We had an amazing dinner at Pera Mediterranean Brasserie earlier this month that I’ve been meaning for weeks to write about (coming soon). Not to mention Pera has one of the best recession deals around with its ‘Wine and Meze Special’. Check this out — $39 gets you a bottle of wine from an extensive list + 3 mezes until 7pm every night. But the news today is that Pera ain’t waiting around until July 12th to get things started with Summer Restaurant Week — it’s starting today.  Check out Pera’s Restaurant Week menu. This one’s a great deal. Lots of choice. You get to select either 2 appetizers OR a soup or salad. Not to mention that Pera’s signature dish, the lamb adana, is available as a main course. With Estiatoria Milos only offering Restaurant Week for lunch and with all the bad things I have heard about Anthos during Restaurant Week, Pera is definitely where you want to go for good Mediterranean food (Turkish/Greek) for Restaurant Week.

If you’re a lover of craft beers, then you should definitely make your way over to Rattle ‘N’ Hum (33rd b/t 5th and Mad) tonight for the kick-off of Tröegs Brewery Week. They started tapping some Tröegs kegs there last night and my friend Martin and I tried a flight of the Nugget Nectar (sick!), Scratch Series, Hopback Amber and Mad Elf. The Nugget Nectar may just be one of the best beers I’ve tried in recent months. It’s like hoppy, amber nirvana! And tonight they will have this hoppy nectar of the gods on cask. We also hear that brewmaster and owner Chris Trogner will be around tonight to hang out and discuss his beers.

Monday is by far the best ‘recession special’ day of the week. It’s especially a great night for wine lovers. Some high-end restaurants let you BYO for free (Apiary, Tribeca Grill, Dylan Prime), several others go 50% off bottles of wine (Academia di Vino, STK, Beppe, Les Halles, ‘Cesca, Parlor Steakhouse and more) and one restaurant will even give you a bottle of wine for free (Paradou). Then there’s the ultimate Burger and Beer special from Irving Mill that they change up monthly. Tonight’s the final Monday for the “Cruzan for Sweet Action” special where $15 gets you Irving Mill’s acclaimed burger, a Pint of Sixpoint’s Sweet Action & Cruzan Single Barrel Rum served neat, on the rocks or as The Buck Island Cocktail. If sangria’s your thing, then either head to Tre where it’s all-you-can-drink sangria + a big bowl of spaghetti and meatballs for $19, or head to Vintage Irving between 5-6pm where you’ll get complimentary sangria and free bar food bites. We also love the deals at Vero and Vento. Vero Wine Bar will throw in a free panini when you buy a glass of wine or a cocktail, while at Vento Trattoria you can get your choice of pizza or pasta and a glass of wine or beer for just $12.95. So many great options, so few Mondays!

About 30 minutes ago, nycgo.com let out a tweet with a link for early access to Summer Restaurant Week menus and reservations. While our list from this past Friday was pretty spot-on, now we can find out if any given restaurant is offering Restaurant Week for lunch only, dinner only, or both and whether they are participating on Sunday nights. From the looks of the list, it appears that DBGB has dropped out of Summer Restaurant Week. UPDATE: We just received a Direct Message on Twitter from @nycgo letting us know that DBGB is participating in Summer Restaurant Week for lunch only and has been added to the list here. We’ve perused the participating restaurants and here’s our Top 10 Lunch Options for Summer Restaurant Week 2009:

W&D’s Top 10 Lunch Options:

1. Cafe Boulud (menu), book here

2. Dovetail (menu), book here

3. Convivio, book here

4. Gotham Bar & Grill, book here

5. Locanda Verde, call 212-925-3797 to book

6. Alto, book here

7. The River Cafe, book here

8. The Red Cat (menu), book here

9. Craftbar, book here

10. Del Posto, book here

Also deserving mention: Asiate (menu, book here), DB Bistro Moderne (menu, book here), Lupa (book here), Morimoto (book here) and DBGB (call 212-933-5300 to book)

Just got word of this great free tasting event scheduled for July 9 from 12-2:30pm at the Jazz at Lincoln Center Atrium located in the Time Warner Center in Columbus Circle:  “Celebrate the official kick-off of NYC Restaurant Week Summer 2009 with the Coca-Cola® Great Tastes of Summer event at the Jazz at Lincoln Center Atrium located in the Time Warner Center in Columbus Circle.”

