12.31.08
Posted in American, Hell's Kitchen (Clinton), New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews at 08:53 by Dominique
523 9th Ave. & 39th St., 212-947-4208
Great for: bar scene (gay and straight), decent food in what would otherwise be something of a wasteland
A little Zagat research turned up basically only this place near the 8pm show my friend S and I were going to. Thank goodness! Although I suppose the Metro Marché at Penn Station wouldn’t have been too awful. I was surprised at how busy the bar was even when we got there at 6; it looks like a lot of fun for after-work drinks if you’re anywhere nearby.
My Caesar salad with roasted garlic dressing, smoked bacon and herb foccacia croutons could have had more dressing but I liked it and its generous size. We Americans are accustomed to too much dressing anyway. S enjoyed her veggie burger, and I got lucky again with the grilled salmon filet accompanied by saffron couscous, ratatouille and what I thought was dill butter. (The current online menu says citrus curry butter – I’m pretty sure that’s a change.) This one was bigger than Sonia Rose‘s and a decent competitor. I ate the squash in the ratatouille, though I drew the line at mushrooms. The couscous was surprisingly firm and came in big clumps. All mixed together it was quite good.
We had very efficient, nice service. The waitress made sure we didn’t feel rushed but had us out in plenty of time for the show, which I appreciate even more considering this isn’t technically in the theatre district. The décor is kind of sexy comfy spaceship with neon accents and the bar is definitely where you want to be if you are in within a ten-block radius. I added it to my list immediately.
Rating: 7.5 / 10
Our cost: $60 (1 app, large $9 Voss)
Noise level: quite
Chance of walking in: not terrible, and the bar is very nice so you won’t mind waiting anyway.
Permalink
Posted in French, Lower East Side, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, rated 8 to 8.5 at 07:21 by Dominique
74 Orchard & Broome Sts., 212-260-5317
Great for: everyone, salmon lovers, romance
My friend A and I planned a proper dinner this time. I wanted to come here before they stopped doing introductory pricing – $20.08 three-course prix fixe! – at the end of the month. Every time I walked by it looked irresistibly charming inside; it lives up to its appearance.
We were lucky enough to be seated upstairs. Even the bread was great. It looks like cornbread but is white, fluffy and hard outside. I was persuaded to eat it because of the delicious cherry and jalapeño butters. The amuse bouche, little airy bread halves, was also scrumptious. It looked like a teeny tiny slider with garlic butter and spinach inside.
Both of us got the seafood corn bisque with “gems of the sea,” which was creamy, smoky and a bit sweet. It might have been cream of mushroom, I wasn’t sure. They were generous with the terrific and fresh shrimp, scallops, lobster and mussels. I really liked it.
A’s roasted breast of free range hen with portebello [sic] truffle sauce was very good. It was, however, not as orgasmic as my steamed Atlantic salmon in green curry paste with thin chewy vegetable slices in saffron and champagne buerre blanc. I don’t even like curry nor is salmon my favorite fish, yet I loved it. I am so glad I followed the waitress’ advice to order it over the steak. It was the best salmon ever and its goodness made up for its small size.
I was a little afraid my dessert sampler would be anticlimactic but it was great too. There was ice cream, a chocolate square, a lemon square, and some apple pie thing that I actually enjoyed despite my usual distate for apple pastries. A’s sorbet trio of champagne, chocolate and blood orange was also lovely.
Our service was a bit slow but very friendly, a kink I’m sure they’ll work out with time. The whole experience was sweet and romantic, somehow. Maybe it was the décor. The food, while not always conversation-stopping, was extremely good and I look forward to visiting again with the Boyfriend. Especially since they still seem to be doing a very reasonable $27.50 prix fixe with five instead of three choices each for app and main.
Rating: 8.5 / 10
Our cost: $52 with soft opening $20.08 prix fixe, BYOB (prix fixe is now $27.50)
Noise level: convivial
Chance of walking in: it’s tiny so you probably need a res.
