Colin Camac (aka @resyguynyc) is officially Blackbird’s “Restaurant Partnerships Lead,” and unofficially is our resident insider’s insider. He is out, on the town seven nights a week, sniffing out the city’s best joints, skateboard in one hand, martini in the other.
Last month was filled with trips to some of my favorite cities. I got to check out some old favorites in Montreal as well as a great, new opening in Chicago. Back at home I had a chance to revisit a hyped, new steakhouse as well as go back to what currently might be my favorite meal in the country. I also took a nice end-of-summer trip to Sheepshead Bay for some great seafood and a couple old school roast beef shops.
New York
Sushi Sho
📍 Midtown
🍽️ Sushi
Sushi Sho is the most impressive restaurant in NYC, full stop. Yes, it has an insane price tag and is difficult to get into, but for me, it’s perfect. The experience is unlike any other in the city. The attention to detail and mastery of ingredients is unmatched. They don’t allow photography (which I don’t mind, as it helps me be present than I would be otherwise) so you won’t see any pictures from this meal. I truly believe that anyone who is excited by beautiful ingredients, prepared with impeccable technique, and served by a true master should try to check this place out at least once. It really is special.
Soba Ulala
📍 Soho
🍽️ Japanese
Soba Ulala is the new restaurant in the former Hirohisa space in SoHo from the same team. Known as one of the pioneers of Japanese fine dining in NYC, I was excited to try their soba. The menu is definitely pricey but it has to be as they are serving top quality ingredients. I rolled up as a walk-in on a rainy night and started with a few small plates before going into a cold soba with ikura. A really friendly neighbor left me about ¼ of his Overnay Jura from ‘05 that paired nicely with the salty pop of the ikura. Cold soba really is the perfect comfort food especially on a rainy night.
Graciela
📍 West Village
🍽️ Argentinian
Steak Club had a meeting and this time it was at the much hyped Graciela. I’d been here once before (an unfairly early visit during its opening week) but this time the experience and food were at a completely different level. The highlights of the meal were the chickpea tart, a surprisingly delicious tomato carpaccio, and all of the salume. The steaks cooked over live fire were perfectly seasoned and the large format, bone-in ribeye was a standout. It’s also worth checking out the milanesa napolitana (basically a chicken fried steak parm) which we didn’t order during this visit but loved the time before.
Bark Barbecue
📍Bushwick
🍽️ BBQ (w/ Dominican influence)
When I was tasked with staying in Williamsburg to watch my good friend’s dog, I took it as an opportunity to jump on the L and check out Bark Barbecue. NY BBQ has gone through its ebbs and flows of popularity and usually doesn’t usually hit for me. As a former owner of a BBQ restaurant,I think I’m uniquely qualified to say:Bark hits the nail on the head. The BBQ combines traditional Texas style (brisket, ribs, beef ribs) with heavy Dominican influences. I loved the brisket, pork ribs, cheese filled longaniza sausage, maduros (sweet plantains) and rice & beans. The bite of the night for me, though, was their super tender and greasy carnitas topped with pickled onion, cilantro and a zippy green sauce that brightened everything up. I didn’t love the fried tostone the carnitas was served on, but that’s just personal preference and easy to move to the side. Overall it was a really great experience and a place I will definitely go again.
El Camaron Peludo @ Bar Susanne
📍Greenwich Village
🍽️ Mexican/Seafood
While their brick and mortar is now open, I still think it’s worth mentioning how tasty the El Camaron Peludo pop-up was at Bar Susanne. The place was buzzing as soon as they opened the doors. I loved the oysters topped with michelada, a Caesar salad skewered together so that you could taste each component in one bite, as well as a really solid tuna tostada with tobiko mayo. The real showstoppers were the butterflied shrimp with guajillo mayo and an amazing pescadilla, which was a crispy taco stuffed with mackerel, tomato sofrito and avocado. I cannot wait to try this spot in its new permanent location.
