Aquagrill

After the LUCKYRICE Talk & Taste cooking demonstrations, I met up with CT at The Cupping Room and we made a not-so-straightforward walk over to Aquagrill. After waiting for about 15 minutes, we scored a table outside on the elevated dining porch. I ordered six appellations that I haven't tried before and a cherrystone clam just for fun. CT also tried two oysters and had the truffle-crusted cod, which was absolutely amazing. The oyster tasting experience was more pedestrian than what I expected it to be from a place heralded as an "oyster heaven." While Aquagrill proved to be a great destination for seafood, I wish that they put a bit more care into their oyster presentation. More pics and oyster reviews on the next page!

Boqueria SoHo

My friend CT and I love to treat ourselves well, so it only felt appropriate to have dinner at Boqueria SoHo. We were about to be escorted to a two-person table sandwiched between other parties, but I suggested to sit at the kitchen bar (good call). While we looked on at the chefs working their magic, we tried the Pink Grapefruit sangria, Leonora cheese, Jamón ibérico (a.k.a. pata negra), marinated octopus on crostini, and special seafood paella. Everything was amazing, but I seriously have daydreams about the pata negra.

L'Ecole

L'Ecole is the official restaurant of the French Culinary Institute, but the name literally translates to "the school." As far as I can tell, the only way that you would know that students are actually the ones preparing the food is to peek into the kitchen. While only FCI students who are nearing the end of the curriculum cook at L'Ecole, the rest of the students study in the same building.

Rheon Cafe

This is the amazingly delicious roast duck sandwich with romaine lettuce, cucumber and a sweet-spicy miso sauce from Rheon Cafe in SoHo. At $8.75 for a whole sandwich (or $4.75 for a half), which includes a piece of fruit (apple or banana), I don't know why I don't come here more often! I need to try their Ciabatta "Wagyu" Beef Burger sometime... More pics can be found here.