The winners of the first NYC RARE Steak Championship are in. Nigerian chef Ayo Balogun has closed his Bed-Stuy cafe, and Massara has re-introduced its Italian-accented weekend brunch. Have a tip? Send us a note via Instagram or by emailing info@diningout.com.
The 411
The winners of the NYC RARE Steak Championship have been announced, Taylor and Travis are back to painting the town red or whatever color they like, and the Queens Night Market is back in action.
And the RARE Steak Championship Winners Are…
The first annual NYC version of RARE Steak Championship took place on Thursday, September 10 at Industry City in Brooklyn. Here are the big winners of the evening:
For Traditional Steak, the festival’s judges awarded Raval Steakhouse first place, Forge from chef Marc Forgione second, and STK third. On the Peoples Choice side, awards went, in order, to STK, Reserve Cut, and then Del Frisco’s.
In the Creative Steak category, judges gave Papa San first place while One Rare Italian Steakhouse from Scarsdale came in second, and the Flatiron District’s Vinyl Steakhouse took third place. For the People’s Choice, Vinyl was awarded first place, Papa San second place, and Mastro’s came in third.
Click here to find out the winners of the Surf and Cocktail competitions.
Swiftie Date Night
File this under the essential news: Two months after tying the knot, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce went out on a post-nuptial date in NYC last week. The destination turned out to be Ambassador’s Clubhouse, the buzzy, impossible-to-get-into London import serving elevated Indian fare.
Queens for a Night
The Queens Night Market is back. Beginning September 19, you can head to Flushing Meadows-Corona Park every Saturday from 4 p.m. to midnight to feast on a diverse array of eats. Jerk chicken, Persian stew, Kazakhstani beshbarmak, Bangladeshi butter cream chicken, Burmese tea leaf salad, Cambodian fish amok, and Nigerian meat pies are just some of the edible delights you’ll encounter, as you eat your way around the world. The night market continues every Saturday until October 31.
Free Coffee
The Coffee Project has just unveiled its newest outlet on the Upper East Side at First Avenue and East 66th Street. To celebrate it’s giving away free coffee on Sunday, September 20. Come before noon to get in on the complimentary java.
The Bureau is Closed
Chef Ayo Balogun, who owns and runs renowned Nigerian restaurants Dept. of Culture and Radio Kwara in Brooklyn, has closed his casual 13-year-old Bed-Stuy cafe, The Bureau.
On the Menu
It’s a new week, which means new brunch services, new cocktails, new Hispanic Heritage Month menus, and new dishes designed to celebrate Dia de los Muertos.
Let’s Brunch at Massara
After having to shut down and relocate due to a fire, Flatiron eatery, Massara, is not only back at its original location, but now brunch is back on the weekend menu. Stop by during the day on Saturday and or Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. to dig into various pastas, Italian-accented egg dishes, and chef Stefano Secchi’s incredible mini pizzas.
A Very Standard Hispanic Heritage Month
Cuna Bar & Lounge at The Standard, East Village is teaming up with chef and La Newyorkina founder Fany Gerson to offer an exclusive one-month Hispanic-themed cocktail menu. Stop in between September 15 and October 15 to sip cocktails paired with Gerson’s signature paletas.
Examples include, Pasión de Nueva York (tequila blanco, passion fruit, mint and pineapple, topped with a passion fruit-chile paleta), Guava Glow (tequila blanco, guava, coconut and lime, topped with a guava-lime paleta) and Smoky Candy (mezcal, tamarind, lime and sour-chili gummies), among others.
Mandarin Oriental’s The Bar Celebrates One Year
Thirty-five floors above Central Park and Columbus Circle, The Bar at the Mandarin Oriental is celebrating its first year of existence by offering an array of new east-meets-west cocktails. These include Night Market Bloom (combining nigori sake, Roku gin, yuzu, lime, and oolong mountain tea), The Spice Harbour (featuring green curry-infused Haku vodka, white vermouth, and tomato oil) and Omani Twilight (made with Michter’s Bourbon, saffron liqueur, cardamom-infused date syrup, and Cointreau).
Como se Dice “Brunch” en Español?
If you’re in Astoria, the answer to the question is ¡Ay Güey!, an excellent Mexican restaurant that has just re-introduced weekend brunch to its menu. The Brunch Norteño includes Machaca con Huevo (scrambled eggs with dried shredded beef), Pancakes de Elote, and Desayuno Norteño, a big portion of eggs, carne asada, beans, and tortillas.
Dutch Treat
Fifteen years for a restaurant in New York City is like an eternity elsewhere. The Dutch, that staple of way-better-than-average American fare in SoHo, is celebrating its 15th anniversary in October. For the entire month of October, the restaurant will be offering $15 martinis to guests.
Month of the Dead
Mexican restaurant tán, chef Richard Sandoval’s edible homage to Yucatan, will be going all out for the dead. That is, Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead. From October 6 until November 3, there will be a special Dia de los Muertos menu called El Sol, the Golden Sun. The menu, as you’d guess from the name, is inspired by the sun and includes ancestral ingredients to honor loved ones.
Don’t Miss This Week
Need some dining out recommendations? Try these three hot spots, and make sure to check out the week’s events.
Wednesday: The consistently excellent NoHo Thai restaurant Fish Cheeks celebrates its 10th anniversary this month. To celebrate, the restaurant is bringing in some friends to help out. This week, there will be menu additions in which restaurants such as Ops, Double Chicken Please, Bub’s Bakery, and Kiko will be collaborating with the Fish Cheeks kitchen. I’ll be there eating up the fusion. Fish Cheeks also happens to be one of the best spots for day drinking. Find out more info here.
Thursday: La Dồng, a Vietnamese restaurant located near Union Square, has recently introduced Bia Hoi to its drink menu. Translated as “fresh beer,” bia hoi is crisp, light, refreshing beer that you drink on the streets of Vietnamese towns and cities.
La Dồng has partnered with King’s County Brewers Collective for the project. I love drinking bia hoi in Vietnam, so I’ll be at La Dồng on Thursday to sip beer and maybe I’ll hit up one of the other great Vietnamese restaurants in NYC.
Saturday: Wu’s Wonton King, located in lower Manhattan, is one of the best restaurants in New York to BYOB. This weekend, I’ll be checking out Wu’s Dynasty, the new offshoot on the Upper West Side. It’s not BYO, but if the food is anything like Wu’s Wonton King, it will be worth it.
