The New York Restaurant Week is a biannual event hosted every summer and winter
During which you can enjoy discounted special restaurant week menu at participating restaurant
The program invites diners to sample the incredible array of eateries that make up New York City’s culinary culture.
There are currently over 370 restaurants participating the RW and new restaurants are being added every year

Including some famous Michelin restaurants

For this year’s restaurant week, participating restaurants in New York City offer prix fixe lunches and dinners
At $26 for 2-course lunch and $42 for 3-course dinner.

There has already been a price increase compare to last year’s $26 for 3-course lunch
Which decreases its value in saving
But it’s still arguably the best deal you can find
Especially for some restaurants which are normally inaccessible at this price point
So for this summer
I went ahead and explored a dozens of restaurants during the restaurant week and gave you my take
The restaurants cover a variety of cuisine
Including Japanese
Indian
French
Italian
Oceanic and more
From old school to contemporary
From tradition to fusion
All the way to the highly anticipated Michelin restaurants.
Now come with me, and let’s explore the restaurant week together
Italian food
Pasta
More pasta of different variety
Seafood
More seafood
Salad
Pizza
Fried Pizza
Okay it’s called calzone but Italian called them fried pizza
Risotto
Tiramisu
That’s probably what most people think of when it comes to Italian food
I love Italian food
Especially for its size
I mean, you really get huge plates that can stuff you up for good in one go
Unlike some other cuisine where you have huge plates with little food such as…
Well, I do like the presentation
Also, Italian food tend to use plain simple ingredients without too much of the complicated cooking technique
Also without much plating
Well…
Again I do love elaborated plating
In a word, it’s is pretty much something you would cook at home
But it can be just as good
With that been said
Italian food is also something we can’t miss while exploring the restaurant week
So in this episode
I will show you three Italian restaurants I explored
And one of them has a Michelin-Star
Let’s begin
Lincoln Ristorante
Located near the campus of Lincoln Center
Lincoln Ristorante is under the direction of the chef Jonathan Benno
Who was the second in command at Per Se
Yeah, that three star per se which has been recently criticized for serving mediocre food
But still, I’m very curious about what a three-star restaurant chef will deliver in this new establishment
So here I am
For the lunch menu
First is the bread
Seasoned with pepper and sesame and lightly brushed with olive oil on top
Baked fresh, served with olive oil on the side, the Italian way
Very good
Then we got two salad as appetizers
First is caprese
With tomato, cheese, cucumber with a few drops of balsamic vinegar
A classic Italian salad
The cheese is good with a pleasing milky taste
Then we got bresaola
A dry aged beef topped with arugula and cheese
The cheese presents a stronger flavor resembles that of feta cheese
The bresaola is infused with flavor and has a fatty feel saturated in the mouth
Second course, pan-roasted salmon
Medium rare, soft and juicy with slightly sweet carrot puree
Good but expected
Chicken Valdostana
Stuffed with prosciutto, spinach, mushroom and cheese
OMG this is soooo good
Just look at my reaction
Bellissimo
The chicken is very tender and juicy
And stuffing is flavorful and creamy thanks to the melted cheese
This is definitely a surprise
For the desserts, we have two ice cream of chocolate and strawberry flavor
These two…
Well, not too good
Too much artificial flavoring for the strawberry one
And the chocolate crust is too stiff to crack open
Minus point
But that chicken Valdostana is to die for
Second restaurant, Casa Lever
Casa Lever is an Italian restaurant that received James Beard Award
Which is a very important award in America and is regarded as the Oscar of the culinary world
The restaurant features a somewhat modern but welcoming interior
With portraits of different celebrities on the wall
Let’s get to the food
Same format
For antipasti, we got an in house Casa Lever salad and grilled octopus
The salad comes with different greens, mozzarella
Well, I mean, it’s a salad, so it tastes like what a salad should taste like
The octopus is really really soft
That is a plus
For the main course, we got Pasta alla Bolognese and Chicken
The Bolognese uses fettuccine, perfect for the veal ragu sauce to stick on
And of course you can’t go wrong with the 3-year aged Parmigiano-Regiano cheese which is fantastic
And they do it the fancy way
Grating them right in front of you. Yes please
Oh and they grate the cheese on chicken too
