Koshertopia has confirmed that GoodFellas located at 17 Trinity Place (between Morris & Exchange) is nearing completion. They will offer a variety of dairy lunch favorites – sandwiches, personal pizzas, soups & salads. Goodfellas will be supervised Cholov Yisroel with the Orthodox Union (OU).
Stay Tuned for more details
And yet another one closes. Manhattan’s well known midtown lunch and Saturday night hot spot, J2 is temporarily closed.
Stay Tuned for further details
When I decided to write a review of Le Marais – the French style steak house, not the aristocratic district that is a center of Parisian Jewry – I thought to myself that I had to do something new. I couldn’t just go there for dinner and order a Tournedos steak (the tenderloin cut for which the restaurant is famous) or a Steak Au Poive (the Tournedos’ pepper crusted cousin) or even the Hanger steak, because I’ve had all of those things so many times before and already know that they are fantastic. It’s difficult to bring a critical eye to something you already love, so to mix things up I went to Le Marais for lunch – something I have heard is great, but have never actually experienced.
I met my brother at the restaurant at 3 o’clock and we were seated quickly. Despite the awkwardness of the hour (no longer lunch and not quite dinner) it was still pleasantly full – maybe it’s just me, but there is something unsettling about eating in an empty restaurant. I’ll take this moment – with me and my brother looking over the menu and dipping a bit of fresh bread in olive oil – to discuss the decor. The restaurant is well decorated and relaxed, with a retro feel that calls to mind New York in the 20’s – a tin ceiling and exposed brick, mirrors and a few posters on the walls. That said, something about the size feels constricting, as if the room is too small or the ceiling is too low. That problem is alleviated if you are lucky enough to eat in the upstairs section by the bar.
Looking over the menu, we noticed that it was identical to the regular menu with only two “lunchy” additions, the French Dip Sandwich (a steak sandwich served with a beef broth dipping sauce), and the hamburger, both priced at fifteen dollars, so that’s what we ordered. Since this was a review lunch and not just a lunch lunch we also ordered the smoked duck breast with roasted peppers as an appetizer, which was amazing. Our waiter brought our food out quickly enough; though I know from experience that when the restaurant gets to be more full the service can slow to a crawl.
The lunch items were simple and delightful, and both were served with a side of delicious French fries. The burger was a bit more than an inch thick (though I’m a food critic, not an engineer so I may be off) without an excess of toppings to distract you from the perfectly cooked meat. The French Dip Sandwich was tender without being overly chewy and served on crispy French bread (not pre-dipped and soggy as it is many places).
We were too full for dessert, but even without something sweet to cap it off, it was still an excellent meal and, price-wise, a fairly reasonable one. I knew that Le Marais was a great steak house and a wonderful place to go for dinner, so I guess it shouldn’t have surprised me when it turned out to be a great place to go for lunch as well.
Le Marais
150 West 46th Street
New York, NY 10036
(212) 869-0900
Koshertopia has confirmed that Circa Downtown at 111 Fulton St. (between Fulton & William) has permanently closed it doors. The popular kosher and health conscious clientele will certainly miss this lunch option.
Koshertopia has confirmed that David’s (formally Avi & David’s) the popular 24 hour dairy eatery on the East Side has temporarily closed. The restaurant, which had been for sale, was a popular lunch spot for weekend shoppers. Stay tuned for more details.
Café Classico truly is a classic café, with a menu so large and varied that there is bound be something for everyone’s tastes. The restaurant is located in the heart of Midtown on the second floor above The Great American Health Bar (also kosher), so be sure to take the stairway on the left up to the restaurant.
Given its location, Café Classico draws a very large lunch crowd, offering quick service and reasonable prices. During the evening, the dining room is much more subdued. If possible, ask for a table along the windows. It was really enjoyable watching the hustle and bustle of 57th Street from up above in a quiet, comfortable space.
I began to peruse the menu, and there were many items that caught my eye. The options covered a variety of cuisines: Israeli dishes like kabobs and falafel, deli sandwiches with pastrami or corned beef, and Italian dishes such as pastas and chicken.
I started with the Mediterranean combo platter, which featured hummus, babaganoush, pita, Israeli salad, and pickled vegetables. The hummus and babaganoush were both very tasty, but the Israeli salad lacked any seasoning whatsoever – rather disappointing.
I ordered the Chicken Scarpariello for my entrée, which consisted of pan sautéed chicken breast with balsamic and white wine. All portions of the entrees are all very large, and each one is served with three side items: wild rice, spring vegetables, and roasted red potatoes.
The pieces of chicken were extremely tender, and the sauce was very unique and flavorful. The potatoes were roasted nicely giving them a great crispy texture. The vegetables were straightforward, but the rice was cold and bland, unfortunately.
And finally, a few additional Miss Menu pointers…
Another midtown lunch option is set to open the week of October; Aroma Pizza Café is finishing the final touches to its large space on 36th St. (between 5th and 6th).
Aroma Cafe will offer the range of lunch options we have become accustom to – fresh salads, sushi, sandwiches, fish, pizza and hot lunch varieties, but is singling itself apart from the rest with a hummus bar.
Prices are set to be competitive – check it out!
Kosher-NY confirmed that Mr. Broadway, a mainstay of the midtown lunch and dinner crowd was closed today by the Department of Health.
They will remain closed for today and MAY also be closed for tomorrow.
We recommend calling ahead to make sure you can get your pastrami on rye.
