Eating the Big Apple, One Bite at a Time...

Breakfast in America

Kitchenette

Restaurant | "Rebecca's TriBeCa Breakfast"

Quote:

How’d you like you eggs in the morning? I like mine with some quirk. It was hence not surprising that I enjoyed my charmingly quirky breakfast at Kitchenette in Tribeca. While cuisine has become internationalised over the last century, breakfasts still say much about the prevailing culture, whether it’s a healthy Swedish bowl of muesli or the artery-clogging ‘full English’, a French croissant and bowl of chocolate or an Italian espresso drunk straight up at the counter. The USA has turned the humble breakfast from a mere stop-gap into a meal in its own right, of an equal with lunch or dinner. I was certainly of the opinion that a hearty breakfast would often be able to see me throug...Read More

How’d you like you eggs in the morning? I like mine with some quirk. It was hence not surprising that I enjoyed my charmingly quirky breakfast at Kitchenette in Tribeca.

While cuisine has become internationalised over the last century, breakfasts still say much about the prevailing culture, whether it’s a healthy Swedish bowl of muesli or the artery-clogging ‘full English’, a French croissant and bowl of chocolate or an Italian espresso drunk straight up at the counter. The USA has turned the humble breakfast from a mere stop-gap into a meal in its own right, of an equal with lunch or dinner. I was certainly of the opinion that a hearty breakfast would often be able to see me through until dinner time so I was delighted to sample a range of different offerings. Kitchenette was my very first experience.

The interior of the café / cupcakery was simple, homely and whimsical with 1970s fittings and tables made out of door panels. There was an abundance of girly-girl pastel shades. Gingerbread men hung from the lampshades. It was very child-friendly. Even though we had no children it seemed determined to bring out the big kid in us, though it stopped just the right side of cloying oversentimentality.

We had full breakfasts here. I had classic American blueberry pancakes – really thick pancakes with the blueberries baked into their centre ($9.25). I teamed this up with a large orange juice; this, entertainingly, came served in a Mason jar with a straw. Rebecca ordered a mish-mash of scrambled eggs, breakfast potatoes (almost like patatas bravas) and an additional cream-cheese-filled bagel ($3.00). Marie had fluffy French toast ($9.25) with strawberries, crispy fried bacon and lashings of maple syrup. I ask you: could we have had a more American breakfast spread?

Kitchenette does not serve just breakfasts. Apparently they also serve plenty of home-style dishes at other times of the day (they open from 7.30 on weekdays or 9AM at the weekends up until 11 o’clock at night. Not to mention that they have whole cabinets of tempting treats in the forms of cakes, pies and biscuits. It would certainly be worth another visit I reckon!
Read Less

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on January 11, 2026

Kitchenette
156 Chambers St.
Manhattan, New York 10007
212-267-6740

Cheer!
Flag

The Odeon

Restaurant | "A Lazy Sunday Brunch on West Broadway"

Quote:

The Odeon in Tribeca was just the ticket for a lazy Sunday brunch. This restaurant on West Broadway serves brunch from 10am to 4pm every Saturday and Sunday. With its comfy leather banquettes, relaxed ambience and clientele of friends and couples relaxing over the paper it was immediately welcoming.Rebecca and I met up with our friend Marie for a farewell meal prior to her flight back to the UK and our train to Philadelphia. Although the place does not open until 11.30 on weekdays it also caters on Saturday and Sunday for the hungry and hung-over and those determined to wring every last ounce of relaxation out of the weekend. I have to say that this does not come cheap. Frankly $18 for a s...Read More

Member Rating 2 out of 5 on January 11, 2026

The Odeon
145 W. Broadway
Manhattan, New York 10013
(212) 233-0507

Cheer!
Flag

A Walking Lunch

Big Onion Walking Tours

Attraction | "Eat The Poor"

Quote:

New York is a city of immigrants. Each culture gave a little of itself to the make-up of this great city, particularly in terms of cuisine. This is a city whose bagels, frankfurters and old-school Italian restaurants are part of its image. In 2009 I foolishly attempted to win a bet by trying to eat myself ‘Around the World in 80 Meals’ – I maintained that it was possible to find food served from 80 different nations without leaving my hometown of Manchester. And I managed it – just about ! But how much easier, I found myself wondering, would it have been in New York ? ...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on November 12, 2025

Big Onion Walking Tours
476 13th Street
Brooklyn, New York 11215
(888) 606-9255

Cheer!
Flag

"Only in New York" Dinners

Carmine's Theater District

Restaurant | "Breaking the Rules and the Scales but not the Bank"

Quote:

On our first night in New York we broke one of my cardinal rules. We had a meal at a venue not just on a square but on Times Square. I have always been of the opinion that when you eat right next door to a famous landmark your bill will be artificially inflated to pay for the experience. And when we checked the menu in the window my feared resurfaced - $26.50 for a main course? Strewth! I almost insisted that we keep walking for another couple of blocks.But I’m glad that I didn’t. For the restaurant in question was Carmine’s, and it proved to be a whole lot better, a whol...Read More

On our first night in New York we broke one of my cardinal rules. We had a meal at a venue not just on a square but on Times Square. I have always been of the opinion that when you eat right next door to a famous landmark your bill will be artificially inflated to pay for the experience. And when we checked the menu in the window my feared resurfaced - $26.50 for a main course? Strewth! I almost insisted that we keep walking for another couple of blocks.

But I’m glad that I didn’t. For the restaurant in question was Carmine’s, and it proved to be a whole lot better, a whole lot more economical, and a whole lot more fun than I would have guessed. I would actually go so far as to suggest other visitors to NYC could do a lot worse than have a meal here. If that is the case, one might want to consider phoning up to reserve a table in advance. Certainly when we arrived on a mid-week eveningwe were informed by the maitre d’ that there was a 45 minute wait for a table. However, he said, we were perfectly welcome to sit at the bar and order from exactly the same menu. This proved to be a really fun suggestion.

Carmine’s at heart is a fun place. It’s a place for friends and family and social occassions. It is almost a pastiche of what I expected of a New York Italian restaurant – a long wood-pannelled room with portraits on the walls, absolutely stuffed full of diners, the convivial chatter of conversations almost drowning out the muted Rat Pack-style soundtrack (Come Fly With Me, Mack The Knife, Boy From Ipanema etc). The long wooden bar was backed by racks of spirits and TVs showing a Yankees baseball game but it was deep enough to use as a table. We pulled up stools and jammed ourselves in elbow to elbow with the other barflies.

Our barman / waiter was great. Professionally great – it must be said that he really worked for his tip. He saved us from making possible the cardinal error at Carmine’s: ordering too much food. We almost ordered two main courses to share between the three of us. Flat out he told us that he thought that would be too much food and that instead we should think about ordering just the one main and maybe a side. And it was a good thing that he stepped in to our rescue. Our Pasta Bosciaola came out heaped high on a big platter to be dished out to us. There was certainly enough there for two full platefuls for each of the three of us. No wonder the mains cost between 20 and 30 dollars if that was the size of a portion. This was the daily special. It was penne in a tomato sauce with dry spicy sausage and mushrooms. We had also ordered a side sish of meatballs ($14.50) and meatballs was what we got. Six of ‘em. Each the size of an apple. The barman dished out the grub to us, ensured that when our glasses were running low he was there to top up from our bottle of water or give Marie free refills of cola, pulling me a pint of Brooklyn Pennant Ale (lovely and cold and really rather nice – much nicer than the weak excuse for beer America exports to the UK), and taking our photo. In fact I would go so far as to recommend eating at the bar as an experience in itself!

