Friday May 14th

6:30pm

40 Broad Street (located on the second floor of The Setai)

I met the Wine Dutchess for an afternoon work session at the Hive at 55 to design her new logo—and since we were already on Broad Street we felt compelled to stop in SHO for a Friday evening cocktail. SHO is located on the second floor of The Setai, luxury condos that are a brand extension of the Miami namesake. A quick elevator ride after entering the small black and red lobby you step in to the bar and lounge area of SHO. The space is very sleek and minimal, evocative of Miami Beach style – except here the Stock Exchange is steps away rather than the beach. Just past the entrance is a walkway lined with wine bottles from floor to ceiling set behind glass, which leads to the main dining area. I had dinner in the dining room back in January and the 6 courses were mostly a hit (one or two dishes were misses, they felt a little dated like they belonged in the movie Wall Street circa 1987), but I digress. Tonight was about the cocktails and a cheese plate, which at $20 for the chef’s selection of 6 came complete with a lesson in fromages from our server. We learned that fine blue cheese is often cored and served with champagne in the center, that fruit paste is meant to cleanse your pallet between tasting the different types of cheese (as ginger does for sushi) and that cheese plate selections are presented left to right from fresh to sharp.

Tip: Monday – Friday SHO offers a 3-course prix fixe lunch for $30, a small price for a fine dining experience.

Cocktail

• French 75 in Padua – Aperol, Citadelle, Prosecco, Blood Orange

Chef’s Selection of Cheeses

• Lynnhaven Goat Cheese, Comté, Langres and two that were off the menu including a blue and and a Sheeps Milk

  

  The cheese plate was small for $20, but delicious.

  

  French 75 in Padua made with blood orange and Prosecco

  
  
  

Good for: Expense check dinners, Special Occasion, Foodies, cocktails, award winning Wine list, Fine Dining in FiDI, Prix Fixe Lunch

Friday April 2nd, 2010
8pm
24 Peck Slip

A friend (also in FiDi) noticed that SUteiShi was running a special on Groupon and decided to take advantage of the offer. Four of us arrived around 8pm, and since the restaurant wasn’t accepting reservations this particular night we had to wait about 30 minutes for a table. The outdoor seating wasn’t up and running but there were a few tables out front which helped make the wait more comfortable. The exterior wall is glass and there’s a nice view of the Brooklyn Bridge from the front dining room. The interior is very modern and has an intimate atmosphere just steps away from the more chaotic and tourist driven area of the Seaport. Our waitress could have been a bit friendlier (and more attentive) but the sushi was well prepared and made up for the service. The prices are a little high, with some of the speciality rolls upwards of $15, but the quality and flavors make it worth the indulgence. For those in the neighborhood you can place an online order for delivery or pick-up through SeamlessWeb.

Dinner (shared by 4)

• Edamame
• Crunch East Roll – Avocado, Cucumber, Scallions, Spicy Salmon, Tempura flakes
• Triple Blossom – Tuna, Salmon, Yellowtail, Gobo, Tobiko in Soybean Wrap
• King of NY – King Crab, Avocado, Mayo, Flying Fish Roe on top
• Dragon Roll – Eel and Avocado
• Hot Sake

GOOD FOR: SMALL GROUPS, DINNER WITH FRIENDS, DATE NIGHT, LUNCH, DELIVERY

Tuesday March 23, 2010
12:45pm
66 Pearl Street

I ventured out for a salad and noticed that FIKA had opened on Pearl Street. Curious, I stepped inside to the minimalist interior to place my order. The menu features classic Swedish dishes (shrimp salad, gravlax, meatballs), along with salads and sandwiches. They also carry truffles and pastries along with a coffee bar, as the name implies. The prices are a bit high for lunch, my salad ended up costing $14 because I added chicken to it – which ended up looking better than it tasted. Next time I’ll be ordering coffee … and a truffle.

Lunch

• Pear & Walnut Salad – blue cheese, roasted walnuts (skipped and added chicken), pear, cherry tomatoes, radish

GOOD FOR: COFFEE, TRUFFLES, INFORMAL MEETING

March 18^th 2009

Spring is in the air!  The temperature has been flirting with 70 degrees the past few days and spending St. Patrick’s Day outdoors on Stone Street made me think of summertime. Since I can never think of places when put on the spot here’s a running list of outdoor dining and drinking in Lower Manhattan (Battery Park, FiDi, Stone Street, Tribeca and the Seaport) to refer to. Please leave a comment if I’ve inadvertently left anyplace off – and if you like this post please add the Downtown Gourmand to your blogroll!

