Ootoya

Ootoya is a delicious Japanese restaurant that focuses on traditional home-cooking style cuisine. There is always a wait for this popular restaurant but luckily T and I were able to snag a table in around 30 minutes after a SoulCycle session. The meal totally hit the spot after our workout and I would love to return again for a casual and delicious Japanese meal. Here is the menu!

Homemade Tofu with World Selected Salt - Yuzu, Plum, and Smoked (?)
I've had this before and it was just as delicious as I remember. I unfortunately don't remember the name of the third salt but it had a very deep and smokey flavor. The tofu is very soft and has a great soy bean flavor. It tasted so fresh and you can definitely tell that it is homemade, a great start to the meal! 

Self Selected Assortment of Yakitori
When the yakitori first landed on our table, my first thought was "WOW they are so huge!". They are definitely larger than you standard yakitori so please keep that in mind when you order! I thought that I would be able to eat it all along with my rice bowl but I was quite stuffed by the time I ate the yakitoris! Some of my favorites were the Gyu (Washu beef) and the Seseri (chicken neck). The Tsukune was not as good as I would have wanted and they also did not give us the egg dip! The Buta tomato (tomato wrapped in pork belly) was also good but not a MUST order. 

Kaisen Don
The rice was well seasoned and the fish was fresh. I had to pack away half of this because I couldn't finish it! 

Ootoya is always a safe choice when you want homey Japanese food that will make your tummy happy. The wait can be a bit of a hassle but it's not too bad on weekdays!

Ootoya

8 W 18th Street

Flatiron

New York

NY 10011

Marta

Danny Meyer (Gramercy Tavern, Shake Shack, etc) has opened up a new restaurant named Marta in the Martha Washington Hotel that is inspired by the rustic offerings of Roman pizzerie with super thin crust pizzas and other hearty dishes such as meatballs and beer brined chicken. I was initially attracted to the truffle shuffle white alba truffle pizza offered here that I saw on their instagram but I knew I had to come and try their other dishes too once I saw their full menu. I met A for a late lunch date on a Sunday and although we opted for a non-truffle pizza, I already know that I will be back soon because I had an absolutely lovely dining experience here! The space was airy with high ceilings and the service was impeccable.

The entire meal was delicious and I was already telling A that I would love to come back, but something happened at the end which really sealed the deal for me! We ordered an ice cream panino but it was taking quite long and we ended up canceling it, we were then greeted with a lovely surprise by the Manager (Joseph?) when he appeared with two complimentary tiramisus! This kind of service is what takes a dining experience to the next level. We didn't wait for our initial dessert for too long at all and this sweet gesture was highly appreciated!

FRITTO MISTO DE MARE - Skate, Shrimp, Seppia, Bianchetti, Caper Mayo
The batter was seasoned perfectly, light, and crunchy. The selection of seafood was also perfect and I really loved the jumbo shrimp and the tender and flakey bianchetti. I would definitely order this again! 

POLPETTINE DI CONIGLO - Rabbit Meatballs, Black Olives, Ricotta
Extremely well executed meatballs. The meatballs were rich and tender and the tomato sauce and ricotta went perfectly with it. I also really enjoyed the addition of the scallions which gave it a perfect crunch and freshness. I personally did not care too much for the olives but they also did not take away anything from the dish. 

Close up mmmm

FUNGHI PIZZA BIANCHE - Fontina, Hen of the Woods, Chanterelles, Red Onions, Thyme
The amount and variety of mushrooms was amazing and the crust was also perfectly crispy. The topping to crust ratio was ideal and I loved the addition of the onions. A drizzle of truffle oil would be divine but this was really good on itself with the earthiness of the mushrooms. 

Tiramisu
This was the complimentary tiramisu that was given to us since we cancelled our other dessert. I actually thought that this was some of the best tiramisu I've ever tasted! It did not have as strong a coffee flavor as most but I adored the creaminess of it. Heavenly! 

I would definitely recommend coming to Marta and I already told my friends that I want to return! The food was delicious and I had a great time here!

Marta 

29 E 29th Street

New York

NY 10016

Quality Meats

All you guys know that I am a steak lover. Quality Meats has been on my radar for a while and I made a reservation for it a while back but I had to keep changing it due to scheduling conflicts. I finally managed to dine there last Friday and had a lovely dinner with my girlfriends with what felt like a never ending supply of gin martinis. The steak was good, but not the best I've had in New York. I absolutely loved the sides (especially the corn crème brûlée) and service was ok but not spectacular. We apparently arrived to our reservation more than 15 minutes late therefore they gave away our table. They were able to fit us into a small table with some kind of couch after a wait and our hostess seemed really hesitant to help us fit in a chair. She became nicer after (or I just became drunker) but overall the dinner was enjoyable but I don't think I would be returning anytime soon since there are many other steakhouses I want to try in New York.

Note: Special thanks to T for sending me some of her food photos for this meal!

