My “Uovo” soft egg yolk filled raviolo with truffled butter at SD26.

I know that SD26 is known for their amazing wines, including their fancy, automatic self serve wine dispenser, but I went to try this specific small dish. And oh boy, let me tell you, it was worth the trip. When you cut into you the runny yolk pours out over the cheese, pasta and truffled butter. I cut it up into bite size pieces and then used a spoon to eat it to scoop all that yolk and butter up. Granted, on their bar and lounge menu, it is the most expensive snack on the menu at $21, I would get it again, and plan on it. But have no fear, the rest of the bar and lounge menu otherwise ranges in $6-$12 for food, so you will have no problem filling yourself up. One suggestion, skip the fried meatballs. The texture was off, I’m not sure if they use a lot of bread in it or what, but it reminded me of the stuffing of a sofa cushion. However, I really enjoyed the bruschetta with bufala mozzarella and tomatoes. You can tell that they use really nice quality ingredients. The tomatoes were so nice and bright tasting and the mozzarella so creamy and dreamy. The lollipops of chicken wings with honey and chili pepper sauce were great, and not messy at all. They also pass around pizza bianca with mortadella for people to snack on. This is not a pizza in the way that we think of it, rather they were basically mortadella sandwiches and even today, I am still thinking about how great that mortadella tasted. It was sliced nice and thin and I know that I could eat a pound of it by itself.

How was the wine? Erm… I’m not sure, but my Basil Hayden manhattan was just lovely, and so was our fabulous bartender Renato.

8 out of 10 for the bar/lounge area

SD26

19 East 26th Street

New York, NY 10010

(212) 265-5959

-Joyce Huang

courtesy of cellar58.com

Night out with the girls? Night out with the guys and looking for girls? Date night? Then why not take a walk over to Cellar 58 for some romantic lighting, tasty wines and small plates. The best part? Affordable prices too.

Cellar 58 is a lovely wine bar that has been around for less than a year. Wine enthusiasts will have a ball here since they have a selection of over 150 wines from all over the world. Craving a merlot from Bulgaria, maybe a viognier from South Africa? You’ll find it here, and prices by the glass start at just $6. It’s great for all budgets. After sampling a red, white and sparkling white, I was pleasantly pleased with the quality of all the wines, especially when I got the check.

Stay away from their pizza. Think Ellio’s. However, their cheeses are quite delicious and are accompanied with delicious marmalade type sides to pair with them. The triple cream cheese melts in your mouth, as it should. Their blue is fantastic, not too strong and so flavorful still. The brie? Hi, I love you, want to spend the night with me? Cheese plates start at 3 for $9.90 and a fantastic assortment of 9 costs an extremely reasonable $23.90.  The presentation is so much fun too.

If you are a fan of desserts, don’t leave without trying their napoleon. It’s messy, not too sweet and fantastic. So fantastic, we ordered a second one for the table. The flaky puff pastry has light whipped pastry cream oozing out from all sides and had me wondering if there was a way I could lick the plate clean without looking too trashy. Sadly, I didn’t find a way.

7 out of 10

Cellar 58

58 2nd Ave, New York NY10003

-Joyce Huang

courtesy of ottopizzeria.com

Otto, Otto, Otto. Where do I begin…

At Otto, one of Mario Batali’s restaurants, you will have the most delightful and affordable dining experience providing that you know what to order. It’s not a straight across the board good restaurant sadly, but for the prices there are some wonderful things that come out of the kitchen.

Let me start with the gelatos first, simply because that’s what I look most forward to when I go there

Here we go!

Olive oil: Lots of people that I have dined with find this to be absolutely heavenly, to me it’s not bad, but I wouldn’t die over it. It’s creamy gelato that leaves a lingering olive oil taste over your tongue as it melts.

