Controlled chaos is the best way I can describe Navy Beach.  That’s what you get when you combine live music, a hot crowd and good food right off the beach.  I got there a little early when it was still sane which was a little before six o’clock.  The host took down my name and ask me to check back with him at six.  I hung out at the beach and listen to the band until it was time to check back with the host.

Six o’clock rolls around and I check back inside with the host and that’s when all the chaos began.  The host was surrounded by would be guest trying to score a table, meanwhile he was screaming into his headset to get a table ready for a party of four.  The line went out the door but I managed to make eye contact with him and he recognized me from before and true to his word, got me seated right away.

Amidst the chaos, the staff was efficient and the food was quite good.  Every dish we had was well prepared and executed.  At the end I was pleasantly surprised how well they managed to pull it off.

Navy Beach Restaurant
16 Navy Road
Montauk, NY 11954
(631) 668-6868

The Nikon 50mm f/1.8D is an amazing lens.  Selling at most places for about $120 it’s a bargain for such a fast and sharp lens.  It’s also small and weights just 5.5 ounces so you can toss it into your coat pocket and take it with you just in case you need something that has a 1.8 aperture.

I’ve been using my zooms and haven’t really used my 50mm in awhile.  I thought it would be fun to shoot NYC neighborhoods with the 50mm wide open.  Just because I was in the area, Chinatown was my first location.

Any visit to the the Hamptons should include a delicious lobster roll.  I’ve had my share of lobster rolls ranging from so-so to pretty good.  I haven’t had a great one until I stopped by Brewsters.

Brewsters Seafood Market is basically a fish market with some tables inside and a few picnic tables outside.  The decor is shack like but the staff is friendly and the food wonderfully fresh.  The highlight of the menu is the lobster roll which I’m declaring the best in the Hamptons.  I guess the only thing keeping Brewsters under the radar is the location.  It’s in Hampton Bays which to the snobby is barely in the Hamptons, but don’t let that stop you from having the best lobster roll in the area.

252 East Montauk Hwy
Hampton Bays, NY 11946
631-728-FISH

Magnolia bakery was already popular before becoming the hottest bakery in New York after being featured in Sex in the City.  In pursuit of finding the best cupcake in the city, I stopped by their Grand Central location.  To my surprise, they had a special cupcake made only at that location, the Grand Central cupcake.  As far as cupcakes goes, this was one decadent cupcake with gold flakes topped with a chocolate disk.

The frosting was rich but not overly sweet and the cake itself was moist but not buttery.  It seems like they got everything just right and I can see why their cupcakes are so popular.  But is it the best cupcake in the city?  It’s pretty good and maybe the best I’ve had so far but I’m not quite ready to declare it the ultimate cupcake yet.

Twenty four hours a day, in the heart of Korea town, Kum Gang San churns out Korean food that even Koreans from Korea like.  I’m pretty sure they’re not drawn by the faux rock wall or the cheesy white piano but by the consistently good fare coming out of the kitchen.  This is one of my favorite Korean restaurants and I’ve been to both locations in Flushing and Manhattan.  Service is typically fast, efficient and somewhat impersonal.  It’s not a place to go for soaking up ambiance or to get great service because you won’t find either here.  What you will find is good and flavorful Korean food.

I had my usual favorite, Soon Doo Boo Jigae which is a soft bean curd and seafood stew.  Like a lot of Korean dishes, it’s spicy so make sure you get a nice bottle of OB to go with it.

Kum Gang San
49 West 32nd St.
212-967-0909

Cupcakes are great and the only thing better than a cupcake is a really big cupcake.  I found some really big ones at Crumbs Bake Shop in Midtown.  Midtown isn’t the only place to get them, in fact they have many shops all over the city and even in East Hampton.  They have a huge variety of flavors ranging from the fairly plain Vanilla Lemon Frosted to the fancy Tony Hawk Skate Cake.  I sampled the Carrot cupcake and the Apple Cobbler.  Overall they were pretty good but perhaps not the top cake in city.

The frosting is really sweet so great for those of us who have a sweet tooth but probably a little too much for us who like a subtler taste.  The cake itself was moist but not gummy like some other cupcakes I’ve had.  If you like a rich moist cake, this might disappoint you.

I was finally able to shoot with with some light.  Normally, I only use natural light at the restaurant since I don’t want to disturb the other guests but today since I brought the cupcakes home they got the full flash treatment.  I even pulled out the light stand and a shoot through umbrella.  Two flashes were used, a Nikon SB-900 with an umbrella and a Nikon SB-600 bounced off a back wall.

