Brooklynites Swooning Over Swoony’s

Posted on November 9, 2025 by Ziggy

What do you do when you try a popular place and it’s not up to snuff? You try the sister, naturally. Cafe Spaghetti as the youngsters say these days, was “Mid” for us. Neither here nor there. But it was mostly service related if I recall. Swoony’s, the owner’s follow-up that opened two years ago, got on my radar way before I realized its the sister. Once I did I wasnt in a rush to go.

But the day finally arrived, and the verdict… its excellent. None of the service issues and better food. Swoony’s is the American version of Cafe Spaghetti. American classics with similar old school elements. The room, pickle Jewish deli plates, funky New Wave hits, contributed to an 80’s vibe. Back then however, we wouldnt even dream about going to Red Hook or Columbia Street nearby.

The food rundown:

Whipped Goat Cheese – With Chili crunch, cucumbers, and grilled sourdough. Terrific Stuff. You expect spicy but instead you get a nicely balanced spread with a good amount of crunch.

Potato Croquettes – I didnt try them but friends claim… Good.

Creamy Lobster Orzo – One of the signatures. Pretty much what you expect, in a good way. Rich, comforting, with plenty of lobster. Could have used a little less salt, but I’d order again.

Dorade – With Green beans, potatoes, olives, salsa verde, and lemon. Expertly cooked skin on Dorade with a perfect supporting cast. Definitely Get this.

Short Rib Au Poivre – Another signature, and probably best dish of the night. Just the kind of texture you expect from two beautiful slabs. The fries are good too, and as I learned many moons ago in Turks and Caicos, fries and Au Poivre is a match made in heaven. Which means, could have used more Au Poivre here.

French Toast – Skip!

Conclusion: Go! Nothing outrageous, but pretty decent elevated enough, American comfort food. The burger is another item getting much hype, though there are hundreds of solid burgers out there these days. Good service, decent drinks, and great vibe. The place is fairly popular, and one of the most mentioned on Reddit, so best to reserve

215 Columbia St, Brooklyn

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This is Biarritz and Bayonne

Posted on November 5, 2025 by Ziggy

A tale of two cities. Only 8 km apart, but two distinctly different cities in Pays Basque. Isolated from the rest of France in more ways than one, although Bordeaux can be reached in a couple of hours. Biarritz International Airport conveniently sitting between the two, is a good starting point for a Basque adventure. Though we opted to fly to San Sebastian which is actually in the town of Hondarribia, close to the border.

Biarritz is the glitzy, fashionable sister. It ends with “Ritz” after all. But its one of the least if not the least Basque-looking city I’ve seen. Quite the contrast to something like the Saint-Jean-de-Luz close to Spain’s border. A small fishing village that turned into a modern resort town, with a healthy surfing culture. It has a striking coastline dominated by Rocher de la Vierge (Rock of the Virgin). Access to it was closed when we were there due to the bigger than usual waves, but it’s still quite the drama queen from a distance.

Things began to turn in Biarritz in the mid 19th centaury when Napoleon III built a little summer home for empress Eugénie de Montijo. Today its of course a lavish, but surprisingly affordable, Hôtel du Palais Biarritz. Nearby you have a scenic lighthouse, and Playa De Biarritz, one of several beaches around. Did I mention Biarritz is the surfing capital of France? It’s also a center for thalassotherapy. These surfers need that seawater therapy when they retire.

For food you got a very happening Halles de Biarritz, food market. And I’ve heard great things about Chéri Bibi. But since we had big dinner plans in Bidart, we took the opportunity to continue our new French tradition. A Brittany style Galette (Buckwheat Crêpe) Complète. You can find plenty of options these days everywhere, but I find the Breizh Café chain fairly reliable.

Moving on to Bayonne felt like moving to another country. Not quite at first glance as the newer parts felt more of the same. But once you reach the old parts, your jaw slowly drops. Two stunning old towns for the price of one, separated by river Nive. On Monday many of the stores were closed, but that didnt take away from the charm.

