Tag Archives: Delmonico’s

Sunday Game Plan – NYC Winter Restaurant Week 2025 and game plan for 2026.

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NYC Restaurant Week is back! From 01/20/26 to 02/12/26, 653 restaurants have signed up, which was 56 more restaurants than last year’s restaurant week. A year ago, I devised a game plan of my top 10 restaurants I would dine based on convenience. The first restaurant I dined for NYC restaurant week last year was Lure Fishbar which was not on my list, but I left work early that day and they were still offering the lunch menu. It was my first time in over 15 years that I step foot into this restaurant. The ambiance remained the same. To celebrate I order the rock shrimp tempura and salmon with two wine pairings, which at that time was about $60 plus tax and tip. Lure Fishbar is participating in this season’s restaurant week and are serving the same dishes for lunch, but the total cost is now $75 with the wine pairing plus tax and tip.

Rock Shrimp Tempura
Miso Glazed Salmon

We ventured into New Hyde Park for lunch at Luigi’s Restaurant for the two course $30 lunch. We ordered fried calamari and meatball for appetizers, which were already filling. I ordered the salmon peperonata and meatball parm hero as the main entrees. We ended up eating half of the entrees and taking the rest home, but the zucchini chips had to be consumed fresh. Luigi’s Restaurant is participating in this season’s restaurant week and are serving the same dishes for lunch for $30.

Fried Calamari
Meatballs
Salmon Peperonata
Meatball Parm Hero

A friend of mine recommended Lincoln Ristorante especially their rigatoni dish. The restaurant has an open kitchen, which was cool because the diner can observe how the dishes are being made. I ordered a glass of Gavi to pair with my meal. The server provide a complimentary focaccia. For my three course meal ($60) I ordered the sunchokes and puntarelles which was refreshing. Then I had the rigatoni amatriciana, which tasted great and ended dinner with the chocolate tortino. Lincoln Ristorante is also participating in this season’s restaurant week, but their menu this season does not offer the dishes from the previous year. However, the rigatoni amatriciana and chocolate tortino are still being served as a la carte dishes.

I met with my friend in Long Island City to dine for restaurant week at Jiang Nan. We arrived right before happy hour ended and started off with cocktails. Then we ordered our five course meal which included a glass of red or white wine, dim sum, vegetable dish, appetizer, a main entree and dessert.

For appetizers we chose the boiled chicken with chili sauce on the side and the homestyle crispy fish. We enjoyed the crispy fish. The boiled chicken platter was beautifully presented and interactive. For vegetables we chose the baby cabbage in chicken broth and stir fry string bean. For dim sum we had a sampling of steam pork soup dumpling and a peking duck spring rolls, both tasted good when consumed fresh. For the entrees we chose the sweet and sour pork tenderloin and the crispy shrimp with honey walnuts. The Crispy shrimp with honey walnuts were our overall favorite. To end the dining experience we ordered the gluten rice cake with brown sugar and the mango Pomelo with sago. We were not impressed with the mango Pomelo but we did enjoy the gluten rice cake with brown sugar. Unfortunately they are not participating in this season’s restaurant week, but have expanded their franchise in the last year.

Happy hour cocktails
Sweet and sour pork tenderloin
Boiled Chicken
Stir fry string beans
Baby Cabbage in Chicken Broth
Homestyle crispy fish
Peking duck spring roll
Crispy honey walnut shrimp
Steamed Pork Soup Dumplings
Gluten rice cake with brown sugar
Mango pomelo with sago

My friend visited me at work and we dined in Delmonico’s for dinner. We started off with the sake and an espresso martini. For our appetizers, we had the Yellowtail crudo and the burrata. For our entrees, we both got the steaks (the steak did not come with a side) so we shared a side order of mashed potatoes. Finally, for dessert, we got the chocolate cake and cheesecake. Everything hit the spot. Delmonico’s is participating in this season’s restaurant week and are serving the same dishes for lunch and dinner for $60. Drinks are additional.

Espresso Martini
Sake
Yellowtail Crudo
Burrata
Delmonico Filet Mignon with a side of mashed potatoes
Chocolate cake and cheesecake

During my commute since 01/07/26, I’ve developed a bucket list of restaurants I want to dine and support new restaurants especially the ones with the best deals. Unfortunately, I won’t be participating as much as I would have liked due to the upcoming Long Island Restaurant Week, life and priorities. Here’s the my wish list for this season’s restaurant week:

  1. Mokyo
  2. Sake No Hana
  3. La Baraka
  4. Le B
  5. Red Room Bar (Printemps)
  6. Koi
  7. House of Red Pearl
  8. Tuome
  9. Crown Shy
  10. Sea by Jungsik

Long Island Restaurant Week also starts on 01/25/26 to 02/01/26. Stay tuned for the game plan/wish list.

Throwback Thursday – 2019 NYC Winter Restaurant Week

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Hello once again! This month was very adventurous with various eating adventures and weight gain. However, I was successfully able to achieve one of my goals for this year, which was to write more reviews on Yelp and OpenTable. I am happy to announce (yes I know it’s cheesy) but I am now part of Yelp Elite. Therefore I am very excited to take part in more exclusive Yelp events and network with more elite Yelpers.

I am happy to say that I have attended at least one of my lunch and dinner restaurant recommendations for NYC Winter Restaurant week thanks to my new friends from Catholic NYC.

