Restaurant Midtown East NYC

• December 28, 2021

Once upon a time, self-appointed food critics tasted a dish and gave it thumbs up (or down). These days it has to pass a different test. Is it ready for its close-up? Don’t blame restaurants for tuning in. As a recent email pitch from one restaurant suggested, you really must try its “Instagramable Bottomless …

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THIS WEEK @UN

The Surreal Saga of Gitmo; US Rejoins the Human Rights Council; the Taliban Break Promises

Anna Bianca Roach

• October 15, 2021

The Taliban break promises to women in Afghanistan; Mali moving toward combatant reintegration; the Kafkaesque legal work representing Gitmo detainees. You are reading This Week @UN, summarizing the most pressing issues facing the organization. The information is gathered from UN press briefings, PassBlue reporting and other sources. This week, frozen assets and aid funding …

Africa, Asia, Middle East, Security Council, This Week @UN, UN Diplomats, UN Special Envoys, US-UN Relations

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Dahlias for Your Darling, and a Lavender Latte While You Wait

Deborah Baldwin and Irwin Arieff

• October 14, 2021

The next time you pass by a florist who is pulling shots, pull over. It’s not often you get to inhale the heady perfume of freshly brewed coffee, hand-tied bouquets and artfully potted flowering plants. Remarkably, you can have this most un-Starbucksian experience — and pastry — at two spots along Second Avenue just …

UN Diplomats, UN EATS

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A Crozes-Hermitage With That Burger, Please

Irwin Arieff and Deborah Baldwin

• November 21, 2019

Second Avenue near the United Nations is not exactly expense-account row, which makes Château 49 something of an anomaly, in more ways than one. There aren’t many spots in this area where you can order two glasses of red wine at high noon without apology, tuck into slow-cooked coq au vin and relax over …

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Craving Ceviche and Other Delights During the UN General Assembly? A NYC Foodie Guide

Sonah Lee-Lassiter

• September 20, 2019

New Yorkers know full well to avoid East Midtown Manhattan around mid-September. During those few weeks, when the United Nations General Assembly opens its annual session, multiple street blocks go into a major security gridlock in this part of town. Despite the increase in crowds and traffic, the world leaders, diplomats and international policy …

UN Diplomats, UN EATS

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The UN Headquarters’ Incredibly Shrinking Dining Choices

Irwin Arieff

• July 11, 2019

Six years ago, hungry staff members at the United Nations’ New York headquarters thought big changes were afoot in the cafeteria, and not a moment too soon. Toward the end, the provider, Aramark, a publicly traded firm best known for its catering at prisons and baseball stadiums, replaced silverware with plastic and got rid of all …

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UN EATS

At The Pho 5, Vietnamese-Style Tacos and Slurpy Noodles

Irwin Arieff

• May 24, 2019

Sure, you could check out The Pho 5 for its oversized bowls of beefy pho, its slurpable vermicelli and its tempting summer and spring rolls. But don’t snub the tacos. As slick nouvelle-Vietnamese cooking is trending, The Pho 5 offers simpler, more straightforward fare, in a sliver storefront on Third Avenue near 39th Street. …

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Little Tong Noodle Shop, Packing the Heat and the Crowds

Irwin Arieff

• February 14, 2019

Little Tong wants you to fall in love with its rice noodles, known as mixian in Yunnan province, their place of origin. But don’t ignore the big draw at this diminutive Turtle Bay restaurant — as if you could: incendiary spice blends that make your mouth sting and eyes tear up the moment you …

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Art and Lunch, a Felicitous Blend at Rose Hill

Irwin Arieff and Deborah Baldwin

• April 27, 2018

Some people at the United Nations remain in mourning since Matisse shut down in February after serving as the corner cantine to hungry diplomats and their friends and neighbors for nearly nine years. If you are still feeling a void in your lunchtime routine, there’s good news: a sister restaurant called Rose Hill opened …

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Ah, Wilderness: Escaping to Tuttles’ Backyard

Irwin Arieff

• June 25, 2015

It’s a balmy summer evening, but the United Nations neighborhood has few places where you can grab a beer and a burger or a salad under the glow of office towers. So it was a pleasant surprise to be invited by old friends for drinks at Tuttles Bar & Grill, where two well-concealed outdoor …

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Serious Sushi Tempts Customers to a Restaurant With No Name

Irwin Arieff

• April 9, 2015

It started out as a health food store. Maybe you never went inside, but it was easy to spot for its eye-catching sidewalk signs touting Bladder Control Tea. Then a tiny lunch counter appeared, displacing a few of the shop’s bright-green racks piled high with vitamins. The menu: sushi, smoothies and noodle soup. UN …

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Top 10 Dining Choices Near the UN, Plus a Rendezvous for Espresso

Irwin Arieff

• March 11, 2015

Looking for a place to eat while you’re in New York for the the Commission on the Status of Women? PassBlue’s UN Eats relieves the trial and error of finding a good place to eat around the United Nations. Below is the top 10 list of UN Eats reviews, chosen by PassBlue’s critic Irwin …

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Tres Carnes: Barbecue and Tex-Mex Hook Up

Irwin Arieff

• February 26, 2015

Tres Carnes, a New York mini-chain with a new branch in the Turtle Bay neighborhood of Midtown Manhattan, touts its food as a marriage of Tex-Mex and Texas-style barbecue. The wedding may spice up your lunch hour, but the pairing does not dazzle. While some of the dishes stand out, it’s mostly just Mexican …

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Eating Like an Italian at Alidoro

Irwin Arieff

• January 8, 2015

Alidoro is the sandwich shop of my dreams, and that’s a problem. Other people seem to feel the same way. Drop by between 11:30 and 2:30 and you may get so hungry waiting in line to order your lunch you’ll be tempted to put in a call to Domino’s. Situated on a nondescript stretch of …

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Asian Fusion That Shines With Star Power

Irwin Arieff

• October 30, 2014

Fusion is the fashion these days, but the concept is fairly fuzzy. It can just mean that an Italian and an Argentine got married and decided to share a stove. But if you’re lucky, it will really mean that some great minds with good cooking skills have pooled ingredients and techniques from different parts …