Italian » Metro NYC on Wheels

Woman, where have you been?

Edgewater, NJ, Indian, Italian, Murray Hill, NJ, Seafood, Stuff, Weehauken No Responses »

Sep 182011

Hello all,

I’ve chatted with some of you on Twitter over the past month, and I certainly apologize for not being all that current with updates. To be honest, my real world job has taken over a bit, and I haven’t had as much time to devote to the site as of late. However, I’ll give you some quick hits:

Tomaso’s in Edgewater, NJ – avoid at all costs! The decor is tacky, there’s a “charming” (meaning horrid) accordion player on Friday nights, and the food is terrible. This place is near our house and we thought we’d give it a shot. Not even worth the time for its accessibility, which is good. I don’t care how great a place is accessibility-wise if the food is worse than tasteless.

The Chart House, Weehauken, NJ – good food, good accessibility. Yes, it’s a chain but it doesn’t feel like one. Parking is a bit tight but valet is available as is a large, free parking lot across the street.

Bhatti in Murray Hill, NYC – went with a friend of Indian descent to this BYOB establishment. If you want “non-traditional” Indian food, this is your spot. However, if you crave Chicken Tikka Masala, what you receive won’t be what you’re expecting. Also, there is no real dessert menu, nor are there any non-lactose filled beverage options. We were not impressed.

Eataly

Activities, Food, Italian, Midtown No Responses »

Jun 172011

Eataly
500 5th Ave. (entrances on 5th Ave. and 23rd St.)
New York, NY 10010

Eataly is a concept restaurant/marketplace developed with Mario Batali as an “Italian Marketplace.” it has several casual and a couple “proper” restuarants scattered throughout the building. There is a large marketplace filled with various Italian specialties, although some of the brands you may recognize from your local supermarket. Since we (me, husband and friend) are avid fans of italian food, we decided it would be a fun Friday after work place to meet up.

We ate at La Piazza/Il Pesce – both are eateries in the midst of the marketplace with table service (if you are going in the evening, it’s wise to go to the podium to request table service before you stroll the market itself). I have to admit that we were disappointed. The portions were small for the price point and the food was rather uninspired. As my husband put it, “Mario Batali likes to eat- I thought his portions would be bigger than this!”

The market itself gave me the same impression – lots of overpriced items (yes, it’s New York, so some inflation is expected) but not a whole lot that “wowed” me. That being said, it was still fun to walk through, but I wouldn’t make a special trip.

Since this a site focused on wheelchair accessibility in New York City and surrounding areas, I can tell you that Eataly is quite wheelchair friendly. There was absolutely no problem with getting around (aside from the crowds) and the restrooms were fine.

Terrazza Toscana

Food, Hell's Kitchen, Italian, Theater District No Responses »

May 292011

Terrazza Toscana
742 Ninth Ave.
New York, NY 10019
TEL 212-315-9191

Side view of restaurant - the open doors show the wheelchair entry

Came here after a matinee theater show on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon. Although people mention a lot of the options for eating in the Hell’s Kitchen area, as you know, finding somewhere without steps is a challenge. As we wandered around looking for a place to nosh (neither one of us knowing how much we wanted to eat), the manager saw us looking at the menu and pointed out that they had wheelchair access in spite of the foreboding step out front. The only non-accessible area are the bathrooms, but there are plenty of fast-food restaurants close by in case you have the need.

Anyway, I had the gnocchi and my husband had the linguine and fish dish. The fish was plentiful for his linguine with lemon sauce, and the gnocci was a lovely tomato cream sauce with plenty of pesto. Peroni for him; prosecco for me. The service was very good, attentive but not overly, and we found the food to be very good Northern Italian cuisine.

We’ll go back…