Blackbird Presents F&F Pizza Sessions featuring Dan Pearson, Fernando Trocca & Zuppardi’s
📍Carrol Gardens (by way of Argentina, Paris, and New Haven, CT)
🍽️ Pizza/Argentinian
For the final Pizza Session of the year, The Franks pulled out all of the stops bringing in Chef Fernando Trocca from Argentina, Dan Pearson from Oobatz in Paris and Gagootz in San Sebastian, plus the team from Zuppardi’s in New Haven. I started with a perfectly crispy bite of a well seasoned Zuppardi’s clam slice. The fideos with seafood from Chef Trocca were another highlight. I’ve known Dan from Oobatz for a few years now, starting back when he was doing his pizza pop-up “Pizzamarole” in the Le Rigmarole space for a short while in Paris. His pizza was impressive then and has only gotten better since. No wonder he’s expanded to not one, but two permanent spaces across different cities. That night his pizza had a real savory quality that, along with the crust’s salty tang, made it really stand out. These are always some of my favorite events of the summer and this year was no different.
Randazzo’s
📍Sheepshead Bay
🍽️ Italian
As the end of summer started rolling in I was craving a trip out to Sheepshead Bay to hit Randazzo’s for some clams and summer appropriate seafood. Marcela and I took the train out on a Saturday afternoon and ended up at the clam bar around 3pm. Randazzo’s does several simple things incredibly well. We started with the raw littleneck clams, which to me are the essence of summer—tiny, briny and tasting like the ocean in the best possible way. I garnish mine with just lemon but a little bit of horseradish or cocktail sauce is never a bad move. The fried calamari, or “galamah” as it’s known in these parts, is famous at Randazzo’s for a reason. Fried perfectly and served either tossed in or alongside their proprietary hot (or mild) sauce it is worth the trip. I opt for sauce on the side and alternate between both heats. My friend Timothy recommended ordering a pasta from their specials menu, so we went with the linguine with lobster and shrimp in the house vodka sauce. Happy to report: this will now be included in the standard order.
Roll-n-Roaster
📍Sheepshead Bay
🍽️ Roast Beef Sandwiches
After we sufficiently satisfied our seafood craving, some real business was afoot: A roast beef tasting at two of the other famous institutions in the area. We started with a quick walk over to Roll-n-Roaster, a truly wild looking place. With its bright orange and yellow coloring, it looks like some sort of chain restaurant from the 70’s. It’s awesome. And so was the beef and cheese sandwich with onions that I ordered. It came on a perfectly soft housemade seeded kaiser roll that holds it all together well. I loved the salty hits from the cheese sauce and the jus-dipped bun. This had that perfectly greasy flavor I was looking for in a fast food style roast beef sandwich.
Brennan & Carr
📍Sheepshead Bay
🍽️ Roast Beef Sandwiches
About a mile up the road is one of the other famous NYC roast beef places, Brennan & Carr. Cash only and housed in a tavern style room, it’s a place that looks and feels like what it is: a true classic. Servers dressed in traditional white coats roam the small dining rooms with all the charm you’d expect. We ordered another beef, cheese, and onion sandwich, half dipped and a side of corn fritters. The fritters, which are basically fried creamed corn, were insane. The beef, itself, was tasty and much sturdier than the previous sandwich. It felt like the quality of ingredients may have been a little higher. While both are great sandwiches, I may prefer the greasier version slightly more. Regardless, trying both back-to-back is something I will do again as the experience was such a good time.
L&B Spumoni Gardens
📍Bensonhurst
🍽️ Italian-American
For our last stop we had to hit Brooklyn institution L&B for spumoni (rainbow gelato) and a square slice. There’s nothing better than hanging in their picnic area as the sun goes down on a late summer night.
Montreal
Montreal Pool Room
📍Quartier Des Spectacles
🍽️ Hot Dogs
Fresh off the plane, bags in hand, I stopped by one of my favorite hot dog spots in Montreal. While it’s not my absolute favorite hot dog or poutine, it’s the place that does both at the highest level. I ordered 2 dressed steamies (steamed dogs in a steamed bun topped with slaw, mustard and relish) as well as a classic poutine topped with raw onions. The perfect first bites and start to my trip.