Permalink
12.28.08
Posted in Italian, Meatpacking District, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, rated 8 to 8.5 at 18:58 by Dominique
355 W.14th St. & 9th Ave., 212-691-0555
Great for: spaghetti with tomato basil, romantic rendezvous
I met my friend B at Soho House (which I’m dying to try again since Neil Ferguson moved over there – their food has been a bit shit for a while so hopefully it can only improve) and was very glad when he suggested dinner in the area. Commodities Broker had been to some NY Food & Wine Festival tomato event at Scarpetta a few days before and it reminded me of how much I wanted to experience the spaghetti. Speaking of the Festival, I went to the Daily Candy Midnight Munchies event on 10/10. Definitely not worth the $100 entry. They had basically about ten tiny, albeit mostly good, hors d’oeuvres from different chefs and the lines were insane. I ended up drinking because a) how often will I get to try that many different mixologists’ cocktails at once and b) I had to get my money’s worth somehow. Yes, Tom Colicchio playing with a band was pretty cool and he was impressive, but I should have saved the money to have an actual meal at one of the restaurants. At least the cocktails were great and the cute bartenders hit on my friend and me.
Back to B and me at Scarpetta, which took over the Gin Lane space. They kept a lot of the décor, I think, while bringing up the lighting a bit. It’s still dim enough to have a romantic tryst, but now you can actually see what you’re ordering. We were lucky to snag a deuce in the front by the bar – the place was packed in the spacious back. If we had minded the squeeze, we would quickly have been mollified by the bread, which has pepperoni and cheese embedded in it. What a great idea! I actually ate and loved it. It didn’t just come with butter, there was also some kind of eggplant spread, which I liked although I just ate the bits that didn’t have eggplant.
The spaghetti w tomato basil is, I am not exaggerating, OMFG totally worth the fuss. (Chef Conant brings out the silly Valley fangirl in me, I guess.) It was so fresh and perfect it made me like the tomatoes. They were mashed, crowned with flawlessly al dente thin square noodles and just a touch of cheese. I was a little shocked at the $26 price until I tasted the dish, since transport of the tomatoes from heaven must be quite difficult and expensive. B’s tuna “susci” with marinated vegetables and preserved truffles was good in a different way. The tuna was wrapped around the veg like spring roll skin, summery and very subtle in bite size pieces.
For a main I had the moist-roasted capretto (baby goat) with artichokes, fingerling potatoes and tiny sausages. I misunderstood the Russian waitress telling me it was their signature dish and thought it would be cod. And I’m glad, because it was very good, and I probably wouldn’t have tried it on my own. I liked the nice rich dark sauce. It got a tiny bit salty towards the end but I was happy with my first taste of goat. B found his seared scallops with cauliflower, bottarga and capers a bit raw in the middle but soft and still good overall. I enjoyed them too.
We rounded out our lovely meal with a chocolate and vanilla parfait with hazelnut milkshake and biscotti. Delicious. The waiters are very polite and although I get the sense the food can be a bit uneven, all is forgiven for the spaghetti. I need to start my own Ponzi scheme à la Madoff so I can afford it every day.
Rating: 8 / 10
Our cost: $155 (no alcohol)
Noise level: happy noisy
Chance of walking in: don’t be silly, it’s really popular.
Permalink
Posted in Asian, Lower East Side, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, Southeast Asian, rated 6 to 6.5 at 18:14 by Dominique
78 Rivington & Allen Sts., 212-529-3901 [now closed]
Great for: Café Habana-style corn with less wait, noodle lovers, upscale Asian food near Chinatown, fried chicken appetizer
I had no dinner plans one Saturday – I know, shocking! This guy I really liked turned out to be a total flake – and instead of feeling sorry for myself, I capped a long, efficient day of shopping with dinner here. I wouldn’t know how authentically Cambodian it is but I hear good things about that. And the food is great, which is all that really matters.
The corn on the cob appetizer is fantastic. I love the same thing at Café Habana, and it was delightful to find it here unexpectedly. Basically, the Kampuchea version has spicier sauce, less cheese and more coconut. The ears are enormous as well. I was kind of happy no one I knew was there to watch me decimate two giant ears all by myself… it’s a bit of a messy process. I think I acquitted myself as daintily as could be expected though.
