National Grilled Cheese Month is here! Murray’s Cheese is dedicating the month of April to appreciating the perfect sandwich, the grilled cheese. For the first 11 days of April, leading up to National Grilled Cheese Day on April 12, Murray’s will be featuring a different special grilled cheese sandwich each day at their Melts counter in our Bleecker Street flagship store (254 Bleecker Street).
In honor of National Grilled Cheese Day on Friday, April 12, Murray’s will be selling their signature Murray’s Melt for just $1.12. Customers can stop by anytime from 8am – 4:30pm to purchase a delicious grilled cheese sandwich for under $2. See the calendar below for a full list of offerings!
April 1 – The French Onion: French raclette, cornichons, and French onion confit
April 2 – The Sweetest Date: Pawlett, date syrup, apple butter, and bacon
April 3- Loads of Cloves: Mozzarella, fontina, garlic spread, pepperoni, and roasted tomatoes
April 4 – What’s Up Doc?: Young goat Gouda, avocado, habanero carrot curry sauce, and watercress
April 5 – BBLT (Burrata BLT): Burrata, bacon, lettuce, and roasted tomato
April 6 – Hammy Sammy: Swiss cheese, smoked turkey, ham, maple syrup, and a fried egg
April 7 – New York Crunch: Emmentaler, pastrami, dill pickle potato chips, and chipotle aioli
April 8 – I’ll Brie Back: Double crème brie, pickled red onions, smoked turkey, and basil pesto
April 9 – Croque Monsiuer: Gruyere, mornay (cheese) sauce, Applewood smoked ham, and Dijon mustard
April 10 – Sante Fe Turkey: Smoked Gouda, smoked turkey, peppadews, spinach, and chipotle aioli
April 11 – Cubano: Swiss cheese, Applewood smoked ham, Dijon mustard, porchetta, and McClure’s relish
What do you do when you’re a vegetarian opening a neighborhood restaurant? If you’re Emanuele Nigro and the spot is Osteria 57, you start eating fish again and create a space so cozy locals will feel completely at home. Nigro, a former food distributor, opened Osteria 57 in 2017 and has been perfecting his Italian take on pescatarian, vegetarian, and vegan fare since then.
Photo courtesy of Ag. Pravda Collective/Raoul Beltrame
The menu opens with rice flour battered cauliflower, crostini with eggplant caponata, classic croquettes, and perfectly cooked octopus with potatoes and olives. You’d be hard pressed to find someone who couldn’t find something to love on the menu.
Photo courtesy of Ag. Pravda Collective/Raoul Beltrame
Photo courtesy of Ag. Pravda Collective/Raoul Beltrame
Photo courtesy of Ag. Pravda Collective/Raoul Beltrame
Pastas include a pomodoro enhanced with burrata and a trendy cacio e pepe that can be made vegan friendly with cashew cheese. Larger entrees pair fish with tons of veggies and Italian flavors. The real star of the menu is the homemade panna cotta, which includes a mix of cooked and whipped creams for the lightest, fluffiest version of the dish you’ve ever had. The fresh fruit marmalade on the top takes it even more over the top.
Photo courtesy of Ag. Pravda Collective/Raoul Beltrame
Osteria 57 is launching brunch on March 2nd! The restaurant will be serving brunch on both Saturdays and Sunday from 11:30 AM – 3:30 PM so be sure to swing by!
Osteria 57 57 W 10th Street Monday: 5:30–10:00 PM Tuesday–Thursday: 5:30–10:30 PM Friday–Saturday: 5:30–11:00 PM Sunday: 5:00–10:00 PM
Downtown favorite Bagatelle has an exciting dessert that tastes delicious AND gives back. For the month of February, Bagatelle teamed up with OddFellows Ice Cream to create a luxurious dish benefitting The Food Bank for NYC. Read on for more about this creation!
Photo by Alessandro Santoro, courtesy of Bagatelle NYC
La Bulle, created by Bagatelle pastry chef Julien Chantereau, consists of a white chocolate sphere topped with gold leaf encasing blood orange and olive oil ice cream on top of a bed of blood oranges finished with warm blood orange sauce. $7 from each dish ordered will go to The Food Bank for NYC.
Photo by Alessandro Santoro, courtesy of Bagatelle NYC
Blood orange was selected for the dish because the color represents joy and compassion, two key ingredients that benefit guests and Food Bank recipients. You have until the end of the month to sample this show stopping sweet!
Photo by Alessandro Santoro, courtesy of Bagatelle NYC
Photo by Alessandro Santoro, courtesy of Bagatelle NYC
Bagatelle 1 Little West 12th Street Monday–Wednesday: 6:00 PM – 12:00 AM Thursday: 6:00 PM – 1:00 AM Friday–Saturday: 11:30 AM – 2:00 AM Sunday: 11:30 AM – 12:00 AM
When we tell our friends we want to meet at a bar, it usually isn’t for the food. Get ready to surprise your buds when you ask them to join you for Sunday Funday at Due West, which now serves a fabulous brunch. This West Village spot boasts a pedigree that includes Le Bilboquet and Locanda Verde as well as artwork from ACA Galleries to elevate the cozy, blue-velvet lined space.
