soy sauce with pickled radish in the center.

Crispy Long Island Duck

Sitting on top of sweet potato mash and orange glaze are two pieces of juicy, tender duck legs with perfectly crispy skin.

Strawberry Sundae

This dessert is every strawberry lover’s dream. Creamy strawberry ice cream is sandwiched in between moist shortcake and served with fresh strawberries, meringue, and whipped cream.

Warm Apple Crisp

The warm apple cobbler featuring sweet, crispy granny smith apple pieces and crusts is topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream drizzled with caramel sauce.

All The Divine (Crispy) Items You Must Try At Vandal In NYC

Inspired by Chef Chris Santo’s travel around the world, the exquisite menu at Vandal - the hippest new restaurant located on Bowery Street in New York City - highlights the eclectic cuisine of global street culture from New York to Korea to Italy and beyond.

1. Crab Tostadas

On top of crispy plantain chip is a generous lump of crab meat, fresh mango salsa, and aioli with a dash of pepper flakes and micro greens.

2. Sticky Rice Dumplings

These piping hot, fried dumplings are made with sticky rice for the much desired chewy texture on the inside and crispy outside, and filled with juicy char siu pork over a bed of sweet red chile oil.

3. BLT Pizza

A twist on everyone’s favorite sandwiches, the BLT Pizza features charred broccoli, crispy prosciutto, and fresh mozzarella atop thin and crispy pizza dough.

4. Crispy Bao Buns

These magical, fried buns are crispy and buttery, and packed with tender brisket and creamy Asian slaw for the perfect balance of eclectic flavor profile.

5. Crispy Eggplant

While the Crispy Eggplant only appears in the “Extras” section on the menu, this eggplant dish is perhaps the best eggplant I have ever tried. The miso-glazed exterior is charred to perfection for the crispy texture, while the inside is soft and moist to highlight the essence of the vegetable.

6. Two Pound Whole Lobster Scampi

Sure, this lobster dish lacked the “crispy” texture, but the massive, two pound lobster is stuffed with creamy garlic rice pilaf with spinach. The generous amount of lobster meat packs buttery, rich flavors.

7. Matcha Lemon Semifreddo

Perfect for sharing, this dessert features a scoop of semi-frozen green tea custard over blueberry compote, and topped with crispy, zesty candied lemon.

8. Vandal S’Mores

The deconstructed s’mores at Vandal includes moist, rich brownie topped with fluffy marshmallow meringue, with a scoop of graham cracker ice cream sitting on top of crispy, thin chocolate “spoon.”

Best 6 Dishes You Must Order At San Francisco’s Hottest Restaurants

From truffle sliders to roasted bone marrow, these are the most delicious dishes you must order at San Francisco's hottest restaurants.

Bone-in Filet Mignon from Bobo’s

Frequently voted as the best steakhouse in San Francisco, Bobo’s offers high quality beef that has been dry-aged for 4-6 weeks and pan-seared with a hint of rosemary and garlic. This process enhances the flavor and tenderness of the beef, resulting in one of the best steaks ever eaten. The melt-in-your-mouth, juicy bone-in filet mignonis an absolute must. Order a side of twice-baked potatoes stuffed with zucchini, chives, and fontina cheese to compliment the dish.

Mini Royal Dorian from The Dorian

The Oscar Wilde-inspired restaurant in SF’s Marina District pays homage to a bygone era, a place where you can savor classic American fare. The Dorian began its brunch service in November, featuring sweet and savory bites like fluffy buttermilk berry pancakes and fried chicken & waffles. But the highlight here is the Mini Royal Dorian, a slider version of the famous Royal Dorian, which features a generous portion of peekytoe crab and black truffle on top of juicy beef patty.

Smoked Bone Marrow from RN 74

Located in San Francisco’s SoMa neighborhood, RN74 highlights the cuisine and wine of France’s Burgundy region. The Smoked Bone Marrow is the perfect dish for the table. The rich, creamy bone marrow, topped with smokey oxtail marmalade, Vadouvan butter, and lemon confit with thickly sliced, toasted sourdough bread on the side, oozes so much intense flavors as it melts in your mouth.

Pizza Bianca from Americano’s

Dine with a view at this waterfront restaurant with sweeping, panoramic views of the San Francisco Bay. Americano’s specializes in handcrafted, soulful Italian dishes created using seasonal ingredients from local purveyors. The Pizza Bianca, topped with house-made chorizo, meyor lemon, leek, and ricotta salata on thin, crispy flat bread, bursts with flavors.

Tap Burger from Tap 415

Tap 415, a modern urban eatery located inside the Westfield Centre Mall, offers a unique menu of American favorites with a twist. The signature Tap Burger is jam-packed with tempura bacon, cheddar cheese, lettuce, pickled red onion, and juicy, medium-rare beef patty sandwiched in between soft buns topped with sesame seeds and smeared with togarashi remoulade.

