warm greeting smile, service within seconds, good humus and condiments, cheap, great location.

I think it’s a great place.

Florentin St 5, Tel Aviv-Yafo

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I was waiting and was thirsty, plus I felt that I need to buy something as we were after all using “the facilities”.

I’m not a big fan of Starbucks coffee, to phrase it gently, so I was looking at the cold drinks and saw the Cool Lime Refresher. Sounded good, and I was thirsty, so I ordered the large one, which had an outrageous price tag of $4.45, but I figured that for a good refreshing drink and a brief use of the plumbing I’ll for once bite the bullet and pay the price. Plus tax. And waiting in line.

While waiting between a Grande Latte suit and a Tall Mocha Light Frappuccino brunette I watched the dedicated employee making my Cool Lime Refresher, not expecting a gilded rim and a carbon nanotube straw but at least a drink made of something that looks like it’s worth the money.

Ha. This is what happened next: Into the not-that-huge cup the young-and-restless loyal Starbuckhipster  poured a concentrated liquid out of a carton, added some ice cubes, topped it with, no, not freshly spring water from the melting snow of the Upper Peninsula but with NYC’s own tap water, stirred a bit, threw in a slice of lime to make it look au natural and placed a good plastic lid over it.

I’m not sure what I expected. Maybe some fresh lime juice? Something that looks like an effort to make a real drink for $4.45? Like a virgin cocktail? I guess I’m naive.

But I paid.  So why do I say  forgive me consumer for I have sinned? Because by the act of  me buying that drink for that price I legitimize the price point, so I need to apologize to my fellow consumers for buying a (maybe) $1 drink for $4.45. So I said a few Hail Marys (being an atheist that was born Jewish it might seem a bit strange though) and I promise I’ll never buy it again.

Though we did use the facilities.

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Map     Patisserie Florentine       Facebook      Yelp

It makes me happy to find a place that I enjoy going to, gladly recommend and eager to schlep with me to anyone I can, anytime I can.

My first bite at this place was at a croissant. That by itself is enough to get one addicted to this place. But by far it wasn’t my last bite, nor it is the only thing that will keep you coming.

The baked goods and the food – I get an uncontrollable grin on my face when I’m there. Chef Tomer provides us with a mix of french, Israeli and originality that hits the senses in a perfect way – and makes me smile with joy. There are really so many good things there, and I’m yet to try something that wasn’t excellent. Here’s a sample:

The croissant – so perfect, baked in a few batches during the day to assure freshness (really!) and on such a different class than these industrial crescents you get around here pretending to be a croissant and leaving that terrible margarine feel on your tongue. This one is a perfect  croissant au beurre and has nothing ordinaire ’bout it. You’ll fall in love.

Lava cake. Well, just try it. ‘nough said.

Omelet – choose your two fillings, and enjoy a great omelet with generous surroundings –  an excellent bun, Israeli salad, herbal butter, jam, feta – a beautiful tasty dish.

Almond croissant – covered with almond, filled with the real thing, rich in almonds, butter and sugar (not the almond extract flavored gunk you get in other places), as perfect as you can get.

Waffles – well, actually to be accurate it is  “Liège Style Waffle” – my daughter couldn’t stop smiling while “working” on these. I risked my life and asked for a bite, and I got the same smile she had. So good. No really. So good!

Coffee. In a word, excellent.

The staff – young, pleasant, smiling and attending staff, including the chef’s wife Amy, all making it a relaxing and enjoyable experience.

The place and décor – pretty small, cute European style cafe’ setup, perfect for what it is, with a baker’s prep table at the far end where some of the baked goods are being worked on.

To sum up, as you can understand, I’m sold. The place opened just a couple of months ago, but the chefs and staff are providing a place that serves baked goods that will proudly compete with any top notch bakery not only in the US, but pretty much anywhere include France. Excellent food, welcoming staff and in a pleasant environment.

My predication? They’ll need a bigger place soon.

Opine Away rating of Patisserie Florentine:

Rating index:  0 – Don’t bother. “-“ – irrelevant.  1 to 10, 10 is best. Price $ to $$$$ (* changed from 5 $ range to match Yelp.)

The reason for the lower family rating – the staff is extremely friendly to kids, but I do not believe it is great for the average family with young kids (i.e. they will not serve chicken fingers with ketchup).

L.

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Decent food, small deserts….

www.sohoongeorge.com

335 George Street

New Brunswick

NJ 08901

Tel: 732-296-0533

Map

SOHO on George has good food, reasonable (not cheap) prices, good service, OK cocktails, OK décor.

They might be a little too pretentious, it is not a high end NYC restaurant, but the food is good and presented nice. Sitting outside is nice except for the traffic behind you, which is blocked by a row of small trees, but is very very close…

Opine Away rating of SOHO on George:

Rating index:  0 – Don’t bother. “-“ – irrelevant.  1 to 10, 10 is best. Price $ to $$$$$

L.