Traditional Steak Tartare 
Whenever I see steak tartare, I must order it. This was a very clean tasting steak tartare and while I would prefer a little more kick to the seasoning the flavors were still good and the meat was extremely fresh and had the perfect consistency (slightly chunky and not too minced). The presentation was also lovely, so bright red with that decadent yellow yolk on top ready to be oozed all over. 

Roasted Bone Marrow
This was some of the best bone marrow I've had in a while. It was incredibly rich and aromatic and I haven't had a bone marrow with such intense flavor in some time! 

Aged Rib Steak
This was a bit too lean for me especially since it was a rib steak I was expecting it to be slightly more fatty. However, the meat flavor was good and it also had a nice char to it. I also felt like it was slightly more on the medium side even though we ordered medium rare. 

Aged Bone-in Sirloin
I think this was actually more tender and juicy than the rib steak. If you can see the tiny bit of pink peeking out, the doneness looks extremely similar to the rib steak even though we ordered this to be medium since W does not like the bloodiness. 

Corn Crème Brûlée
Eeeee this was just dreamy. I love eating corn and this was such a luscious way to prepare it. The corn was enveloped in a custardy sweet concoction and went so well with the smokey charred flavor of the meats. I definitely want to recreate this dish for Thanksgiving! 

Pan Roasted Crispy Potatoes 
This tastes exactly how you would expect it to taste. Crispy slices of potato. This was not my favorite as I felt like it was some strange in between of a potato chip and a potato skin. However, it was not badly made and my companions seemed to have enjoyed. 

Overall the meal was enjoyable and I would recommend others going if they are in New York and want to try a new steak place. However, there are definitely better steak houses out there so I would not say this is a must try if you are only in New York for a short period of time. This is a good spot to go to for a weekend dinner though before going out.

Quality Meats 

57 W 58th Street

New York

NY 10019

Balthazar

W and I were in Soho on a Friday or Saturday night and was looking for a place for dinner, Balthazar is always extremely packed so we totally did not expect to be able to grab a table at such a prime time but we were pleasantly surprised! I love the atmosphere there and service was very friendly. As always the food was top notch.

Duck Confit - Yukon Gold Potatoes, Cipollini Onions, Wild Mushrooms, and Frisée 
The ultimate duck confit. The skin was so incredibly crispy and the flavor was rich and deep. The meat was also incredibly juicy and the onions and mushrooms were cooked perfectly. The frisée added the perfect crunch and freshness to this incredibly decadent dish. A must order if you are ever here!

Lobster Agnolotti 
Mmmm this was another amazing dish. The filling had a lovely sweet flavor and went very well with the plump pieces of lobster. The flavor was extremely tasty but also had a subtlety about it.

Balthazar 

80 Spring Street

New York

NY 10012

Peking Duck House

Peking duck is one of my favorite meals ever and I've definitely scarfed down almost an entire duck once in Beijing. It's been one of my favorites since my childhood and I still get giddy with excitement when I know I get to eat peking duck. W has mentioned Peking Duck House a few times and so we finally decided to check it out on a Sunday night.

Sliced Jellyfish 
Mmmm this was marinated very well. The jellyfish was very crisp and crunchy and came in a very generous serving. However, it was a tad too salty.

Peking Duck
They sliced the duck quite thickly but I actually enjoyed that because it gave you a nice meaty bite. The skin was quite fatty in some areas but overall it was roasted very well and the meat was juicy. The cucumbers were sliced a little too thickly but it was not an huge issue.

Salt and Pepper Squid
This is usually also one of my favorite dishes but this was a disappointment. The salt and pepper flavor was not there and it was just extremely heavily fried and quite spicy in a strange way. 

Walnut Shrimp
I really enjoyed this dish! The shrimp was super jumbo and the sauce was creamy and sweet. The walnuts were also perfectly crunchy and went really well with the shrimp. I would definitely order this again.

Mapo Tofu
This is not the best mapo tofu I've had but it was very tasty. It would be more spicy but the tofu was very smooth and it went perfectly with white rice.

Peking Duck House

236 East 53rd Street

New York

NY 10022

99 Favor Taste

I've been a little lazy with updating recently! I have once again a whole load of backlogged reviews and I really need to get on top of it. School has been a bit crazy recently and I also just ran the NYC marathon. I knew that I would want to completely shove my face for dinner after the marathon so I knew the only thing to go to was AYCE HOTPOT! I've never tried 99 Favor Taste before but reviews were really good so I was super excited to try it out. The name sounded a bit funky because you would think they meant "flavor" but it really is favor haha.

It did not disappoint and we were completely stuffed. The selection was pretty good and I loved the sauce station. Service was also really friendly and the atmosphere was nice and new. I also enjoyed how we were able to have our own small pots. The one thing that was killing me was that we were seated on the 2nd floor and my legs were about to fall off post marathon. The restaurant also served free dessert (糖水) and you can get ice cream to go. I had such a great meal here and I will definitely be returning! Just remember to not over do the ordering because we ended up not being able to finish some of the food because we got way too excited. We will definitely learn from our mistake next time!

99 Favor Taste

285 Grand Street

Lower East Side 

New York

NY 10002