Last night, I had one of the most interactive dinners of my life.  At the very popular Inamo Restaurant in Soho London there aren’t waiters to take your order.  The entire menu and ordering experience happens on your table thanks to an overhead projection display system.

Using the small track pad on the right side of your plate, you can see the menu, read about the dishes, and most amazingly, see them visualized on the plate in front of you.  After deciding exactly what you want to eat, you can watch your dish be prepared on the live “Chef Cam” there on your table. Each dish we ordered arrived in less than 10 minutes.

We learned that reservations are very tough to come by and once you are there you have exactly 1.5 hours to complete you dinner before you are “encouraged to continue your dinning experience in the downstairs bar.”

All in all, from the food, to the technology, to the service, I was a fan.

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My love for Breakfast Tacos is pretty well documented.  My sadness about not being able to find many good options here in NYC is as well.  But this morning, Annie and I made our way to Locanda Verde in TriBeCa with some friends and found a brunch that made me forget all about Breakfast Tacos (for a couple hours, then the longings returned.)

The freshly made Focaccia bread was ridiculously good. We had to remind ourselves not fill up on the breadbasket and not leave room for the main event.

There were a variety of pastries on the menu and even a sampler plate in case you couldn’t decide.  Annie loves all things lemon, I love all things Rosemary, so the Lemon Rosemary Scone was the obvious choice.  And it quickly became the obvious source of jealous from our friends.

The dish that we had heard about for a long time and everyone was excited to try: Lemon Ricotta Pancakes.  They lived up to any and all expectations.  Just incredible.

Scramble eggs are often over looked.  These shouldn’t be.  Fluffy, well seasoned, with leeks: wow.

One of the best things I have ever eaten was Shrimp and Grits at Hominy Grill in Charleston, SC.  So when I saw “Scampi and Grits with Coddled Eggs’ it was a no brainer.  Not only were the spicy shrimp and finely pureed grits wonderful, the coddled eggs took them to a new level.

It was a wonderful morning with great friends.  And if you can get  a reservation, you have to go.

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Today is a day of celebration.  Today is the day that I found a grocery store in New York that carries REAL salsa, not “that stuff made in New York City!”  There is a big difference. (Classic Pace Picante commercial) Even if the jar was on the bottom shelf underneath all the other “mexican sauces,” there is just something right about eating salsa made in Texas.

But, that said, the hunt still continues to find really good Tex-Mex in NYC.  There are a couple contenders (Mole, Zarela, and La Esquina) but no true victor.Tweet

Last night Annie and I met up with a couple of friends at Gonzalez y Gonzalez on Broadway for some dinner and to continue the quest to find the best Mexican food in NYC.  We were completely spoiled (and frankly I get cravings) by Mi Cocina in Highland Park Village.    A Mombo Taxi (or 2) with a order of the perfect guacamole and the best, yet seldom ordered, item on the menu: Sunset Style Fajitas: Perfection.

So the quest to find a suitable replacement continued.  Gonzalez y Gonzales was pretty good.  The table side guac was great as was the white sangria.  I felt like I won the contest for guessing the best thing on the menu when my Tacos de Pescado arrived.  Who doesn’t like seeing a whole avacado sliced and artfully arrange over a creamy chipotle sauce infused fished tacos?

But perhaps the best thing that happened as a result of dinner is that I now have 3 new recommendations to go try.  As I sat down for dinner, I checked in on Gowalla.  I pushed my check-in out to Twitter and to Facebook alerting my respective networks that I was in search of some good Mexican food here in NYC. When I got home and did my “social media tour” before heading to bed, I was pleasantly surprise to find that I had recommendations waiting for me.  One within Gowalla (in App comments are amazing), one on Twitter, and one on Facebook.  I also had some additional commentary by other Mexican food lovers and their quest to find the best queso.

I know that I am a little biased being so closely associated with Gowalla, but, it is always kind of nice to know that what we are building works and benefit from it first hand.

Now, off to try and get a table at Mole next weekend.Tweet

To find the best Japanese food in New York City go through the 70′s decorated office building lobby, past the elevator bank and night security guard, down the back stairs, and through a basement hallway. You would never find it if someone didn’t tell you it was there, but fortunately for me, Annie told me.
I was in New York City last week for training and I had a free night on Monday. I was sipping on a dirty martini at the Four Seasons when my friend Tosh Marks returned my call. He was free and we decided to give Sakaguru a try. When I arrived at the address, I knew that I was in for a treat when I hoped into a line of Japanese people making the treat through the tacky office building lobby and down to the basement. (Always a good sign when you are surrounded by people of the same ancestry as the food)
It is important to note that Tosh has lived in the city for the past ten years and as a self-described Foodie and has developed quite a palate with his culinary tour of New York. He was a little skeptical when I told him about the place, but as the night went on, my hunch that I was a part of something special was confirmed.
Because we didn’t know exactly how to read the menu or what to order, we asked our wonderful server to start us off with a bottle of sake and some water and then surprise us with whatever she recommends. We smiled for the next three hours.

