reviews

Looking for a hot new restaurant to go to for a birthday dinner, or a swanky downtown joint to grab dinner and drinks with friends? Search my reviews below, or email me if you can't find what you're looking for. Wanna get the low-down on the newest restaurants going up? Get the strong buzz. (Please note: You can freely link to my restaurant reviews, but republishing any part of them without written permission is expressly prohibited. For information and syndication details please email syndication@thestrongbuzz.com).

“Calliope”
I had no idea that the word Calliope referred to so many different things. It's a breed of sweet little Humming Bird indigenous to Fort Tryon Park, a World War II tank equipped with missile launcher, a song by Tom Waits, and now a terrific new res ...
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Posted: July 19, 2012

“The NoMad”
Pete Wells is a great restaurant critic. First off, he has a serious depth of knowledge. He’s been a food writer for over a decade. From 2009 until January 2011, he wrote a terrific column for The New York Times Magazine called “Cookin ...
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Posted: July 6, 2012

“Gran Electrica”
If you haven’t heard yet, the folks at DUMBO’s Gran Electrica (the same owners as Colonie) are offering quite a lovely spot for summer drinking and eating. The restaurant’s oversized backyard deck and garden is strung with twinkl ...
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Posted: June 27, 2012

“Corkbuzz Wine Studio”
There’s been much talk over the past five years about the artisan cocktail revolution, an important and seismic shift that marked the demise of ice chips and syrupy sweet Rose’s lime juice, and the birth of the Kold Draft cube, fresh-s ...
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Posted: June 15, 2012

“La Vara”
Sephardic Jewish cooking— and those who know it should not be surprised —is magical. Truly, it is. It’s an aromatic, exotic, and mesmerizing cuisine. It’s a world steeped in turmeric, cumin, cinnamon, and saffron layered wi ...
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Posted: June 3, 2012

“Arthur on Smith”
Butter is an ingredient I have some affection for. I love to cook with it, to spread it on thick cut slices of toast, to watch it melt over summer's white corn. But at restaurants it can be tricky. It's often overlooked, served thoughtlessly cold ...
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Posted: June 2, 2012

“Acme”
I had no idea I liked porridge. In fact, other than eating imaginary bowls of the cold, hot, and just-right stuff with my daughter Emily (who plays a charming Goldilocks to my Mama Bear), I'm not sure that I have given porridge all that much t ...
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Posted: April 9, 2012

“Pampano Botaneria by Dara Pollak”
Catching up with friends is a good excuse to try out a new bar or restaurant, and when the restaurant in consideration is from the Richard Sandoval empire (Zengo, Maya, Four at Yotel), you know you’re in for a good meal. Pampano Botaneria is ...
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Posted: April 1, 2012

“Il Buco Alimentari & Vineria”
Rachael Ray was sitting behind us. I wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or a bad one. Then someone mentioned seeing Martha Stewart. Both of them in one restaurant? Would there be a catfight? No matter. Steven, Katy and I could have cared le ...
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Posted: March 2, 2012

“Brooklyn Wok Shop by Dara Pollak”
If there is one thing the area of Williamsburg is lacking in, it’s Chinese food. Good Chinese food. No one knows this better than Husband and wife team Edric and Melissa Har, who have opened up Brooklyn Wok Shop in hopes of bringing the trad ...
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Posted: February 18, 2012