For the chicken, it is tender and juicy alright
But the presentation…
Well you can see it yourself
I understand Italian food isn’t famous for its presentation but this one just… meh
It looks like something my grandma will cook straight from her kitchen
Okay my grandma doesn’t actually cook Italian food but hey I’m just tryna make a point here
That’s why my friend was like…
我觉得有点失望
而且是他推荐嘛，对不对，他推荐的对吧…
You see, sometimes the presentation matters
As much as the taste does
Moving on to dessert
We have the classic tiramisu and meringue with strawberry
Tiramisu is very chocolaty
And meringue tastes like a slightly sweet crispy biscuit with sweeter strawberry
The desserts are good
The food here generally speaking are pretty good
Every dish in its kind are above average quality taste-wise
But I do expect a bit more elevated experience at a James Beard award wining restaurant
At least they can make the chicken more interesting right?
Right now it looks like straight from my kitchen
The Bolognese is good, but also looks like something I’ll make at home
I’m being serious
This is what I cook at home.
I do cook some pretty decent Italian food actually in particular pasta
After all, I used to learn cooking in Italy for half a year when I was a fresh…
Time flies. Back to topic
Casa lever, overall good quality, needs to be not so simple
I love Parmigiano-Reggiano
Lastly, it’s time for the much coveted Michelin restaurant
Situated on the second floor of the Langham Place Fifth Avenue Hotel
Ai Fiori, which means among flowers in Italian
This one-star Michelin restaurant serves Italian and French Riviera inspired cuisine
The menu blends traditional Italian fare with a brave, modern perspective
The elegant interior and floral arrangement boast a welcoming atmosphere
Now, the food
First, antipasti
Now this is getting a bit more interesting than the previous Italian restaurants already
We have two dish
Gazpacho
And Ouva in purgatorio
Gazpacho is a cold soup made with blended vegetables usually served in hot summer
For this particular Gazpacho, it is made with tomato
Very refreshing and infused with vinegar to further bring out the taste
What’s interesting is that they added ricotta cheese in the soup
which almost feels like burrata because it exploded in your mouth
And that explosion is then immediately balanced by the tomato
Very surprising
I initially wasn’t a big fan of gazpacho because I had some mediocre ones
But this one completely changed my perception of Gazpacho
it is really good
The other dish is Ouva in Puragatorio
It is a classical Neapolitan dish
Literally translates to eggs in purgatory
Why? Because it’s a poached egg soaked in tomato sauce
Which kinda makes sense if you use your imagination to picture what a purgatory would look like on a plate
This one is served with a toasted crispy bread
The running yolk mix with the tomato, satisfying
Second Course, we have risotto and gamberreto
This risotto has a lot of ingredients
Tomatoes, asparagus, green olive, fennel sausage, Taleggio cheese
Very delicious, creamy and flavorful
The risotto is cooked to the textbook definition of al dente
Definitely a way better version than what I can make
Perfecto
Moving on to Gamberreto, which means shrimp in Italian
Sprinkled with some bread crumb, and some shredded tomato and arugula at the button
Looks very appetizing
Take a bite
The shrimp is so big and plump, tender, juicy and firm to the bite
Just perfecto
Allora, è tempo di dolci, I mean dessert time
We have torta di olio and Ciocolato
Torta di Olio is an olive oil cake with passionfruit and coconut sorbet
The sorbet is very coconut-y and refreshing
Passion fruit also pairs well with this light flavor
And cake has a good olive oil flavor infused which makes it a very interesting combination with the coconut and passion fruit
Overall very refreshing
I’m enjoying myself a little too much here
Ciocolato, obviously meaning chocolate
Pairs with mascarpone cream and cherry sorbet
In fact there is a real cheery inside the sorbet
The chocolate is very creamy and chocolaty
With enough sweetness but doesn’t overpower the chocolate itself
Perfecto
How many times I said perfecto today
Posso capire perché questo ristorante ha una stella michelin
È semplicemente così buono
Damn this restaurant is so good that it makes me speaking Italian
I mean, I don’t even speak Italian
Maybe that’s the magic of the food?
Anyway, by now you can already tell this is the winner for today’s restaurant
And one of the best Italian restaurant I’ve had in New York City so far
For 33 dollars in total, this is simply one of the best deal in the restaurant week
I’m very happy
I strong recommend this restaurant for the restaurant week
And to anyone who is at New York and wanted to try some more upscaled Italian food
The search for restaurant continues
