Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays, all!
Gingerbread cupcake from Little Cupcake Bakeshop.

Lani Kai

Lani Kai is one of the rare hip tiki bars that exist, but given that it's creator is also responsible for the amazing Flatiron Lounge and Clover Club, this shouldn't be a surprise. The excellent cocktails include the Last Luau, with white & aged rum, grilled pineapple, ginger syrup and lime juice; the Pacific Swizzle with white rum, rosehip, lemongrass and hibiscus tea; and the non-tiki New York Sour with whiskey, lemon and orange juice, red wine and topped with egg white.

The Queen's Park Swizzle is made with aged rum,mint, demerara, lime and bitters.

The food is great as well - we started with the Tuna Poke, a ahi tuna with chilies, sesame, macadamia nuts and cucumber on taro root chips.

The pork buns with pickled cucumbers and secret sauce were amazing; and the delicata squash tempura is a perfect bar snack.

For dessert, we tried the doughnuts served with a perfectly salty caramel dipping sauce.

Pulino's

At a recent dinner at Pulino's we started with the amazing cannellini bean bruschetta - a creamy mix of beans with braised greens topped with pecorino and served with thick bread drizzled with olive oil.

The coppa was incredible - thin slices of melt-in-your mouth pork.

The pizza is also great (as it should be) topped with house-made salami with a little spice and served with a spicy olive oil on the side.

Takahachi Bakery

One of my favorite sushi places launched a Japanese bakery in Tribeca - Takahachi Bakery. Stocked with baked goods like macarons and strawberry shortcake, there are many options of pan - like this delicious beef curry pan with a rich beef curry stew filling and a perfectly soft shell.

L'asso

The ultimate dessert: s'mores pizza from L'asso. A super thin, crunchy crust smothered with a thick layer of chocolate and topped with mounds of toasted mini marshmallows. Incredible.