It can be so hard to eat out in New York

Trying the newest booked up hot spot Crevette, attempting to dine out enjoyably with 8 people and venturing to find good food in Times Square. Plus some date night recommendations for the lovers.

Feb 14, 2025

Thank you to the 100 (!!) of you who welcomed this little newsletter into the world last week and subscribed. Each automated email ping announcing a new subscriber brought me a silly amount of joy.

This week, and I’m saying this while I’m getting my tiny violin out, I thought a lot about just how hard it is to dine out in New York. In quick succession I got slapped in the face with the challenges we’re all too familiar with: trying to get a reservation at that new hot spot opening, trying to keep the mandated prix-fixe options for your party of 8 under $150 dollars, trying to find literally anywhere to eat in the Theater District that’s not an Olive Garden. I asked on IG about your dining dilemmas, and I was confronted with even more conundrums of people just trying to gather for birthdays, dates and business dinners.

The heightened sense of difficulty to dine in this city in turn sharpens the desire to end up at a place that’s still, well, good after all that effort. Take all my money, New York, but just give me a satisfying experience in the end, please. I hope Corner Booth can be a pocket of the internet that helps you find these worth-it places and makes dining out a little bit easier.

Also, Happy Valentine’s Day to all. I’ll be cooking Marcella Hazan’s Bolognese Sauce and then going to see Paddington in Peru.

Dispatches from the Corner Booth

Tales from a week of dining.

A trip to the French Riviera at the buzziest opening of the season.

I have and always will root for the formidable duo that is Ed Szymanski and Patricia Howard. The heart and soul they pour into their restaurants is palpable. From the moment they announced Crevette, I buckled up and followed along on the build-out process as they laboriously painted over hideous floor-to-ceiling black tiles and passionately sourced incredible art and design accents. But as it progressed to completion, my brain was struggling to compute how this delightfully charming French Riviera concept, in all of its fresh seafood and brightly colored glory, would feel pressed up against a midtown-esque mega-space filled with big beefy booths from the Holiday Bar era (even with the new wood accents, I will always hate these).

Once inside, the menu felt like an unsolvable rubik’s cube in my hands; I twisted and turned with different combinations but could never quite solve it. The server frowned upon our attempt and offered a solution to the puzzle in the form of the $86 whole dover sole. We declined. The bites we did try oscillated between outstanding (oysters, bluefin tuna & crispy potato, seafood rice, rhum cake) and mildly underwhelming (octopus & green harissa skewer, grilled duck kebab). We hung our heads low as the server resurfaced to re-emphasize how our $250 spread was nowhere near enough.

Despite the vastness of their ambitions, to me, the spark of magic found burning bright at the smaller Dame and Lord’s feels like it’s struggling to find oxygen at Crevette underneath a bloated menu and corporate power lunch ambience. It’s still very early days, so perhaps in the summer months, it can find room to breathe on the patio.

A chic sushi hand-roll celebration paired with an exquisite wine list in West Village.

I first discovered Parcelle back in the pandemic years when I signed up for their fabulous monthly Wine Drop. The people, the branding, and, of course, the wines continue to impress me. It’s been marvelous to see them expand, first opening their own wine bars and now curating the wine lists of new restaurants like Mitsuru. I was looking for an elevated yet comfortable spot to celebrate a friend’s recent engagement, and this chic enclave tucked off of West 4th delivered. Wrapping up buttery pieces of tuna in crispy seaweed and washing it down with a sparkling sake while reclining in a velvet green corner booth is a too-good way to spend a Tuesday night. I realize I just described a perfect date night option, too. We did a la carte, but they also have a $150 omakase option as well.

Magically, the next day I received an email from Parcelle recapping the wines we drank and offering to deliver a bottle straight to me. Genius! I bit and struck up a conversation with a delightful man named Trevor; before I knew it, I was holding two bottles of the wine I discovered only two nights before. We love a seamless experience.