Chickpea Panisse from Gather

Whether you are a vegan or an omnivore, you will find something delicious at Gather, a farm-to-table restaurant in the heart of downtown Berkeley. The vegan-friendlyChickpea Panisse is an absolute delight. The chickpea fries, which flaunt delicate, crispy exterior with soft, creamy interior, are complemented by flavorful black bean puree, crushed garbanzos, cabbage slaw, cashew, sultana, and ancho chili.

From Crispy Flatbread To Tender Pork: A Hearty Meal From Heath Oven At NYC's The Fourth

Located in Hyatt Union Square in NYC, The Fourth defies any stereotype you may have about a "hotel restaurant." The latest venture by husband-and-wife restaurateurs, Marco Moreira and Jo-Ann Makovitzky of One Five Hospitality, The Fourth seamlessly combines the urban appeal of Union Square and the edgy ambiance of East Village with its creative New American cuisine.

Among its seasonal menu items include the Roasted Squash & Root Vegetable Salad ($18). Over a thin layer of creamy burrata, you get chunks of roasted root vegetables and squash drizzled with olive oil. The crispy quinoa chips add a nice crunch, while the watercress provides a slightly bitter tang to the dish. 

My favorite appetizer - which is also perfect for sharing - is the Butternut Squash & Maitaki Mushroom Hearth Bread ($18). As the name suggests, the flatbread is baked in a heart oven to produce a perfectly thin and crispy dough. Top it off with generous amount of burrata, arugula, pumpkin seed, mushroom, and julienne butternut squash, and you get yourself one of the best tasting flatbread ever.

As for main entree, you can't go wrong with the signature Pink Salt Brick Roasted Amish Country Chicken ($24). The tender chicken breast is roasted in brick oven, thereby savoring all the juice and moisture. The chicken is also rubbed with pink salt, one of the purest salts that packs more vitamins and minerals than other types of salt. The dish comes with a side of shaved vegetables tossed in lemon vinaigrette.

The Hearth Roasted Rack of Berkshire Pork ($26) is another highlight. You get a hearty rack of lean pork glazed in savory violet mustard. Under the rack of pork is braised tuscan kale and rich puree of medjool dates. Don't be shy about picking up the bone to get the last bit of the tender meat - I sure wasn't.

For dessert, the Coffee & Cake ($12) is the perfect sampler to try something creamy, doughy, and fried. The espresso semifreddo, served in a little mug, has more of a chocolatey flavor than coffee with semi-frozen pot of cream that is topped with crumbled coffee beans and snickerdoodle cookie. Because the pumpkin cake in the middle is a bit on the dry side, be sure to complement it with the creamy espresso semifreddo. The fried apple cake, which tastes like a less dense version of apple cider doughnut, has real bits of apples and topped with raspberry coulis. 

Small Plates and Drinks at Russell House Tavern

Russell House Tavern is a popular destination for 21+ college and grad students looking to enjoy drinks while mingling with their friends, as well as to eat some scrumptious bar food. It offers a friendly gathering spot for many occasions, ranging from casual lunch breaks on the patio to after-hour cocktails in the ground floor tavern to special events in the private dining room downstairs.

On typical weekend nights, the bar bustles with people catching up over drinks. It is almost impossible to squeeze in and find a spot to seat! I came with a group of about eight people, so it took a while to get seated. We originally intended to just get drinks, but the waitress told me that we can be seated in the island if we ordered some food. Why not?

This is the restaurant's signature House Charcuterie Board ($13), which consists of chicken liver pate, smoked fish rillette, smoked pork rillette, guanciale, lonza, bresaola, and prune & honey jam. I had no idea what most of them were when the waitress explained them to me. They all sound so foreign! The smoked fish rillette (the salmon-colored spread in the bottom left corner) tasted like more textured version of salmon cream cheese. The prune & honey jam was extremely sweet. I didn't try anything else on the board.

The Archer Farm Steak Tartare ($10) was served with Cavendish Farm quail egg yolk and a side of toasted caper brioche. The steak tartare also had chopped scallions, celery, and other vegetables mixed into it and shaped in the form of a burger patty. I am a huge red meat lover (literally, red), so I enjoyed the bite of the tartare. It's amazing how the egg yolk can hide the raw-taste in the meat.

The House-Made Cotechino Sausage Pizza ($13) with Linny's Tomato Gravy and housemade ricotta was really, really greasy. I didn't try the pizza, but it didn't even have crusts at the edge, which is my favorite part of any pizza (though most people would beg to differ...)

Russell House has $1 oyster after 11pm, but we got there too early to take advantage of the deal. We ordered 8 Island Creek Oysters ($2.50 each) with sweet pickle mignonette and old bay cocktail sauce. The oysters were juicy, but not as plump as I would have liked.

The final small plate we ordered was Chilled Jumbo Shrimp ($12) with avocado, honeydew, and serrano pepper. It had drips of olive oil on the plate as well. I honestly couldn't taste any avocado in the packed, can-shaped honeydew salad. The shrimps were, indeed, jumbo.