• VIP gourmet tastings from top NYC Restaurant Week restaurants
• Complimentary Coca-Cola signature beverages
• Special appearances from celebrity chefs
• Exclusive performances by the cast of Hair

We’re excited to try DBGB tonight with our friends Scott and Meredith who are in town from Atlanta. We’re also pretty psyched that DBGB is participating in Summer Restaurant Week 2009. Here’s a look at DBGB’s Summer Restaurant Week Menu, which looks very similar to DBGB’s 3-Course $22 lunch prix-fixe menu:

:: APPETIZERS ::

BUTTER LETTUCE & CHIVE

garlic-mustard dressing

CUCUMBER SOUP

smoked salmon grissini, dill tapioca

PÂTÉ CAMPAGNARD

country style pâté with pork & chicken liver

:: MAIN COURSE ::

RED CURRY MUSSELS

Spicy coconut milk, tomato, thai herbs

BEAUJOLAISE SAUSAGE

pork, mushrooms, onion, bacon & red wine link

with lentils du puy

THE YANKEE

5 oz beef patty with iceberg

tomato & vidalia onion on a

sesame bun, essex st. pickle, fries

add vermont cheddar ……. 2.

ADD CRISPY BACON…………… 2.

:: DESSERT ::

HAZELNUT GÂTEAU RUSSE

praline mousse, chocolate sauce

BERRY GINGER SUNDAE

Marshmallow, vanilla cookies

whipped cream & berry coulis

COFFEE CHOCOLATE CAKE

almond biscuit

Summer Restaurant Week 2009 is almost upon us begging the question of whether Winter Restaurant Week ever really ended. This one will run for three weeks instead of two and takes place from July 12–31 (excluding Saturdays, but restaurants have the option to offer the program on Sundays). NYC & Company has been busy posting RW updates on Twitter, including this one from yesterday: “Follow @nycgo for an early booking link for NYC Restaurant Week, to be released June 29 — a day before reservations officially open. #nycrw.” Now, we hate to rain on NYC & Co.’s parade but we have created a list of the restaurants participating in Summer Restaurant Week 2009 just by visiting the NYCGO.com website and performing an extensive restaurant search. See, the thing is every restaurant’s individual page on NYCGO.com includes whether that restaurant is participating in Summer Restaurant Week. Not only that, most restaurant pages include a “make reservation” link which takes you directly to OpenTable. Armed with this info, ask yourself if you really need to (or really should) wait until June 29th to make your Restaurant Week resys. You will be safe if you make a reservation for Mon-Fri night (though a few restaurants are lunch-only). Anyways, you can always cancel your OpenTable reservation later. If you click on the restaurant’s name in the list that follows below, you will be directed to its OpenTable page where you can secure your Restaurant Week reservation. I just grabbed a 4-spot at The Modern for Friday, July 17th at 8:30pm. Some other stand-outs from the list include Convivio (may be lunch only), Craftbar, DBGB, Del Posto, Dovetail (may be just lunch), Gotham Bar & Grill, Pera, Morimoto, Mr. Chow (Tribeca), Telepan and The Oak Room at the Plaza. Notably absent from Summer Restaurant Week are Eleven Madison Park and Gramercy Tavern. Enough from us though, check out the list that follows and make your resys!        Continue Reading »

Pay homage to the King of Pop with others tonight at City Winery (155 Varick; 7-9pm; $25) with a wine and music pairing memorial. 25 of Michael’s classic songs spanning over 5 eras will be paired with specially selected wines.  Starting with a toast to the King of Pop, to a young period with the Jackson 5, smooth textures, developing into deep and complex personalities, and funky tastes. Michael Jackson’s flavors will be lingering in our minds and age for long after he is gone.

The La Cense Burger Truck has made its NYC debut and is parked at 48th and Park (SE corner) as we speak. The line was about 20 or so deep when I arrived on the scene and none other than Zach from MidtownLunch (with son Harry in tow) was already there at the window placing his order. It took me about 20 minutes to get through the line. A 6oz cheeseburger is $7.50 and a pickle will set you back another 50 cents (though they forgot to put mine in the bag). I was a bit surprised that the burgers are only cooked one way — not made to order — and by the looks of mine, they are medium to medium well. Not good for medium rare people like myself. Some good news is that there is free rainy day delivery – 800-935-4699, as well as a frequent diner loyalty card (10 burgers gets you a free one). I was surprised (and happy) to see that the burgers also come with smothered fried onions. I just finished the burger and while it’s certainly no LaFrieda juicy flavor bomb, it has a nice taste, and the combination of the melted cheese and onions definitely catapults it up a notch. I actually found the beef to be a bit underwhelming and a tad bland, perhaps because I only ever order my burgers medium rare. Though I’m not one to recommend over-seasoning high quality beef, it seems like it could have used some kosher salt. Overall though, considering this burger comes from a truck, it’s pretty good and definitely worth a try…just maybe not today (line was about 35 deep and growing at 12:45pm when I left).

