Real Japanese at Wajima

Posted by Thrifty Gourmet on June 16, 2009 | 2 Comments

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Good Japanese food is hard to find.  While there is an overabundance of decent places to choose from, I find it oddly difficult to come across authentic Japanese cuisine in Manhattan.

Then I discovered a restaurant on the Upper East Side, at the cusp of Midtown, called Wajima.  It’s an unassuming place — so low-key that I didn’t even know it has existed for three years in my own neighborhood.  But what surprised me was that this restaurant isn’t a typically Upper East Side Japanese joint.  In other words, Wajima is a very traditional restaurant, run by Japanese people, and full of Japanese patrons.  And you know it’s a good sign when the cognoscenti are there. Read more

Filed under: Asian, Deals, Eating Out

A New Menu and 20% Off Your Bill at HEA

Posted by Raissa Nebie on April 21, 2009 | No Comments

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HEA Restaurant is changing things up a bit by introducing a new menu and giving diners a 20% break on their bill — Tuesday through Sunday from open to close. Chef Ichigaku Gonai, formerly of Bond St and Town has now taken the reins as executive chef and is “wok”-ing up exotic dishes from the Far East. The new menu is Japanese themed with a southern French flair. Read more

Filed under: Deals, Eating Out

Can’t Afford Dinner? What About Lunch?

Posted by Erin Patinkin on April 14, 2009 | No Comments

These days, as we punch more holes in our belts and test how tight we can make them before we get blue in the face, the pleasures of eating out are being sacrificed. We have begun to choose the cheap options — $3 PBR specials replace microbrews; Pad Thai dubs for sushi; and chocolate chip cookies satisfy our sweet tooth instead of those expensive, hand-crafted French macarons — over our favorite culinary splurges.

But the more affordable options can get tired quick — a sad truth when the recession has barely taken its toll yet. So what do you do when the affordable becomes boring, when you find yourself craving sweetbreads, when you want to wholly satisfy that epicurean craving? Read more

Filed under: Deals, Eating Out

$45 Tasting Menu at Dressler

Posted by Thrifty Gourmet on April 7, 2009 | No Comments

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In this week’s installment of recession dining specials, we explore one of Brooklyn’s few Michelin-star restaurants — Dressler, in South Williamsburg. Sunday through Thursday, Dressler is offering a 5-course tasting menu of its amazing cuisine for only $45.

On a recent Sunday, my boyfriend and I travelled to Dressler to celebrate his new job and raise. We enjoyed every minute of our delicious and impeccably-executed meal. My 5-course dinner included:

  • Frisee & Great Hill blue salad
  • Housemade gnocchi with hen of the woods, chard and parmesan
  • Pan roasted diver scallops with stoneground grits, wild mushrooms and white truffle oil
  • Braised short rib with cauliflower, parsnips, butternut squash and Brussel sprouts
  • Mini chocolate soufflé with caramel ice cream and sea salt

$45 later, I left knowing I had just enjoyed one of the greatest meals Brooklyn has to offer for a steal a of price.

Happy eating!

Dressler
149 Broadway
(between 6th St & Driggs Ave)
Brooklyn, NY 11211
Tel: (718) 384-6343

Filed under: Deals, Eating Out

Brunch at JoJo – A Thrifty Gourmet Steal on the UES

Posted by Thrifty Gourmet on April 6, 2009 | No Comments

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I love brunch.  But then again, so do a lot of New Yorkers.  This often results in long lines at even the most basic of brunch spots, and if you’re really hungry, sometimes it’s not worth the wait.

Imagine my glee when I found that JoJo offers a brunch menu on weekends. A part of the Jean-Georges enterprise, JoJo is a luxe, contemporary French restaurant, set in a coral townhouse on the Upper East Side.  Dinners can be pricey, but the brunch menu is an absolute steal.  You can order breakfast dishes a la carte, or choose three courses from the $24.07 prix-fixe brunch menu, which is almost identical to their lunch menu.

My eggs benedict arrived with leafy greens and cubed roasted potatoes.  The potatoes were excellent—nice and crisp on the outside, with a hint of butter and rosemary.  The eggs were beautifully poached, laid on thin slices of grilled ham atop a toasted English muffin.  My friend’s goat cheese frittata was equally delicious, its layers of zucchini and shitake mushrooms lightly melding together in a cloud of savory goodness.  We ended the meal with a pear tart, topped with pear sorbet and crème anglaise.  Everything was so good, we decided to come back next month for buttermilk pancakes and French toast.

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Though the restaurant was almost full, I’m pretty sure it was the first time I ever had brunch where I didn’t have to shout to make myself heard above the din of other patrons.  Above all, there was no wait, and the service was superb.  So if you’re searching for a delicious, quiet brunch set in plush surroundings, I suggest you try JoJo.

Currently, brunch is not the only deal to be had at JoJo.  The restaurant is also offering a Spring promotion, consisting of $24 lunches and $35 dinners.

JoJo
160 E 64th St
(between 3rd Ave & Lexington Ave)
New York, NY 10021
Tel: (212) 223-5656

Filed under: Brunch, Deals, Eating Out, French
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