Crumbs Bake Shop locations

The Meier building is strikingly unique, unlike most modern glass structures that are often boring and without character.  While I thought the building was exceptional, the food was somewhat disappointing.  Overall, I found the food inconsistent.  My crab dumplings were spicy and full of flavor while my cod was a little overcooked with an overly tart ratatouille.  The summer berry soup desert was light and refreshing, it ended up being the highlight of my dinner.

Service was efficient but a bit impersonal and somewhat robotic.  The staff seemed to be trained to come around at set time intervals to ask you the same thing and see how you are getting along.  Although the restaurant was packed, the ambiance and decor was a bit sterile with the tables turning over in a highly efficient manner.  A money making machine for Jean-Georges.

I’m not Frank Bruni but since his original review was back in 2005, I wonder if the food has slipped a little.  If it was me, this is a one or two star at best restaurant.

Perry St
176 Perry St
NY, NY 10014
212-352-1900

Like dumplings?  Xiao Long Bao are my one favorite things to eat in Chinatown.  Americans call them soup dumplings or little steamed buns but whatever you want to call them they are just plain delicious.  My favorite place to eat them is Shanghai Cafe in Chinatown.  Let the tourist and casual eater go to Joe Shanghai but for my money I’m headed to 100 Mott Street.

The place gets very crowded with mostly locals which is usually a good sign.  The dumplings are hand made in the front and because of the high turnover, it’s always fresh.  Whether you like just pork or crab-meat and pork, you can’t go wrong.  Be careful when you bite down because blazing hot juices will be shooting all over you if you’re not careful.  While you’re there, try some of the other dumpling dishes like the fried tiny buns or the pork fried dumplings, almost all the dumpling dishes are great.  Unfortunately, all the other dishes are just run of the mill and nothing to write home or blog about.

Shanghai Cafe
100 Mott Street
212-966-3988

There aren’t many choices for fine dining in the tourist trap known as Times Square. Whether you’re waiting for a show or taking in the bright lights of the big city, it’s a challenge to find something better than the Olive Garden for a meal.  The seafood restaurant Blue Fin is a step above your average fare in the neon center of the city.

The Yabu Pushelberg designed interior strikes me as a hip executive dining room, if there is such a thing.  The restaurant is quite spacious with two bars and seating for 400 guests.  While the space is pleasing to the eye, there is nothing special about it.  It’s usually packed and and pretty lively, so if you’re looking for a quiet get away from touristy Times Square, this isn’t the place.

The food itself is solid but like it’s interior, nothing memorable.  The tuna in my summer roll could have been fresher but the rest of my meal was good.  The dishes were well executed and the food well prepared but nothing really stood out.  The menu plays it safe and there was nothing daring or unusual about any of our dishes.  Our waitress was attentive and overall the service was solid.  So if you ‘re looking for a safe solid bet in Times Square, you’ve found yourself a winner.

W Hotel Times Square
1567 Broadway
47th Street
212.918.1400

On a hot summer day with temperatures hitting 100 degrees in NYC, I went to lunch at the new location.  Not surprisingly, it was pretty empty since hot spicy food is probably not at the top of the list for most people on a blistering hot day.  It was however great for taking pictures and getting very attentive service since there wasn’t much competition for the waiters.  The first thing you’ll notice about the Tribeca branch is the sheer size of the restaurant.  It’s one of the biggest if not the biggest restaurant in Tribeca, but even at its enormous size it’s a beautiful and elegantly designed space.

The great thing about going there for lunch is the special executive lunch menu.  It’s a very reasonably priced menu between $24-$28 depending on which region you pick.  The way the menu works is that there are four different regions to pick from and each region has a few dishes that make up the special.    My region pick was Lucknow and my wife had Hyderabad.  We had a lot of different dishes as part of our meal and each dish ranged from good to excellent.  The two standouts were Kalongi Baigan, a fried eggplant dish, and my appetizer which was a spinach and corn soup that I can’t recall the name.  This unnamed soup had a lot of texture and was very spicy but it all worked because it was absolutely delicious.  On a blazing hot day in NYC, that’s a big achievement for a hot and spicy soup.

The original Tamarind was my favorite Indian restaurant in the city until they opened this one right near me.  The space is gorgeous, the food is just as good and it saves me a subway ride.

Tamarind, 99 Hudson Street
(212) 775-9000