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Go for dessert or to sit and chat over coffee….

http://www.cafelalo.com/

201 W 83rd St

New York, NY 10024

(212) 496-6031

Map

Lalo is a noisy little café with a huge selection of desserts, good coffee, nice selection of breakfast and brunch items, full bar and a great atmosphere…

Don’t expect to have lunch or dinner here (no meat on the menu)… this is a place to have dessert or eat a breakfast/lunch, go before or after a show or for dessert after dinner for sitting and chatting, or when you just crave for a dessert…

Opine Away rating of Café Lalo:

Rating index:  0 – Don’t bother. “-“ – irrelevant.  1 to 10, 10 is best. Price $ to $$$$$

L.

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The picture is not a mirror image, that’s the way the sign is…

http://www.nohostar.com/

330 Lafayette St
New York, NY 10012

(212) 925-0070

 Map

The NOHO Star is good food, good service, nice atmosphere, somewhat diner style. We had brunch, steak and egg, served with grits, all were good, fresh OJ was good, coffee was surprisingly good, side bread that we asked for was pretty terrible, soup was good.

Excellent to sit and chat, not too noisy, acoustics are reasonable, no pressure to go away….

Great brunch place….

Opine Away rating of The NOHO Star:

Rating index:  0 – Don’t bother. “-“ – irrelevant.  1 to 10, 10 is best. Price $ to $$$$$

L.

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211 Livingston St

Northvale, NJ 07647

(201) 750-8570

This is a tiny family-run restaurant with no fancy bit in it – but the food is good, the portions are generous and the service is efficient (this word was selected carefully, as they are very nice, polite and fast but don’t expect any ceremonial fancy over-smiling “may I wipe your mouth for you sir”…). The family is genuine Greek, the food is genuine Greek, and the service is genuine Greek…

Don’t expect anything from the décor, that’s not the reason you’re going there… enjoy the food, the non-pretentious atmosphere, and again, the food….

Opine Away rating of The Greek Village:

Rating index:  0 – Don’t bother. “-“ – irrelevant.  1 to 10, 10 is best. Price $ to $$$$$

L.

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www.carminesnyc.com

They have a few locations (NYC, Atlantic City, Paradise Island). I’ve been to the two NYCs:

200 W. 44 st.

New York, NY 10036

Phone: (212)-221-3800

And my preferred one:

2450 Broadway  (Between 90^th and 91^st)

New York, NY 10024

Phone: (212)-362-2200

Carmine’s serves dishes family style – big, enough for a few people. I would recommend going there at a least a party of 4 – although I ate there by myself a couple of time… lots of left overs..

The food is good and consistent.  My standard order is Carmine’s salad, fried calamari (one of the best I know) and seafood pasta in red sauce (lobster, clams, muscles, shrimp, fish…), if more than 4 adults, usually also the Chicken Scarpariello (pieces on the bone with lemon, butte, olive oil, garlic,  a little rosemary). That can feed 3 couples.

For desert – Tiramisu is excellent ( enough for 3 couples…) and if you’re with kids, or a big party that want to have fun, the Titanic is a huge portion of ice cream with all the goodies – brownie, whipped cream, fudge, banana, strawberry, nuts….

Carmine’s is reasonably prices. The ceiling is very high, and the place’s acoustics makes it noisy but not too noisy, just enough to make you comfortable to talk and not whisper.  The service is usually very good. Reservations are made only to large groups (over 6).

Opine Away rating of Carmine’s:

Rating index:  0 – Don’t bother. “-“ – irrelevant.  1 to 10, 10 is best. Price $ to $$$$$

Style of visit	Food	Décor	Atmosphere	Price
Family	9	8	9	$$$
Friends	9	7	8	$$$
Out of towners	9	9	10	$$$
Unmarried	8	7	7	$$$
In and out	–	–	–	$$$$$

L.

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Don’t tell anyone about it, I don’t want it to get too crowded.

www.luciennyc.com

14 1st Avenue

New York, NY 10009

Phone: (212) 260-6481

Lucien is one of those gems you want to tell only people you really like about. The place is very small, with a small bar and amazing food.

French food without any fuss. The Foie Gras appetizer and the Fillet Mignon are my favorites.  

The Foie Gras is served with onion jam and kind of apples (they taste something between an apple and a pear…) and I can’t stop myself of cleaning the plate with the baguette after the Foie Gras is gone.  

The Fillet Mignon is served with light black pepper cream sauce and amazing French fries – the sauce is so good, I clean the plate (again) with the fries until there’s no more sauce.

Desserts are great too…  Try the Crème Brulee or the Tart Tatin… I’m getting hungry now….

Prices are reasonable for the quality of food you get.

Opine Away rating of Lucien:

Rating index:  0 – Don’t bother or irrelevant.  1 to 10, 10 is best. Price $ to $$$$$

L.

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