Both Grand Bayonne and Petit Bayonne, the two old towns are worth spending some time in. You got a plethora of food stores especially ham, cheese, and chocolates. Jews escaping the inquisition brought their cocoa beans with them, establishing the roots of a robust chocolate culture today. With that said, the most fun discovery for me was actually… Basque Ketchup. Steak with fries night cant come soon enough.

Living near Bayonne bridge that connects to Bayonne, New Jersey gave us something to talk about with the locals. Like visiting Verrazzano castle in Tuscany. Locals told us they sometimes struggle when Google sends them to the wrong Bayonne. Are they searching for a Costco?

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Artean Barra Abierta {San Sebastián} – A David Among Goliaths

Posted on October 31, 2025 by Ziggy

A day before the trip, we rewatched an old episode of Bourdain in San Sebastián. In the episode, a local was trying to explain the Spanish Basque fascination with quality. She said, like a Basque Pelota player inspecting the ball left and right to make sure its top quality, they have a similar obsession with food ingredients. Its a different breed. And that’s why San Sebastián is considered the culinary capital of the world.

Eating bad in San Sebastián I imagine is hard to do. Maybe in the old town there’s some touristy joints that can get away with it, but I doubt many if any exist. The competition is just too intense. And the embarrassment of riches in San Sebastián attracts a certain kind of tourist. Sure, in the age of social media, there’s the FOMO affect with the young traveler. But generally, if you are the “eat to live” instead of “live to eat” kind, San Sebastián wont be on your bucket list. There’s really not a whole lot to see and do here, except eat.

A Peruvian couple with a healthy culinary resume opened Artean Barra Abierta in the Gros neighborhood in San Sebastian at the end of 2023. It replaced a bar, and still looks like one with its 12 bar seats as your only options. Smart decor, and very intimate. At least until you meet your new friends from Miami and Canada, and its now a party.

Pound for pound this was the best meal of the trip other than the three Michelin epic we had a coupe of days later. Artean delivered bigger flavors and was more enjoyable than every other place including the Michelin one stars we enjoyed in France. It was also a tremendous value for a meal of this caliber. For the time being at least, its Michelin quality with Bib Gourmand prices.

The food rundown:

Scallop Gildas – With the usual Gilda ingredients except raw scallops instead of anchovies, plus roasted tomatoes, pine nuts, and Parmigiano Reggiano. Even though the delicate scallops were mostly lost in the shuffle, this was absolutely delicious.

Bun – Asian style, steamed in a Bamboo steamer. Filled with Iberian pork, kimchi mayonnaise and pickled beetroot. Outstanding. Just shows you the range of the couple. Its much more than a Peruvian/Basque mashup as some claim. Plenty of Italian and Asian influence as well

Smoked Steak Tartare – Comes with droplets of Egg yolk sauce and Idiazabal Cheese. Holly smokes this was good. Some of the best I’ve had in recent memory. Hand chopped, well balanced and the smokiness took it to another level.

Rice paella with duck breast – With mushrooms and aioli. This is baby angels singing stuff. Fantastic texture and lasting flavors throughout, especially if you appreciate a good Socarrat

Grilled Sirloin – Mushroom puré, egg yolk sauce and coffee foam. A clinic in how to cook the perfect beef. And once you add the rest of the ingredients, pure joy with every morsel.

Hazelnut and chocolate dessert – Very good. Served inside a coffee bean shaped pod. Simple all considering, but still felt proper.

Book your flight today before it gets a star.

Categories: Spain | Tags: , , | 2 Comments

Bilbao, Part Deux

Posted on October 27, 2025 by Ziggy

Bilbao, the de facto capital of Basque Capital is worth at least a few nights. You got one of the most famous museums in the world, a spectacular old town, and a unique food scene. Not to mention the variety of day trips like Gaztelugatxe, Dragonstone on Games of Thrones. Spending a week wouldnt be that far fetched.

Regardless of how many days you have, consider spending some time with Mikel from Tours By Basques. Whether its a better understanding of the Pintxo scene, or a day trip to Rioja or Gaztelugatxe, he’s your man. Note, I never ever have ads or affiliated links on this site. I make zero point zero $ here. I just like the dude.

