FOOD.D.LOVE

While we were staying in the San Diego area last month for my little sister's wedding, our family, along with the new in-laws, went to dinner at  Herringbone  restaurant in La Jolla. Herringbone is the fifth restaurant in " Top Chef" Brian Malarkey's San Diego restaurant empire. Herringbone is housed in a "vintage warehouse" and is absolutely breathtaking on the inside. The high warehouse ceiling remains, but throughout the dining room are 100-year old real live olive trees. Extremely unique art and lighting installations line the walls, giving the restaurant an industrial, warehouse-meets-enchanted-forest feel that is really captivating. The exhibition kitchen is located at the back of the restaurant, behind a huge glass window so guests can watch the chefs prepare the food. Vintage warehouse meets enchanted forest   Luckily, the food at Herringbone lives up to the awe-inspiring atmosphere. The menu theme is "Fish Meats Field," with a focu

Kaji Sushi & Lounge opened just a few months ago on Franklin Avenue in Garden City, practically next door to Sushi Ya, a popular, family-friendly sushi and hibachi joint that has been there for years, and right across the street from Kinha Sushi, a more serene and upscale sushi restaurant that has decent food but horrendous service. So when we saw that Kaji would be opening soon, we were a little perplexed. Why would anyone want to open a third sushi restaurant within a few feet of the other two? That takes serious guts. Now that we have visited Kaji twice, once at dinner and then yesterday for lunch, we see that Kaji will do just fine and the other two spots, especially Kinha, should really be worried.     Modern decor and colored uplighting play up the "lounge" feel at Kaji Kaji is one of the latest modern sushi restaurants in Long Island that takes the old-school, quiet, serious, unassuming sushi bar vibe and turns it completely on its head. Kaji is splashy and

Ever since we first visited Plancha's sister restaurant, Salumi Tapas & Wine , the subject of my first-ever blog post , and learned that they would soon be opening a place in Garden City, I've been eagerly awaiting Plancha's opening. For the past few months, every time I drove down Franklin Avenue in Garden City, I would take a peek at the space, which was formerly Upper Crust Cafe, to see how close they looked to opening. Finally, about a month ago, Plancha made its debut. From our first visit, we knew that this would become a regular spot for us. We love it so much we've been there three times in the past month! The view from the bar out to Franklin Avenue Like Salumi, Plancha is a casual, rustic tapas and wine bar. Plancha's distinguishing feature is its namesake grill, a "Plancha," a flat-top grill, which sits right behind the bar so you can watch the chefs prepare most of the cooked menu items. In fact, nearly all of the food preparation t

Everyone knows Ruth's Chris Steak House  for what they do best - Prime steak served on sizzling hot plates, oozing in butter. When you want a classic steakhouse meal, Ruth's Chris will certainly deliver. However, you may not know that some locations of this popular chain offer a really great happy hour, called "Sizzle, Swizzle, Swirl" Monday-Friday from 4-7 p.m., where several drinks and appetizers are only $7. My husband and I, and often times our colleagues, Classic Cosmo - the best! end up at the Ruth's Chris bar in Garden City on Friday evenings after a long, hard week of work. It is very conveniently located about a block from my office, in the same giant parking lot surrounding Roosevelt Field Mall. I usually order wine, which is discounted during happy hour as well, but a few months ago I had had a particularly stressful day and it was hot out, so I wanted something really cold and refreshing. I ordered a Cosmopolitan on a whim, and it was one of the

Behind a modest, unassuming storefront on Main St. in downtown Mineola awaits a flavor explosion that is Jane Cafe & Restaurant . I have to be honest, this is the first and only Korean restaurant I have ever been to, and I've been told by some of our Korean friends that it is the best Korean restaurant they have ever been to. So I guess I'm pretty lucky that it is located just a few blocks from our apartment! Jane's most popular dish: Dolsot Bibimbap Jane Cafe is tiny, and is literally a "mom and pop" restaurant - you will often see husband and wife behind the sushi bar and in the kitchen, with their sons serving the food. Jane only has about six or seven tables, and is completely lacking in the ambiance, decor and service departments, but it really doesn't matter because the food is THAT good.  Specializing in Korean food and Japanese sushi, the star of Jane Cafe is without a doubt the Dolsot Bibimbap - a hot stone bowl filled with whole

Waterzooi is one of my favorite restaurants of all time, and it's not just because I worked there during law school. :) Named for a Belgian fish stew that is available on the menu, Waterzooi is the only Belgian bistro on Long Island.  Located in the heart of Garden City on Franklin Avenue, Waterzooi is  best known for its giant pots of mussels served in a variety of delicious broths, its extensive selection of Belgian beer and the intoxicatingly sweet made-to-order Belgian waffles they serve for dessert and at brunch.   Waterzooi opened in 1999 and has been extremely popular ever since. It is almost always busy, especially on the weekends. It also has a great bar and is a happening happy hour spot for the lawyer and banker types who work in the area. In addition to the 13 different mussel pots they offer, there are also raw bar items such as oysters and clams, appetizers, salads and bistro-style entrees such as (USDA prime) steak frites and chicken cordon bleu. The food is c