Besides the expected Bloody Mary, the cocktails at Due West scream brunch. The Nitro Boost combines cold brew with vanilla and bourbon, and The Nuni spikes a lager with hot sauce, cucumber, and lime to get you going. Start the meal with oysters or the addictive fried chicken bites with yuzu and honey before you move on to your main courses.
Some friends on a health kick? Try the new berry topped chia bowl or truffled avocado toast. Need eggs? There’s baked eggs with spicy tomato sauce or a classic breakfast sandwich. Looking for lunch? Bite into the fried chicken sandwich with house pickles or a bacon topped, dry aged burger. But whatever you do, do not miss out on the show stopping pancake, which comes in a cast iron skillet topped with whipped ricotta and butter maple toffee. The crispy edges and hint of citrus make this dish a crowd pleaser, even for those who are off carbs.
Due West 189 West 10th Street
Weekend Brunch: 12:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Sunday–Wednesday: 5:00 PM–12:00 AM
Thursday–Saturday: 5:00 PM–2:00 AM
It’s that time of year: Resolution 2019 is upon us, and I have a good one. And bonus, it’s something you can do every day and doesn’t involve going carb free or buying expensive workout gear. This year, why not make an effort to support your local business owners? It’s easy to do. Instead of heading to Amazon Prime for your best friend’s birthday gift, spend an afternoon wandering around the Lower East Side to find the perfect bauble. Actually, that is two resolutions in one – everyone knows that walking around New York counts as a workout.
Supporting local business is important, but equally important are the memories and attachments you are creating. Some of my happiest New York memories involve shopping. Here’s one. In 1994, I was an associate managing editor at House Beautiful magazine, and Steve and I were newly engaged. Money was tight, but we didn’t care. As the cliché goes, we were poor but happy.
One of our favorite ways to spend a Saturday was to wander around the Village. We usually started in the East Village and worked our way West, looking for new shops, revisiting old favorites, and fantasizing about living in one of those beautiful brownstones. In the West Village, we would have dinner at MacDougal’s Café – a coffee shop with good French onion soup, a decent burger, and endless refills of coffee. In those days you could eat well for under $20, and even treat yourself to a cappuccino without having to take out a second mortgage. I know, I know, it’s a nostalgia trip but bear with me.
MacDougal Street was a great place to wander. The ghosts of Bob Dylan, Eleanor Roosevelt, Louisa May Alcott, Jack Kerouac, Richie Havens, Lenny Bruce, and so many others bumped shoulders with young hopefuls, writers, musicians, poets…well at least that’s the way I remember it. It’s not that the historic buildings don’t still stand, it’s just that young hopefuls can’t afford the neighborhood anymore. But back to my shopping memory.
C’est Magnifique on MacDougal Street
Of all the shops on MacDougal Street, the best of the best was C’est Magnifique. The Albrizio family opened there in the late fifties, and they made jewelry for people like Iggy Pop, Keith Richards, and Madonna. Famous faces adorned the walls of the tiny shop, but the amazing thing about the Albrizio family was that they treated everyone the same – like family. The window was FILLED with treasures. Inside, cases lined the walls and counters brimmed with vintage and new pieces. The shop was busy with people dropping off jewelry for repair, ordering something custom, or just hanging out listening to Alfred Albrizio Jr’s stories.
Christmas cuff from C’est Magnifique, 1994
In the winter of 1994, with money tight, Steve wanted to buy me a Christmas present. He picked out a beautiful sterling cuff with an oval Lapis cabochon at C’est Magnifique. But he didn’t have enough cash to buy the piece. Al could see how much he wanted it, so he let Steve have it for the cash he had in his pocket, and told him to pay the rest when he could. Months later, when some money came in, Steve went back to the shop to pay the balance, and he remembers that Al was surprised that he had come back.
We never forgot that kindness. It was a very good Christmas because of the generosity of a guy who understood the true spirit of the season. We purchased many beautiful items from Al, and they are my favorite pieces to this day. When the shop on MacDougal closed because of rising rents, they moved to East 9th Street, and ultimately closed after Al’s untimely death in 2014.
Earrings from Sterling Assault
Nowadays, we are so happy that Alfred Albrizio III is continuing his family tradition with Sterling Assault, creating new designs and reproducing some of the classics he helped create at C’est Magnifique. His jewelry is available exclusively at I Need More on Orchard Street, or through his website. Check it out. You can’t get it on Amazon, believe me.