A large party Friday night prime time dinner reservation = the impossible task.

The dread that falls over the group chat after you finally find a time that works for everyone for dinner, but you realize you’ve crossed into the cursed threshold of 8 people. My first recommendation is to disown two friends and go on your merry way. But if not, I experienced a pleasant option in Chinese Tuxedo, offering a $98pp banquet menu. Although I’d still prefer a la carte any day, I’ll admit it was nice just to sit down and have a parade of food appear on the lazy Susan in front of me without having to think about it, from an extremely jovial server I might add. The pre-fixe included the hamachi crudo and the squid ink noodles, two of my favorites here.

Only note of warning, I forgot this place can feature deep pockets of young jabronis feasting before their Nights Out. While waiting for the bathroom, a vest-clad stray burst out to me in an explanatory proclamation, “I bet they’re probably in there shitting!” Ah, the charm of youths.

A couple attempts to find good, quick food in the Theater District before Broadway shows.

If you’re going to the Lyric Theatre, currently showing Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, make your life easy and grab the ever-reliable and always-delicious Los Tacos No. 1 from directly across the street. Then go to the theater early to get yourself a Butterbeer and a chocolate wand for dessert.

If you’re going to the Circle in the Square Theatre, currently showing Romeo & Juliet, visit the big glass cube at the end of that block for some dumplings and lychee martinis at Din Tai Fung. This massive labyrinth of a restaurant is quite the operation, with servers whirling around while murmuring quietly on headsets. But that means your xiao long bao and steamed buns will arrive swiftly, making it a quick meal before catching Romeo take the stage.

Bathroom Mirror Selfie

Design inspiration from restaurants.

Mirror mirror on the wall, why can I never resist the urge to snap a picture in an impeccably designed restaurant bathroom? In this new section, I’ll be doing the hard-hitting reporting from inside these photo-worthy spaces to unearth everything from the brand of that delicious candle burning in the corner to the artist of the chic print on the wall.

First up, the coastal European style of the wonderfully bright bathrooms at Crevette. Everything pictured above and more can be found here.

Colorful art prints of oysters, martinis and lobsters by Maxine McCrann and Nephthys Foster.
They’re burning the Wild Figs candle from Brooklyn-based Keap.
Cute vintage seashell vases and bookends on Etsy.
Probably need the exact same French bistro rattan bench they have in my apartment.
Ok Target with this adorable pink serving bowl.
Pink scalloped or green ceramic soap dispensers.
The rattan sconce of my dreams from Anthropologie, or a budget option from Target.
A wooden wiggle mirror from Article, or a budget option from Target.

The Reservation Desk

Curated dining suggestions.

Ok wow I received an unexpected number of responses to my open call on IG asking for your dining dilemmas—I have my work cut out for me. Given I’m publishing this on V-Day, I plucked out the quandaries for the lovers out there to start with.

Dilemma #1: Drinks for two on Valentine’s Day around Midtown East or Murray Hill area. The sultry, stylish Agency of Record would be a fun, livelier option to sip great cocktails and listen to a vinyl DJ. Not going to lie, their Valentine’s Day offerings on Resy like the “Get a Room Special” did also catch my eye.

Dilemma #2: Second/third date in Brooklyn Heights. Ingas Bar is warm and cozy yet still buzzing with energy, which will put any jitters or fears of awkward silences at ease. The menu is tight and filled with all delicious bites, so planning what to order will be a breeze. Split a bottle of wine, fall in love.

Dilemma #3: Two people, best streak frites and ‘tinis in between Flatiron and Soho. Although more of a classic steakhouse option, sitting in the magnificent room at Hawksmoor with a crisp martini and a plate of boeuf in front of you is a real treat. For more of a true French option, head to the classic Raoul’s or the snug Le French Diner.

Stuck with your own query and don’t know where to go? Drop your dining dilemmas in the comment section below for a chance to have your night curated by Corner Booth in future newsletters.