My wife and I have walked by this tapas bar that turns clubby at night a hundred times, and we have always wanted to go in. This time, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity.
Their $10 martini during happy hour was perfect.
We also tried some of their tapas menu, which was also discounted (basically two-for-one).
We will definitely be back to try more!
DA LI
37 Market St.
New York, NY 10002
Randazzo’s is a spot I’ve always heard about but never got a chance to try, until now.
My wife and I were out at Coney Island, and we figured this would be a great spot for lunch after getting sand blasted on the windy beach that day.
We started with the combo platter of fried seafood with their famous spicy red sauce on top. It was awesome.
Really, the seafood is just fine or okay, but it’s the sauce that you really find yourself going back for over and over. So we took some home with us.
We also did their fried oyster and lobster roll sandwiches. Both were “meh” at best. The lobster was a cold lobster salad and not a warm lobster roll.
That said, they are expert with frying shit. The fries and zucchini were great, as was the batter on the oysters and calamari.
I would probably go back again, but I’d stick with the spicy calamari.
RANDAZZO’S CLAM BAR
2017 Emmons Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11235
First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:
This joint serves up a 15-course omakase for just $89! It’s really close by, so we had to give it a try.
My favorite items were the crab handroll, the stripekack, and the scallop with uni.
Great spot! No liquor license yet, and they don’t let you BYOB, but they said the license is in the works and they should have beer and wine soon.
I can’t wait to go back to try it again. The chef said the fish can change on a daily basis, and he likes to use a lot of unique and different fish than you normally see.
YOKOX
41 Avenue B
New York, NY
First, check out my Ride & Review HERE:
A second location of the popular Williamsburg bar “The Commodore” just opened in the lower east side at Avenue C and Houston Street. My wife and I have been eagerly awaiting the open since we saw renovations going on there last year. The interior is really cool, almost like you’re aboard a yacht. They even have life fish in a tank along the right side wall, with circular portals for viewing.
We started with two frozen drinks and both were great. The winner between the Orange Julio and the frozen mojito was the mojito, however. They also serve $4 cans of Schaefer, which is a steal. During happy hour, you can get a beer and a shot for $7, which is a price that’s on par with the cheapest dives in town.
Speaking of happy hour, they offer their burger with fries for $14 (normally just the burger costs $14, but at happy hour the fries come with). The burger is a nice crumbly patty that’s well seasoned and dressed with all the fixings.
We also tried their fried chicken, which, despite saying three thighs on the menu, actually came with four. Also great biscuits, two hot sauces and a sweet honey butter. At $22 this is a great deal, especially considering how crispy outside and juicy inside the chicken was. Delicious.
We also tried their fried green tomato sandwich with slaw. I enjoyed this, and the baguette was a really nice surprice here on this sandwich. I expected it to be too hard and rough, but it was warm, soft and really nicely butter-toasted.
Definitely can’t wait to go back and try their fish items, grilled cheese and nachos.
THE COMMODORE II
14 Avenue C
New York, NY 10009
First, check out my Ride & Review HERE:
This review is for the Mishik Pulsd deal and not the premium omakase offered on their regular menu. So make sure to read below, too.
This Pulsd deal was pretty good, and I would say that Mishik is especially good if you are going for their premium omakase sets with better pieces. We still enjoyed the Pulsd deal, don’t get me wrong, but my wife and I enjoyed a few other spots more in that price range.
Mishik flies their product in from Japan and dry ages all of the fish used in their omakase. The aging process takes anywhere from one to three weeks depending on the fat quality and flavor of the fish. The chefs inspect everything upon arrival to determine how long it will be aged.
Their Pulsd flash deal is curated for the price point, but they also offer two different omakase dinners: one for $120 and one for $165, consisting of an appetizer, roughly 12-16 pieces of premium nigiri, a handroll, soup and dessert.
While we enjoyed the Pulsd deal, we probably would have enjoyed one of the other omakase meals more here. Premium!
That said, my favorite items were the king salmon, the donburi bowl, the hand roll with fried shiso and eel, the torched golden eye snapper, and, of course, the uni. They were very generous with the uni!
Go give this place a shot! I think you will enjoy it too.
MISHIK
259A Hudson St.
New York, NY 10013
First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:
This place has been popping up all over Instagram, and once I saw the images of their burger and mortadella sandwich, I knew I had to get in ASAP to try.
We went right when they opened at 5pm on a Saturday, and the place was jammed by 5:30. Apparently everyone had the same idea!
We started with the fried mozzarella and Lions baked potato (with sour cream and an egg yolk).
The baked potato was a game changer. It was so freaking flavorful. We both loved it. As for the mozzarella…
Perfect temperature for stretching! And surprisingly light. Very flavorful.
The burger was 100% perfection. A nice thick aged patty, topped with two slices of American cheese, atop a slice of grilled onion, which helps to protect the beautiful sesame seed bottom bun. Four slices of pickle came on the plate as well. We obviously put them on top.