So let’s begin with the list of restaurants I was able to eat at for the first official NYC Restaurant week of 2019:

1) Delmonico’s

2) ilili

3) David Burke Tavern

4) Burke and Wills

5) The Dutch

6) Riverpark

Delmonico’s

The restaurant has two floors which calls for segregation from the restaurant week people and their high end regular clients. Overall service was good, my waiter was knowledgeable and recommended the great wine pairing with my entree. This would be a great special occasion restaurant or for a date night for two. Now to the meal:

– The appetizers offered for restaurant week were different variations of their regular menu appetizers. So I settled for the burrata with arugula, beets and poached pear, which was tasty with the Portuguese white wine. Unfortunately I didn’t take a photo or the photo did it make it to this phone.

– For the entree, I settled for the miso butternut squash glazed bass, which was part of their regular menu and beautifully presented. The skin was crispy, and the meat combined with the squash and the leeks plus the white wine was perfect.

– For the dessert, I paid an extra $8 for their classic baked alaska, which was the highlight of my meal and worth the extra cost. The dessert presentation was amazing, the walnut cake, banana gelato, and lemon meringue plus carmelization smokiness was to die for.

Ilili

I came here to have dinner with three people and we had the opportunity to take advantage of the happy hour. The happy hour deals were good. The cool thing about this place was for $42 you get to order four things (Two appetizers, entree and dessert).

Overall the restaurant was busy and after paying our bill, the hostess had to “kick us out” of the table for new guests. She was really nice and accommodating by providing us with a free drink at their lounge. I ordered the “From Beirut with Passion” cocktail which is a basil cilantro mint infused vodka with sparkling passion fruit. This drink after was much stronger than the happy hour version.

– For the two appetizers I went with the steak tartare with onions and jalapenos and the fattoush salad. The tartare was a small portion designed to be cut into quarters to accommodate the perfect balance bite. Therefore the bite tasted good with everything combined. Next the fattoush salad arrived. The salad was refreshing, very minty and crispy due to the toasted pita chips, which worked really well after eating the tartare.

– For the main entree I ordered the Lamb Makboubeh and it was meaty, gamey and hearty especially with the dirty rice and mixed nut mixture. The cucumber yogurt sauce really helped mask the gaminess of the lamb shank. I only ate half of the dish and took the rest home.

– For the dessert came I ordered the ilili candy bar and it was a small portion compared to a regular order. It tasted so good and was a perfect end to the meal.

David Burke Tavern

This restaurant is my go to spot to take a group of people because their menu is the same for restaurant week. Service was efficient and very quick. I sat in the standing table at 5 to 8 and was done with everything at 9.

First I ordered a mocktail: Moscow Mouse which was good and refreshing.

– Appetizer: I ordered the pastrami salmon with falafel. The pastrami salmon was not the same as I had it before. The falafel was a healthier version that caught me by surprise because it was chewy and it did have the breaded crispy crunch that would be found in most if not all authentic falafel.

– Entree – I ordered the roasted branzino. The dish was one of the best dishes I have had in this restaurant to date. The branzino had a great roasted crisp especially combined with the squash, crispy artichoke and artichoke puree. The puree was the best I have had to date.

– For the dessert I went with my server’s recommendation of the chocolate hazelnut crunch cake. Unfortunately, the picture of this beautifully presented dish did not save on my phone. The cake was rich but it has to be consumed with the whipped cream for a balanced taste.

Burke and Wills

For restaurant week I came here for dinner with three friends from Catholic NYC. This restaurant was another good go to spot to take a group of people because their menu is the also same for restaurant week. The restaurant from the outside looks like a hole in a wall, after bypassing the crowded bar there was a open deceivingly unknown space for dining. I would return to have brunch because the back area of the restaurant had a awesome sunroof plus I was informed that there was a speakeasy.

First I ordered a mocktail: Paul Hogan, which was good and refreshing.

Appetizer: I ordered the roasted beet salad. The salad was definitely colorful just as our server described and it was tasty and refreshing.

Entree: I ordered the barramundi which was both popular and highly recommended by our server. The dish was roasted perfectly crispy and mixed with vegetables it had a great balance of flavors. The dish compliment well with the Pinor Gris from Australia.

Dessert: I had to have the bread pudding which was so good and a perfect end to this dessert.

The Dutch

I finally had the privilege to enjoy lunch at the Dutch for NYC restaurant week. I barely made it to lunch before the kitchen closed for dinner. The staff was very accommodating and ensured I was well taken care of. Service overall was great. I took advantage of the deal $26 for two courses which was a great bargain for the amount of food I got. I highly recommend this restaurant for lunch for restaurant week, it’s worth it.

I had the hot tin roof cocktail which was good, refreshing and somewhat medicinal. For the appetizer I went with the shrimp cocktail, the shrimps were huge and the right amount of the crab louie made this deceptively small dish very filling.

The entree was the highlight for me, the roasted chicken kale caesar salad with lots and lots of cheese was huge that it could feed two people. This salad was so good, the chicken was tender and skin was so crispy while the kale and cheese combination hit the spot. I was only able to eat half of it.

Riverpark

For the final night of restaurant week dinner I came to Riverpark with 5 people fromCatholic NYC 15 minutes before they closed. This restaurant is absolutely gorgeous. Service was efficient and accommodating especially when they were going to close for the evening. I would return to have brunch because of the view and outdoor dining option.

Given the time of night I went light and pescatarian.

Appetizer: I ordered the cauliflower sformato. The appetizer was pretty and custard in combination with the cauliflower was to die for.

Entree: I went with the diver scallops and clams which was light and perfect for that of the evening.

Dessert I had to have the persimmon cake with the ginger ice which hit the spot and was a perfect end to this restaurant week adventure.