The duroc pork katiev with wide, flat, white noodles continued my happiness. I ended up adding a lot of hot sauce and ate all the leaves. I very much enjoyed the small and dried yet meaty shrimp. The pork was really good, with some fat but edible.
It’s a bright cheery place, with friendly servers, communal wooden tables and nicely sized stools. I wish they’d do takeout of more of the menu, but I can understand some things need to be eaten right away. I have actually been dreaming about the next time I can come back.
Rating: 8 6.5 / 10
My cost: $30
Noise level: I could still hear myself think
Chance of walking in: small. It’s not a big place, try early. They’re closed Mondays and lunch is only Friday to Sunday.
I returned in March and June 2010 with a Boyfriend, and they’d added the Norry – basically doubling their space and adding a large bar – and revamped the menu. My beloved noodles are gone, replaced by entrees. By June the food was nowhere near as good as March. I can still halfheartedly recommend the corn and the fried chicken app with basil, spiced fleur de sel and lemon – I was so turned off by the gritty mussels in June, I don’t even care to research what happened to the kitchen staff. The brisket and pork ribs were pretty good in March. They are quite stingy with fish in the catfish num pang, though the little bit there is tastes nice. I did not enjoy the accompanying sweet potato chips, which didn’t taste like anything. The Boyfriend’s mussels were extremely sandy. Their broth with shallots and okra was good, but couldn’t possibly make up for mouthfuls of grit. I would have been really pissed about the poor food quality except I had a BlackboardEats discount. That might have been why they were still packed at 9 on a Wednesday. In any case, I’m disappointed and not bothering to go back any time soon. And it might be why they closed in August 2010 and promise to reopen with a more casual concept.
Permalink
Posted in Greenwich Village, Latin, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, West Village, rated 8 to 8.5 at 17:59 by Dominique
111 W.17th St. & 6th Ave., 212-691-4477
Great for: converting people who hate Mexican food, lots of cocktails, celebrations
I generally love or hate foods (mostly for textural reasons). I’m good about trying them again periodically, though. Mexican is probably the only cuisine I don’t like across the board, since I’m decidedly not a fan of plain rice, beans, avocados or raw tomatoes. I find the spices boring and I try to avoid cheese, so that kind of knocks out most options. However, I heard from a few people that Crema was the best Mexican food in the city, so my friend D and I checked it out. She’s from Cali so I figured she could tell me how good it really was.
I am so glad we came. Not only did I love it, D said it stacked up pretty well against California. My four taquitos de chilorio, slow-cooked pork mini tacos with chile ancho, oregano and jalapeño vinegar, chipotle-cilantro drizzle and cream, were awesome. The spice and the cream is a great combination.
My main of flautas (crispy corn tortillas) with shredded chicken, cheese, corn and caramelized onions and three salsas was amazing. The tomatillo-avocado, chili aioli paste and velvety pinto bean salsas were all creamy and yummy though the chili aioli was my favorite. I found myself actually liking chicken, as I so rarely do, and by extension liking Mexican for the first time. D’s adobo-marinated grilled skirt steak tacos with cowboy beans and corn tortillas was fantastic. The juicy meat was very good and I even liked the beans with chorizo on top and chicken mixed in.
Although I’m sure it would have been wonderful, I’m glad I didn’t order a side because it left just enough room for dessert. We shared the pastel de tres leches, a sponge cake soaked in three milks and mango syrup with dulce de leche ice cream. It was mind-blowing. The spongy moist goodness of the little cake looked like cottage cheese and tasted like heaven. I am not kidding, if you have a sweet tooth you need to go devour this immediately. I even liked the coconut caramel topping though I usually despise coconut in any form.
I was sticking with the not-drinking thing (it’s kind of hard, what do you do socially in NYC after 10pm if you don’t drink?) so D dutifully had a cocktail in my stead. The Colada Monterrey, a mixture of light and dark rums, coconut syrup and pineapple juice with a cinnamon-chile rim was good. There might have been too much spice on the rim, but it showed a deft mixologist behind the bar. They have an extensive cocktail list and when I start drinking again I intend to sample much of it.
