Date Night @ Brooklyn Star (the new location)

We've been to Brooklyn Star before and when there was the fire incident, we kept wondering when it would re-open. Little did we expect the restaurant to open down the street from us! We went opening weekend!

The place is cute and casual. I love the car area which is where we ended up eating. The main dining area had tables but primarily a long communal table.

I knew that I had to get the corn bread with jalapeno and bacon. It's really the best corn bread I've ever had! Definitely going back for more!

Bacon Jalapeno Corn Bread

Yum... the bacon and jalapeno bits...

Bacon Jalapeno Corn Bread

 We shared the Spicy Fried Chicken Wings with pickled carrots. Not my fav.

Spicy Fried Chicken Wings

 We shared the 1/2 Roasted Chicken - sweet tea glaze, country ham, rice, apple, kale, which was amazing. It was perfectly cooked and tender with crispy skin. I love it!

1/2 Roasted Chicken

Definitely going back for more!

Dinner @ Armani Ristorante

I've been curious about the Armani Ristorante ever since it opened. Since it never really got any amazing reviews by critics, it's always been in the back of my mind but never pursued. I only decided to make a visit recently because it was conveniently close to my office for a dinner with an old friend.

I was beyond pleasantly surprised. Our dinner was not cheap by any means. Between the two of us, one glass of chardonnay each, each an antipasti, entree and dessert and out total bill was close to $200. The food was amazing, but I'm not sure if I would really return to spend $$ there versus elsewhere.

The bread basket was amazing!!

Compliments of the chef - split pea soup with ricotta cheese.

The Capesante Scottate - sauteed scallops on a potatoes thousand layers and shaved truffle. Loved the truffle touch on this dish and definitely used in a unique way compared to other restaurants.

Capesante Scottate

The Carpaccio Di Manzo - beef carpaccio with an artichoke salad and parmesan cheese. I loved the full slices of parmesan.

Carpaccio Di Manzo

I got the special - Lobster and Potato Gnocchi with a tomato sauce. I loved it! I hope this have this special often, because if I go back, I definitely want this dish.

Lobster and Potato Gnocchi

My friend got the Ossobuco Di Vitello Alla Milanese - braised veal shank served with saffron risotto. The piece I had was really great, thought I think Quattro Gastronomia Italiana might be better.

Ossobuco Di Vitello Alla Milanese

My friend got the Fondente Al Cioccolato - hot chocolate fondant with pandan ice cream.

Fondente Al Cioccolato

I settled for something lighter and more refreshing - Raspberry Sorbet. Perfect and delicious.

Raspberry Sorbet

I loved the space that the restaurant was in - the set up and lighting. Everything was well-done and I may not return for a full three-course meal, but maybe return for a lighter dinner. And thinking back the $75 tasting menu would have cost less.

Brunch @ Locanda Verde

I love Locanda Verde and have dined for dinner, lunch and now, finally, brunch!

Marcos and I woke up early and made it to Locanda Verde right at 10:30am, just in time for the start of their brunch.

I started with the Tre-Stelle juice - consisting of pomegranate, blood orange and valencia oranges. Delicious.

We started with focaccia bread. Amazing as usual with the grilled onion on top. Yum!

I got the Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with blueberries and meyer lemon curd. This was so good and better than I ever imagined. I loved the meyer lemon curd!

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

Marcos got the 8-hour Tripe with fried eggs on top. He loved his dish!! I remember having the tripe as an antipasti for dinner and it was something all of us kept thinking about months afterwards.

8-hour Tripe

We couldn't resist the sides. Really the best sausage ever - Homemade Pork Sausage.

Homemade Pork Sausage

And I LOVED the Crispy Garlic Potatoes. So crunchy and couldn't stop eating one after another.

Crispy Garlic Potatoes

We were quite full, so skipped out on dessert. By the time we were leaving, there was already a long wait. It'll be a long while before we decide to wake up so early for brunch again but this was thoroughly worth it.

Date Night @ Bohemian

The city is known to have several back door and secretive restaurants and bars. Bohemian is one unique Japanese restaurant that is discreetly tucked away without a publicized phone number or address. The only way to make it in to Bohemian is to either have a friend who has been there already and can pass you the phone number to make a reservation or to email them - ny-info@playearth.jp hope they will invite you.

I did the latter and was fortunate enough be invited. I made a reservation immediately thinking that it would be incredibly hard to get a reservation, but turns out that its wasn't that hard and probably because there are only so many people that have the number and address.

The $55 tasting course was amazing and a fantastic deal. I started with the Bergamont, earl grey infused into ginger with pomegranate syrup and frothed egg whites. Delicious...

Bergamont

The first item was a fresh assortment of vegetables (daikon, turnip, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, green pepper...) with anchovy cheese dipping sauce. Absolutely refreshing and could not get enough of the sauce.

We added pickled cauliflower to the tasting. I love anything pickled and this left me wanting for more throughout the week.

The mushroom croquette topped with uni was amazing with a perfect crunch on the outside and soft warm texture inside.

In between the croquette and sea bass, there was also a selection of cold cuts that I forgot to take a picture of since I was so excited for the next course.

The Mediterranean Sea Bass was amazing with an assortment of grilled vegetables - potatoes, mushrooms, asparagus, garlic, onion and squash. It came out sizzling hot and was beyond fulfilling. On the menu, it is regularly $28, which is such a fantastic deal.

The next part, you can select either the wagyu beef burger with crispy potato or the ikura caviar rice bowl.

I opted for the burger and Marcos got the Ikura Caviar Rice Bowl.

At last, dessert was a sake Panna Cotta with brown sugar syrup. I was blown away and left me wanting for more.

Overall, the service was excellent, experience was amazing and we loved the food. Definitely returning - perhaps next week?