This was our second time in Bilbao and first stay. We spent two nights at hotel Miro, with a side view of the Guggenheim where we witnessed the puppy construction progress. In our two days we saw the famed Puppy go from covered entirely in scaffolding to being out in all its glory covered in fall flowers. Below are both summer (from 7 years ago) and fall Puppy. The Bilbao Guggenheim will make you appreciate contemporary art like no other museum I know. Its jaw-dropping outside and in.

This time the focus was on the Abando area, an extravagant mix of high end shopping, pintxo bars, and gourmet food stores. Only noticeable once you put your head down and stop staring at the architecture. For an industrial city, not too long ago, the city today is an architectural powerhouse, starting with Guggenheim, and the striking bridges.

The old quarter (Casco Viejo) of course requires at least a few hours. Once you consume enough Cidra and Txikoli, consider taking a stroll through the cultural center Azkuna Zentroa and its 43 colorful pillars. If it results in too much trance, and sensory overload, avoid the roof. The views from it arent that interesting anyway, but the center is fascinating.

For food other than Pintxos, consider taking the funicular to Txakoli Simón, a Txuleta temple in the mountains. More on that on another post. You’ll most likely be surrounded by locals at La Viña De Henao, run by a young couple who will dazzle your taste buds. Meat dishes are better than the fish, and some of the best Octopus I’ve had in a while. La Pizarra Brasa y Barra is like a fun pinxto crawl under one roof. With aged meat playing an important role here, there’s even a fairly healthy burger scene, with Hambueysería Amaren leading the charge. Upgrade the beef for 4 euros or so and try the Italian style with truffles.

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Xixario {Orio} – A Legend Among Legends

Posted on October 23, 2025 by Ziggy

When Elkano in Getaria started the whole Turbot craze in 1964, in Orio they were already perfecting the grilled Besugo (Red Sea Bream) for around 10 years. More and more joined Elkano which was awarded a Michelin star eventually, while the old timers in Orio opted to keep it simple. On your bucket list, you want to have both.

Joxe Mari in Orio is the Besugo pioneer. The technique passed down from generation to generation with some minor tweaking. Today, the grandson runs Asador Joxe Mari, located steps away from Xixario, who became the second Besugo master, over 50 years ago. Current owner, Juan Carlos Beltrán from Tixuana was cooking them for 13 years at Xixario before buying the place when no other family member wanted to continue. He’s still grilling them today, though would rather talk about the weather in NYC and Home Alone while doing so.

Today there are 5 Besugo temples in Orio, and the technique is more or less the same. Grill the fish until its almost done, and finish with a sizzling hot mixture of olive oil, garlic and vinegar. At a cost of around 100 euros, its not cheap, hence choosing the right place is key. I was concerned that the recent fame from Somebody Feed Phil may have spoiled Asador Joxe Mari even more. Xixario felt like a safer, no frills, choice.

Just four dishes in this feast. We started with an excellent tomato and tuna salad. So simple yet so good when the ingredients are top notch. Grilled shrimp, one of the reasons I picked Xixario were sublime. So sweet and addictive.

And that Besugo, outrageous to say the least. Meaty, vinegary, yet very light. You could really feel the vinegar at first but it settles down quickly into a beautiful harmony with every morsel. Washed it down with a nice local Txakoli. Even their homemade dessert (like a Basque Napoleon with ice cream) was fantastic.

When we arrived at 1:30, we were as usual, the first. By the time we left the place was buzzing with locals. The owner / grill master speaks English, though no problems communicating with the rest of the staff. Add the Zumaia cliffs and Getaria (which I’ve written about before) to your date with the Besugo, for a glorious day trip from San Sebastian or wherever you are staying.

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Choko Ona – A “Good Place” in Espelette

Posted on October 18, 2025 by Ziggy

We are back from another trip to Basque Country. This time spending some time in Pays Basque Français. Spoiler alert: Its as stunning as Spain’s Basque if not more. Filled with striking old towns and picturesque villages like the home of this gem. I get the sense that younger people flock to San Sebastian and Bilbao due to social media pressure, while the older folk that know a thing or two, keep the French Basque a secret. Dont let them win!