Salty Caramel: Just average, I wish it tasted more caramel-y versus burnt caramel-y

Crème Fraiche: Reminiscent of sour cream and very light

Pistachio: Wonderful in flavor (though it still can’t compare to the gelato I had in Italy, but for America it was very good)

Guinness: Exactly as it sounds, so only order if you love Guinness

Coconut sorbet: silky and beautiful in flavor, next time I’m getting this again

Tangerine sorbet: Absolutely delicious, it’s as if it were the freshest tangerine I have ever eaten

Meyer lemon sorbet: I wish it were more lemony and a touch sweeter, it’s as if it weren’t sure as to what direction to go in and kind of reminded me of dishwashing soap

Canteloupe sorbet: Ohmigosh, I had this one probably a year ago and still remember it

(On a side note: If you ever see bacon ice cream being listed on the menu at Jack’s Luxury Oyster Bar, go that night. It is one of the most fantastic things one can taste if they never have before)

Their sundaes are delightful as well, but I must admit that I’ve never tasted any of their baked goods because I’ve been so focused on trying all of their gelatos. Beware if you want to get some to go though. It’s $12 a pint!

I guess we have to talk about the food right? First off, don’t get the pastas, after all, it’s not homemade so don’t expect anything to “wow” you. It reminds me of pastas that I make at home out of the box.  I was not impressed. Stick with the pizzas. They are nice, thin and crispy. The margherita is so basic, but my taste buds loved it. The clam was also very nice too, but I wish they took the clams out of the shells rather than just plop everything whole straight on to the pie. Stay away from the anchovy pizza. For someone who loves anchovies (Me!), this was bland and a disappointment. There’s a lot on their menu that really is just average, but when you go, make sure to try the brussel sprouts which are nice and savory, and if you are there on a Monday, give their eggplant bruschetta a whirl. Oh! One last thing, while I did enjoy the honey accompaniment with the cheese plate, the cheese plate was kind of pathetic size wise. Not worth it!

Otto also has a lovely wine selection, and although I’m not a  huge wine drinker when I am elsewhere I know I will be happy with their offerings. Frightened by the extensive wine menu? Simply ask your server who will suggest something very good and budget friendly.

During one excursion we ordered two sides, bruschetta, a pizza, three plates of pasta, two desserts and a bottle of extremely good wine and our bill was $113, without tip. And we had leftovers to take home! Suh-weet!

6.5 out of 10

-Joyce Huang

1 5th Ave, New York NY10003

courtesy of divinebar.ypguides.net

There is something very touristy about Divine Bar West that is a turn off. Think pre and after theatre crowd. But they make some really amazing martinis and tasty treats. If you stop by make sure to ask for a table upstairs. There’s more to the place then just the bar. If you are lucky enough to visit during the warmer months, you might want to try for an outside table.

I cannot rave enough about their Dirty Stinkin’ Whore martini. A massive potato vodka martini is lined with celery salt and garnished with a blue cheese stuffed olive, a roasted shallot and a sliver of red roasted pepper. It goes down so lovely and clean and the celery salt is a heavenly touch to the cold vodka. And when I say that this is a big drink, it really is a big drink. It might even be twice the size of some of the martinis I have had in my life. The rest of their special martini list has beautiful flavors as well, like their Champagne-Grapefruit martini, which is grapefruit vodka, champagne, citrus syrup and a gorgeous sun-dried citrus garnish. It’s looks beautiful in addition to tasting good. The Platinum Cosmo is refreshing and pretty. Made from platinum sipping tequila, white cranberry juice, triple sec, lime juice and a lemon and cranberry garnish, it’s a fantastic twist on a regular Cosmopolitan.

I’m not going to lie. With all of that booze, you will surely want food to munch on. My general opinion of the menu is that the food is good, not amazing, but good. BUT! But, there is one dish that I always have to have when I go there. Hands down, I always have to get the baked brie in a puff pastry with honey, walnuts, dates and apples. You will be using those apple slices to scoop up every last bit of honey and pastry. The funny thing is that it doesn’t taste like they use honey. It tastes like they poured yummy caramel all over it.

Dishes that aren’t mind-blowing, but that are worth giving a go are the tuna sushi roll (wrapped tortilla style, but if there were ham in there instead of tuna I probably wouldn’t have know), the antipasti (this is great if you want quantity, it’s a big platter), the bruschetta with warm goat cheese (absolutely delicious, but their bruschetta portions are very small, 3 to a plate).

