February 2, 2006 – Pinay New Yorker

One thing that Alan and I have always enjoyed doing together is going out to dinner at least every other week and discovering the better restaurants of Manhattan in the process. So many restaurants have come and gone that it is a neverending culinary journey. Back in the days before Angel came into our lives, we would try to have our weekly “date” by sitting down to a nice dinner in Manhattan after work — and making sure we visit a new place at least once a month. Whether it’s a simple dinner at restaurants like Chat & Chew or Republic in the Union Square area, or something fancier like Tao in Midtown or Duvet near the Flat Iron district, we’ve picked out some good ones we mean to go back to eventually.

With Angel here, we haven’t had the luxury of time to do it as often, so Alan has tried to be more discriminating about his choices given that we don’t get the opportunity to do it as often as we want to. And two of the three opportunities we get to go out on a dinner date, we end up going to an old haunt like L’Express, Cafe Charbon, Cafe Spice, or Cucina.

We’ve driven past CHUBO several times whenever we drive my stepson home to Delancey from Bayside where we live, and Alan finally made a reservation for us and our friends Jackie and Jeff for dinner yesterday. I promised the Chef/Owner Claude Chassagne we would spread the word and I couldn’t wait to blog about it although my pictures are still in Alan’s digital camera.

According to our server, chubo is Japanese for good kitchen. The ambience is cozy — it’s small and intimate without being claustrophobic. The decor is understated which makes you focus on the food which is as much a feast for the eyes as it is a gastronomic delight. The servings are generous without being overwhelming, and the use of smaller plates to serve it on adds to the artistry of the whole meal.