I found our service leisurely, though we took quite a while to order so that was possibly partly our fault. It’s a long, colorful dining room that invites dallying and celebration. I mean I really didn’t have anything to celebrate except cleaning up at the Escada sample sale earlier ($40 pants and $60 heels – yes, I believe I will, thank you), but the excellence of the food certainly made me feel like I was.
Rating; 8.5 / 10 (still, after February 2010 visit)
Our cost: $105 (1 app, 2 mains, 1 cocktail, 1 dessert)
Noise level: quiet on Sunday but it probably gets noisy
Chance of walking in: decent.
Took a boyfriend from California here for his birthday in February 2010 and it was just as good. Their guacamole is tangy, not too creamy, and overall very tasty. I think we did the Restaurant Week deal. I can heartily recommend the tortita de cangrejo (crab cake), barbacoa taco, melt-in-the-mouth scallops, enchiladas suizas, goat milk caramel cheesecake (like flan and cheesecake had a love child with hints of peanut butter) and Mexican strawberry shortcake. I enjoyed my ginger martini, he liked his margarita, and the Crema cosmo is great. Still my favorite Mexican restaurant anywhere.
Permalink
Posted in African, Meatpacking District, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, rated 7 to 7.5 at 04:12 by Dominique
55 Gansevoort St. & 9th Ave., 212-255-8855 (now closed)
Great for: pre-club trendy dining, large parties, subterranean clubbing, beef tartar, Amarula ice cream sandwich
With a 9pm res, the Producer and I still waited almost an hour to sit. It may have been because have the upstairs area wasn’t open. People really seemed to want to linger. The hostess was on top of the situation, though, and brought us free bread with hummus and apricot blatjang (mint yogurt on top of apricots). I was surprised that they usually charge for bread. It was good, as was the sour citrusy hummus, while the apricot thing was too sweet for me.
When we finally sat, I found my appetizer of shrimp piri piri with baby romaine satisfying. The shrimp could have been more tender but the slightly spicy sauce was nice. The super sour dark romaine leaves balanced the dish well. I was pleased that they only left the heads sans antennae and tails on – it’s such a waste when shrimp have to be peeled and all the flavoring comes off with the shell. P’s jerk-spiced duck with avocado and banana was interestingly delicious. I found it very spicy and chewy with the mushy sides a great counterpoint. I’m glad I was adventurous and had some – I usually don’t eat avocadoes and detest bananas, and would probably not have ordered that app for myself.
I continued branching out with a poultry main dish (I hardly ever order chicken, it just feels like such a waste when eating out, plus I usually only like it fried). I really enjoyed my Yassa guinea hen with caramelized onions and preserved lemons. The onions were tasty, as was the crispy skin. P’s merguez sausage with hominy, watermelon and corn on the cob was also a wise choice. We found it a spicy, tender delight. The coconut rice side was quite good, crunchy and without too much coconut so it was still savory.
They have some very unique cocktails here. I often see cocktail menus that have different names but basically the same drinks. Fortunately, that is not a problem here. The Larakaraka is a really interesting mixture of tequila and St. Germain. Tart and bitter, it packed quite a punch and I liked it (or maybe it got me drunk fast enough to think I did). P’s Ding Ding, basically a super-alcoholic caipirinha, was really sour as the bartender warned but got better as we drank more of it. He got tired of cocktails and switched to rosé, while my next drink was a Takada. It’s a hodge-podge of Bacardi Light (!!), aquavit, ginger beer, lychee purée and pink grapefruit. There was a bit of pulp; the grapefruit made the whole thing bitter. I still liked it, as it was a nice contrast with the food. We were intrigued by the infused rum flight but decided not to get too crazy on a Sunday night.
The waitress was great. She was really honest and nice. I asked her lots of questions about the menu and she very patiently answered all my questions and steered us right with everything. The decor, on the other hand, was a jarring note against the food and service. It was very cosmopolitan in a calculating way, pan-African and vaguely design-y. The word that immediately sprang to mind was corporate. There were weird twisted roots everywhere which turned out to be fiberglass – a good metaphor for the entire design philosophy behind the place, which seemed to be “get stuff that looks kind of African even if it’s fake and mix it all together.” For instance, the lamps are claimed to be bongo drums but a little staring soon raised questions of how on earth they could possibly be drums when one end tapers to a point. There’s also a light fixture by one of the doors so big I could hide in it, which is just bizarre.
