With so many openings and closings each year, pinpointing the best restaurants is always a challenge.  Being critical of excellence is always a tricky and subjective task, especially considering the fact that each dining experience encompasses so many unique variables.  That said, like our restaurant reviews, this list is comprised of our complete impression of each place- from the décor, to the food, to the service, to the overall atmosphere.   And now, LocalBozo.com is proud to count down our Top 5 dining experiences of 2011.  Buon Appetit.

Number 5.  The Lion, 62 West 9^th Street , near 6^th Avenue, West Village (Posted 8/9/11)

What we wrote then: “A glimpse of The Lion is a glimpse of Manhattan’s elite, or at least what you’d expect Manhattan’s elite to resemble on a seemingly regular work night.”

Looking Back: Nondescript black awning aside, the bar area alone sets the mood for an upscale evening.  Lengthy table waits remain, but once seated in the old-fashioned looking dining room, the food and drinks make the wait worthwhile.  Glancing around for celebrities might be frowned upon, but is impossible to avoid here because the place is so very cool.  The menu is pricey but their “lamb porterhouse” (41) and their “burger ‘special blend’” ($21), topped with a pork belly and a provolone/cheddar mixture were memorable entrees.  Just make sure to wipe the grease from your face, lest anyone important see you.

 

Number 4.  Lavo, 39 East 58^th Street, near Madison Avenue, Midtown East (Posted 12/21/11)

What we wrote then: “Upon entering Lavo, the very scene of the bar area is striking.  Some of the best looking people in New York City are here…its upscale feel and energetic vibe make you excited to blend right in with the cool crowd inside.”

Looking Back: While The Lion is a more intimate setting for Manhattan’s finest to get dolled up and kick back drinks, Lavo packs the same caliber of people into a massive space, preparing them for a raucous night out, rather than a casual private dinner.  From the minute you step through the doors here, the entire evening is about excess- beautiful women, huge portions of food, tasty mixed drinks, and booming music and energy throughout.   Cliches aside, New York City finally has that flashy place that would comfortably fit inside of a Las Vegas hotel, and with a nightclub below assuming you can get inside, there’s no need to race around the city looking for where to go next.  The Kobe beef “meatball” ($21) is gigantic, topped with creamy fresh ricotta, but the must try here is easily the “oreo zeppole” dessert ($10)- deep fried oreos, served with a malted vanilla ice cream for dipping.  The fare here was surprisingly very good even without a true standout entrée, but the full dinner experience makes Lavo a worthwhile hotspot.

 

Number 3.  The Breslin Bar & Dining Room, 20 West 29^th Street, near Broadway, Midtown West (Posted 7/14/11)

What we wrote then:  “The bar and restaurant that sits on the ground floor in the Ace Hotel is casual yet chic, forging a pub-like atmosphere within a prime Manhattan hotspot.”

Looking Back: Like sister restaurant “The Spotted Pig,” The Breslin is a highly sought after dinner spot night after night.  No reservations make securing a table difficult, but with a fun little bar inside complete with mixologists whipping up tasty drinks, the wait is never as bad as feared.  It’s basically an exquisite looking pub, with the food standing out well above the atmosphere.  The menu features experimental items based on the philosophy of ‘nose-to-tail’ cooking, but the true standout item is their must-try “chargrilled lamb burger” ($21), topped with a sharp feta cheese and a cumin mayo.  Salty but not sloppy, and unbelievably tender and tasty, this was the best burger we tasted all year.  Bar none.

 

Number 2.  Osteria Morini, 218 Lafayette Street, near Kenmare Street, SoHo (Posted 3/23/11)

What we wrote then:  “A restaurant is only as good as its reputation once its patrons leave.  While admittedly on the pricey side, Osteria Morini is one of the most noteworthy new restaurants to open in some time and somehow despite an awful lot of praise, it was every bit as good as advertised.”

Looking Back: It’s no coincidence that Chef Michael White’s restaurants occupy the top two spots on our list.  The first of which, the exceptional Osteria Morini brings an exquisite and traditional, old world Italian vibe to SoHo.  The energy inside the restaurant is always vibrant, refreshing in itself because it’s obvious that the place is packed first and foremost as a result of how extraordinary the food is.  The pastas here are the show stealer with the capelletti ($19)- a mascarpone ravioli with butter and prosciutto- and the “maccheroni” (special)- served with lamb sausage, spinach and chestnuts- being two excellent options.  The “polpettine” ($10) was also an especially great value for the mortadella and prosciutto meatballs.  So many tasty options to try here, and none of them were less than spectacular.   Just a first class, food first restaurant that gives a nod to timeless Italian cooking and traditions.