How are the desserts you ask? Just like the rest of the menu, not to-die-for, but definitely good and will satisfy and please you. And will plates like pumpkin poppers with butterscotch gelato and a bag of mini doughnuts, how can you resist?

6.5 out of 10

236 W 54th St, New York NY10019
(212) 265-9463

-Joyce Huang

courtesy felicewinebar.com

A friend of mine and I had some time before a baking lesson I was giving him and since we were starving, we decided to pop in somewhere and grab a quick bite to eat. We walked by Felice Wine Bar and it looked so cute we had to stop in. Wine bottles line the walls, sleek and innovative lighting fixtures hang from the ceilings and the back bar was just adorable. We ordered a bottle of white wine, at the waitress’s choosing. I wish I could remember what it was, but I’m not a huge wine drinker (I think my body is becoming allergic to it as I get older) and to me it just tasted ok, but don’t ask me to judge wine. I can’t talk about legs and grapes, I can only tell you if I like it or not.

I went with the pappardelle with veal ragu and my friend ordered the pan seared filet mignon with rosemary potatoes. My pasta was disappointing. I love, love pappardelle. LOVE it! I can eat it all day long. While there was nothing wrong with my pasta, I had just expected it to taste better. I expected there to be more to the dish, flavor wise, but I basically polished off my bowl simply because I was hungry. It’s not a dish I would order again if I were to go back. I understand that just, this was a simple dish with a simple sauce, so why should I expect so much out of it, but if you read my review of Scarpetta, you will see that I expect even more out of simple dishes because basic ingredients can taste so good! Mmmm, Scarpetta. My friend’s dish was pretty good though. Basic, but tasty. I always think that good steaks don’t need anything but salt and pepper, and this was the case with this steak. I wish I had ordered that instead of the pasta. Though, in my defense, I was thinking an Italian restaurant would have better pasta. Live and learn right?

Cute atmosphere, decent food.

6.5 out of 10

400 East 64th Street
New York, NY 10065-7868
(212) 593-2223

-Joyce Huang

Courtesy of ayzanyc.com

This is one of those places, that while the prepared food isn’t worth eating, it’s still a fabulous venue to go to. Ayza is a brilliant concept. It is a chocolate, cheese and wine bar that also has a lunch and dinner menu. The problem is the lunch and dinner menu. My date and I ate the following dishes that night:

Asian steak tartare
Grilled octopus salad
Beef carpaccio
Pasta with basil, marinara and mozzarella

All were incredibly mediocre. Nothing was awful, but everything was just average if even. Even when I saw my pasta, the first thought that came to mind was Chef Boyardee. The steak tartare was a disappointment. The carpaccio had too much greens compared to the amount of parmesan that was shaved on, which led to the dish tasting under seasoned. The grilled octopus salad was good, but not really anything to write home about. I had to ask for salt and pepper as there was none on the table. I feel like restaurants who don’t offer condiments at the table are very confident about their food. In this case, Ayza should definitely take their confidence down a notch.

One more sad dish was the moist dark chocolate cake. I never ever send food back, but this needed to go back. A very bland dessert, I would have been happier with a Hostess cupcake. BUT! Onto the good parts of Ayza.

It would have been a fantastic experience if we didn’t have our dinner there. Our drinks were wonderful! My date had a pinot noir, I chose the ‘Is Paris Burning’ martini, made from Remy Martin VSOP and raspberry liquor. The cheeses were delicious and the chocolates from Jacques Torres are always a good choice. The bar itself is very tiny, but cute and they provide a heated outside area to sit in. I would definitely go back and order anything the kitchen doesn’t have to cook themselves.

One more puzzling thing…aside from the Jacque Torres chocolates there are actual desserts, like the cake I ordered. When the waitress saw how much I really didn’t like it, she suggested their best dessert, the 20 layer crepe cake. My first thought…as this is a chocolate bar…shouldn’t your best dessert contain chocolate?

6 out of 10

-Joyce Huang

Ayza Wine and Chocolate Bar
11 W 31st St, New York 10001
(Btwn 5th Ave & Broadway)
(212) 714-2992