When you do visit the cities and villages of Pays Basque, one of the first things you notice is Espelette everywhere. Espelette stores, Espelette spices, magnets, and other products. That’s because you are not too far from the famed village of Espelette, home to the renowned Espelette peppers. You’ll see the peppers hanging in random places, and the peppers heavily utilized in local cooking. Even when you order something as simple as a Gallete (Buckwheat crepes from Brittany) in Biarritz, chances are you’ll get it topped with Espelette butter. Even without the fame, Espelette is one of the most beautiful villages in France.

Choko Ona (“Good Place” or “Good Corner”) is just another reason to visit this village. A one Michelin that acts like one but priced like a Bib Gourmet. Smartly furnished space, housed in an 18th century house that today looks more like someone’s private home. One cool feature is the entire back side of the house can be wide open, overlooking their garden.

A creative menu featuring seasonal local ingredients. All handled by a young staff that speaks English and makes you feel at home. The only thing I didnt appreciate was sitting in front of a mirror ;). We changed spots midway much to the horror of the entire establishment.

We opted for the 4 courser, which of course was more like 6 or 7. Flawless to say the least. To start, in classic Michelin, outstanding tidbits to dazzle your palate. Then an Onion tart, pretty much just layers of braised onions topped with caramelized jus. One-note but an addictive one. Onion hater Mrs Ziggy cleaned her plate.

Then the most beautiful, delicate… Jewfish! Not an autocorrect. Maigre as its called here, aka Meagre, Croaker, Drum Fish, and other names, including yes, Jewfish apparently. An outdated name for some reason (I’m Jewish so I’m allowed to joke about this, but you are not) pretty much everywhere except Australia and other places. Regardless of what you call it, this was superb,

Kintoa pork, perfectly cooked medium-rare, super tender and juicy. Served with a leek topped with some sort of pesto, along with saffron pilaf rice and more delicious Jus. Kintoa is a local breed. Its called Kintoa because back in the day local farmers had to pay the king a fifth (Kintoa) of their pigs as tax. Hazelnut dessert, and more glorious tidbits was the perfect finish. Another highlight was the Brioche with, what else, Espelette butter.

One thing I really liked about Choko Ona is the pacing and the amount of food served. It should be more common especially in Michelin places, but not often you leave a tasting menu, satisfied, not full, while consuming plenty. We were still able to enjoy a multi course dinner that evening.

Categories: France | Tags: , , , | 2 Comments

Alpenkräuter Restaurant Bären – Wengen’s One and Only?

Posted on October 3, 2025 by Ziggy

I mentioned in the last Zermatt post, the struggles of finding good eats in mega touristy destinations. In picture perfect, car free Wengen, the challenge was similar. I got bored with researching food here fairly quickly. In fact I spent more time researching Basque Country, our next destination. Hence, I was winging it, or Wenging it if you will, more than usual.

Bären earns the distinction of being possibly the only place, in over 30+ years of travel, we ate in twice, other than one country we used to frequent. It’s not that Alpenkräuter Restaurant Bären, as it’s listed on Google, was flawless. Its just that after researching, trying a few others, and the first meal at Bären, it became clear that the probabilities of finding something better was very low.

Compared to the other places we tried, Bären felt like a real, well functioning, busy restaurant. Even though it’s inside a hotel, it didn’t feel like a hotel restaurant, unlike one place in the Belvedere we tried on our second night. It felt like a decent size family restaurant with elevated cooking. Daughter and mom run the front, dad cooks. And the entire hotel/restaurant is surrounded by their garden where they get much of the ingredients.

On both nights we enjoyed their exceptional soups, especially the creamy herb soup. And on both nights we enjoyed their superb salad. The older I get, the more I appreciate a good varied salad. A special of Halibut one night, was expertly cooked. A saddle of Lamb on another was another flavor packed winner. Tagliatelle, one of their specialties was fine, not great, but the kind of dish we appreciated after eating so much rustic fair.