Speaking of things that don’t make sense, the French doors are pretty confusing. I couldn’t figure out which set to enter through, since two different places look as though they could be the host area. I picked the wrong one and had to walk through the tables like an idiot. It did give me an opportunity to notice how spaciously placed the tables are, though; and there’s a large one in the middle that could probably hold 10 people comfortably.
I’m not sure if I can sort of recommend the place. In the first place, its creator Marcus Samuelsson left recently after only 5 months despite many pronouncements about bringing a new cuisine to New York (he’s an African orphan with Swedish adoptive family), so I have to assume the food won’t be as good. Even more disturbing, the space underneath the restaurant is going to be a giant club. (The space upstairs is for parties now too, apparently.) I can’t imagine they’ll allow the kitchen to keep turning out eclectic, different food. (A little bit.) I guess go right away if you want to catch the same menu I did. It’s good, but as the Producer and I agreed, it’s not special enough to warrant a return visit. If they fixed the decor, which basically looks designed by a focus group, maybe.
——————-
In September 2008 I ate there with some banker friends after a party upstairs. This time I tried the kitfo beef tartar with spiced butter and crisp lavash. The sour cream on it was great and the scrumptious meat was slightly cooked with jalapeños. The spiced yellowtail tuna kitfo over avocado with chocolate sauce was too slimy. I didn’t like it, most certainly not the bizarreness on top. My friend E described the sauce as “cilantro meets espresso in cocoa.” Yuck.
The Berbere rack of lamb with watermelon and feta salad was puzzlingly devoid of feta but did have some bitter leaves. I didn’t enjoy the ginger rind and the lamb could’ve been less cooked, though it was more or less decent. The crunchy bits on top were nice. We liked more the ceebu jën (pink tile fish) with mussels. There was lots of pepperoni; unfortunately also lots of sand. The spiced hangar steak with pickled mushrooms and tamarind ketchup was another sort-of. The meat was good but had too much mushroom flavor and the sauce was too sweet.
The best thing I had that night (besides a lap dance later at Tens) was the Amarula ice cream sandwich. It was so ridiculously good. Amarula is an African cream liqueur, a bit like Bailey’s, and it meshed beautifully with everything else. The molten chocolate chai cake was just ok. There was some sticky sugar thing with it. I thought it too cinnamon-y, but then I have a violent aversion to cinnamon.
The menu is much smaller menu than before. It was also quite empty, especially for 8:30 pm on a Tuesday, although that could charitably be blamed on Rosh Hashanah. I was disappointed that the more adventurous African dishes had disappeared and the new management or whatever seemed to be trying to blend in with the bankerization of the rest of the meatpacking district.
Rating: 8 7 / 10
Our cost: $155 (3 cocktails, 1 glass of wine)
Noise level: fairly quiet, the tables are surprisingly wide apart
Chance of walking in: decent.
Permalink
12.26.08
Posted in New York City Reviews at 12:11 by Dominique
207 2nd Ave. & 13th St., 212-254-3500
Great for: orgasmic food, sharing, eating very well very late
I had a frustrating fashion show one Saturday – disorganized, with crappy clothes and stupid blinking glasses that I thought would probably make me fall off the closet-sized “runway” – and Commodities Broker, E and her boyfriend S all agreed that we should have a good meal to erase its memory. We ended up in the East Village and took advantage of the late hour to sit immediately at the normally-packed Ssäm Bar. 1 am on a rainy Saturday is apparently a lucky time.
We started by sharing three apps. The diver sea scallops in XO broth with chameh (Korean melon), crispy ham and snow peas turned out to be raw, but I loved them anyway. That’s the second time chef Chang has pleasantly surprised me into liking raw scallops. (The first time was at Ko.) The nice big pieces of cured hamachi with edamame, horseradish, pea leaves and little salty crunchy seaweed yummies were likewise excellent. E persuaded me to try the steamed pork buns by calling them life-changing. They really are. We had two orders, so one each of a small bun filled with pork belly, hoisin, thin-sliced cucumbers and scallions. I had to cut away some fat from the pork and add sriracha sauce and then I loved mine even more. It was a spicy salty flavor orgy.
