Sea Restaurant 114 N6th Street, Williamsburg 718-384-8850 www.seathainyc.com Thai, Cocktails, Brooklyn Right in the middle of the action in Williamsburg, Sea is good for so many things!  This large Thai restaurant is always happening.  Thumping music and a lively bar scene fill the front of the restaurant, along with a hip and trendy crowd.  This bar is the destination for many… or grab a drink while you are waiting for your friends before dinner… there

Porter House New York 10 Columbus Circle, 4th Floor, NYC 212-823-9500 www.porterhousenewyork.com Steak, Wine, Manhattan Located in the Columbus Circle shops, on the 4th floor “restaurant row”, this steak house is convenient to shopping, Lincoln Center and Central Park.  What we love about this place, is it’s modern and swanky, and not dark, grim and dated like most steak houses. Definitely start with some wine… the sommelier can help you out.  The list is huge!  Prices

Pastis 9 Ninth Avenue, NYC 212-929-4844 www.pastisny.com French Bistro, Wine and Cocktails, Manhattan Pastis is legendary. It may even be the symbol of the entire Meatpacking District. American girls far and wide have made pilgrimages here to see (and score THE table at) the very downtown spot that Carrie Bradshaw brunched. It is now a quintessential New York City landmark, thanks to HBO. Though, stopping by Pastis is not only for them! New Yorkers and

Mesa Grill 102 5th Avenue, NYC 212-807-7400 www.mesagrill.com Southwestern, Cocktails, Manhattan Ok, we admit it… we have a ridiculous foodie crush on Chef Bobby Flay! We have been to almost every restaurant he has, including completing the Trifecta of Mesa Grills (several times over!)… New York, VEGAS (at Caesar’s Palace across from Pure) the the Bahamas (at the Cove, at the Atlantis in Paradise Island). Mesa offers lunch and dinner, as well as brunch on Saturdays

Mercat 45 Bond Street, NYC 212-529-8600 www.mercatnyc.com Catalonian Tapas, Extensive Wine List, Manhattan Welcome to the “Market”– this is the translation of Mercat in Catalan, the dialect of Spanish spoken in the northeastern region of Spain. What a fabulous find! The food will resonate on your palate for months after consumption. Ask your waiter if you can start with sauteed pimientos de padron (little green peppers sauteed with olive oil and sea salt). They are

Max Caffé 1262 Amsterdam Ave (at 122nd Street), NYC 212-531-1210 www.maxsoha.com Coffee House, Panini, Wine, Manhattan Ever hope for a coffee house just like Central Perk in the show Friends? Max Caffe is that place; your local living room (for those studio apartment inhabitants), your rendez-vous with friends, your workspace (free wifi!), and the place that everyone knows your name. Opening at 8am and closing at midnight (later on weekends), this place is always hopping

Made Fresh Daily 226 Front Street NYC 212-285-BAKE www.madefreshdailybakeshop.com Eggs, Pastries, Coffee, Manhattan A quick pastry and coffee or a sit-down breakfast, Made Fresh Daily does them both very well. Just two blocks away from the very touristy Seaport, this place has a steady stream of neighborhood locals and passers by. Located in a building that appears to have been a factory or part of the former fish market, the rectangular interior is both bright

La Bottega at the Maritime Hotel 88 9th Avenue, NYC 212-243-8400 www.themaritimehotel.com Italian, Wine/Cocktails, Manhattan La Bottega is a fantastic summer time find. An Italian trattoria with a large outdoor patio area. In the warm weather, the ambiance is awesome, sitting beneath the hanging paper lanterns and overlooking the avenue. We got a bottle of Rose and sat back and relaxed… They brought out some really good rosemary oil for dipping the mini pita breads