Elena Pizzeria
📍Saint-Henri
🍽️ Pizza
After settling in at the hotel, I met up with my good friend Ryan Gray at his new slice shop, Elena Pizzeria. I had seen the shop in various stages of construction, but this was my first time checking it out since it actually opened. Although not particularly hungry after my dogs, I made room for a few slices. This was the right move—the special corn pie with peppers, guanciale and ricotta was incredible.
Gia Vin et Grille
📍Saint-Henri
🍽️ Contemporary Italian
After a quick bite with Ryan I shot across town to one of his other spots to meet a friend for a quick snack before our late reservation at Beba. Chef Janice popped out and set us up with one of the most incredible seafood plateaus I’ve ever seen. From top to bottom, starting with lamb arrosticini, pork belly skewers and a grilled squid topped with lardo. Underneath were some raw oysters, dressed mussels, and a few crudos, including a cured swordfish that was really special. The following day, I came back for a proper lunch. Knowing how much I love their pasta (tortellini especially), Janice set me up with some fish fritters w/ cream & trout roe, a bright green salad, grilled peach crostini with a burrata, a mini sausage and lentils plate and finally, a tortellini in tomato brodo that was one of my favorite bites of trip.
Beba
📍Verdun
🍽️ Argentinian/Mediterranean
Beba is such a special restaurant and I was happy to grab a late res for my first night in town. We went with a chef’s menu and Chef Ari, who happened to be off that night, was kind enough to pop in and hang for a bit towards the end of the meal. The food at Beba is ingredient-driven, honest cooking that often transforms overlooked products into incredible dishes. We started with the classics, mackerel montadito and caviar topped knish. Both are exceptional and should not be missed. Other standouts included a massive bone marrow dish served with little toasts, topped with a bright, perfectly-in-season tomato puree and salty anchovies. We had an incredible tagliatelle in a bolognese made from the most gelatinous parts of a whole pig they recently butchered. It’s a dish I haven’t stopped thinking about since. We ended the savory courses with beautifully aged duck breast laid over crispy soccarat-like rice served with both jus as well as lemons, which worked really nicely with the dish. And, finally, we finished things off their foie-filled dates topped with pistachios.
Rôtisserie La Lune
📍Little Italy
🍽️ Québécois rotisserie
I decided to hit La Lune for lunch as it’s one of my favorite spots in Montreal. Being the second restaurant of the team from Mon Lapin, the pedigree is obvious, and this place is perfect. The room looks especially great during the day and the new terrace is stunning. I started off with a tomato salad, swimming in tomato water, topped with basil and Quebec cheese curds. It was basically a poutine posing as a salad—and I was here for it! Stuffed wings served with hot mustard are another must order.h. Finally, a half chicken perfectly cooked with the platonic ideal of fries, gravy and a side of slaw. I finished off with a bit of carrot cake and then needed a nap before heading out to dinner later that evening.
Le Violon
📍Le Plateau
🍽️ “neighborhood restaurant”
A few years in, Le Violon is still firing on all cylinders. The team was able to sneak us in at the last minute and I could not be more grateful. My good friend Mehdi (former Chef/Owner Marconi) joined me for my last night and we had a great time catching up over a really great meal. The room feels grown up, not in a stuffy way, but in a way that makes you feel like you’re in the right place. They started us off with their fluffy Pullman buns and a generous portion of caviar over creme fraiche that came on the side in an ornate silver platter. A real classy move to get things going. We followed that with lobster and tomatoes, topped with shiso in a sauce charon that was bright and tasty. They sent us a great peach and shrimp dish which, while sounding strange, was a great combination of flavors. Jambon blanc over zucchini was another winner. Why don’t we eat more raw zucchini? I always love their fluffy gnocchi and this version with mushrooms, bottarga and squash blossoms was no exception. We finished off with guinea fowl, served fileted over a ripe tomato, aioli and anchovies. A really great meal all around in a very special restaurant.
