restaurant
As someone who, long ago, lived in the East Village, it’s always exciting to see how the neighborhood transforms but manages to stay the same. It’s a fast past environment where a lot of restaurants come and go and, unfortunately, Nook NYC no longer remains but featured some beautifully plated dishes in a wonderfully magnetic space.
At the upper most part of the Upper West Side lies Marlow Bistro, a rustically charming restaurant that features a bevy of vegetarian dishes and a very cozy atmosphere.
As a seasoned traveler, I find joy when realizing I can access a lounge at an airport from which I am departing, and although I seldom fly out of LGA, I was able to experience what may be the best lounge I have experienced in a domestic terminal. Flashback to six months before when I photographed in this space and was only marveled by the appearance and selection the kitchen offered. Suffice to say it all tastes as good as it looks.
The quality of food in a restaurant is so important but an interior and vibe can compliment or exceed a diner’s experience. Such is the case with NAKS, which has a gorgeous dining room where the communal Kamayan feasts are served to diners without utensils. It seems like this sort of palm-laden interior was co-opted by Tiki culture and bars for years, so it’s nice to see if in embraced by a restaurant whose Filipino culture was used to inspire the Tiki world in the first place.
Hoexter’s is a very stylish Upper East Side Brasserie, with the same management group as the previously shared Il Totano. When photographing food, it’s great to have a hand model on standby but rarely is it the case that you’ll have one with beautifully tattooed hands that so perfectly interplay with the food at hand.
As a Greenpoint resident, and Los Angeles native/taco snob, I’ve always been a huge fan of Taqueria Ramirez and was super excited when The Infatuation asked me to cover the new restaurant from the crew, Carnitas Ramirez. Very similar in size/build/style to the Greenpoint counterpoint, the small shop features only pork based tacos from all parts of the pig - all very delicious.
From chef Harold Dieterle comes Il Totano, a west village Italian restaurant with a gorgeous interior and beautifully seafood-focused dishes. This may have been discussed in another post but, usually, when I’m faced with a restaurant that, often always, I am experiencing for the first time, I tend to choose lighting that compliments the space and the vibe. When the entrees are climbing into the $40 range, I often tend to use a softer light which, to me, feels a little more elegant. However, given the bright colors of the food and the interiors, I convinced the team to allow me to use a harder light that would create some shadows but also allow me to use the glassware/drinks to create a glossier and fresh look that I think makes all the dishes more appealing and somewhat conjures the feeling of eating seafood on a sun-drenched balcony overlooking the Italian Riviera.
From chef Stefano Secchi of Rezdora comes a new Southern Italian kitchen, Massara. Featuring a wood fired grill and pizza oven, the restaurant serves grilled entrees, and a slew of pastas and pizzas.
Take the elevator up at Saks Fifth Avenue and you’ll find yourself at French bistro L’Avenue, which boasts two floors full of French fare and event spaces. Here are some images of their menu items and the cozy private areas.
Just up the Hudson, in North Salem, lies the forest filled oasis Cena Dou, a French restaurant with both casual and fine dining concepts. The space is serene, and overlooks the tree-laden valley, with just as beautiful dishes to accompany.
I love going to a spa. At home, when I travel, anytime. Which is why I was very excited to photograph SoJo Spa Club for The Infatuation's Winter 25 list. Although I usually don’t eat there when I visit they have a pretty full menu that pairs nicely with a cold plunge.
Bar Moga, located on Houston St is a 1920’s style cocktail bar with a bevy of options to drink and eat. The Infatuation was reviewing the spot so I was asked to shoot some photos, a handful of which are below.
Speigelworld has produced some modern adult-driven cabaret/circus-style performances in Las Vegas and, somewhat, recently opened a location in Atlantic City, with their adjacent restaurant, Superfrico. Although there is also a Superfrico in Las Vegas, the menus varies slightly and the team was in need of photography of the dishes and the spaces below.
Anto is a Korean steakhouse in the Upper West Side that serves premium meats and dishes of Korean influence. The interiors blend a beautiful steel and dark, but placid, shadows. In addition to the food and interiors, I also shot some portraits of owner and restauranteur, Tony Park in the beautiful space.
Nomad’s “Italian soul food” restaurant Mialino was positively reviewed by The Infatuation and I was there to shoot the restaurant, which occupied the old space of Vini e Fritti which I also happened to shoot some years back when I had clearly had no idea how to shoot food, judging by the photos! It’s always humbling to look at one’s earlier work.
Eater ran a piece on the re-opening of Eli’s Table, from Eli Zabar of the famed uptown markets, and I shot the space, the food and the man himself, which are below.
For The Infatuation, I photographed 53, a gorgeous midtown Chinese restaurant with a stunning interior and beautiful shared plate dishes.
Eater NY did a multi-faceted piece on how TikTok effects the restaurant industry and one of the restaurants featured, was Brooklyn’s Lucia Pizza. The assignment included shooting, not only the food but the kitchen process, and most importantly the owner’s relationship with TikTok and his use of it in the kitchen.
As part of Eater’s Best New Restaurants of 2022, I photographed Department of Culture, a Nigerian restaurant in Bed-Stuy. Although the staff was super helpful, the shoot was quite difficult as the space is quite small and the shoot happened during service. I was forced to rely on a single light source without any diffusion and my abilities to position the food and lighting where I could shoot both still life and the atmosphere (real life) in quick succession.
No surprise to anyone that the pandemic has wreaked havoc on the global population as so much on local businesses. From hole-in-the-walls to restaurant palaces like Chop House, Covid delayed constructions, openings and even the existence of restaurants. At the time of this writing, Chop House has yet to open and completed construction in Dec of 2020. Hopefully it will see a new life as the interiors are strikingly beautiful.
