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Dee Daa: A Party in Your Mouth

July 1, 2013

Thai fast food in Midtown: Five words that conjure up soggy stir-fries aging on steam tables or bland fusion fodder. But Dee Daa, a perky place that just opened on East 44th Street between Lexington and Third Avenues, is actually turning out tasty dishes cooked largely to order and pretty much in the spirit …

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Good to Go: What’s Healthy, What’s Got Taste

May 7, 2013

by Irwin Arieff

When I ordered a cup of “natural veggie chili” at Good to Go Organics the other day, the friendly, aim-to-please counterman told me I would never guess it was vegetarian. “Customers are always asking me if I gave them the beef chili by accident,” he said. “It tastes so meaty.” But that wasn’t the …

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The UN Cafeteria: Nowhere Else to Go

April 1, 2013

by Irwin Arieff

They say that an army travels on its stomach. If the same is true of international diplomacy, the United Nations is in big trouble. The main UN cafeteria in New York recently sprang back to life as headquarters staff members started returning to the painstakingly renovated landmark Secretariat tower. But it appears the troops …

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Past Haunts the Present at a Neighborhood Fixture

January 8, 2013

by Irwin Arieff

Alcala Restaurant has been dishing out traditional Spanish fare to the United Nations community for decades, and a recent move from East 46th Street to East 44th appears to have done nothing to change it, from the old-fashioned menu to the regulars at the next table. You’ll find the same dishes the last time …

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Fussing With New Fusion

December 2, 2012

by Irwin Arieff

What are we to think about a place named Amaze Fusion and Lounge? Its Web site says that “Amaze’s atmosphere, which complements and attracts a fashion, music and entertainment clientele, takes you off the busy streets of Manhattan and transcends you to the middle of the Asian culture.” But that doesn’t really seem to …

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Socarrat, Where the Reigning Star Is Paella

October 8, 2012

by Irwin Arieff

It’s not every day that you want to drop $30 or $40 on lunch. But if you have the time to pamper yourself with a nice relaxed meal, check out the new Socarrat Paella Bar. It looks, feels and tastes more New York than Valencia, but Socarrat, located on Second Avenue just above 50th …

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At Last, Sandwiches That Taste Divine

September 4, 2012

by Irwin Arieff

A life-changing stint in Philadelphia during my formative years left me with an irrepressible yearning for a truly great sandwich, coupled with enormous sadness over the difficulty of finding one. The hoagie of yore — a generously filled, crusty Italian roll doused with olive oil, vinegar and Italian spices and lined with shreds of …

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Some Like Their Dumplings Really Hot

July 23, 2012

by Irwin Arieff

Chinese dumplings, one of the world’s great comfort foods, are steaming into the UN neighborhood. Rickshaw Dumpling Bar, a Manhattan chain with aspirations to go national, opened a branch at Lexington Avenue and 45th Street last fall, offering a slick and somewhat ethnically cleansed version of the plump little delicacies at uptown prices. In …

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Eat&Go Istanbul/New York: Right Place, Wrong Cafe

July 3, 2012

by Irwin Arieff

What a tragic missed opportunity. The Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, which runs along East 47th Street between First and Second Avenues, is one of the most pleasant open spaces on Manhattan’s East Side and home to one of the city’s best greenmarket. United Nations employees traverse the plaza throughout the day on the way to …

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BonChon Midtown: Stop! You’re Both Right

June 13, 2012

by Irwin Arieff

BonChon Midtown is an ambitious new Korean Asian fusion restaurant just up the street from the UN campus. Or BonChon Midtown is a lively Midtown sports bar with 27 draft beers, a loud rock soundtrack and four — count ’em! four! — giant TV screens. Take your pick. This is a clearly a restaurant …

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Matisse, Where Comfort Surpasses the Cooking

May 11, 2012

by Irwin Arieff

In many a French neighborhood, there’s a corner hangout frequented more for its comfort than its kitchen. The food is good, but the ambience is the draw. Often, the place will serve as the unofficial cantine for neighbors and office workers in the vicinity. For those who live near or work at the United …

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Spring Greens Cropping Up Near the UN

April 16, 2012

by Irwin Arieff

Sure, it was a very mild winter. That does not mean you are still not eager to check out the first greens of spring. A visit to the greenmarket at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza or the bigger one at Union Square provides clear evidence that nature is moving along nicely. Along with spring onions, early …

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Schnitzel and Sides Ward Off the Midtown Fray

March 28, 2012

by Irwin Arieff

Ever since a long-ago family vacation to Vienna, I’ve wondered about schnitzel. Why take something as expensive and bland as a scant slab of veal and pound it even thinner, drown it in breadcrumbs and fry it? At Schnitzel & Things, a small, stylish new restaurant and carryout on Third Avenue between 45th and …

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Le Specialita: A Touch of Rome on 42nd Street

March 9, 2012

by Irwin Arieff

Cipriani is an international restaurant and catering firm whose holdings range from Harry’s Bar in Venice to Yotto, a Japanese eatery in Abu Dhabi. The business may be best known in the UN neighborhood for its 42nd Street party palace, an ornate, cavernous space housed in a converted old-fashioned bank building that is rented …

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Finding the Best in the Falafel Triangle

February 16, 2012

by Irwin Arieff

The UN community, with its incomparable mix of people from around the globe, has a soft spot for falafel as well as for world peace. In the triangle stretching between the main UN gate on First Avenue and East 42nd Street to East 48th Street along Third Avenue, excellent spots abound for buying a …