Forever young at Juniors

JUNIORS

386 Flatbush Avenue Extension

Brooklyn, New York

 

Its always a thrill to go to Brooklyn and stop in at JUNIORS, its the same feeling you got as a kid when you got to Coney Island, or Palisades Park etc.. That feeling just doesn't go away. The menu is great, its the old time Jewish Food with modern day Soul Food now, an excellent decision to do this as the neighborhood has evolved.

 

The crowd is always upbeat and friendly, the staff gets to know you quickly. Just sitting down to plates of pickles, and pickled beets and health salad is mouth watering.

 

Then there is the music, the constant feeling its the 50's and 60's forever in the time warp JUNIORS has held on to. Even the walls are like a museum of days gone bye in Brooklyn, lots of Dodgers and Rat Pack and good times...

 

The desserts from the mile high ice cream sundaes  to the world famous cheesecakes and beyond, are worth the trip. Drive there and find lots of street parking, or take the Q or R train and its right across the street. Its fun for breakfast, lunch and dinner and always the perfect late, late night spot to end up at...

Tea Room and more in Harlem

CHAI WALI

TEA CULTURE

274 Lenox Avenue ( West 124th st)

New York, New York

646-688-5414

www.chaiwali.com

Beautiful, delightful, charming, tea room and more, with a 21st century twist. The front courtyard set the stage, as you know if its that's adorable on the outside, the inside will be even more of a surprise.  Its a  a wonderful experience to have such a relaxing lunch... Very good tea list of course,,,,

The menu is a touch of India with all the light aromatic spices, yet has the new modern flair to it. I had a chunky avocado open faced sandwich with interesting leaves on it, and a light lemon oil dressing  sitting on top of a multi grain bread. The entire menu was recognizable foods, with a global balance of seasonings and spices.

There was a beautiful garden in the back, and then up a lovely staircase in  this old gutted out brownstone, was the ZUM ZUM room, for more seating and dinners, with an outstanding menu you can view on the website. This room had interesting design and space, and even an almost real peacock.

Certainly this new comer will be a huge hit and they told us live music will follow soon. Sooo take the 2/3 train to 125th Street and you are practically there... So worth the trip as this place is a real destination, nothing else like it in NYC. Our waiter Peter was warm and welcoming and explained everything.

Mamma Lucia

4916 Elm Street

Bethesda, Maryland

 

301-907-3399

 

 

A small local chain of very nice provincial Italian food. We found this spot to be lively and upbeat, with large size servings, and basically a "down home" feel. As you walk past, you get drawn in with the rat pack style music they play on the outside.

 

We just loved sitting there, and selecting wines from an interesting wine list and very tradition dishes of the  well known Italian foods we all grew up.

 

Its a warm and cozy place, don't be surprised of the GM David Kottler stops by your table and sits down to chat with you,  and trade stories about places you have visited, or the town you are from.Our waiter Erick was from Bolivia and also a lot of fun and so informative...

 

Its not a gourmet restaurant, but you will for sure have a wonderful time there and dine, drink, laugh and feel at home..  I can't want to go back..

A day in Rhinebeck, New York

Rhinebeck, New York

This is a harder review for me to do as I was disappointed in what I found after reading reviews in various travel sites, that it’s the "new Hamptons north."

I am not sure how it would be for living there, or having a weekend home, I can only imagine.  However for this writer, it was not what I hoped for.  It’s a very lovely manicured small town, about 2 hours north of New York City, in the Hudson Valley.  There are views of the Catskill Mountains.

I would suggest that Reinebeck is an excellent stop on the way to or from another destination, such as Hyde Park.  The town itself has charming lovely little shops with clothes that you can't really wear once back in The City; they all have the crafty feel, or tailored look that you find in Berkshire or Vermont shops.  It’s not the NY look at all.  I confess I bought a scarf.

There were old homes with interesting architecture and plenty of historic home tours, and also lots of historical sites to visit and vistas. But every old town has these, so if it’s not your thing, it won't make you happy to be here.

We had lunch in "the oldest tavern in the US, at the Beekman Arms.  We sat in the atrium, yes it was lovely once again, and the waiter was lovely too. The shops were all lovely and everyone working in the shops were upbeat and lovely as well.

By the time we left I was sick of lovely and wanted to be back to reality in NYC.

STEVE AND COOKIES ON THE BAY

9700 AMHERST AVENUE

MARGATE, NEW JERSEY

 

609-823-1163

WWW.STEVEANDCOOKIES.COM

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We drove about 20 minutes from Atlantic City to this very personable restaurant. I loved it immediately, its large but intimate, They have an upper dining room with a view of the bay, and then another dining room that is warm and cozy with a fire place, also a bar area with tall booths so you can sit and relax and have that " we are here alone" feeling. There was an excellent piano player in the bar area, playing all the greats of the 40's 50's and 60's, this was very enjoyable. The menu is basically America with a flair. I found it a  drop hard to find what I wanted, but because they are so accommodating they made my fish "plain naked" as I like. In general the menu is all recognizable food, but with an interesting twist. All the products are fresh and locally grown.

I was impressed that Cookie stopped at each table to chat and make sure we were happy, the wait staff were all more than pleasant and welcoming. The wine list was excellent. It was a really nice change from the usual AC crowd . This was more of an upscale local crowd or people that are repeats as its their comfort zone, for a place they like to dine in when they want to escape Atlantic City.  It has a bit of New England charm. The people were dressed nicely for going out to dinner, and there was a dress code, I would say at least business casual. Dessert choices were wonderful, and prices were higher than most local places, but certainly not NYC prices, I am going back for sure, Beware of a parking situation, I recommend going on the later side. 

TRATTORIA L'incontro

21-76 31st Street

Astoria, Queens, New York

1-718-721-3532

 

Absolutely a must do and worth going over the bridge for if you live in Manhattan. The restaurant is  traditional looking but warm and cozy feeling, with lovely art work and Italian background music as well. On most Wednesday nights, Mary is in the smaller side room playing Italian love songs, while you are sipping wine and feasting on divine dishes.

 

I have never heard of a list of specials of the evening that is so long, and each dish is prepared from scratch with the finest ingredients from either local farmers or special imports. The Owner/Chef  Rocco Sacramone is a true food artist, each dish is presented beautifully and made lovingly.

 

Even for starters they present you with a sundried tomato puree with great flat bread for dipping, they keep bringing it to you as it goes down so smooth and easy.   The salads are great and the mista salad I love is loaded with interesting olives. The choices of fishes is unlimited, as are the various pasta dishes and meats.  As an example one dish they pride themselves on is

Mezza Luna, which is a  half moon shaped ravioli filled  with mascarpone cheese and pesto with added  asparagus, brandy and a  walnut sauce. It gets better, trust me. You can also eat light, with simple grilled fish, or a flatbread pizza.

 

The prices are more than fair and its a total dining experience. Vinnie the GM is wonderful and really knows his customers and just so warm and friendly. There is also free valet parking as well.  Also very close to the N & Q trains. Don't miss this dining experience...