Weekend Cooking- Charlie Palmer at the Knick

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People frequently ask me for suggestions on where to eat dinner near Times Square when they are visiting NYC, usually to see a Broadway show. I didn't really have a great suggestion for a smaller, more intimate place until now. (If you have a big group, Tony's DiNapoli is wonderful.)

About a month ago, we went with friends to see Hamilton on Broadway, and it was just as great with the new cast as it was with the original cast. Before the show, we went to Charlie Palmer's at the Knickerbocker Hotel, located at 6 Times Square, off of 42nd Street. It's so good, I have returned twice within a month, once with a great group of blogger friends after the Book Expo, and once on a ladies' night with my sons' girlfriends before we saw Anastasia (which was fantastic- go see it!).

The entrance is inside the Knickerbocker Hotel, up on the 4th floor. When you get off the elevator, it's hard to believe you are still in the middle of bustling Times Square. The room is hushed and dark, with lots of low lighting and couches in muted colors opposite the bar.

They have a wonderful pre-theater pre-fixe menu from 5:30-6:30, and even though we were running a little late, they managed to get us out in time for the show. They have a terrific wine and cocktail list, and my choice of the Landmark Chardonnay from California was a winner.

Their pre-fixe menu is three courses, with three choices for each for $45 a person. In the appetizer section, you can choose from a Market Salad, with pumpkin seeds, radish and a light lemon dressing, a Grilled Mushroom, Goat Cheese and Onion Flatbread or a Blue Crab Tomato Bisque.

The grilled flatbread was the star here, and it was big enough to share, so two people could order the salad and flatbread and share, as our waiter suggested.

Grilled Flatbread

For the main course, you can choose from a vegetarian Pecorino Risotto, with mushrooms, a Chicken Breast with a mushroom and scallion cream sauce, served with a roasted potato that was more like a baked croquette (and totally tasty), or their Kobe Burger, with a maple glazed bacon and comte cheese.

I've had the chicken all three times and each time it has been phenomenal. The portion is not too big either, which I really liked. The sauce was perfectly seasoned, and the potatoes seemed almost like a scalloped potato.

I chose the Almond Cake for dessert, which was served with a scoop of raspberry sorbet and strawberries. The presentation was lovely and the little cake with its sides was a terrific ending. The other choices are sorbet or ice cream, or fresh strawberries marinated in mint served with a lime sorbet.

Almond Cake dessert

If you are looking for a great dinner, with a quieter atmosphere where you can have a conversation without shouting, try Charlie Palmer at the Knick, I highly recommend it. 

One funny observation: each of the three times I have been there, I have been seated at the same table and had the same waiter, Matt, who is very good. It's starting to feel a little like Groundhog Day, which is now playing on Broadway.

Have you found any good restaurants in your town lately? Tell us about it in comments.

Charlie Palmer's at the Knick's website is here.

Fun Food Day in NYC

It's been a long time since my sister-in-law Brigette came for a fun day in NYC. She is a big foodie and a fantastic cook, so I knew I could entice her to come when I got tickets to a taping of ABC's new talk show The Chew, with two of her favorite chefs, Mario Batali and Michael Symon.

The taping stars at 9am, so we had to be at the studio on 67th St. and Columbus Ave. at 7:30am. We were hoping for a good giveaway, and since it was publication day for Mario Batali's new cookbook, Molto Batali, we walked away with a free copy.

The show was fun, with host Clinton Kelly and executive producer Gordon Elliot putting on quite a show with their dance moves to 'bad 70's songs'.  Former Top Chef contestant Carla Hall, also a host on the show, showed off some goofy dance moves too.

Michael Symon and Brigette

On our way out, Brigette got to meet Michael Symon and tell him that her husband is a long-suffering Cleveland Browns fan too.

The Live with Regis & Kelly set is right down the street, and they were looking for new audience members for their Eddie Murphy interview. I've been to Regis before when Bette Midler co-hosted with Kelly, but seeing Regis on his TV show is on my Bucket List, so I got to cross that off when we got in to see this. It was pretty cool to see Eddie Murphy too, he is one snappy dresser.

Eddie Murphy, Regis, Kelly

Regis talking to the audience

After that, we raced to get downtown to meet Josh from Sidewalk Tours of NY. The traffic was bad, and there are all kinds of security barricades up down there, so we got there in the nick of time. Josh was a great tour guide, and we only had two other people in our group, Tom & Diane, a married couple from New Jersey who were very nice.

Josh gave us a little history of the area, and then we visited five Food Trucks. There are a bunch of Food Trucks that park near Hanover Square and serve lunch to the hungry hordes of workers in the Financial District near Battery Park.

At the first truck we ate Korean tacos from Big D's Grub Truck. I had never had a Korean taco, and it was really tasty, with the crunch of cucumber and the heat of the spices adding a unique dimension.

Next we had souvlaki on a stick at Souvlaki GR, winner of Rookie of the Year last year at the Vendy Awards, and this year taking home the Customer Favorite award. We had the pork souvlaki, and it came with two small pita triangles and a tangy yogurt sauce. The pork just melted in your mouth, it was so tender.

We headed down the street to Jiannetto's for a grandma slice of authentic NYC pizza. The sauce was just perfect, as was the melted mozzarella and basil.

Our fourth stop was San Luis Tacos, which featured Mexican and Equidorian food. We tasted something like a quesadilla, with chicken, cheese and sauce that was heavenly, and my favorite of the day.

We finished with a mini Rocky Road cupcake from the Cupcake Crew, and it was one of the best cupcakes I have had in NYC, second only to Two Little Red Hens.

If you come to NYC and love to eat, check out the Sidewalk Tours of NYC. They have several different ones from which to choose. It was so much fun, and a great chance to try different foods. You'll never look at the food trucks in the same way. (Food Network also has a cool show called The Great Food Truck Race that features gourmet trucks like these)

Big D's Grub Truck

Cupcake Crew Truck

We ended the day at Eataly, the new Italian marketplace near Madison Square Park. It is owned by Mario Batali, Lidia Bastianich and her son, Joseph. I had been there before, but never eaten at any of the restaurants. I had the best pasta I have ever had anywhere; it was a spinach ravioli, with a lemon butter sauce topped with pistachios. Brigette has been to Italy, and says that this pasta dish rivaled the pasta from Italy.

It's a wonderful place to shop for Italian specialty groceries, and the gelato is melt-in-your-mouth delicious. This is a place you want to be able to spend a few hours in.

And so ended our Foodie Day, with full stomachs and aching feet.