WFC

• Ciao Bella Gelato - 2 World Financial Center
• PJ Clarke’s on the Hudson - 4 World Financial Center
• SouthWest NY - 2 World Financial Center

FiDi

• Cipriani Club 55 - 55 Wall Street
• Harry’s Italian Pizza Bar - 2 Gold Street
• Financier - 35 Cedar Street
• Merchants NY Café - 90 Washington Street
• Picnick, Smoked (lunchtime only) - Corner of Wall Street and South Street
• Suspender’s - 111 Broadway
• Zeytuna (lunchtime only) - 59 Maiden Lane
• Zigolini’s - 66 Pearl Street

Stone Street

• Adrienne’s Pizza Bar - 54 Stone Street
• Beckett’s - 81 Pearl Street
• Burger Burger - 77 Pearl Street
• The Dubliner - 45 Stone Street
• Mad Dog and Beans - 83 Pearl Street
• Smorgas Chef - 53 Stone Street
• Stone Street Tavern - 52 Stone Street
• Ulysses - 58 Stone Steet/95 Pearl Street
• The Vintry - 57 Stone Street
• Waterstone Grill - 79 Pearl Street

Battery Park

• Battery Gardens - 17 State Street
• Gigino (Wagner Park) - 323 Greenwich Street
• Inatteso Pizza Bar - 28 West Street
• Kaijou - 21 South End Avenue
• Liberty View - 21 South End Avenue
• Picnick - East of Castle Clinton in the Battery Bosque
• Steamers Landing - 375 South End Avenue

TriBeCa

(NOTE: Marc Forgione, fka FORGE was intentially left off of this list due to an inexcusable brunch experience involving cold eggs benedict with a price of $22)

• Bubby’s - 120 Hudson Street
• Centrico - 211 West Broadway
• Cercle Rouge French Bistro - 241 West Broadway
• Cosmopolitan Café - 95 West Broadway
• Edward’s - 136 West Broadway
• Flor del Sol - 361 Greenwich Street
• Industria Argentian - 329 Greenwich Street
• Trattoria Cinque - 363 Greenwich Street

Seaport Area

• Acqua at Peck Slip - 257 Water Street at Peck Slip
• Barbarini Alimentari - 225 Front Street
• Fresh Salt - 146 Beekman Street
• Meade’s - 22 Peck Slip
• Nelson Blue - 36 Peck Slip
• Salud - 142 Beekman Street
• SUteiShi - 24 Peck Slip

Wednesday March 17, 2010
1:45pm
76 Fulton Street

In anticipation of St. Patrick’s Day festivities planned later in the evening I thought it might be wise to have a good lunch. The Country Kebab is a tiny carry out (with limited seating) Turkish/Mediterranean restaurant on Fulton Street. The food is fresh, authentic and reasonably priced for the FiDi.  There’s a great selection of all the classic vegetarian dishes (such as hummus, tabouleh, babaganoush and falafel) but they also serve lamb, chicken and fish options. They also serve a variety of soup (my favorites are the butternut squash or lentil) and a daily hot food selection.

Lunch (enough left over for another meal/snack)

• Chicken kebab platter – served with a warm pita, spicy red sauce, white sauce and a choice of 3 sides
• Sides –  2 stuffed grape leaves, hummus and Shepherd’s salad (cucumber, tomato, feta, red onion and parsley in fresh lemon juice and olive oil)

Good for: Cheap Eats, Lunch, Carry Out, Delivery

Sunday February 28, 2010
3:30pm
22 Peckslip

A fashionably late brunch just in time to watch the USA/Canada Olympic hockey game. Meade’s looks like a typical neighborhood bar, but they have board games, are dog-friendly and have a cozy upstairs section with more seating (all novelties in FiDi). Brunch is served from noon – 4pm on weekends with an average menu selection. Think of it as a bar that serves breakfast, it’s a low-key alternative to Stone Street.

Brunch:

• Eggs over-easy (just runny enough)
• English muffin
• Bacon (not so crisp)
• Tator tots (super crisp and made up for the bacon)
• Bloody Mary

Good for: lazy Sundays, low-key brunch with friends, brushing up on Scrabble