Cognac

Opened by Bruno and Thierry Gelormini in 1995, Le Charlot offers the tastes and sights of French-owned Corsica complemented by "French attitude. " Light music plays, rattan chairs surround white-clothed tables, and a plethora of natural light consumes the outdoor seating, pushing inside through open windows. Locals and others strolling in from Central Park are happy to dine in this relaxed environment. Loyal to the French bistro image, Le Charlot offers fresh, colorful dishes. A favorite to many, the mussels sit in a white wine sauce, waiting to be ripped open for their concealed treasures. The artichoke special with champagne vinaigrette bares its petals, enticing one to savor every morsel while peeling away to the tender heart. Reds, whites, and greens share a plate for the Caprese salad. Adding to this calm, tasteful atmosphere, the international staff emanates with charm and good spirits, and the manager told me he was "a part of the furniture, " having worked in this restaurant from the bottom to the top. It was clear the staff had become very close, as they laughed and put their arms around each other throughout my stay. "We are a family here, " one explained, "And we are having fun serving people. "When the aspirations of the staff align with the aspirations of the guests, a restaurant is immediately more invigorated, and with bites and an ambiance resembling that of a Mediterranean island, this is the perfect side street gem to evade the fast pace of Manhattan for a little while.

Match 65 was an unexpected find when walking along 65th Street, but a very welcome one. It was a beautiful spring day and the doors were thrown open wide. I found a few tables set up with friends sitting and chatting while sipping a glass of wine. The bar up front was inviting as was the classic French brasserie's menu. I sampled the artichokes, simply prepared with a lemon and tarragon dressing, while others insisted on ordering the classic onion soup, despite the warm weather outdoors. We decided that we had to share the profiteroles filled with vanilla ice cream and topped with a luscious warm chocolate sauce. A perfect pick me up late in the day before heading across Central Park to the West Side.

Bel Ami perfectly combines the best parts of New York and Paris. The food is authentically French: shelves are lined with glistening pastries and tiny French bread sandwiches. Macarons behind glass are mirrored by fun macaron key chains at the register. The walls are decorated with bookshelves filled with antique books and expressionist art. Springtime flower arrangements live between the windowpane and the grate. The spirit of New York creeps in, however, through the exposed brick walls and the service; though I arrived during lunchtime, the small cafe was cranking through orders at record speed to match the pace of the busy Manhattanites coming in for coffee and sandwiches. I admired the assortment of cookies, iced to look like bumble bees and smiling piglets, but decided to try one of their small zucchini and goat cheese French bread rolls. The ingredients were fresh and ingeniously simple, and it was exactly the right serving size for lunch, another aspect of French culture that Bel Ami has cleverly brought to the Upper East Side.

Daniel is the eponymous restaurant and flagship of Daniel Boulud, the mastermind behind a wide array of New York restaurants including Cafe Boulud, Bar Boulud, and DBGB Kitchen and Bar. The restaurateur and chef also has restaurants in Florida, Canada, DC, Boston, Singapore, and the United Kingdom. Daniel comes originally from a family farm near Lyon, France, and his menus are firmly rooted in French tradition. The restaurant Daniel is a Michelin starred masterpiece, with neo classical architecture, seasonal menus, and lavish private dining spaces.

Sweet aromas lure one into this tiny coffee and tea shop on west 70th. Originally founded in 1976 across the street, the Sensuous Bean moved to its current location in 1990 and is now co-owned by partners in life and in business, Lucretia La Mora and Tom Wilson. "People follow their noses, " explained Tom of the cafe's success. And even horses cannot resist - he recalled one peeking its head through the door as an officer grabbed a cup. "We blend to taste, " Tom added. Each day, beans are grinded on site and brewed in three roasters for a hot cup. And although small, the place is stocked with a large selection of coffees and teas sourced from a variety of regions. The chai spice tea comes from India and the Mexican Vienna brew from Zimbabwe. The assortment of flavorful tisanes includes intriguing names like red velvet cupcake or bella coola lemon lime.

Amber Upper West relocated from Columbus Avenue to this dimly lit, intimate side street enclave in 2015. A wood-beamed ceiling and whitewashed walls are organically accented with well-illuminated hanging plants and a graphic, black and white tree painting. With a menu featuring a large selection of rolls, grilled dishes and sushi to be shared in either the conventional dining space or well-stocked bar, this side street gem offers more than just lovely decor.

When Henry Clay Frick passed away in 1919, he had placed in his will that his residence be turned into a museum forever open to public access, featuring the impressive collection he had assembled over a span of forty years. In addition, his will provided a fifteen million dollar endowment for maintenance. In 1935, the Frick Collection was opened in the expanded Gilded Age mansion originally designed by Thomas Hastings for residence, and initially transformed into the museum by John Russel Pope. The interior features spectacular selections of Old Master paintings and European sculptures in sixteen permanent collections that integrate Italian, French and Spanish works, allowing cohesive interactions from multiple regions and time periods - the way Henry enjoyed viewing art. In the center, the Garden Court, which had been Henry's driveway, is considered the museum's heart, ornamented by rushing water, a bounty of plant life, impressive sculptures, and an intriguing skylight. Today, it is the only room in which one is permitted to take photographs. I remember visiting the Frick for the first time as a teenager and declaring it my favorite museum in Manhattan. I can easily state that it remains so to this day. I never tire of introducing visitors from out of town to The Frick and I continue to appreciate each new exhibit. For me, it remains a tranquil setting to walk, contemplate and unwind as I am surrounded by art and beauty.