The only miss was really the burger, a seemingly popular dish here. There’s a reason why you rarely see pulled beef on menus anywhere in the world. It just doesnt work, and it didnt work here. Besides not being better than a regular burger, it wasnt easy to eat.

Fantastic desserts, drinks, and friendly service on both nights. Prices are fair, for Switzerland. They really figured us Americans out. Many appetizers at around 19.50 seem fair. Add 1 or 2 more to go over 20 and oh boy, quite expensive 😉

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Da Toscano Porchetta Shop – Gem Hidden in Plain Sight

Posted on September 30, 2025 by Ziggy
Da Toscano

First, time to make another change to the blog. Its been about 13 incredible years, and food blogs are slowly becoming obsolete, replaced by other forms of social media. I do want to keep it going, but I just dont have the same amount of time and energy. From now on, my NYC blog posts will be short, sweet, and to the point, writing mostly about the food.

Da Toscano Porchetta Shop, located in, you guessed it, Da Toscana, a popular restaurant in the West Village. “Popular? Never heard of it, Ziggy”. Its one of those quiet, those in the know fame. We had a memorable meal there when they opened, and I figured I’ll blog about it when I’ll have a bigger meal. But that day never came. Popularity took off and its hard to reserve these days.

While Da Toscano open for dinner only these days, you can enjoy the the Porchetta sandwiches and more at the bar or takeout during lunchtime 4 days a week. The opening hours on Google and elsewhere confuse many to believe they are open for lunch, but its really just for the sandwiches. This is the follow-up to their Porchetta shop in Charleston, one of four businesses they have there.

I tried the original Porchetta sandwich. San Gennaro feast in my mouth is one way to put it. A whole hog is roasted with rosemary and fennel for 8 hours. They then slice it and let the slices swim with its juices, before serving it with Salsa Verde, Crackling, and Aged Provolone between fluffy Focaccia that hold their own. The result is a glorious blend with the tender meat reigning supreme. Some of the juiciest and tastiest Porchetta I’ve ever had.

Conclusion: New Yorkers are spending tons of hours waiting for subpar social media hyped sandwiches all over the city. Sometimes the good stuff can be found at the most unexpected places by highly talented chefs. Its like having an omelette at a popular diner vs a chef’s joint like Anton’s who studied the heck out of making the perfect one.

PS. Couldnt take a good picture. Lighting, shaky hands, the drooling, all of the above. The pictures are courtesy of Da Toscano

24 Minetta Ln, West Village

Da Toscano

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And What is This? This is Gruyères

Posted on September 25, 2025 by Ziggy

I’ll explain the Borat title later, but first… You know that Gruyeres cheese you get in the US supermarkets? Any idea where it comes from? Yep, you guessed it, Wisconsin! Notice the spelling without the grave accent over the ‘e’. The only other difference between the Swiss Gruyères and the American Gruyeres is everything. It can be a totally different cheese, and American has to have holes or eyes in it. Who to blame for this mess? The French, and Swiss. But mostly the French.

The US courts including the appeal court recently ruled against the Swiss request to register Gruyères due to its generic nature in the US. When you import so many different kinds of Gruyeres from various parts of Europe, some with holes, some without, it eventually becomes generic to the Americans. In France, not only Gruyères is made for generations, but the Gruyères region is bigger than Champagne. And to complicate things further, France registered their version with the EU before Switzerland. The difference between the French Gruyères and Swiss, for your next cocktail party conversation: French, just like the US, has holes. Swiss, no holes.

But I’m here to tell you about the town Gruyères, not so much the cheese. That’s an Educating With Ziggy bonus. I’m only beginning to scratch the Switzerland surface and so far I’m discovering an unusual amount of fairy tale villages scattered all over the country. Gruyères is tiny. Mostly a small wide street that takes a couple of minutes to walk from one end to another, but you want to spend hours doing so. Google says there’s a whopping 1k or so residents living here

Château de Gruyères, the main attraction here is more attractive than more popular castles we’ve seen in Switzerland. The garden especially was stunning, with an incredible array of flowers. Good and bad news for me. The good is that Mrs Z really appreciated this. The bad is that Mrs Z really appreciated this. That meant spending more time there than I hoped on an empty stomach.

