Oriana is a live-fire restaurant serving up some great smoked and roasted meats. We tried a lot of stuff, so let me get right into it.
For starters, we had the broiled nduja oysters, the iced oysters and the steak tartare.
These were all excellent but I think the broiled nduja oysters were our favorite.
In the middle, we had the hanger steak and mushroom skewer. This was a banger of a combination, if you’re looking for a solid meal for one. That hanger is a great 8/10.
For our main entree we shared the BBQ duck with a side of broccolini.
The duck was incredible. It comes with a full double breast, cooked to a perfect medium rare, sliced and plated beautifully. Fat rendered perfectly. Delicious crispy skin.
It also comes with a sausage made from the other parts of the duck, encased within the neck skin and served with an incredible Carolina gold sauce.
For $165, they serve it with a huge slab of Texas toast and some pickle spears, just like a BBQ joint.
For dessert we had an Eton Mess (pineapple and merengue), and a really refreshing cucumber sorbet. Skip the chartreuse that they offer with it (unless that disgusting shit is your jam).
Great cocktails here too.
I can’t wait to go back and try their other meats, especially the pork!
My wife and I stopped in here while we were walking around the neighborhood one Saturday. We tried 5 tacos, all of which were good, albeit small and a little pricey.
The top choices for me were the carnitas, the beef shank, and, surprisingly, the tinga. The chicharrones and pollo mole were also good though.
Small but worth it. Flavors were all on point and the proteins/ingredients, sauces and toppings were high quality.
BETO’S CARNITAS & GUISADOS
69 Clinton St
New York, NY 10002
My wife and I tried this new spot by us that was being built out for months with some really beautiful and unique decor inside. It used to be the location of Soft Swerve ice cream, which I was bummed about when it closed. Of course I forgot to get a photo of the new, decked out interior. But we tried a bunch of stuff, so I will get right into it.
We started with two octopus apps and an order of escargots. All were great, but I think we liked the unsliced octopus tentacle the best. That one also came with roasted potatoes as well.
The sliced one came with pita bread that you are meant to wipe through the sauce. That octopus was super tender.
The escargots were nice, although not as snappy as I prefer, and came with fried bread for dipping into the butter and herb divots.
In the middle, we had one of their sushi rolls, but the rice was a little mushy and also dry, and the sauces were too sweet for our liking.
Our main course was amazing – the Greek and Peruvian half-roasted chicken. I honestly don’t remember liking any other chicken dish in my life as much as this one.
Needless to say, we will be back to try more of their “Mediterrasian” fusion dishes.
They also have nice low ABV wine and sake cocktails, FYI. No liquor license, I presume.
DOLCE MEMENTO
221 East Broadway
New York, NY 10002
My wife and I tried this place recently, which features nice wines, sliced meats, good pastas, meat-focused entrees, and classic Italian desserts.
We sipped on some wine while eating a unique starter that tasted like the onions in a French onion soup, topped with mashed potatoes, and then sprinkled with crispy pancetta. delicious.
Next was pistachio dough tortelli with a mortadella stuffing. These were salty, but still very delicious.
For our main, we tried the veal cutlet, which was almost like a modified Milanese. It was breaded and fried, then topped with a melted cheese sauce and prosciutto.
This was very salty as well, mainly due to the cheese sauce. But there was also a funky flavor on the tail bits. Not sure what, but I didn’t love it.
Dessert was incredible: almond panna cotta. I could eat buckets of this.
Despite the over-salting and funky veal, I would definitely come back here to try more stuff.
This spot has swiftly become known for their stiff drinks and small bites. My wife and I tried a pair of their martinis: the pickle, and the clean dirty. Both were great.
We moved on to small bites, which included mini burgers, mini glizzies, and shoestring fries. These were all delicious. I was surprised to see the burgers cooked to a nice medium and still having decent thickness for the patties.
Although a bit expensive, I would definitely go back and try more stuff. Go give this place a shot!
I finally got over to Royale to try the burger that I’ve heard so much about. It was good! We ordered the Royale with cheese (not the smash burger).
This was probably about a 6oz patty, perfectly cooked to medium with nice cheese melt and cheese coverage.
Bun could use a little work, but it had a nice toast on it, and I appreciated the thinly sliced tomato, onion, lettuce and pickle on the side. Fries were good. Natural cut style, not too salty but good and crisp.
My buddy Dave, who I used to work for as a butcher, is a member at Flyfish Club, so he took me and a friend as guests. Chef Capon really worked us hard, so we were insanely full at the end of this meal.
Starters: green bean hummus (incredible); hamachi crudo; octopus carpaccio (also top notch); crispy rice topped with wagyu, tuna, truffle and caviar (a favorite for me); oysters and shrimp cocktail; and sushi rolls.
Mains: bay scallops in the style of escargots (really inventive and unique); pork chop; trio of pasta (casarecce with pistachio pesto, spicy crab and tomato rigatoni, and lamb agnolotti); fries.
For a view of the pasta, check out the video I linked above.
Star of the show: Caesar on a bed of Milanese style chicken.
Dessert: strawberry short cake; cookies with ice cream.
This was an incredible meal. I want to go back to try the omakase with my wife.
My wife and I came here for a quick meal and really enjoyed everything we tried. She had been here soon after they opened for a quick meal at the bar. Now, Corima was awarded a Michelin star and even has a fancy tasting menu. We opted for an a la carte meal, and I’m glad we did. Let me get into it.
We started with two recommendations from the waiter, Francisco, who was AWESOME, by the way…
The first recommendation: Their sourdough flour tortilla. This is CRACK.
It comes with a sort of mole butter, too. I could eat pounds of this stuff. When you go here, do not skip this. I’m not kidding. It doesn’t seem like much, and it’s hard to describe, but this is fantastic.
The second recommendation: Their Beef Cecina Tlayuda. This was essentially like a beef carpaccio on a crispy tortilla. Raw thinly sliced beef on top, lots of flavor packed underneath with alliums and such. This was my favorite dish of the night.
Next up was an absolutely perfectly cooked hamachi collar. It came with a spicy aioli, but the fish was so beautifully cooked and seasoned that it wasn’t necessary.
After that was another seafood item: The spicy surf clam toast with Chinese sausage and super thin sliced tomato. The toast was sourdough. This reminded me of a panzanella.
The duck enmolada was super unique. Think of this like an enchilada, but with a mole sauce instead of a chili-based sauce. Despite this being our least favorite dish of the night, we still vvery much enjoyed it. Literally nothing was left on any of our savory plates.
For our final savory course, we had the 120-day dry aged NY strip steak. This was about 6oz, pre-sliced, perfectly cooked to medium rare and topped with a veal brain Bearnaise sauce! Served with it were some jus roasted white asparagus spears grilled kolrabi cabbage. This was a 9/10. So good.
We ordered one dessert but they sent out all three! Incredible service here. We ordered the chocoflan, thinking it would be flan. It turns out it was more like a brownie topped with whipped cream and ice cream. It was delicious. Unexpected, but delicious. This was my wife’s favorite.
The rhubarb tres leches cake was served with a hibiscus sorbet. It was so light and flavorful. What a treat.
My favorite dessert was the mango granita sorbet with spicy tamarind chamoy and candied sakura leaf. So unique. Spicy and tart, with a bit of sweetness in there to round it out. And doesn’t the plating look kinda like Plankton from Spongebob?
I will definitely be back here for more. What an incredible meal. Put this place on your short list!
