In case you haven’t noticed, Bionic Bites has been very East Village-centric the past few weeks. The reason: I’m sick of living in my cramped run-down LES apartment and have been spending a lot of time in the East Village apartment hunting. (I love the LES, but for the same price, I can get more square footage in the East Village.) Two Saturdays ago, after seeing a gorgeous but way too expensive apartment, David and I wandered into Royale looking for brunch. It was only after we were seated we noticed the place was more of a bar than a restaurant, and the menu was limited to burgers and sandwiches. No biggie, we ordered two burgers, onion rings, housemade chips, and a Bloody Mary for me. As long as a Bloody Mary’s involved, it’s brunch to me. MORE »
For those procrastinators who don’t have plans yet, and want to go to a small bar with no madness, no cover, and a champagne toast, I went to a really cool bar in the Financial District this week. Yes, FiDi! Believe it! Vintry Wine & Whiskey has 80 wines available for tastings, whiskeys from around the world, and a truly delicious small plates menu (gnocchi is AMAZING). Get the 411 at SE:NY. I just called the bar (212-480-9800), and reservations are still available. Happy New Year’s Eve! Stay safe.
Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays lovely readers! I’m still working on my post about my last night in Seoul, but in the meantime, check out “Raising the Bar: Tuesday Nights at Allen & Delancey” on SE:NY. Half-off drinks and tongue is involved… tongue of the edible kind. Anything beyond that can’t be guaranteed.
Again, warm wishes to everyone. I hope a fabulous meal awaits all of you today. If not, make it work anyway.
This week I went fancy and had a drink and a few small bites at the Gramercy Tavern. Not the main dining room, the tavern, but that’s still pretty nice in my book. Read “Raising the Bar: Excellent Small Bites in the Tavern of Gramercy Tavern” at SE:NY for more food intel.

My latest Raising the Bar post is about White Slab Palace, my regular neighborhood hang-out spot. It takes a while to get drinks or food, but the place is chill, the waiters/waitresses extremely laid-back, and the seafood fresh. Read “Raising the Bar: Fishing for a Bite at White Slab” on SE:NY for some delicious and some not so delicious details.
If I lived in the West Village, I’d hang out at Wilfie & Nell every weekend for Scotch eggs, grilled cheese, delicious cocktails, and their great beer selection on tap. Read my review, “Raising the Bar: Being Local at Wilfie & Nell,” on SE:NY. Drunken food porn awaits.
Read “Raising the Bar: Kicking it at The Modern Bar Room” on SE:NY where I write about me kicking it with my mom this weekend. We ate Beer-Braised Pork Belly with a Hinny Kick (Hangar One Spiced Pear Vodka, lime, jalapeño, ginger beer, and garnished with candied ginger). Every weekend should be spent with mom, pork belly, and a vodka cocktail!