Chicago
Gingie
📍River North
🍽️ “Contemporary Dining”
After a fire in their opening week a few months ago, I was finally able to try my friend Sarah’s new restaurant Gingie. Gingie is the newest spot from Boka restaurant group led by Chef Brian Lockwood (EMP, The Nomad). The room is really whimsical and fun with lamps, chandeliers and a mural that runs along the entire dining room. Overall, it was one of the best meals I had in Chicago this year. We started off with the seafood tower that came fully composed and was reminiscent of the one served at The Nomad (when it was at the height of its popularity). Next up was lobster, served in a tomato that added a touch of sweetness and acidity to the dish. DIY jonah crab handrolls with cantaloupe were a homerun. Then came a gorgeous mushroom rice, eggplant lasagnette, and corn & truffle tortelli. We finished up the savory courses with an excellent chicken that was deboned and served with creamy yuzu yogurt and sansho pepper then topped with thinly shaved daikon. Do not miss the perfectly salty chocolate tart or honey meringue for dessert.
Alinea
📍Lincoln Park
🍽️ Fine Dining
When planning our trip to Chicago, Marcela had high hopes that we could sneak into the restaurant she’s most wanted to visit in the US: Alinea. I’ve been there a few times over the years (‘14,’11) and was interested to see how the experience has evolved over the years. Even my first two meals were vastly different from each other. We were able to pull some strings and start our meal in the Gallery (which was sold out at the time I booked) and finish upstairs in the main dining salon. When we walked into the Gallery we were initially seated at a long communal table with a card and a large black hive at each place setting. The lights then dimmed and it was revealed that our first course was served from the top of the hive.We soon realized that the hive was actually housing our first six courses, all of which were based around the flavors of honey. Highlights from the first few courses were a chilled vidalia onion soubise with nuggets of honey and amantillado sherry, preserved trumpet mushroom and jicama rounds with an insane coconut vinaigrette and papaya confit in honey, and, lastly, a fantastic little “wax mango” that tasted like a sweet chewy mango+honey candy. After the first courses we were led into the kitchen for a cocktail shaken with a vintage cocktail shaking machine (editor’s note: this is, somehow, a real thing) and were told to punch a hole through the top of a smoke filled cylinder to retrieve a smoky, duck leg sausage skewered with a juniper branch. After our time in the kitchen, we turned back to the dining room to see the single long table had been transformed to several tables spread throughout the room. We were then led upstairs for the remainder of the meal. It seems like the downstairs meal now has more of the theatrical flourishes whereas dining upstairs is a more standard tasting menu experience. Both have their merits and it was very fun to get to do half and half. The rest of the meal—which included roughly 12 more courses— added to what was definitely a worthwhile revisit.
Birrieria Zaragoza
📍Uptown
🍽️ Mexican
The original location of Birrieria Zaragoza was closed from a fire so we made the trek Uptown to the newer location. Chicago has some of the best Mexican food in the country so on our last day, Marcela and I decided to check out as many spots as we could handle. This being our first stop we tried our best not to fill up, but given how great the food was, that proved to be difficult. We started with a quesabirria, a perfectly toasty birria quesadilla, as well as a cabeza taco that may have been the bite of the day. Crispy meat, charred on the flat top and served in a fantastic corn tortilla. We then went with a large plate of birria, served with tortillas, salsa, onions and cilantro. It was even better than I remembered.
Carnitas Don Pedro
📍Pilsen
🍽️ Mexican
The next stop was down in Pilsen at a random old school carnitas spot that I found online. Holy shit was it good. We ordered a large plate of carnitas, mixed with all of the fun parts and the fantastic salsas on the table. It was some of the best carnitas I’ve ever had. The flavor was so deeply porky and all the different bits had their own texture. The tortillas were the only downside, but nothing could really get in the way of how incredible the meat was. I took the leftovers home to eat the next morning when I got back to NYC.
La Josie
📍West Loop
🍽️ Mexican
La Josie is a Mexican restaurant that happened to be a few blocks from the hotel we were staying at (The Hoxton). I found it online when looking for a spot for some mezcal and it had one of the best selections I’ve ever seen. Really well curated and with a very knowledgeable staff, I would highly recommend checking this spot out if you’re into agave spirits.
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