The total price for the three of us was roughly $62 and we had food left over, meaning that actually our meal was pretty good value. It just goes to show that rules are sometimes made to be broken. Even though Carmine’s is a – let’s say – tourist-friendly restaurant located right on Times Square I felt that the overall cost of a meal here was lower than expected and well worthwhile for the entertainment factor. I do hope that Carmine’s does not make me reconsider anymore of my cardinal rules of travelling!
Read Less

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on January 11, 2026

Carmine's Theater District
200 West 44th Street
New York, New York 10036
(212) 221-3800

Cheer!
Flag

Boathouse

Restaurant | "At the Centre of the City"

Quote:

One of my fondest memories of my first trip to New York would have to be dining at the restaurant at the Loeb Boathouse in the heart of Central Park. It was not a perfect dining experience I’ll admit. The tables on the deck looking out over the Lake were a little too busy and the July evening was a little too light to make it into a completely intimate and romantic meal. I was also shocked that, for all its reknown and hefty price tag, the restaurant was unable to provide me with something so simple as freshly-squeezed orange juice (I had to make do with OJ from a carton). Howe...Read More

One of my fondest memories of my first trip to New York would have to be dining at the restaurant at the Loeb Boathouse in the heart of Central Park.

It was not a perfect dining experience I’ll admit. The tables on the deck looking out over the Lake were a little too busy and the July evening was a little too light to make it into a completely intimate and romantic meal. I was also shocked that, for all its reknown and hefty price tag, the restaurant was unable to provide me with something so simple as freshly-squeezed orange juice (I had to make do with OJ from a carton).

However, in dining at the Boathouse Restaurant, what I did get was the feeling of really being at the centre of everything. Even if the restaurant was not the greatest in the world I was located slap-bang in the middle of the greatest park in the middle of the greatest city in the world. (Even if one personally prefers other cities or other parks one still has to acknowledge that the popular culture of the 20th century has immortalised Central Park and New York to such an extent that they have both become the iconic exemplars of their kind to which all others must be measured). It did give me a little thrill. Sinatra of course said of New York "If I can make it there, I’ll make it anywhere". Sitting down for dinner at the Boathouse Restaurant gave me that same frisson – actually, all things considered, my life is pretty darn good right now.

Dining alfresco on a warm summer night I was treated to one of the world’s picture-postcard perfect views. We were within touching distance of Central Park Lake; couples still languidly rowed its waters; their ripples disturbed the reflected vision of Manhattan’s skyscrapers towering above the park’s trees, burnished bronze in the dusk.

Other than the small issue of the orange juice service was efficient, friendly and courteous – they have a good crew of staff here. And the menu, while pricey, had enough to tempt even the most hardened dieter. I certainly have no complaints with the quality of the food here. I started with pan-fried scallops, each thick enough to be more than a mouthful. I followed this up with the Dover sole. They live up to their watery location with what I discovered to be a well-deserved reputation for their seafood. I have to say, what impressed me about the service here was the offer to de-bone it for me. I was about to say no and work my way through it myself, as I would usually, when I thought that I might as well say yes. Our waiter then very dextrously, with the aid of a spoon separated out the white flesh from the skeleton, transferring whole fillets of the fish intact to my plate, even going so far as to prettify it a little afterwards. Very impressive!

As I say, the meal was not cheap (though then again, it was not the most expensive I had in New York City). However for that price I got a very well-prepared and served meal in wonderful surroundings. All in all, my meal here was a memory to savour.
Read Less

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on January 11, 2026

Boathouse
East 72nd St.
New York, New York 10021
(212) 517-2233

Cheer!
Flag

The River Cafe

Restaurant | "How to Eat the Brooklyn Bridge..."

Quote:

$95 per person, excluding drinks. That is how much a three-course dinner costs at River Café. Thought I’d best state that up front to avoid complications. If you think that is a ridiculous price for a meal – as I to a certain extent did beforehand – you really do not need to read any further. On the other hand, if your budget does stretch that far and you fancy a memorable and very good meal then please read on… River Café is located in Brooklyn. It is right below the massive piers of the Brooklyn Bridge looking across the East River to the lights of Manhattan and ...Read More

$95 per person, excluding drinks.