Established in 1904, The Explorers Club is centered on scientific discovery in all realms - land, sea, air and space. Its original headquarters were located at the Studio Building on West 67th Street, and it moved to this location in 1965. In 1918, a signature flag was introduced, capitalizing on historic routes and unabated curiosity. Since then, the flag has been proudly carried on hundreds of expeditions as members of the club were the first to make it to the North and South Poles, the summit of Mt. Everest, the deepest point in the ocean, and the surface of the moon. The club first allowed women in 1981. To this day, it is a meeting spot for all kinds of explorers, scientists and students.

If it were not for the diners sunning themselves in the outdoor seats, I might have walked straight past this restaurant. The townhouse is completely unmarked, I learned, because businesses in historic buildings are not allowed to add outdoor signage. I settled down inside with a few of the Manhattan Sideways team and we treated ourselves to a relaxing hour, thoroughly enjoying a fresh, light meal that was as delicious as it was beautifully presented. An interesting take on the traditional bread and butter was put down before us - radishes with olive tapenade on a freshly cut loaf. I was in cheese heaven as I cut into the oozing, warm, perfect burrata with beets, and Olivia ordered the house-made falafel salad with yoghurt sauce, which she said was "marvelous. " Erika was pleased with her choice of the Kale Caesar salad. Everything tasted like a fresh spring day, and left us feeling energized. The atmosphere also added to the sense of rejuvenation, with simple whitewashed tables, cherry blossom bouquets, and a perfectly placed skylight. The restaurant is a big player in the farm-to-table movement. We spoke with Chef Sammy Diaz, who explained that he goes to the farmer's market four times a week in order to find the freshest ingredients for the menu. He works closely with executive chef Joseph Capozzi as they establish relationships with local foragers. The restaurant tries to get most of its ingredients from no farther than Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Sammy entertained us for quite some time with his stories, and his commitment to the food he cooks with every day, but I believe the best was when he elaborated on "Goatober. " Each week for the entire month of October, a whole goat is delivered to East Pole, and Sammy gets to be creative with as many dishes as he can for 31 days. Sammy showed us the impressive upstairs room, which can be used for private parties. It has a second bar, and a long wooden table with fresh sprigs of herbs for decoration. The feel is more of a lovely cottage, rather than a metropolitan New York restaurant. The walls are decorated in maps and sea charts, in keeping with the vague nautical and travel theme suggested by the restaurant's name. Everything about the eatery offered a sunny, fresh escape from city life into a culinary garden.

Remy, the Belgian gentleman behind the bar, described his time at B Cafe as a remarkable experience. He came to the States and was having a difficult time finding a job, but two days before his visa was to run out in 2006, he happened upon Shkel, who had recently opened a restaurant on East 75th Street. Apparently, the two men hit it off, and Shkel decided to sponsor Remy. Over the past nine years, Remy has been able to watch "this little restaurant grow up. " Having arrived on the scene only six weeks after its opening, he appreciated working for a company where he could "find the consequences" of his involvement. Remy went on to say that he became a member of a team that has had very little turnover. Remy continued, "Customers feel the consistency. " Being on a side street, they must work that much harder to keep their guests coming back. He acknowledged that everything good takes time, but that at this point, he feels that B Cafe has earned the approval of its neighbors. Dropping in on a Thursday evening around 7: 00pm, I can attest to the fact that this is a popular spot on the Upper East Side. We were the fortunate ones who got to sit at the one lovely table out front on a perfect fall night, thus being able to witness the constant flow of enthusiastic diners. Luana, also from Belgium, has worked in the cafe for several years and encouraged me to speak to Remy about the beers that they serve, promising me I would not be disappointed. As the bar filled up, Remy pulled down a laminated map from the ceiling. Picking up a lengthy pointer, this very clever man began my school lesson on Belgian beers from around the region. As he pointed to each district, he explained how the beer was made while also giving me both a history and geography education on Belgium and its surrounding countries. When I commented on how extraordinary this concept of the map was, Remy replied with a straight face, "I have been teaching here for almost ten years. " I then had to know how this map idea came to be. When the restaurant first opened, Remy found that he was always drawing Belgium on a cocktail napkin in an effort to explain interesting facts about the country to those seated in front of him. One day, he told me, "The boss asked why I was always using up so many napkins and when I explained, he thought it would be better if we just had a map. " Absolutely brilliant. Settling down at my outdoor table, dish after dish was presented to Manhattan Sideways' photographer Tom to photograph and then for us to eat. The Belgian cheese platter came with clever little flags on toothpicks that described what we were sampling. I took a special liking to Saint-Bernard, "produced in the heart of West Flanders, " and Brugge Jong, a "mild, smooth cheese. " The Belgian endive salad was served with Stilton and an aged balsamic dressing, while the tuna tartare sat atop a mound of mashed avocado. Piping hot Moules Frites arrived and as the top was lifted, the steam poured out from a vast pot of mussels. Carbonnade Flamande, similar to a beef bourguignon but cooked for six to eight hours in an aged dark beer, was the favorite of the night for my husband, who joined us. After the Carbonnade Flamande and two Belgian beers (Palm and Tripel Karmeliet), he expressed how he wished that he could spend more time with the Manhattan Sideways team. Just when he thought the fun was over, Luana appeared with their classic dessert: The Belgian waffles were served with a dollop of Speculoos (a ginger biscuit spread) and three traditional sauces - raspberry beer, chocolate and strawberry - the colors of Belgium's flag. Before leaving, I took a quick peek at the garden in the back, which provides outdoor seating throughout the summer and is enclosed during the colder months. Be it sitting cozily outside at the romantic table upfront, at any of the tables inside, or in the quiet garden, the experience is nothing short of exceptional. Not only is the food superb, but combined with the captivating staff, it makes for the perfect night out.