My main of grilled branzini with cranberry beans, pistachio, lovage and chorisio had a nicely charred skin and a strong flavor. I very much enjoyed it. E’s roasted stone bass accompanied by Jersey corn, chanterelles, pancetta and lima beans with tarragon-red onion-buttermilk sauce around the plate edge also showed a sure hand with fish. Perfectly charred outside, it was soft and fresh inside.
S’s spicy pork sausage and rice cakes with gai-lan and crispy shallots was not that spicy to me, although when you eat the peppers it can be a bit intense. The little rice cakes were chewy and delicious, as was the sausage. We all loved the veggies mixed in. CB’s marinated hanger steak ssäm (PGA beef from Colorado) on marinated onions with ginger, scallion, kimchi and lettuce for wrapping was fantastic. The meat was sliced up and cooked through to an ideal soft-but-not-too-soft texture. The combination of each flavor in the dish was just inspired. We really appreciated the interesting contrasts in texture in each dish as well.
CB and I shared the chocolate hazelnut croustillant, a salty little cake of deliciousness. It was like hard sheets of pastry with chocolate. We could have done without the nectarine or cherry bits but they did add an interesting note to the chocolate. E and S’s tristar strawberry shortcake with corn and Kendall’s farm crème fraîche, on the other hand, was a crumbly amazing cornbread-type thing. It was so orgasmic they basically made out with it. After I had a little, I tried to snatch a bite as often as I could.
I quit drinking the day before this for a few months – did you know vodka calories count? I didn’t! – but the other three shared a great bottle of Arabashiri. We had lovely friendly service too. It was an unexpectedly great dinner which made my whole weekend.
Rating: 9 / 10
Our cost: $320 (4 people, 2 desserts, 1 bottle sake)
Noise level: semi-loud music and conversations
Chance of walking in: hahahahahahaha. Oh, you were serious? Yeah, that won’t happen.
Permalink
Posted in New York City Reviews at 11:59 by Dominique
190 Ave. B & 12/11 Sts., 212-338-1990
Great for: Haute Barnyard fans, friendly bar scene, rare high quality food in Alphabet City
Four days after the heinous theft of my Chanel bag, I was still sans purse and therefore money except credit card, but I certainly was not giving up a reservation I’d had to call a week in advance at midnight to get. E and her boyfriend had come to one of Back Forty’s first Wednesday crab boils in August, and when she described it, I knew I had to experience it for myself. (I think they said they’ll do it again next summer; check the site in July.)
First they brought out a bunch of vegetables that I don’t eat (peppers, raw broccoli, etc.) with bleu cheese and pesto. I wouldn’t have wasted tummy space on them anyway, so I didn’t care. I was delighted when they came with a basin of steamed crabs covered in Old Bay seasoning and just dumped them in front of us on the newspaper-covered big wooden table we shared with about ten other people. The waiter instructed us in the best way to get at the crab meat and we were off! There is a vertical tab running down mid-crab that, once flipped up, allows the shell to be easily pried open. It’s as though the crab wants to be devoured. We were supposed to have four rounds but the others were such wimps we only got through three. I ate about twelve ridiculously delicious crabs; I lost track in a haze of efficient meat extraction.
Not content with providing scrumptious shellfish, the kitchen also periodically sent out redskin potato chunks and corn on the cob slathered in spicy buttery amazingness. It was a hedonistic experience eating everything with my fingers, worrying about nothing but having as much crab as possible. The peach cobbler they brought at the end was quite good, though according to E not as mind-blowing as the berry one they’d served before.
I had a regular cocktail, they brought E a replacement glass of wine after we dropped potato in hers, and her Concord Fizz was deliciously fresh and fizzy. Our waiter, though he must have been very busy, never showed it. Overall it is a lovely friendly place and I’ll be glad to go and try their regular menu soon. And of course, at least fifteen crabs should be living in fear of me next summer.