Number 1.  Marea, 240 Central Park South, near Broadway, Midtown West (Posted 7/21/11)

What we wrote then:  “Marea is without question the best dining experience that we’ve had in 2011, and urge you to experience White’s Italian masterpiece for yourselves.”

Looking Back: Since we last visited Marea in July, city restaurants had a full five months to reach the standard that Chef White’s number one restaurant had set.  And each one simply fell short of the incomparable Italian eatery.  Located in a beautiful location, adjacent to Central Park, describing Marea can be done with a simple word: special.  The clientele and atmosphere share a fundamental refinement that encompasses classy and chic.  Each pasta is carefully hand crafted in house and the fresh fish are literally flown in daily.  Moreover the four course tasting menu (highly recommended) allows you to choose from the restaurant’s entire menu at your discretion.  The restaurant’s “fusilli” ($31) deserves a full paragraph to extol its virtues.  Brilliantly prepared, the dish is served with chunks of red wine braised octopus and a salty bone marrow for an unforgettable flavor.  Hands down, Chef Michael White’s “fusilli” was the best dish that we had the pleasure of tasting in all of 2011 inside his charming palatial ode to Italian cuisine.

Honorable Mention: Here’s a few of our other favorites that JUST missed the cut:

Porsena, 21 East 7^th Street, near 3^rd Avenue, East Village (Posted 2/9/11)

Favorite Dish: “lasagna al forno” ($18)- savory meat ragu and cheese served in a clay bowl; not overly saucy and a traditional, inventive delicious dish

A Voce Columbus, 10 Columbus Circle, near Broadway, Upper West Side (Posted 5/11/11)

Favorite Dish: “pollo al mattone” ($25)- a chili marinated brick chicken with fennel and chili; the salty skin is pressed into the chicken for a tasty, salty finish

ABC Kitchen, 35 East 18^th Street, near Broadway, Flatiron District (Posted 6/23/11)

Favorite Dish: “kasha and bowtie pasta with veal meatballs” ($24)- a creamy ricotta square surrounded by fresh pasta and herbs and tender meatballs in a thick, gravy-like sauce

- Jane Van Arsdale

With 18 miles of books for sale, Union Square’s Strand Bookstore is officially the largest mom-and-pop spot for literature fanatics in Manhattan. It should be no surprise then that Wednesday night’s special panel discussion in Strand’s old-fashioned Rare Book Room, was filled by mostly moms and pops. Former New York Times critic Frank Bruni was on hand as moderator to keep the conversation flowing between Chef Mario Batali (EATaly, Babbo), Chef Michael White (Marea, Osteria Morini), and Emilia Terragni, editor of Phaidon Press. The conversation was built around the promotion of Terragni’s English-translated traditional Italian cookbook, “The Silver Spoon: New Edition,” and around Batali’s latest offering, “Molto Batali,” his 10th cookbook, but it evolved into a bevy of other, delicious topics.

The fundamental question that continued to be debated throughout the hour long discussion was ‘can we eat very good Italian food today without having travelled to Italy?’ All three panelists seemed to agree that ‘yes, we can’- Terragni being a full-blooded Italian now living in London and Batali, with his Italian roots agreed as well. Chef White, a Midwesterner without an Italian bone in his body (a point that would be noted repeatedly, for effect), but still managing to make exquisitely unique yet authentic Italian cuisine, stressed the importance of using the freshest ingredients from your immediate environment as the Italian way of cooking, but a method that can truly be leaned upon wherever you reside geographically. The chefs were willing to admit however that there are in fact some items they prefer to import from the ‘old country.’ Chef White opts for imperative ingredients like canned tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, and fresh seafood, while Chef Batali leans on Italy for items like pantry ingredients simply unavailable domestically, bottarga (dried roe), and some of his favorite prosciutto di parmas and salumis.

Despite the explosion of Italian cooking in Manhattan, said Chef Batali “I’d actually go as far to say that regional Italian cooking is underexposed in New York City. I can’t find a region that is even properly represented, which really shows a lack of true commitment of other cooks outside of this room.” Luckily, Chef Mario Carbone of Torrisi Italian Specialties was seated in the audience as an onlooker, so he was clearly not slighted by Chef Batali’s remark. He digressed, intimating that two men in his growing employ are looking at breaking ground on the first Batali project in Brooklyn focused on authentic Tuscan fare.

