Three Foodie Recommendations for New York

A couple of weeks ago I got to travel to New York with work, accompanied by my lovely colleague Rosie. Since I was actually working I don't have a long list of recommendations, but here are my three best picks from the week, plus a wonderful hotel. 

So we could afford said hotel, we were lucky enough to stay in my friend's beautiful apartment in Dumbo for the first half of the week while he was away with business. Every morning we would wake up to the most beautiful view and drink fresh vegetable juices from Foragers before setting up our laptops against the unbelievable backdrop...

For the Best Brunch: Vinegar Hill House in Dumbo

The best foodie recommendation I have for the area is Vinegar Hill House. I was feeling experimental so ordered the Shrimp and Grits which came with poached eggs, pickled fennel and shallots, whilst Rosie had the most delicious eggs Benedict I have ever tasted (and I have tasted a lot of eggs Benedicts!) It came with succulent, salty brisket and sharp, sweet pickled baby onions - I will definitely be trying to recreate this one at home.

For the Best Hangover Lunch / All Day Grazing: Smorgasburg Market

On sunday we headed over to Smorgasburg market in Brooklyn. The walk along the river is pretty spectacular and the weather couldn't have been more perfect. Once you get there, you are met by a vast array of venders setting up shop and tempting you with all sorts of evils! I went for the infamous ramen burger - a meat patty sandwiched between two solid bap-like clumps of fried noodles. It was under-seasoned and overhyped but a fun idea all the same. The chips on  the other hand were well worth the wait and truly delicious. I was rather sad that I didn't have a bigger appetite at the time since the pulled pork and doughnut stalls were very tempting.

We walked from there into Manhattan and then strolled along the high line so I could pick up my favourite blood orange olive oil from Chelsea Market's Filling Station. 

For the Best Steak: Quality Meats

We wanted to experience the best steak in New York and after a some digging around, ended up in Quality Meats. The service was impeccable, delivered by attractive thespian waiters, and the food was divine. I had a melt in your mouth tuna tartare followed by a flavoursome fillet mignon. The pudding of sticky toffee pudding was a real taste of home and came with extra pouring sauce so I was extremely happy. 

So there you have it, my three foodie recommendations. If you have the budget I would also highly recommend The Ludlow hotel in SoHo. It is in one if those iconic brown brick buildings and has the most lovely decor and wood fires on cold evenings. El Ray around the corner also does fantastic coffee and rather delicious light lunches. The area is also great for clothes and wine shopping with Pixie Market and the lovely guys at September Wine Shop  a couple of minutes' walk away.

Supper at The Merchants Tavern

It's not often that Flo and I get to get together for a little dinner and a chat just us two. Reading a cracking Grace Dent review of The Merchant's Tavern inspired me to book us in for a very belated celebration of our birthdays (which fall four days apart in August). The lighting was low, the cocktails were perfectly made to taste and the table service was excellent.

I've seen complaints about the service here elsewhere, but we had no issues at all. The Merchant's Tavern is the kind of place you should go when you're going to enjoy taking your time over a few dishes. It isn't the kind of place you would want to drop into in a hurry. Who are these people who go to great restaurants and announce at the door they only have 45 minutes anyway? If this is you, In and Out Burger is your friend. Anything with 'Merchant' or 'Tavern' in the name is not. Pipe down!

To the food. We ordered the things that we had heard were good and we were not disappointed. Having been unsure initially, we discovered that there are worse ways to start your Friday evening than with the deep fried oysters. These were melt-in-the-mouth pockets of fishy batter. We are both oyster fiends and agreed that we prefer them fresh but that there's a time and place for both. This may have been an excuse to order some fresh ones as a chaser...

We then went for the quail and foie gras starter with radicchio. This is a perfectly balanced dish and the signature favourite of The Merchant's Tavern.

The Tuna Carpaccio was an admittedly odd pairing with the quail but was meltily delicious and very fresh. The grated radish and citrus sauce were a perfect accompaniment.

We followed up with Pork Belly and creamed potato at which point our camera battery died - both of us the unprepared bad bloggers that we are. Whoops! The crackling was done to perfection, carried by creamy clouds of mash.

Mmmm... So head to Hoxton when you've got time and a dining partner to catch up with. Oh and the cocktails are so good, do what we did and hold back on dessert for another one. 

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Secret at Sea

Ok so I've been in two minds about writing about this place. It's the best place I've been to in Europe and one of the best kept secrets too with limited information about it out there unless you're really looking. What I decided in the end was that I'd write this and post it on forums about the place itself (once you've gotten that far, it's good to have more information right?). But for those of you who are reading this through The Sisterhood, you can contact us for the deets as and when you want to go.

Queue photos of the crossing in the mist... whhhoooaaaahhh.

This island, is just a 45 minute boat trip off the Portugese coast. You can go for the day, pack a picnic and walk around the island to the 15th Century monastery or if you plan in advance, you can stay in one of the old monk's cells in a turret looking out onto the sea. The cell is pretty much as it sounds. A simple, small bed in a small room with an air vent and a rickety wooden door. 

WARNING: This accommodation is not for everyone. Some things to bear in mind. 1. You have to be good with heat (and potentially being cold at night too) 2. Come ready to walk 40 minutes up and down steep hills to get out of the monastery to other parts of the island, 3. You have to like fish... really quite a lot of it, including not having a choice of what fish you eat for dinner if they've only caught a fugggly deep sea fish with an underbite, spikes and the biggest fish eyes you've ever seen (It was truly delicious though)... and 4. Relax out of your hectic land-loving-life and chill out about only being able to shower or use any electricity twice per day in a special port-a-loo with a padlock on the door to keep the tourists out. (You are not classified as a tourist if you stay in a cell - obviously. It comes with the territory).

Breakfast at dawn. 

An afternoon ramble.

The other sign of life on the island.

A read.

...and a swim.

The entire island is a nature reserve, though mostly this means it's full of breeding gulls. In the day, they are the common variety but at night they have 'night gulls' which make a terrifying noise a little like a buzzard and fly at your head whilst you're scaling the rocks. The most dangerous thing we saw though was two stone fish lurking just under the arched bridge to the monastery - these had bitten a young boy the day before and sent him to hospital so look out and don't put your feet down when you're swimming off rocks if you do go.

Sunset.

Dinner... 

Shrimps al bulhao pato, grilled catch of the day, green salad and olive oily roast potatoes with coriander. 

When you're stranded with no electricity, you have to entertain yourself... oh and don't forget a torch!

If you are into the above, then get in touch and I'll tell you how to wire the money. After that, you just need to get down to the harbour, buy breakfast and lunch goods from the supermarket, bring as much cash as you'll need for dinners with you, a torch and a sleeping bag. I did 4 days and during that time, had no contact with the outside world, which was heaven.

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