In today’s “great idea” news, we learn that Zagat has commissioned wine educator Kevin Zraly of Windows on the World Wine School and former wine director of Windows on the World restaurant to break down for you the wine lists at 115 of the city’s restaurants so you know the best bottle values before you go. Specifically, Zraly assessed what percentage of each wine list was priced below $100, and what percentage was below $50, to assist him in estimating overall value. He also commented on the strengths of most of the 115 wine lists and lists his value bottle recommendations for each restaurant. Taking a quick look at the full list of recommendations here I have to say this is pretty groundbreaking stuff. I can’t recall anyone having done such an in-depth overview of the wine lists at so many of the city’s  top restaurants, especially someone as vino-gifted as Kevin Zraly. For example, looking at Zraly’s breakdown of The Modern’s wine list, you learn the following: of the 800 or so wines on the list, 22% are less than $100 and 4% are below $50 and, as he writes, “You can tell immediately the time and care that’s been put into this wine list. Up front they offer “gems” – 95 wines under $75, and a lot start at $34. They also list the euro price.” Perhaps most useful, however, are his best value picks, of which he lists 3 whites and 1 red between $52 and $65. We’ll keep an eye on this team Zagat-Zraly wine value research.

This weekend we were fortunate enough (or unfortunate if you’re our liver) to hit up two different all-you-can-drink (AYCD) brunch spots. We found ourselves in Murray Hill on a wet Saturday afternoon in need of a bite to eat and a drink before seeing The Hangover at the Kips Bay movie theaters. We had heard about the all-you-can-drink brunch at La Giara on 3rd Ave (b/t 33rd and 34th) and stopped in to see what it was all about. While La Giara offers a reasonably priced and quite diverse brunch menu , the all-you-can-drink component includes only mimosas (pay $5 for one and the rest are free and unlimited). A great deal to be sure, but we weren’t really feelin’ unlimited mimosas that day. So we headed next door to check out the AYCD brunch at Blockheads (3rd Ave b/t 33rd and 34th). This may be the AYCD deal of the century. You get your choice of a brunch menu item and all-you-can-drink mimosas or champagne for $10.95/person. Continue Reading »

Here’s a pretty cool food and wine event series to report – Master Sommelier Emily Wines of Nios Restaurant & Wine Bar (130 W. 46th next to The Muse Hotel) is hosting a series of Sommelier Smackdowns where she will be going head-to-head with some of the most renowned wines and spirits experts and personalities around in a pairing contest. Each Smackdown involves a 3-course ”battle of the pairings” with diners serving as the judges. The first Sommelier Smackdown is a legendary match-up of 2 female Master Sommeliers — Emily Wines vs. Laura Maniec of B.R. Guest Restaurants. It’s only $55/person for 3 courses with 2 drinks per course (exclusive of tax and gratuity). Space is limited, for more information or to make reservations contact Frank McCarroll at 212-485-2999 or via email at frank.mccarroll@niosrestaurant.com

Every Tuesday starting tomorrow and going through August 11th, Great Performances and City Winery will host a free neighborhood celebration of music, food, and wine. With its downtown location in Soho, the Hudson Square Music & Wine Festival is an urban summer festival for everyone from families and visitors to the after-work crowd. The BBQ Wine parties will take place in a parking lot between Varick, Spring, Hudson and Vandam Streets — the entrance to the lot is on Spring. There will be live music as well as food and drink from Soho’s own Great Performances and City Winery. Other local
businesses will also have booths providing a variety of products in an outdoor farmer’s market setting. The kick-off tomorrow features live music from John Hammond b/t 5-7pm. Click here for more information.

This just came through the submission wire: On Tuesday, June 23rd,  for $20, Vintage Irving (located at 118A East 15th Street in Union Square) will guide guests through a tasting of 20 wines that are ideal for summer imbibing. Learn about the wines (and the vineyards they come from), and then learn what they are best paired with. The event starts at 7PM and seating is limited. For more information about Vintage Irving, go to www.vintageirvingny.com.

Sora Lella (300 Spring b/t Greenwich & Hudson) has introduced a new bar menu of small plates and individual bites, including Grandma’s veal meatballs ($4.50 each), tomato and basil bruschetta ($2), fried artichokes ($6), zucchini fries ($6) and two different types of croquettes; rice croquettes with tomato, pancetta and mozzarella ($3 each) and potato and ham croquettes ($2 each). We tried the bruschetta and veal meatballs last week and they are both delicious. In what is fast becoming an industry-wide trend, Sora Lella has also introduced a daily happy hour, 5- 7:30pm with a selection of complimentary snacks (zucchini fries and bruschetta) from the bar menu served to accompany cocktails ($10 each, regularly $13-14), select wines by the glass $8 and Peroni beer $5. According to one yelper, the happy hour seems to be a damn good deal. She writes, “I was happily pleased at how awesome their cocktails were as well. I had one with fresh strawberry juice, prosecco and campari, and another with vodka, mint, and grapefruit juice. Both were delicious and didn’t skimp on the alcohol, which means a lot to me when it’s happy hour.” Here’s the full bar menu and cocktail list… Continue Reading »