My pictures sucked, but the interior was a perfect medium rare / medium, which is ideal for this ind of “steakhouse” style burger. This was a killer. On par with Luger or Red Hook Tavern for just $18. For $4 you can get fries with it, and the fries were excellent. Nice and crispy, not too salty. The only down was that they charged us for the side order of fries ($8) rather than the “accompanying” fried ($4). I was wondering why this was such a huge order.
The mortadella sandwich was excellent too. While it ate a bit salty due to the Calabrian chili tapenade, the flavor was out of this world. The pistachio studded mortadella had a ton of porky character, and the blue cheese on this was more like a spread than a crumble or a saucy mess. It worked, though I questioned whether it would when I saw it on the menu.
As you can see, this came with chips. So we had three types of potato with this meal: chips, fries and a baked potato.
Side note: They also make a great martini.
This place is also going to be offering a steak night on Wednesdays for something like $35, and monthly “Beefsteak” meals which will be an all-inclusive price that covers drinks, starters, steak and dessert. I really can’t want to try those!
THE LIONS
132 1st Ave.
New York, NY 10009
First, check out my Ride & Review HERE:
Amigo is now Bad Hombre! Ruben transformed the space and made it absolutely gorgeous inside.
What an amazing bar, matched by amazing cocktails.
We basically tried the entire menu, except for a few items here and there. As is common with Ruben’s restaurants, everything was off the charts delicious. These were some of the best, most delicious oysters I’ve ever had.
This scallop crudo was a great balance of natural sweetness with some seasoned heat.
Shrimp and octopus aguachile? HELL YES! The octopus here was cooked perfectly.
This corn gratin dip was a nice combo of sweet and heat too. It may not look like much, but it packed a wallop of flavor.
We tried three different tortilla based items: shrimp tacos, a fish tostada, and a mushroom quesadilla. I am hard pressed to choose a favorite among these, but I think the mushroom was a real standout to me. Much like the mushroom carpaccio at Nai and Emelia. A true winner.
The grilled octopus here was absolutely gorgeous, and the black bean puree sauce hits you with some Indian and middle eastern spices that will blow you away.
I could not resist the chimichurri skirt steak. Delicious!
These St. Louis ribs fell apart when I picked them up. So friggin’ tender! They were cooked confit style and glazed with soy and sesame.
But honestly, I was caught off guard by how insanely tasty these crispy habanero aioli Brussels sprouts were. I could eat them every day for the rest of my life and never get tired of them.
Dessert was also a home run. The chocolate mousse with sea salt flakes was rich without being heavy. It was fluffy and extremely well balanced – not too sweet.
This semi-frozen panna cotta with pineapple granita was so creamy and delicious too. What an understated and gentle but powerful flavor bomb!
I can not wait to go back here for more meals. Everything Ruben touches is incredible.
BAD HOMBRE
29 2nd Ave.
New York, NY 10003
First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:
My photos of this meal aren’t that great, because I forgot my light. My video is fine, however, because the built in video light for the phone is nice. Flash photos, not so much.
This place has a retro vibe, with a Polynesian, pu-pu platter and tiki drinks old school feel to it. The cocktails were great.
We started with crispy fried mushrooms, pork ribs and shrimp toast. All of these were good. I think the mushrooms were my favorite of the entire meal, actually.
Next up, short rib beef chow fun, dry fried string beans, and crispy Szechuan calamari. Of these, the string beans were best, with the calamari close behind. They just needed to be a bit more crispy.
There’s a lot that looked nice enough to try here, so we will most likely be back.
KINGS CO. IMPERIAL
168 1/2 Delancey St.
New York, NY 10002
Ye’s Apothecary is a cool downstairs spot in the Lower East Side that serves great cocktails and some tasty Szechuan food. The Szechuan old fashioned was a great way to start the meal. It IS spicy, so beware.
Our favorite dish was “husband and wife,” which was a chilled appetizer of beef tripe and tendon in a spicy chili oil.
The egg noodles with char siu pork was also a nice dish, but I wouldn’t get it on a second trip.
The crispy squid was excellent. Slightly salty, but I didn’t mind.
With everything being so spicy, the chairman’s pork belly was a great way to sneak in a bite of sweet every so often. Only downside here was the thick rubbery external skin that sometimes still seemed to have the texture of stubble/hair on it. Otherwise really tasty and tender.
The mushroom salad was a bit misleading, as it was a hot dish. Tasty though.
YE’S APOTHECARY
119 Orchard St.
New York, NY 10002
First, check out my Ride & Review HERE:
This joint has a really nice 15-piece omakase for just $85. You get a lot of what would normally be “upgrade” toppings on the pieces, too. Things like uni, foie, etc. Here are some pics of everything we had (minus the hand roll).
My favorite was the wagyu beef with uni on top (obvious?). It was A5 rib eye!
I would definitely go back here again, and the joint is BYOB so that’s perfect! They also offer a super-upgraded 18-piece omakase for $140. But honestly, the 15-course is such a great value that I don’t think I’d get the 18-course.
SUSHI FAN
102 St Marks Pl.
New York, NY 10009