There’s a tradition here that started by the Bovy family in the 1800’s to invite artists and even set up artist colonies in the castle. When we went, there was a weird contemporary exhibition. Hard to appreciate something where you have to guess the message. Like a video of three guys digging holes in the ground.

The other big attraction here is the fondue. Maybe I should have recorded the process of me eating it and send to the Château. I was skeptical as I didnt like the fondue we had earlier in Wengen. But this was much better. In Wengen the cheap white wine was more prevalent, while here it was the glorious cheese. Two cheeses in fact as this was the signature Moitié-Moitié, “half and half”. Half Gruyères, half Vacherin Fribourgeois

And a nice cheese and meat board since we clearly didn’t get enough cured meat and cheese from all the hotel breakfasts. All this was at Fleur de Lys btw because they were on the shaded side of the street. Thats not how I usually choose my restaurants but couldn’t help it in this case.

The town itself is a gem. Besides the Castle and the Fondue you also got the HR Giger Museum to satisfy your Alien sex fetish. Giger was an artist whose work often combined human anatomy and machinery. He won an Oscar for his design of the creature in Alien. Much of the work in the museum is not suitable for children. Also check out the Giger Bar across the street.

As for the title. If you are a Borat fan, you probably already know. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIRcpknXy3A

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Zermatt – the Good, the Great, and the Ugly

Posted on September 21, 2025 by Ziggy

The car free Zermatt village is one of those bucket list destinations I didnt know I have. I will save the why for another post, but what I can tell you now is that no pictures or videos can prepare you, especially if you get lucky with clear sunny days. The only challenge in such a touristy place was finding decent meals. There’s not a whole lot of reliable info out there. The end result was a mixed bag with only one strong recommendation, but all considering not too bad.

The Good

Alphitta – If you are like me, one who cares mostly about the food, and less about the setting, take a short preference break here. Yes, add Alphitta due to the setting, not so much the food. The walk to it alone sets the mood, and the direct view of the Matterhorn is priceless. The food is good enough. It’s an extremely eclectic menu trying to please tourists from all parts of the world. So whether you have curry, crispy pork belly, pasta, or whatever, it probably wont be the best rendition you ever had, but more than acceptable. Just skip the terrible goat cheese salad unless you prefer overly fruity dressings.

The North Wall – Being a pizza snob in NYC is a blessing and a curse. When we travel, the rare times we have pizza, I almost always expect mediocrity. While the dough at The North Wall can use some work, the Neapolitan(ish) pies are fairly solid, and satisfying overall. Especially considering its made in a gas oven by Brits not Italian.

The Great

Restaurant Waldhaus – I think the best tip for Zermatt is to simply keep walking up toward the south side. By the time you’ll reach Restaurant Waldhaus and a few others in the area like Sonnmatten, you’ll be out of breath but well outside tourist trap central. If you are looking for finer dining, perhaps Sonnmatten would be a better choice, as Waldhaus is as rustic as it gets.

The food is quite rustic as well. The highlights early on were the special of the day, chanterelles, sautéed with a curry sauce and came on top of their salad (or pasta if you prefer). Solid dry rubbed ribs, and meatloaf. A special of liver with risotto (top pic) was another highlight. From the sweets we especially liked the hot apricot cake in a clay pot. All with direct view of the majestic Matterhorn.

Gelato Italiano – The prize after each hike. Other than the apricot, superb gelato throughout. Try the Malaga if you like rum raisin or the cherry.

The Ugly

Grampi’s – Gets generally good reviews but the biggest disappointment in Zermatt. One of those places that feels very touristy including the menu. Everything from the Vitello Tonnato, pastas, to the Tiramisu was just a poor imitation of the real thing. Think Costco Tiramisu. The ribs may have been the only decent thing but not the same caliber as Waldhaus. Our waiter somehow just knew. He kept asking if everything was alright while checking my reaction Larry David style.

Categories: Switzerland | Tags: , , , , , | 2 Comments

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