Passover 2025
The Ultimate Pesach Recipe Guide
Lisa’s Travels: New York 2016
A week in NYC in November 2016: Not enough theatre, too much pasta and way too much Trump.
[box]
Lisa’s NYC List: November 2016 (and yes I went back for another cronut)
[/box]
So we went back to New York and we ate. And we ate. And we saw lots of theatre (not enough!) and lots of art (enough!). We ate more pasta than most people could eat in a week. We saw the 46th New York Marathon run past. We were in the midst of it all when Donald Trump won the presidential election. And we ate some more.
RESTAURANTS
Daniel Rose’s new Le Coucou. It’s French, it’s gorgeous and the food was just excellent. Wonderful service. And it’s just a little bit swish. Possibly the best bread in NYC. Loved!
Babbo Ristorante Enoteca: A repeat from years ago, it is probably my favourite NYC restaurant. Classy, classic NYC vibe. This time we opted for the pasta tasting menu. We swapped one thing, added another and we were in pasta heaven. Perfection.
For a really special day, Blue Hill at Stone Barns is a unique all-round experience. The food is interesting, the place, the service – impeccable. And something you must do at least once. You need to book online 60 days ahead, and it’s wonderful for Sunday lunch when you can enjoy the 1 hour drive from NYC and the surrounding scenery. And those brussels sprouts!!
Super casual East Village Italian Frank Restaurant, caught my attention through Frank Prisinzano’s delectable instagram. Loved the pasta. We ate too much.
We discovered Soho Italian I Sodi which we squeezed in for a dinner #2 post-theatre (more on dinner #1 – Chinese – below). Went there for the best cacio e pepe in NYC and we weren’t disappointed. Also loved the fried artichoke bits for starters.
Really great lunch at the very cool Roberta’s in Brooklyn. I had been there for a quick stop last year but it was Hayden Quinn‘s suggestion that got us there this time. It was really really good – the pizza and pasta were top notch.
Dinner at Soho’s Estela was only a mistake because we did it on the same day as Blue Hills at Stone Barns. So we were full before we started! It’s a very New Yorky local vibey restaurant, tables crammed in so close to each other that you inevitably get to know your neighbour quite well. The food was good – very salty, delicious lamb ribs – but we were honestly stuffed, so we will have to try it again next time.
Santina is another one that everyone at home is talking about. It’s great if you walk the highline and need a light bite, or visit the Whitney (which is fabulous!). We liked the salads and the chickpea pancakes for starters but thought the vibe was weird. For me, a definitely-too-contrived Latin thing happening.
Chop’t. Loved it. If you want a super-quick salad lunch on the way somewhere, don’t be put off the long line at this salad bar/takeaway, it moves faster than you can decide what to put in your salad. Many locations, great concept. We went for the standard chopped salad (it was delicious!) as the choice was overwhelmingly huge.
La Esquina Corner Deli. Cafe only this time. Perfect for a quick sandwich or taco. Better if you like cilantro. (And then an Eileen’s cheesecake for dessert from around the corner)
Chef Pho & Peking Roast Duck Restaurant, 858 8th Ave near the Theatre district. A little reluctant to recommend this, but if you like the sound of ‘Crispy Orange Beef’ it may be the place for you on the way to the theatre (there begins the concept of dinner #1 pre-theatre). I have to say it is quite delicious if you like that sort of thing. My long soup was excellent, but the wontons were not. Husband Danny had discovered this fairly grungy ordinary-looking Chinese restaurant, looking for his old fave ‘Peking Shredded Beef’ from the old days of Imperial Peking in Sydney.
I met my friend Beacs for a quick pre-theatre lunch at an Italian restaurant on W44th (b/w 8th and 9th) called Etcetera Etcetera. Perfect for exactly that. My rocket salad with palm hearts and pine nuts was just great, as was his lasagne. I wouldn’t go here especially but if you need a quick bite before a show, it’s a reasonable choice.
Everyone raves about Carbone (see my 2015 post). I wasn’t convinced. My mixed salad to start was really ordinary, as was my linguini with clams. Perhaps resting on their laurels, unlike Babbo that keeps on keeping on.
SNACKS AND TREATS
Doughnuts. I love glazed donuts, so that’s all you’ll ever find me ordering. I tried a few and my fave was definitely The Doughnut Project, followed by Doughnut Plant. Both worth eating. I wasn’t crazy about the vanilla glazed from Dough.
