by Maria T. on I was fortunate to experience Zahav with a large group, and as a result was able to experience the restaurant's full spectrum. Zahav is absolutely deserving of the awards, accolades, and endless hype. We decided to go with the tasting menu ("Ta'Yim"), as it would have been the same amount of money we would have normally spent, but after all the math, the only difference was that Ta'Yim offered a free dessert. (And really, who can turn down a free dessert?) The hummus and salad ("salatim") were splendid. Even in the teeny bites offered in the salad portions the flavors burst through in technicolor glory. The plain hummus was good (I think Saad's makes it better...sorry) but the smokiness of the Turkish hummus was out of this world. I would happily dine on this every day of my life if possible! My selections: watermelon & feta salad, smoked sable with ramps, and the lamb tenderloin ("the farsi"). Each arrived plated gorgeously and were great. My favorite was perhaps the sable, it was smoky in aroma but delicate in taste and texture. I enjoyed the lamb, but after glancing at my friend's branzino and fluke, I wish I had gone with a second seafood platter. For dessert I chose the labaneh semifreddo, which on paper seemed like a simple and boring way to close out the meal, but turned out to be an unexpected hit, thanks to the "tropical fruit" sauce it came plated with. As I dined with a group, I got to experience the full range of the menu. The haloumi is as good as everyone says, but was almost too small of a portion, especially for sharing. If you're not afraid of meat, I recommend the "Jersualem Grill," which consisted of thymus, heart, and other "good stuff". The heart is especially fantastic. As mentioned before, the branzino and fluke were incredible. The fluke was supple and buttery; the branzino came with a gorgeous crispy skin. This would have been perfect, but there were two missteps: the chicken freekah and the "root beer float" (it has a real name, but I can't remember it). Unlike the rest of the menu, which arrived plated artfully without being ostentatious, the freekah arrived in bowl, looking like something that came out of the microwave. It was a delicious dish, but totally deserving of a better, more upscale presentation. On the other side, the root beer float was presented with too much pomp, which went against the whole tone of the restaurant. There was the float, a small bowl of cherries, and cookies. Nice, but too much thinking to be done at the end of a meal. Perhaps this needs to be rethought to better fit the tone of the menu. Zahav's strength is in it's ability to offer relaxed, seemingly simplistic food that when you get down to it is far more complex and nuanced than you'd expect. Zahav is a mirror onto the culture (and cultures!) it draws inspiration from.
by fran d. on BOOBS! the great summoners. wars have been fought over them. extensive dissertations have been written. whole scores of industries based for them exist. there is no power out there that comes even close to the power of boobs . nuclear power? nope. the new york stock exchange? pfft! come on now. OPEC? yeah, in their dreams. tectonic plates? 15,000 years ago. maybe. so you see, there is no match against boobs. they are the big disarmers, the great drool inducers. you want a person's (man or woman, or child) attention? show 'em boobage. it doesn't even have to be a bare breast, just the sight of cleavage will make any head turn. and remember, the more cantilevered the cleavage, the quicker attention shifts. HOWEVER! one man has risen from the ever so powerful cantilevered-ness to reclaim his identity and dignity! well, from boobage in general anyway. how is it possible? well, you see, bordello is filled with such cantilevered-ness. the bartenders overflow with boobage. or so i found out through others that were in attendance last friday night. i for one did not actually witness such boobage as i previously mentioned i have become immune to it. i mean, there may even have been boobage shoved to my face for all i know but i couldn't tell you. why? because i am immune! shocking, right? you're probably wondering right now what in the world could have helped me reach this unthinkable level of immunity? well, being in a relationship, that's what. oh yeah, i noticed the lovely carnival-esque decor of the place. the beautiful chandeliers, the decked out bar. the stage area with plenty of seating and great view. the impeccable choice of tracks being played. but the boobage? nope. you see, when you're in love, you reach a level of concentration towards your surroundings except boobage few in the history of human kind have ever been able to reach. plus, you know, having a beautiful woman like sofia m. as a girlfriend really will do wonders for your, uhm, concentration. so while the whole crowd stood fixated and perplexed at the boobage walking back and forth, leaning forward and down, sideways even, i was actually talking to people, listening to them, and when i wasn't doing so, my attention was fixated on that beautiful creature named sofia m. just don't ask me about her cantilevered-ness. hey, superman had kryptonite! i have her.
by Madeleine Pascarelli on Maybe I've accepted the fact that I'm not a rockstar so paying $20 bucks to hear incredible house music in a top notch club in NYC is a reasonable expense. I went to Cielo over a year ago to hear Josh Wink spin and was very impressed by the acoustics and the interior design. If you wanted you could dance arms-length apart and still have a conversation. Hopefully you can come up with something clever to say to dance closer because the bass and treble line up perfectly. I've never heard a better sound system so anyone that knows of a venue with better sound quality please PM me!!