That is how much a three-course dinner costs at River Café. Thought I’d best state that up front to avoid complications. If you think that is a ridiculous price for a meal – as I to a certain extent did beforehand – you really do not need to read any further. On the other hand, if your budget does stretch that far and you fancy a memorable and very good meal then please read on…

River Café is located in Brooklyn. It is right below the massive piers of the Brooklyn Bridge looking across the East River to the lights of Manhattan and their reflections twinkling on the ink black night-time water. In fact it took me a while to realise that the restaurant was actually on a boat moored to shore. We had reserved in advance. This is always necessary, especially if you wish to dine on Saturday night as we did. It also has a dress code – men have to wear jackets.

To be honest, the fact that we had paid so much in advance served to free me of some of my inhibitions. I ended up ordering dishes that I had never ordered in restaurants before, precisely because they were generally so expensive. I therefore ordered oysters for my appetizer and lobster for my main.

I know that oysters are not necessarily everyone’s cup of tea but I really enjoyed them. The dish comprised three oysters in the shell topped with a lemon and pepper hollandaise. The presentation was a tad over elaborate; the oysters rested atop a basin filled with whole black peppercorns. Rather wasteful in my opinion. And it was also necessary to watch out for stray peppercorns clinging to the bottom of the shell lest I end up with a gob full of black pepper.

The dressed Maine lobster was a much subtler beast after that, though with plenty of mess to be made. Possibly the highlight though was the choice of dessert. Obviously they have a dessert menu; however, all three of us went for their signature dish, the chocolate marquise Brooklyn Bridge. This was a miniature representation of the bridge in chocolate form, accompanied by a toasted hazelnut terrine and a splash of Tahitian vanilla ice cream.

The atmosphere was pretty exclusive, with low light levels and a rather good pianist in the corner providing background music. The other diners were a mixture of dressed-up couples and family groups in navy blazers and college ties; the sort of people you see in the background in episodes of Gossip Girl. Drinks, as I mentioned, were not included in the price, so we paid extra for cocktails – a sloe gin fizz for me and a Cosmo for Rebecca. All-in-all it was an evening to cause the bank manager concern, but the exclusive atmosphere and the chance to try expensive dishes expertly prepared made it worth while.
Read Less

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on January 11, 2026

The River Cafe
1 Water Street
Brooklyn, New York 11201
718-522-5200

Cheer!
Flag

And So To Bed...

Hotel Grand Union

Hotel | "Living in a Box"

Quote:

My first thoughts on the Grand Union Hotel were that we had got stung. Our room was not very prepossessing. It was a small grey box with a small grey window (mostly taken up by an air-con unit) looking out into a small grey internal light well. Most of the room was taken up by the bed. Rather than a wardrobe there was a bare rail in one corner with three (count ‘em!) coat hangers. And at $122.50 a night (excluding tax) this did not compare favourably with the suites we had booked in Philadelphia or Washington. By the end of my stay however the Grand Union had worked its discreet charm upon me. Okay, the room was not great and was very over-priced. But then I imagine that most places...Read More

Member Rating 2 out of 5 on January 11, 2026

Hotel Grand Union
34 East 32 Street
New York 10016
(212) 683-5890

Cheer!
Flag

IgoUgo

New York Journals

Eating the Big Apple, One Bite at a Time...

Breakfast in America

Kitchenette

The Odeon

A Walking Lunch

Big Onion Walking Tours

"Only in New York" Dinners

Carmine's Theater District

Boathouse

The River Cafe

And So To Bed...

Hotel Grand Union

About the Writer

More Journals by Liam Hetherington

More New York City Journals

New York City Tips & Stories

Popular New York Hotels