I did go back to Dominique Ansel for my pre-ordered November cronut and it was good. Very sweet but very good – maple roasted pecan with spiced sugar. Grab yourself a DKA while you’re there.
Cookies. Didn’t make it to cookie mecca Levain, but I did make a trip to City Cakes (not to be confused with City Bakery of the pretzel croissant fame, see below) thanks to a great recommendation (thanks Dan Churchill) for a really good oatmeal raisin cookie. And there are a few more to try that looked fabulous.
Babke. Go straight to Breads Bakery for the chocolate babke. It is really really worth eating.
Cheesecake. I was recommended to go to Juniors cheesecake, the very touristy Times Square cheesecake chain. I went, and I really didn’t like it. Back to Eileen’s next time for sure. See below for Eileen’s details.
If you’re missing a good piccolo latte like we have at home, with an avocado smash on toast, head straight to one of the many Bluestone Lane cafes.
For a pretty good late night burger, head to the Burger Joint behind the red curtain at the Parker Meridian. It’s been on my list for almost 2 years and we finally made it there. It helped that it was pretty much across the road from our hotel.
THEATRE
Falsettos (revival of a 1992 musical with a fabulous cast), The Humans (a wonderful, thought-provoking play about a averagely dysfunctional family), Heisenberg (an interesting story of an odd relationship) and Not That Jewish (funny, heartwarming story of Monica Piper’s life) were all fabulous. Next on our list is Dear Evan Hansen – we were there one week too early .
ART
Dia: Beacon is a must. We took a car and went there before our lunch at Stone Barns. Incredible art collection in a stunning and huge space. Giant Sol Lewitt works were mesmerising, as were many others.
Kerry James Marshall at the Met Breuer was outstanding (on till 29th jan 2017).
The Whitney‘s exhibition of portraits from its collection was stunning (on till 12th Feb 2017)
A highlight for me was meeting artist Ai Wei Wei at the Hirshhorn Museum Gala at 1 World Trade Centre (see the pic!)
HOTEL
We stayed at the newly built and quite gorgeous Park Hyatt on 57th, near 7th. Loved it!
MISC
Ubers are great in NYC but I wish we had mastered the metro. Next time. The traffic really really SUCKS. Walking is faster than driving in most cases so take your most comfortable walking shoes and just walk it.
THINGS I WISH I COULD HAVE EATEN THIS TRIP (BUT WAS TOO FULL) FROM MY 2015 VISIT
Dinner at Altro Paradiso.
Shake Shack – I know it’s fast food, but it is GOOD. Solid chargrilled beef burger, a potato bun (Martin’s potato roll to be precise), lettuce, tomato, cheese, pickles and the super delish shack sauce. It’s worth swinging by and picking up a shackburger and some fries. Just once. And then at least you can tell me if you agree….
Russ and Daughters, 179 E Houston (original shop) – an absolutely essential part of a NYC visit: a takeaway ‘everything’ bagel with Novia Scotia salmon and scallion cream cheese. It will be the best salmon bagel you’ve ever had.
Katz’s Deli, 205 E Houston (cnr Ludlow) – skip the Reuben and head straight for the pastrami on rye, with coleslaw and Russian dressing. Take cash, and don’t lose your entry ticket!
Eileen’s Special Cheesecake , 17 Cleveland Place (near Spring & Lafayette) – work a quick stop into your busy schedule and just pick up a plain original cheesecake. You won’t regret it. If you’re feeling adventurous, the salted caramel is pretty good too.
City Bakery, 3 West 18th – the pretzel croissant (also at other locations). Sounds ordinary enough but it really is not! We found ourselves here when our taxi driver fell asleep on the job and I sensed the need to URGENTLY exit the vehicle. He was conveniently snoozing just outside City Bakery. This pretzel is EXTRAORDINARY. Flaky, buttery, salty, sesame. Yum.
Check out my complete 2015 New York post, lot’s of great things there as well.
Share:
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
WhatsApp
LinkedIn
Lisa Goldberg
Lisa embraces the part of Jewish culture which embodies the saying ‘it’s always about the food’. She is a fresser with an unbridled passion for eating, cooking and nurturing those around her with food. Her legal background has given her a great foundation to help guide – and work side by side with – this truly amazing bunch of kind, funny and enlightening women to produce and publish four extraordinary cookbooks. She feels incredibly grateful to have had (and still has) the opportunity – since 2006 – to spend so much of her time dedicated to, and fully immersed in, such a delicious, inspiring and worthwhile project.