The conversation was captivating- from Terragni’s old school Italian mindset (Of the cookbook’s new edition, she questioned whether the recipes were ‘too hardcore for Americans,’ but with 2000 different ones she stated with a laugh “if you don’t like it, don’t make it”) to the incredibly eloquent and energetic Chef Batali, to White’s more jovial and wisecracking demeanor- keeping the crowd interested and engaged throughout. The last twenty minutes were opened up for a Q&A with the audience, to which point the panel both accepted praise and praised each other profusely, and rightfully so if you’ve ever dined at virtually any of their properties. Interestingly enough, Chef Batali suggested that “thirty years ago, becoming a chef was what you did after getting out of the army, and before you went to jail.” Chef White countered that as recently as twenty years ago he “told [his] father that [he] wanted to be a cook, and [his] father asked ‘yes, but how are you going to make a living?’” Seems so far, they’ve both done pretty well for themselves, but they both pointed to a much more sophisticated clientele in 2011′s New York City than when Babbo first opened its doors in 1993. And now, even with 19 restaurants under his belt, and more and more previous soux chefs underneath him, moving forward and opening their own places under the Batali umbrella (for fear of their talents working for a Danny Meyer or even a Michael White), he left us with one final suggestion to bring the experience of Italy back home- “The next time you have dinner, leave the food, and the dishes on the table for twenty minutes after eating, like they do in Italy. Italians still enjoy the experience of eating. They celebrate the table.”

Strand has a bunch of excellent upcoming readings and panels. For more information check out the Events at Strand.

- Jane Van Arsdale

Some have called it the Woodstock of meat… A produce department on steroids. The finest collection of barbecue chefs converged upon Pier 5 of Brooklyn Bridge Park on Saturday evening for an event, aptly called Meatopia 2011. Sponsored by Amstel Light and presented by Whole Foods, Meatopia 2011 celebrated over 45 chefs preparing meats from nose to tail, in a variety of ways that beforehand didn’t seem possible. And the event was so exceptionally run that even with hundreds of patrons in attendance, the food and beer lines were minimal, but the satisfaction could be felt inherently upon admission.

The rundown of meat purveyors at this year’s event, which reportedly doubled in size, was like a who’s who of Manhattan’s culinary elite. Notables like Michael White (Marea, Osteria Morini, Alta, Convivio) and Michael Psilakis (Kefi, FishTag) spliced informational seminars between rounds of the “Best Butcher Competition,” which took place on the event’s main stage throughout the evening. Meanwhile, other notable city chefs like former Pulino’s honcho Nate Appleman cooked up a new dish called “chorizo tostados” at the Chipotle Mexican Grill stand, while Pat LaFrieda Meat Purveyors grilled up an 850 pound steed, which was sliced up into some of the more delicious kobe beef sliders served on Saturday.

Sitting right on the water with a wonderful view of lower Manhattan, some of  New York City’s most popular spots also participated in the tasting event, as hundreds of hungry eaters weaved between their chosen surroundings. Popular and competing ‘cue joints like “Rub BBQ,” serving a delicious plate of ‘Burnt Ends’ Pastrami Brisket, was stationed right next to Chelsea outfit, “Hill Country” with a fantastically prepared BBQ Mangalitsa Pork Belly.’

With so much meat on hand to be judged, other distractions included ample stands filled with FIJI water, Capogiro Gelato stands which may have had the lengthiest lines of the entire event, and full service beer gardens (biergartens) serving Amstel Lights, assuming your meat ticket granted you access inside to the faux grassy space. But the ample beer servings, the tasty sweet desserts from “Whole Foods,” and tables handing out “Honeydrop Tea” served as a welcomed diversion once our bellies had been packed full of red meat.

Although the four hour event began at 5:30pm, the satiation sat in once the sun went down, towards 9pm. In between, the highlights of the event were simply innumerable and mentioning some of them would surely leave other notables in the lurch. But alas, such is our duty as investigative journalists to identify the true best of the best and as such, here we go…

Tasting Chef April Bloomfield’s “Mulefoot Whole Hog” representing “The Breslin Bar & Grill”’s menu proved to be an eye opener for us, although we’d been inside the very doors of the posh ‘Ace Hotel’ lobby restaurant just a week prior. Other tremendous highlights included the aforementioned Michael White and partner Bill Dorreier’s “Hampshire porchetta,” representing another LocalBozo favorite, “Osteria Morini,” “The Hurricane Club’s,” Craig Koketsu cooking up a huge portion of delicious ‘duck with green papaya,’ and, another of our favorites- Chef Daniel Holzman of “The Meatball Shop,” whipping up a crowd pleasing ‘sloppy joe’ made of insanely savory spicy lamb meat.

More experimental favorites included the aforementioned chef, Michael Psilakis’ (Kefi) ‘Greek lamb offal Mixed Grill’ or a smattering of heart, sweetbread (pancreas), brain, and kidney, on a pita which, after being bullied, we tasted and was absolutely worth trying, “The Country Cat Dinnerhouse & Bar’s” ‘Scrapple-stuffed Pig’s Head,’ another incredibly inventive and excellently prepped pork dish, “Bar Basque’s ‘Hampshire Hog Seven Ways’ (incredible), and our favorite and most unique of the entire evening, “Public”’s Brad Farmerie’s ‘black pudding waffles.’ The dish was a congregation of blood pudding, roasted pears, and a foie gras butter that at first glance sounds downright offputting, but tasted like a dessert just as we were getting started. The inventively prepared waffle matched perfectly with the initially strange blood pudding for the LocalBozo.com approved best combination of Meatopia 2011.

