Tosca's NYC Clean & Cool Restaurant Guide

There is nothing I like more than checking out new restaurants while I am in NYC. I am just back from another stint of promotions for Your Best Body Now in the city that never sleeps. While I was there I got to enjoy some yummy meals. Here are a few of my favorites. Please feel free to share yours as I am always looking for new places to visit.

1. PASTIS: One of our favorite resto’s in NYC for breakfast, lunch and dinner is, of course, Pastis located in the Meatpacking District across from the Hotel Gansevoort. You can order an egg white omelet and it is beautiful, fluffy and delish. The oatmeal is over the top yummy with all sorts of fresh berries and dried fruits too. Order a frothy capuccino for breakfast, too. Siggghhhh! Dreaming of it now. For dinner the green beans are the best as is virtually any entrée. You can ask them to leave the butter off the veg and get your proteins sans goop! The place is lively and full of city energy.

2. FIG & OLIVE: Fig and Olive is a family and team favorite just around the corner from Pastis. They do a roast chicken that is memorable. Their sides are fabulous and again available without sauce and butter. The olives and olive oil are a mainstay and the restaurant goes to a lot of trouble to source the best quality of both. I especially love the candle fixtures on their walls. My girls like their collection of unique cocktails, too... but in moderation!

3. CIPRIANI DOWNTOWN: Another family favorite is Cipriani Downtown on West Broadway. We eat there nearly every time we go to New York especially if the weather is favorable and the front windows are open. They do an avocado + greens salad that is nearly spiritual to eat. They are the one place where I have to relent on bread as their bread basket is full of offerings that don’t hurt my stomach. Their green linguine with pesto and a side of grilled salmon is divine. And they have the best espresso in the city. I was schooled by the owner there that a good espresso must be of the exact temperature and intensity that you should be able to shoot it. By the way they do a neat appetizer that is simply a bowl filled with ridiculously good olives and big hunks of ancient Parmesan cheese. Lovely!

4. SMITH & WOLLENSKY: For a business-type dinner I enjoy Smith and Wollensky mostly because you can get in, order and get out in decent time but still feel like you have had a proper dining experience. All menu items are fab but the spinach is my favorite. Really good! A note of caution, the meat servings are ENORMOUS. You definitely have to share or stop yourself from gorging. Nice wine and waiters too.

5. BOBO: And for a really cute and cozy adventure head to BoBo. I couldn’t get over how intimate this place was. We went there for dinner with our daughters and we had to go downstairs below street level to get into the restaurant. It was tiny on the inside but full of warm energy and quaint, funky details including the smallest powder room I have ever seen. The tables are mismatched and weatherbeaten but the food and service are polished and wonderful. The photo of me and my girls to the left was taken at BoBo last spring.

6. HOTEL GIRAFFE: This isn't really a restaurant suggestion, but Bob and I like to stay at the Hotel Giraffe because they have a fantastic little wine and cheese, fruit and veg help yourself deal set up from about 4 until 6 pm. So you can go and sit in the lobby after a busy day and have a wind down with a little coffee or wine and some nibbles. They also offer a fabulous continental breaky in the morning complete with coffee, tea, boiled eggs (hurray), fruit salad (hurray hurray), yogurt and granola, etc. What a treat!

Well, now my mouth is watering and I hope yours is, too. What do you recommend?