The John Dory Oyster Bar

...is owned by the renowned chef, April Bloomfield, and is located in the Ace Hotel in NYC in the bordering neighborhoods of the Flatiron District and Lower Midtown at 1196 Broadway.

This restaurant specializes in oysters (of course) and small plates.

I started with a Veronicocktail (prosecco and candied ginger) - $12.

Then I had the Char Pate ($9) served with a Parker House Roll. The pate was good, but the roll was fantastic - warm and buttery.

Next I had their famous Oyster Pan Roast ($14) which is a creamy soup studded with oysters and topped with an Uni crostini. The waiter suggested a side order of Parker House Rolls ($4.50) for dunking - which was a great idea. I could make a meal of these fabulous rolls. The Uni was also buttery and rich.

Then I tried the Spanish Mackerel Escabeche ($12) which was very tart and even though the white filets were flaky I didn't like the flavor all.

The dessert menu was not very inspiring so I had the Grapefruit with ginger sugar cookies ($7). The cookies were great - light and airy.

Pipa

...is located at 35 East 18th Street connected to NYC's ABC Carpet in the Flatiron District.

I had the smoked salmon eggs benedict ($13) and orange juice ($3.50) for breakfast. The eggs benedict were accompanied by a small salad and was very good. Instead of being served on a traditional english muffin it was served on potato pancakes.

City Bakery

On this visit to City Bakery located in NYC's Flatiron District on West 18th Street I had a Bacon maple biscuit - $3.50 and Non alchololic sangria made with hibiscus juice - $3.

Eataly

I went back to Eataly located at 200 Fifth Avenue in NYC's Flatiron District for a little dessert. But I was very disappointed.

I tried two that did not tast as good as they looked:

Tortina sbrisolona (almond tart) $4.80 - it was very dry - like eating sawdust.

Torta di Nocciole di Costiglio - hazelnut torte $4.80 - it was soggy and tasteless.

Eataly - La Pasta

I went back to Eataly in NYC's Flatiron District at 200 Fifth Avenue to try the pasta restaurant. The pasta is cooked to order in an open kitchen.

I started with fresh mozzarella antipasti ($11) which was sliced and drizzled with olive oil and served with a tiny mound of sea salt. The mozzarella was light and creamy - almost like burrata. I ordered the Agnolottie al Plin ($19) tiny meat filled pasta which were very delicate and served with freshly grated parmigiana reggianno.

Unfortunately, since the restaurants are food specific they do not offer dessert.

Hill Country Chicken

I returned to this Flatiron District restaurant located at 1123 Broadway for one reason - lemon meringue pie! And they didn't have any. Seems like it is depends on the whim of the baker!

Not only that, but most of the pies were not available by the slice. So I had a little pie buffet with the mini cup versions ($3/each).

I tried the Coconut Cream (okay, with a little lemony flavor), Apple Cheddar (the cheddar flavor was only in the crust), Banana Cream Pie (my favorite out of the 4) and Cowboy (peanut butter chips, chocolate chips, coconut and pecans) which was way too sweet!

The crusts for each of the pies was flaky and good.

Eataly

...is located at 200 Fifth Avenue in NYC's Flatiron District.

They offer 3-4 types of Tiramisu. I tried the Torronato for $5.80. It had thin tiles of dark chocolate on the top and bottom.

Eataly

...is the Italian food mecca located at 200 Fifth Avenue in NYC's Flatiron District.

I tried one of their hot paninis - mortadella, mustard and robiola. It was okay, but not great for $8.08.

I also had an Italian soda for $1.98.