Restaurants: Go, Consider, Stop
Edible enlightenment from our eatery experts and colleagues Richard Nalley, Monie Begley and Randall Lane, as well as brothers Bob, Kip and Tim, and daughter Catherine.
Leonti
103 West 77th St. (Tel.: 212-362-3800) Every part of Chef Adam Leonti’s restaurant blends together to offer a memorable evening. Each course hits a high mark. The amazing breads are made from flour milled on the premises (the same is true with the flour in the pastas and the desserts). Try the Diver scallops, the Roman artichoke lasagna, the cinnamon-scented fettuccine tossed with wild boar ragu or the turbot al forno (a delicately cooked fish). The cheese course is an array of unusual Italian choices. Desserts are mandatory, particularly the tiered tower of petits fours.
Silos Baking Co.
601 Webster Ave., Waco, Texas
(Tel.: 254-235-0603)
Joanna Gaines has surpassed herself at her jewel box of a bakery at her Magnolia Market in Waco. The cookies are divine, the cinnamon buns an aromatic masterpiece, but the true showstoppers are the glorious cupcakes. Each offers the perfect ratio of heavenly icing to delectable cake. The classics are a must but also try the nontraditionals, such as luscious lemon lavender.
Gramercy Farmer & The Fish
245 Park Ave. South (Tel.: 646-998-5991) An eclectic environment reminiscent of Montauk, with shared bounty from its 4-acre farm upstate, is what one can expect at this “beachy” restaurant. Try the blistered shishito peppers with sea salt, the beer-battered crab bites with tartar sauce or the smoked trout toast with horseradish cream, green apple and trout caviar. Also delicious: chicken Cobb salad, the fried fish sandwich and the Thai fish tacos. The s’mores brownie sundae is scrumptious.
TBar Steak & Lounge
1278 Third Ave., between 73rd & 74th streets (Tel.: 212-772-0404)
This is a classic NYC steak house, so begin with a wedge of iceberg lettuce with blue cheese dressing, bacon bits and tomatoes, or if you’re a fish lover, yellowfin tuna tartar perfectly spiced with soy and ginger. There are all sorts of sizzling steaks— filet mignon, aged rib eye, N.Y. strip and Porterhouse—served with steak, Béarnaise or poivre sauce. For noncarnivores there’s a grilled branzino. A miniature lemon cheesecake is a delicious finish.
Bistrot Leo
SIXTY SoHo, 60 Thompson St., between Spring & Broome streets (Tel.: 212-219-8119) This new bistro serves superb French food prepared by Brian Loiacono, a pupil of Daniel Boulud. Close your eyes and you’ll think you’re in Paris: The duck confit is crispy heaven, and the steak tartare, the steak frites and the filet au poivre are pure bistro fare. For dessert try the chocolate crémeux or the crème brûlée. Service is friendly, the setting subdued and comfortable.