All Posts
Social Media
Recently
The Ultimate Pesach Recipe Guide
Crisp yet chewy layers of...
A quick 4-ingredient, 10 minute...
This is going to be a difficult Pesach.
Once again.
It is hard to celebrate freedom if we are not all free, and as long as there are 59 hostages - our brothers and sisters - still held against their will IN HELL in Gaza, we are not free.
We will still do our best to enjoy this time. We need to acknowledge and celebrate that the Jewish community has survived thousands of years of the greatest existential challenges and not only are we still here but we are strong, resilient and THRIVING. As is Israel!
If you just don’t feel like cooking much this year, especially after the Seders, I get it.
But here’s something that will take you less than 15 minutes to prep, cook and get on the plate.
In Danny’s (husband) family they call it ‘matzo egg’ but it has morphed into ‘matzo brei’ over the decades. It is the one thing Danny can cook well, in fact he is the one who taught me how to make it.
(To pimp it up, sprinkle with feta and chopped chives.)
MATZO ‘egg’ BREI
4 pieces matzo
water
2 eggs
60 ml (1/4 cup) milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter
to serve
sour cream and salt
or cinnamon sugar
Break the matzo into 2 cm pieces and place in a bowl. Cover with tap water and soak for 5 minutes. Drain and squeeze out the excess water. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with the milk and salt. Add the matzo and stir to combine.
Heat a medium frying pan pan over high heat, add the butter. When melted and sizzling, add the matzo mixture to the pan.
Reduce the heat to medium-high and cook for a few minutes. Once the bottom sets, toss the mixture around in the pan. Let it set again for a minute and repeat until it is cooked through.
Serves 2 (in my family) - 4 (in most families)
#pesach2025 #pesachrecipes #passover #jewishcooking not#chocolatecake
#easycooking #easypassoverrecipes
Thumbprint Jam Bickies for Pesach
60 g potato starch
60 g fine matzo meal
40 g caster sugar
30 g almond meal
80 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
zest of ½ small lemon
1 egg yolk
tart apricot jam
Whisk the potato starch, matzo meal, sugar, almond meal and lemon zest together in a large bowl. Rub in the butter with your fingertips until you have crumbs, add the egg yolk and mix until a dough is formed. This can be done in the food processor.
You will need a lined baking tray.
Divide the dough into three, and then each piece into eight.
Gently roll each piece into a smooth ball and place them on the prepared tray.
Using the top of your thumb, make an indent in the top of each cookie and flatten slightly.
Spoon in a little jam into each indentation.
Bake for 15 minutes at 180C or until golden on the base.
Makes 24 bickies.
These bickies are the most exciting Passover biscuits we have seen in a long time - because they don’t taste like Passover biscuits! The recipe has an interesting story.
Eve Graf was the wife of the first rabbi of the Cardiff Reform Synagogue in Wales. She was born in Berlin, Germany, in 1918, and was brought up by her widowed mother. Eve met and married Rabbi Graf in Berlin when she was only 19, and as newlyweds they were forced to flee from their home with his parents. Rabbi Graf was outspoken against the Nazi regime and after Kristallnacht it was no longer safe for them. In the spring of 1939, they were sponsored for immigration to Britain. They ended up in the Welsh capital, Cardiff, to set up the newly formed reform community; it is still the only one in Wales.
In the early 1950s, as the first Rebbetzin, Eve Graf encouraged the many refugee members of the newly founded community to enliven the synagogue’s social events with their baking skills - in those days the smell and taste of almonds and vanilla was incredibly luxurious. This is her recipe, originally published in our third book ‘It’s Always About the Food’
💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙
#jewishfood #passover #pesach #passoverrecipes #pesachcookies #bestrecipes
Categories
MMCC Related
Related Posts
Frozen Lemon Meringue
Crisp yet chewy layers of meringue sandwiched together with light lemony custard. Yum!
BROWN SUGAR NUTTIES
A quick 4-ingredient, 10 minute gluten free KLP biscuit. It has it all!
Matzo Kugel: PASSOVER IS COMING
A Passover dessert that you will not be able to live without.
2 Comments
Just want to wish you all Happy Chanukah and let you all know how I enjoy your posts, recipes and of course, your books. Your enjoyment and enthusiasm shines through everything you do!
Thank you so much Susie, that is so lovely of you!! We wish you a wonderful Chanukah and a happy 2017. Lisa x