There’s a lot of talk nowadays about how to preserve the New York of song and story. But still every day we see whole blocks of empty storefronts, new construction, and chain stores moving in. Shopping local is critical, but to be fair, it isn’t just shopping local that is going to save this town. A bill for commercial “rent control” was originally introduced by Ruth Messinger in 1986, and it’s under review again, with current Speaker Corey Johnson signaling his support. I don’t know if that’s the answer but I do know that something needs to be done. Every week an old favorite seems to close. This week will mark the last for the Cornelia Street Cafe, a Village staple since the seventies. In 2017, the New York Times reported that their rent was $33,000 a month. You do the math.
While our city government decides where their loyalties lie, you can help. Support your local businesses. Try to avoid chain stores. Buy your coffee from a bodega. Shop for Christmas and birthday presents the way I always did and still do, walking and wandering, and making friends. Seek out small businesses and local owners who are the lifeblood of this city.
Make it your Resolution 2019. And every year after that.
Look for my weekly blogpost, THOUGHT PATTERNS, here, and follow me on Instagram @debmartinnyc
A dear friend and longtime favorite Italian restaurant have just opened its second location. Chef Raffaele Ronca opens Rye, June 6, 2018, to friends and family. The decor is clean elegant and perfect for a date night or just family and friends. If you dine alone but prefer company, don’t worry the excellent staff and Chef Raffaele will be sure to introduce you to their regulars.
It’s Famiglia always at Rafele New York City and now Rye New York.
Months and months of planning going to and from, making sure that everything was just perfezionare, Chef Raffaele Ronca is just that, a perfectionist. When we first met Chef Raffaele back in 2012, his West Village Ristorante was still brand new, what we noticed right from the start and he’s never wavered, is his dedication to create a welcoming culinary experience, with just the right special touches fresh flower arrangements, beautiful displays of fresh vegetables, fresh homemade cheesecake which still today is one of the most talked about in New York, and truly the best authentic Neapolitan ingredients in every dish. Fresh daily-made pasta, including Gluten Free, to various meat dishes, fresh delights from the sea and a renowned wine list.
The new location in Rye is said to have that same special welcome glowed inside with lovely furnishings and art. Chef stayed with his open kitchen design, with a lovely enclosed wine room, two brick ovens to prepare their il piú delizioso designer pizzas, his same trips to the fish market for fresh fish, and mouth-watering meats, for the carnivores. Of course, there is a beautiful bar, to enjoy a cool refreshing flute of Prosecco.
Our favorite dishes, Paccheri All’ Amatriciana, Pappardelle with Lamb Ragu, Cacio E Pepe, Pizza Fritta, roasted cauliflower and sautéed spinach, Bistecca Per Due 22 OZ, Finocchio Brasato, Cavofiore and many delicious authentic dishes to choose from. BUT, be sure to save room for dessert!
Our CEO Grace A. Capobianco and a good friend of Chef Raffaele Ronca, was unable to attend the opening due to an already committed schedule, “I am so very proud of Chef Raffaele Ronca, for his second location, I am sure, just like his many fans and followers in NYC, the residents of Rye will soon make Rafele Rye their favorite spot. Every person who comes to visit me here in New York City request to dine at Rafele West Village, from my longtime High School friends to family members from Europe and Israel. They are sure to add Rafele’s to their list of things to do. Chef Raffaele’s heart and generosity are as authentic and fresh as his cuisine. Over our years of friendship, when we’ve called on Chef to create a special meal for our cover celebrities from Chris Noth to Zac Posen, Chef not only sent over a table full of delicious dishes, but also stayed to ensure that the quality when served was as perfect as when first cooked and that the celebrity enjoyed every bite. I’m so happy for my dear friend Chef Raf and for the Rye community, we only hope that we still get to still see his gorgeous smile at his first baby, Rafele West Village. I love you Raf and I will be out shortly”
Chef Raffaele Ronca, Naples-born and raised, Chef comes from a family of butchers and fishermen who collectively inspired his lifelong passion for food and flavors. With his family also in the restaurant business, Raffaele embraced cooking and culinary explorations as integral parts of not only his Italian culture but its also his heart and soul. Working in his uncle’s restaurant in Naples and helping his mother make fresh pasta daily, Raffaele learned to respect the beauty and taste of fresh ingredients, as well as the time it takes to select and prepare them for fine dishes. Immigrating to America at the age of 21, Raffaele worked steadily at some of New York’s most authentic Italian restaurants, including as the executive chef at Palma, chef du cuisine at Bellavitae and manager of food and wine at Caffé Torino.
Chef Raffaele Ronca is a winner of the hit Food Network show “Chopped.” He is also a collaborator with the James Beard Foundation, and his signature Buffalo Ricotta Cheesecake has been featured twice in Food & Wine magazine as one of the top cheesecakes in America, in addition to having received other impressive culinary accolades.
We are honored to have featured Chef Raffaele Ronca, in our magazine numerous times, he is an authentic in his person as he is in his cuisine. The Rye menu will vary slightly from it’s Manhattan sister ristorante but we are sure that even the most discerning pallet will be pleased.