Rating: 8 / 10
Our cost: $110 (2 cocktails)
Noise level: raucous party
Chance of walking in: it’s quite popular, so take advantage of their reservations.
Permalink
12.23.08
Posted in Latin, Lower East Side, New York City Reviews, rated 6 to 6.5 at 02:32 by Dominique
253 Broome & Orchard/Ludlow, 212-228-6710
Great for: cocktails, making new friends in close quarters
It was the worst of times, it was a dark and depressing night… My beloved Chanel 2.55 bag was stolen. I’d had it for all of three months and some bitch apparently decided to go shopping when we were at the same bar. Thank goodness I had renter’s insurance, which covered it and its contents. Nevertheless, I was still distraught 24 hours later, and my best friend E offered to take me out to dinner to take my mind off it (and feed me, since I had no access to funds). She’s a sweetheart.
She had already kind of eaten before we talked, so she just shared stuff with me. For an app I tried the arrachera tacos with avocado, cilantro and onion. They were pretty good, though the soft taco and enormous avocado slices were a little much for me. I liked the steak cubes the best.
The camarones borrachos, fresh shrimp sautéed in tequila, guajillo chiles and garlic over green rice with avocado and tortillas, was likewise decent. I was surprised to find myself really liking the rice. I think the shrimp could have been cooked a tad less but it was still quite yummy. I didn’t see any chiles. Overall the food was okay; not great, certainly not bad either, just a cut above middling.
I liked my strawberry vanilla margarita a lot. It tasted very strongly of vanilla, which I love. E’s coconut mojito was good at first but then not so much. Perhaps too much soda water? We also thought the sangria had too much red wine. It was fine, but definitely not worth waiting even if I didn’t hate waiting.
Rating: 6 / 10
Our cost: $55 (1 person eating, 3 drinks)
Noise level: the music is fine, the people are loud
Chance of walking in: Ha! Good luck. Sunday 9pm wasn’t too bad, but it’s always hopping whenever else I walk by.
Permalink
Posted in French, Lower East Side, New York City Reviews at 01:29 by Dominique
188 Orchard & Houston Sts., 212-677-5200
Great for: classic brasserie food, a nice low-key time
I had a date with this guy Bar Owner. It was kinda weird because I’d met him ages ago and he waited three months to ask me out. I wasn’t really sure what the budget was so I thought of Zucco because it’s supposed to be pretty reasonable. He suggested Allen & Delancey, which I regretfully declined as I’d already reviewed it; I rather wish I’d said yes, because its chef Neil Ferguson left a little while later and who knows if it’s still as good. Zucco was very nice though, so it worked out that I thought of my bloggerly duty to you, dear Reader, and not just my tummy.
We both had the classic frisée aux lardons with a poached egg. The sauce was perhaps a bit lemony but overall it was very good. I would have preferred the salad to be a little more chopped, though when I think about it they generally do come with such giant leaves. I enjoyed the lovely, big, chewy cubes of bacon. Also the tons of delicious chives on the egg. Mmmm.
My Angus shell steak in peppercorn sauce with frites and salad was also great. Everything was perfectly done; the meat not chewy, the fries crispy. I felt virtuous eating the salad though probably the scrumptious, creamy peppercorn sauce canceled that out. His bar grille au fenouil – grilled sea bass with fennel served with cauliflower gratin – was quite good, although the orange pepper sauce was a bit bitter. That was probably from the fennel. The fish itself was crispy and decent, while the cauliflower was a good kind of bland. Perhaps seafood is not their forte quite as much as steak.
We shared a lovely $42 bottle of Sancerre in cute tiny doll glasses. I wonder sometimes if I am part Japanese, I have such an inordinate love for miniature anything. The restaurant itself is rather doll-like as well, but manages not to be too cramped. I did think the music was too loud though. It turned out that our hyper, amiable waiter was Zucco himself! He’s funny and very hospitable. I had a great time.
Rating: 7.5 / 10
Our cost: $125 ($42 bottle of Sancerre)
Noise level: cozy bistro
Chance of walking in: not great. It’s cute, but tiny.
Permalink
« Previous entries Next Page » Next Page »
