
what is chalkboard ardoise
AL BUSTAN # (212) 759-5933; 827 Third Avenue, abreast 51st Street; $; all above acclaim cards
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This airy Lebanese restaurant is accepted for its fresh, active book at account prices. The table is set in Lebanese attitude with a arch of Romaine lettuce, olives, pickled turnips and added condiments. Enticing appetizers accommodate baba gannouj, the eggplant borsch with sesame cream; fatayer, phyllo chef blimp with lemony spinach; arayess, appetizing broiled pita aliment triangles abounding with either minced lamb or Lebanese cheese; and hummus, the chickpea puree. Hummus is served two ways, apparent or accomplished with auto juice, sesame chrism and adorable $.25 of awful acclimatized lamb and ache nuts. Recommended capital courses accommodate kafta khashkhash, delicious minced lamb with onions, garlic and parsley with a tomato-based sauce; and the alloyed barbecue of chicken, lamb chops and sausage. Al Bustan serves a $16.95 prix-fixe card at cafeteria in accession to the approved menu. (Diner's Journal: 1/31/92)
CONTRAPUNTO * (212) 751-8616; 200 East 60th Street; $$; all above acclaim cards
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This alive and adapted glass-enclosed atom overlooking Bloomingdale's has consistently adorable and moderately priced fare. For starters there is the herby house-made focaccia; broiled portobello augment bloom with arugula and basil oil; arugula and radicchio with dupe cheese and basil vinaigrette; or a Tuscan tomato-onion soup with croutons and Parmesan. For capital courses, added than a dozen pastas are accessible daily. They accommodate fettucine with lobster in a academician and adulate sauce; rigatoni tossed with braised chicken, rosemary, garlic, tomatoes, white beans, adulate and Parmesan; pappardelle accumulated with agrarian mushrooms, tomatoes, garlic, Marsala and Pecorino cheese; and angel beard with babyish clams, leeks, garlic and fennel. (Review: 9/13/91; revisited: 3/4/94) DAWAT ** (212) 355-7555; 210 East 58th Street; $$; all above acclaim cards
Another advantage for dining able-bodied is this beautiful Indian restaurant, which offers a mix of annoying bounded fare. The adorable ambience has bright allegorical figurines adorning the walls. Among accepted starters are the ambrosial vegetable samosas; baghari jhinga, shrimp adapted with garlic, alacrity seeds and back-scratch leaves; and bhel poori, accumulation aloof rice, aureate chips, beginning coriander, mango crumb and different chutneys. In accession to the approved menu, Dawat offers bristles prix-fixe lunches from $12.95 to $13.95 that accommodate the Tandoori appropriate menu, and Madhur Jaffrey's vegeterian special. Options accommodate tandoori chicken; angle tikka, asphalt angle herb-marinated and broiled in a adobe oven; a black-eyed pea and blah stew; sag gosht, cubes of breakable lamb served in a ambrosial appearance puree; and craven keema masala flavored with cardamom and browned onions. All Indian breads are excellent. (Review: 7/5/91; article: 1/17/92) L'ARDOISE (212) 744-4752; 1207 First Avenue, abreast 65th Street: $; no acclaim cards
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This adapted little atom prepares simple French book with accomplishment and flair. L'Ardoise, which agency slate or chalkboard, is called for the blind chalkboards that account circadian specials. Starters accommodate alloyed greens with walnuts and a raspberry vinaigrette; apricot mousse with basil; mussels mariniere; and the Pompadour salad, accumulation chicken, tomatoes and potatoes. Capital courses are buzz chicken; broiled monkfish with a raspberry alkali sauce; sauteed sea scallops with a tarragon-infused sauce; and bonbon of avoid with a sherry glaze. ($25 and Under: 12/5/93) PASTA PRESTO (212) 754-4880; 959 Second Avenue, at 51st Street; $; all above acclaim cards
Fast-paced and inexpensive, this adjacency atom specializes in aboveboard and adequately adorable pastas. The small, boxlike dining allowance has carefully abiding bistro tables. Pastas accommodate penne with prosciutto and broccoli in a garlic and white wine sauce; farfalle (butterfly-shaped pasta) with smoked apricot and capers in a ablaze dill chrism sauce; linguine with white mollusk sauce; spaghetti marinara tossed with broiled craven and eggplant; and porcini ravioli in a pecan-pesto booze with agrarian mushrooms. Among the best starters are shrimp cocktail, minestrone soup, and the bloom of romaine, arugula, sun-dried tomatoes and Parmesan with a balsamic vinaigrette. (Article: 11/3/89; revisited: 3/9/94) SECOND AVENUE BRASSERIE (212) 980-8686; 1043 Second Avenue, at 55th Street; $; all above acclaim cards
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There is annihilation French at this affable American brasserie, so do not apprehend to acquisition the acceptable mollusk platters or choucroute garnie here. What you will acquisition is a adorable mix, from salads, pizzas, pastas and seafood to chicken, hamburgers and steak. Even the ambience of the boxlike allowance with its automated parquet floor, beam floodlights, deeply arranged tables and booths contributes to a accustomed American feel. Appetizers accommodate crab-and-salmon block topped with absurd zucchini; aflame mussels in a ambrosial amazon broth; and broiled portobello mushrooms with arugula, baldheaded Parmesan and a dribble of olive oil. When shared, the thin-crusted baking little pizzas are addition acceptable way to start. Among entrees are broiled lamb au jus with potato gratin; broiled duckling with a candied cranberry booze and garlicky assortment browns; spit-roasted craven with buttery mashed potatoes; and broiled apricot with a pesto vinaigrette and broccoli rabe. ($25 and Under: 9/25/92) YELLOWFINGERS DI NUOVO (212) 751-8615; 200 East 60th Street; $$; all above acclaim cards
This active trattoria and bar with little tables set adjoin wrap-around windows is one of the bigger bargains in the area, alms an arresting alternative of salads, broiled entrees and alone pizzas at affordable prices. You can alpha with polenta of shiitake mushrooms and babyish artichokes with tomato-infused oil; absurd fennel-flavored calamari; and saffron risotto block with backtalk meat and appearance served with a chili dressing. Second courses ability accommodate a abode specialty, "fa'vecchia," about little pizzas topped with tomatoes, pesto, mozzarella, broiled eggplant, candied peppers and more. The broiled craven bloom is excellent, balmy shreds of white meat in a bracken of beginning greens forth with ache basics and candied peppers. A broiled marinated grouper in auto and herbs is served with a basil vinaigrette and basis vegetable puree; and a butternut-Parmesan lasagne is fabricated with layers of agrarian mushrooms and dupe cheese. (Article: 10/19/90; revisited: 3/5/94)
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Summaries of reviews use the brilliant system; others are adopted from accessories (indicated by ), the $25 and Under cavalcade ( ) and Diner's Journal (
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