TLDR: No bad meals, Don Angie and Milano Market are amazing and worth the hype, get DoorDash DashPass to try and increase TCS reservation odds
Okay, so! My partner and I visited New York from Western Canada the last 6 nights. We had both been a few times before and knew the reservation system was challenging for popular restaurants, so this time I really did my research to try and snag some of the more trendy ones to see what the fuss was all about. We also are big foodies and prefer to "save our calories" for dinner so hence these massive dinners. Also, disclaimer, I realize I didn't take photos of everything we ate and please excuse the poor photos I did take (lol).
On reservations specifically for The Corner Store, I am still a bit in disbelief that we were able to secure a Corner Store reservation. 2-3 weeks before we left, they announced they were transitioning from Resy to DoorDash. To try and increase my chances of getting a reservation, I subscribed to DashPass as I knew that some tables/time slots at some restaurants were DashPass exclusives. Even that, however, before our trip, didn't seem to make a difference. I tried logging on exactly at the 2 week mark before the reservation time, blah blah, what they say to do and nothing, which was supremely frustrating. When we landed in New York on the Monday, I figured I'd check DoorDash for shits and giggles to see if anything was available, and sure enough, a 5:00 PM DashPass exclusive time slot had become available for the Tuesday – don't ask me why or how. The timing was super random and I think I just got lucky. Maybe related or unrelated, though, a certain A-list celebrity was seated next to us who must've arranged a pre-opening arrival so the dining room was very empty and they did not allow us to take any photos at all (hence the photo of the outside and no food photos).
Regarding the Don Angie reservation – I am OpenTable VIP so maybe this has something to do with it, but I snagged our 9:00 PM reservation like 11 days in advance even though the website says reservations are only released 7 days in advance. Not sure if that tid bit will help anyone. EDIT: Found this res 14 days in advance*\*
1. Monkey Bar – We tried the steak frites with bearnaise, crab rangoons, smoked whitefish caesar salad, and carrot cake. I would say the carrot cake and steak were excellent, fries and crab rangoons were solid, and the salad was "meh" – dressing felt a bit devoid of flavour and creaminess.
2. The Corner Store – We tried the five cheese pizza rolls, lobster and caviar rolls, fries with the works, wagyu french dip, and heirloom roasted rainbow carrots. Honestly, everything we ate was solidly good to borderline great. Expensive? Of course. Do I feel like we were paying more for the ambiance than the food? Yes, definitely, especially when sitting next to a celebrity, lol. If the ambiance means nothing to you, then I'd definitely skip, but if you can appreciate the vibe of a place and can get a reservation, I do think TCS is worth a try. The cocktails we had were also excellent – sour cream and onion martini and the chamomile vesper. We both regretted not trying the samoa sundae as tables around us got it and it did look excellent.
3. Librae Bakery – We tried both the tuna and smoked salmon sandwiches, as well as a toffee oatmeal date cookie. We enjoyed them all. I regretted not trying their laminated pastries as everything looked exceptional – we will come back here.
4. Fabrique – The cardamom bun was amazing from a texture perspective, but I was wanting to be smacked in the face with cardamom flavour, and I was not, so was a tad disappointed.
5. Don Angie – We tried the chrysanthemum salad, sourdough pasta cacciatore, chicken scarpariello, veal "da pepi", japanese sweet potatoes and caramelized pear sorbetto. We both agreed that this was by far the best meal of the trip. Everything we ate was fantastic and I would absolutely order it all again. We actively wanted to avoid some of the most popular dishes like the lasagna and black cocoa tiramisu to allow us to try more dishes and we don't regret that decision (every single table it seemed in the restaurant had the lasagna). The veal was incredible and I am still thinking about the pear sorbetto. This place was 1000% worth the hype and we will definitely return.
6. Gallaghers Steakhouse – We were visiting in the city for a special occassion and this place was never on our list, but every popular restaurant seemed to have a Christmas party this night so this is where we ended up. Solid meal overall with a nice vibe. We tried the gorgonzola salad, steak tartare, filet mignon au poivre, and mac and cheese. Steak, mac and gorgonzola salad were excellent. The peppercorn sauce was oily and lacking flavour. Steak in the tartare was a weird texture and colour and under seasoned. They also gave you this massive slab of meat and like 4 tiny croustini so thought that was strange. Overall, probably wouldn't return given the vast options in the city, but I also wouldn't tell anyone not to go here.
7. Adda – We tried Semma last time we were in the city so wanted to give Adda a try as well given it seemed equally as difficult to get a reservation and the reviews were solid. I booked the Butter Chicken Experience and we also tried the paneer and lamb parcha. Everything was delicious. Tough to say which of the 2 restaurants I prefer, but both I would re-visit.
8. Carbone – We tried the caesar salad, calamari marco, spicy vodka rigatoni, cherry pepper ribs, and lemon sorbetto. Honestly, these days I probably see more mediocre/bad reviews of Carbone than good ones on social media so I was highly skeptical of booking this place so maybe that explains my thoughts, but overall – loooooved it and would definitely come back although with some ordering changes. Firstly, they really load you up with bread, cheese and meats which I didn't realize before we ordered so we ended up stuffed at the end of everything. The calamari was the best calamari I've had in my life – either this dish is being slept on or I have never had a good calamari (lol) – the sauce was soooo flavorful. Caesar salad was solidly good. Cherry pepper ribs also I believe might be slept on as I had never seen anyone speak about it online – absolutely delicious. Spicy vodka rigatoni – flop, overhyped, would not order, "just okay."
9. Culture Espresso (no photo) – We tried the Levain CCC last time we were in the city and "liked" it, but had heard Culture Espresso was potentially better and less appreciated. I would agree with that assessment. I thought it was a great cookie and had more flavour than Levain's.
10. Milano Market – Chicken caesar wrap with bacon is delicious. This is our second time here.
by hahahehehahahoe
Dining and Cooking