* Dried sardine crackers dipped in a spicy mayonnaise sauce.
* Seaweed and peanut salad with a soy sesame dressing
* Mixed greens and fresh tofu served with Tsa Tsai and Miso dressing
* Fluke sashimi topped with grated dikon radish and a citrus vinaigrette
* Pastrami duck wrapped scallions with a basil lemon paste (my favorite)
* Blackened cod with pickled soy infused mushroom stems
* Slow cooked miso glazed wasbi pork (melts in your mouth, not on your chopstick)
* Eggplant done three ways – Egg yolk custard, spinach and sesame, and sweet red miso
* Kobe beef grilled table side on a hot stone
* Chocolate souffle with vanilla bean ice cream and raspberry sauce
* Black sesame creme brulee with black sesame ice cream

If you are in Midtown Manhattan anytime during the rest of your life, go to Sakaguru and take a friend.
www.sakagura.com 211 EAST 43rd ST. B1 NYC NY 10017 212-953-7253 Tweet

Tristan has done it again. As an encore to his fantastic row of scrumptious restaurants East of 75 on Henderson, his most recent offering is tremendous. Victor Tango’s is a gastro pub with a unique menu and a rare take on bar food and speciality drinks. The exposed brick walls are classy, the lighting moody, and long marble bar spacious. The food is amazing. Cheddar butter biscuits, ahi tuna nachos, chicken and waffles, and perhaps my favorite, lobster BLT sliders. They are changing their menu pretty frequently and tonight i heard that the sticky ribs were incredible.

But the reason that i come back as often as i can is for the Pepper Smash Cocktail. Picture this: red pepper and local mint muddled and then drenched in a dry gin, lemon juice, and clover honey syrup. Shaken and pour over ice, then garnished with a thinly sliced red pepper and a smashed mint leaf. I hate gin normally (read bad experience in New Orleans) but this drink is amazing and refreshing. All specialty cocktails are $8.

So go see the spunky staff at Tristan Simon and the Consilient Group’s newest opportunity to enjoy a new twist on some old favorites.
(As I was writing this, I encouraged a couple fellow patrons to try the Pepper Smash. Their response: “Wow, it is exactly the way you described it! Amazing! You should write blog or something.”)Tweet

Having made my way from the West Village across to Union Square I had encountered the entire gamit of New York City life on a Saturday morning. Drug dealers and the homeless in the under reconstruction Washington Square Park; preppies and their parents at the NYU campus cafes; street venders and hedge fund managers at the Soho Starbucks.

Annie had made sure that I was well equipped with some of her favorite books on NYC and I had read and heard quite a bit about Union Square Cafe. After taking in the farmers market and buying some head phones from a tent full of Asians, I made my way across 5th Ave to the burgundy awning just down 16th.

I love sitting at the bar, like Giada does, and letting the bartender point me in the right direction.

I ordered a South Hamptom Secret Ale, black bean soup, and a BLT. They brough out some terrific bread and olives to start. The black bean soup with thinner than what i am used to in Texas and it was served with a thin lemon slice and finely shredded green chives. What really set it off was when the bar tender asked to pour a shot of Sherry in the soup. The hint of liqour brought out the flavors and made the dish. The BLT was incredible. The tomatoes were fresh and the bacon was thick and perfectly seasoned.

The conversation down the bar was lively as patrons debated last night’s presidential debate and the merits of each candidate. The lunch rush was just beginning as i was leaving. As i exited this incredible restaurant, i merged back onto the recently drenched streets and the hussle and bussle of a Union Sqaure saturday. Tweet

As i was walking down Columbus reading menus in the window, i noticed Wine and Roses across the street. I told myself if i didn’t find anything on the next couple blocks i would come back. From across the street i could just tell that it had some great energy and was busier than most of the other restaurants.
When i did circle back and walk in, i realized the reason it looked busy from across the street is because it was and it was small. The marble bar consumed most of the inside and was lined with stools. The walls had small two person tables and the little outside patio only had four tables each seating two.
I sat at the corner of the bar, clicked my blackberry to silence, and decided to just unwind and process the week.
I ordered a glass of wine on the bar tender’s recommendation. I had tried a couple and then she recommended this one and it was great, very full bodied and “meaty” when it hit my tongue. I ordered the next glass, an italian wine with “hits of espresso and berries” and asked him to pair a three cheese sampling with it. The three cheeses were incredible. The first and third were Italian and the second one was American made.
Castle Rosso – Dry, crumbly texture, yet creamy in mouth, aged three months. Grassy and earthy flavors. Unpastuerized cow’s milk.
Midnight Moon – Firm, dry and crumbly texture, aged for at least one year. The taste has a warm, nutty flavor with hints of caramel. Pasteurized goat’s milk.
Robiola – Silky, smooth and creamy texture. Well balanced, buttery flavors. Made in the northern region of Langhe. Pasteurized cow’s and sheep’s milk.
The tray also came with grapes, apples, figs, dates, and warm bread. I was in a contemplative mood so I ate ever so slowly mixed and matched and savored every bite and every sip. Then i ordered a light bodied Pinot Nior from California and the Wine and Roses Liguini. It was a slow meal with a wonderful atmosphere and a place that i would love to go back to with Annie.Tweet

As I sat in the little boulevard park at 79th and Broadway on a weathered wooden bench I unwrapped my morning’s find. The steam that escaped the white paper bag was evidence of how fresh was my glorious cinnamon raisin H&H Bagel. This Upper West Side treasure is not one to miss while in NYC. It truly is “like no other bagel in the world.”Tweet