While we were initially hesitant to taste all the dishes that Meatopia had to offer, we trusted our fate to the culinary skills of the 45 chefs in attendance, and each one distinctly proved their worth at each booth. The expertly run event was spacious enough to minimize food and beer lines and keep enough people content to write glowingly about their wonderful experiences inside. After devouring as much meat as was provided on Saturday evening, there’s a chance that some people may have been turned off. But on the other hand, there’s the majority of people- people like us- that literally can’t wait until next year’s event.

- Jane Van Arsdale

The misconception that “all Italian restaurants are made equal” was effectively broken when we happened upon Marea. We’d be remiss to pretend that this was a place that we stumbled upon rather than one where we reserved a table more than three full weeks beforehand. Perched on the picturesque Central Park South, Marea has all of the sublime intricacies that you would expect from a restaurant of this caliber, and based strictly on performance, encompassing all of the qualities we look for in defining greatness, Marea stands alone.

The chef, enigmatic owner Michael White (Convivio) has gone to great lengths to secure such lofty admiration. The 150 seat palace features fresh fish that is literally flown in from seas around the world and pastas that are all strictly handmade, in house. But there is perhaps no better term to describe the atmosphere inside than simply, elegant. From the friendly host stand to the chic, marbled bar with excited patrons joyously inhabiting its chairs, there is a quality that the atmosphere delivers that just feels special. And once seated, the staff goes a long way, and much of the time out of their way, to ensure that feeling resonates. While the menu does offer items a la carte, it is highly suggested that you take advantage of the $91, four course prix fix, which gives you carte blanche over the complete menu, to sample any number of combinations of your choosing, and gives you the opportunity to even experiment a little.

But where to begin? Start with the “crudo”- a hefty selection of sliced raw fish and shellfish- or an “antipasti,” select seasonal starter dishes, each one sounding more mouthwatering than the previous. Or perhaps the “ostriche,” six distinct east and west coast ice cold oysters, with a mignonette and a lemon-cucumber vinegar for ample dousing. The long list of crudo ranges from the local (long island fluke, PASSERA, $15), to the traditional (big eye tuna, TONNO, $19) to the unique (wild pacific needlefish, AGUGLIA, $15), to the unheard of (cuttlefish tagliatelle, SEPPIA, $16). Similarly daunting was choosing an antipasti. We shunned the “astice” ($24), a salivating combination of nova scotia lobster, buratta, and eggplant for a “braised snail and duck liver pate” (seasonal) plate. Served in small cubes, their gelatinous texture was quickly mangled in our hungry mouths, as the salty savory bites packed an incredible, almost indescribable taste. You know the flavor, but simply have never tasted it prepared so marvelously.

Since White’s distinction lies in pasta dishes, our next course is what we had anticipated most. First, the “spaghetti” ($29), prepared admirably with crab, sea urchin, and hints of basil was exceptionally tasty, and had our alternate pasta not been pound for pound the most delicious pasta dish that we have had in Manhattan to date (no joke!), perhaps the spaghetti would have stood out more. The “fusilli” ($31) is the must try, stand out dish here- although not for the faint of heart, the red sauced ‘corkscrew pasta’ is served meshed with pieces of red wine braised octopus and flavorful chunks of bone marrow. Both pasta dishes were excellent, but the fusilli stood above as the one that was truly brilliant.

Traditional Italian meats hand selected from Pat LaFrieda find their way to the entrees with “faraona” ($39) a roasted guinea hen, and the “bistecca” ($49), a 50 day dry aged sirloin, as the only two non-seafood menu inhabitants. But the fish is fresh and is flown in specifically for you to taste, and taste we did. The “branzino” ($41) was a classic, skin on one side, local striped bass, cooked to perfection, sided with seasonal vegetables, while the “dentice” ($39) was a fishier tasting red snapper filet, plated with sides of potatoes, mushrooms, artichokes, and onions. Again, expertly prepared and presented, but for more mild fish eaters- probably not recommended, although the dish and sides were completely devoured.

Candidly, our trip to Marea was a special occasion that the restaurant managed to make even more special just by doing what they do best- performing capably. When we claim that the restaurant became the perfect storm of sorts, bringing every aspect of fine dining together commendably- from back of the house preparation to front of the house service, friendliness, and knowledge- we are not over-embellishing because there is simply no need for us to do so. Marea is without question the best dining experience that we’ve had in 2011, and urge you to experience White’s Italian masterpiece for yourselves.