Catchin' Up

Chi-town

Oak Street Beach

Tall Boys of dos equis and good rock music

Gino's East

Good deep dish pizza. 

Takes 45 minutes for deep dish pizza

cornbread crust--eh

Walls filled with white markers from people who have visited

golden tee

pretty good crowd

Elate--recommeded by Eater for brunch was closed. We stayed anyway and had a quiet breakfast. Decent food. Ok service. In the hotel Felix...

Back in NYC

North End Grill

Lunch at the dining counter facing the open kitchen. Heirloom tomato salad with a basil and balsamic for starters (complimentary) and rice flaked halibut with watermelon, watercress, and lime for an entree. Great space. Didn't change silver--surprising! The cappuccino I drank was delicious, but thought the $6 price tag was a bit steep. Food keeps getting better every time I go. Definitely go check out...

Amazing lunch at Gramercy Tavern. 

Oysters, burger, and chicken were the standouts but everything was delicious. They sent us out 5 desserts and all were ridiculous. Always an amazing experience at GT, 

Dinner at Ma Peche (West 56th St)

Large format feast for Chase's Birthday.

Ma Peche which means "mother peach" is David Chang's only midtown outpost. Ma Peche is part of his Momofuku empire, but has an uptown chicness. The space is a bit strange in layout, but it proves to be a pretty sweet spot. Chase, the birthday boy, arranged a large format meal so we didn't have to do anything but enjoy. Someone at the table ordered some wine which I got down with. The large format meal came with two whole fried chickens and a smoked lamb shoulder for proteins. Eggplant (with sour cream and olive oiil), chickpeas (tahini, lemon, falafel), and wheat berry with cucumber, red onion, and parsley all played supporting roles in the feast. Yellow rice and a salad of iceberg lettuce were impressive, but rounded out the meal. The feast also came with pickles, tomato chutney, pita, and white & red sauces. Not doing any research, I was shocked when everything hit the table. I went in expecting pork buns and other Momofuku dishes. Instead it seemed more Middle Eastern than Asian. Not that is was a bad thing, just different than what was expected. After glancing over the regular menu, the large format meal seemed to be its own "thing". But enough analyzing and onto the eating. The chicken was described as fried, but you might not have even noticed. The chicken was moist and delicious and I reached for seconds. The lamb shoulder was tender and had a nice char amidst a lovely smokiness. The sides were all solid, but I kept reaching back for the protein. After dinner, desserts followed and they were all pretty solid. Cake balls were sent out complimentary for the birthday boy and boy were they good. I almost hit up the Milk Bar shop upstairs before leaving! The service was solid --much better than the downtown locations. Overall, its Momufuku grown up and ready for a more mainstream crowd. Definitely worth checking out if you're in the area.