We definitely ordered too much food because some people left early even before the food came out. A feast for 5 people? I don't oppose ;)

Nubar, a Hidden Gem in Harvard Square, and Molten Chocolate from Finale

For those of you who ask what my favorite restaurant is in the Square, I can answer you without hesitation: Nubar Restaurant in Sheraton Commander. Because Nubar is a little further out from the Square, a lot of people don't know about it, but this restaurant serves some amazing food!

First of all, the atmosphere of the restaurant is noteworthy. The restaurant has comfortable yet contemporary design. The dining room and bar/lounge are divided by a modern fireplace. The lighting in the restaurant reflects its warm, cozy environment. My first time at Nubar was definitely an unforgettable experience, both in terms of its food, service, and atmosphere, so I was very excited for my second time.

I don't normally eat pizza or sausage, but one item in the flatbread menu caught my eyes. I decided to try the Sweet Italian Sausage, Herbed Ricotta, and Spinach Flatbreads ($12). The flatbread was served on a long, rectangular plate and cut vertically into about seven pieces. Each piece had ample amount of mozzarella cheese  with chunky Italian sausages and bits of ricotta cheese and spinach tucked underneath. The flatbread was sprinkled with some basil. The dough was thin and crispy. The flatbread was perhaps in the oven for a little too long because top layer of the mozzarella cheese was slightly burnt.

This is Pat's Littleneck Clam Roast ($22), a dish I wish I had gotten! The round plate had handful of toasted angel hair pasta with bacon, zucchini ribbons, baby shrimp, littleneck clams, and garlic, and tossed with white wine and olive oil. My favorite part of this dish was definitely the toasted angel hair pasta because it had crunch texture. Definitely going for this dish the next time I come :)

The Pan Seared Diver Scallops ($25) had four plump scallops with a ragu of beech mushrooms and a succotash of sweet onions, corn, beans, and fresh herbs. Other than the fact that it was too salty, the scallops were pan-seared nicely with crispy outside and juicy inside.

For dessert, we went to Finale in Harvard Square for its signature Molten Chocolate ($9.95). This standout dessert is baked-to-order, so be willing to wait at least 15 or so minutes! The warm chocolate cake with a gooey center is served with a scoop of coffee gelato, topped with milk chocolate covered almonds and Valhona chocolate sauce.

Again, I am not a huge fan of chocolate, but I definitely enjoy a bite or two of this dessert. As you dig your spoon into the warm chocolate cake, the center oozes with chocolate sauce like a lava. My favorite part is definitely watching the sauce spilling over.

The balance between warm chocolate cake and cold coffee gelato is interesting. The almonds also add crunchy layer to this delectable dessert!

Enjoying the Raw Food Trend at Quintessence in East Village

Whether one orders a burrito, pizza, or burger, the entree that comes to the table at Quintessence—a 100 percent organic, vegan, and raw restaurant in East Village—will be served uncooked. Quintessence takes the diners on a unique culinary experience, offering innovative dishes made with ingredients that are not found in a typical kitchen pantry, such as kamut, nut meat, and fofu (yes, that's tofu with an f!).

For an unconventional taste of traditional dishes, try the Italian sausage pizza ($15.50) topped with savory nut meat, nut cheese, and tomato sauce. It was a bit weird trying a cold pizza, but it worked for this one since it didn't have cheese to begin with.

The pizza had an interesting dichotomy between strong nutty and sweet flavors. The pizza dough, which is not baked, had some sort of a grainy, granola-bar like texture. The tomato sauce tasted sweeter than your usual marinara sauce, whereas the nutmeat and the nut cheese had flavors that were surprisingly reminiscent of their real counterparts.

The Indian platter ($21) is a lighter alternative to the typically rich malai kofta, a vegetarian meatball made with chickpeas. The Indian platter included two chickpea balls covered in creamy almond curry sauce with sweet mango chutney and tamarind sauce, side salad, two pieces of kamut bread, and tangy cucumber “yogurt.”

I really enjoyed the cucumber yogurt. Since I am lactose-intolerant, I tend to avoid dairy products unless I am really craving them. This yogurt satisfied my cravings without the sore stomachache aftermath. I am not sure what the green dressing was, but it complemented the salad well. The kamut bread was rather disappointing because it tasted so bland.

The malai kofta didn't disappoint! Traditionally, this Indian dish uses loads of heavy cream and the chickpeas are deep-fried, adding tons of calories to the meal. However, this lighter dish came with chickpea balls that were binded without frying, and the creamy almond curry sauce didn't have any cream. It probably used almond fat or coconut milk.

The sweet mango chutney on top of the chickpea balls were pleasant additions. My only wish is that I could had more of it! The brown tamarind sauce tasted like teriyaki sauce to me.

The chickpea balls were quite dense and a bit dry on the edges. I would have preferred it if the chef had put the curry on the plate first and then the chickpea balls, but because he/she did it the other way around, there were no curries to dip the chickpea balls underneath. Nonetheless, I enjoyed my first raw-food experience!