09.30.10
Posted in Lower East Side, New York City, New York City Reviews, rated 6 to 6.5, small plates, Spanish at 19:48 by Dominique
173 Orchard & Stanton Sts., 212.253-1900
Great for: empanadas, spicy picante sauce, non-foodie dates
I’d heard amazing things about the empanadas here. Thanks to a Blackboard Eats coupon, I see why I didn’t hear about anything else. The restaurant is decent, not a standout.
The discount gave us a mini-carafe of sangria and six mini-empanadas (roughly a $20 value) with the order of two entrées. We were completely delighted with the tiny empanadas. Other than the portabello, which I didn’t try because I hate mushrooms, the queso blanco, chicken, beef, pork and chorizo were all juicy and terrific. On the other hand, the similarly miniscule red pepper crab cakes with chipotle mayo were not amazing; just crisp outside and all crab inside. Not what a crab cake should be.
The clay pot dinners with Spanish fried rice and black beans are much bigger. My carne chorizada, ground sirloin in onion, garlic, tomato and vegetable stew, was somewhat flavorful. I found the copious addition of house picante sauce helped. It’s a little sour and has a Beckham-level kick to it. The best part of the camarones a la brazas – shrimp in mustard, sherry and dill, wrapped in bacon and grilled – was the bacon. The shrimp could have been cooked less.
The sangria is lovely. It’s a bit sweet and not too strong, and gives the feeling of an outdoor café in Spain. The service is efficient, though they weren’t packed. The décor kind of looks like a roomy grandma’s house with nooks and books and interesting mirrors inside lamps. It’s cute and actually quite large, as well as very dark. The music is quiet Spanish. As long as your date isn’t much of a foodie, the sangria, empanadas and romantic darkness should get you pretty far.
Rating: 6.5 / 10 (6 if not for empanadas)
Our cost: $90 without deal (tapas are $8, small plates $14, clay pots $14-24 – it’s not cheap)
Noise level: quiet enough for a date
Chance of walking in: not bad.
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Posted in American, brunch, New York City, New York City Reviews, rated 6 to 6.5, SoHo at 01:27 by Dominique
54 Prince St. & Lafayette, 212-226-0211
Great for: tuna tartare, Tilly cocktails, brunching and people-watching
SoHo, despite its reputation as a hub of nightlife, is oddly short of places to eat late. Or at least the eastern bit is. Towards Broadway there’s more stuff open. Delicatessen helps somewhat by being open until 12 on weekdays and 1 on weekends. I’ve been here before for drinks in their subterranean party space, so I was glad to finally try the food.
The tuna tartare with wasabi tobiko, crème fraiche and taro chips is wonderful. One of the best I’ve ever had, it’s a huge disc with lovely taste and texture. I even liked the taro chips, the wasabi really flavored the tobiko, and the tuna was great quality. On the other hand, the La Frieda short rib blend sliders with bacon, Swiss and minced pickles were just fine. They weren’t as rich as you’d expect. Some of the meat was a bit burned, though overall the combination was pretty good.
They can’t do chicken properly here. We tried the chicken caesar salad and the enormous paillard over arugula, fennel, parmesan and balsamic, and the chicken was all weirdly done. The salads were delicious minus the meat. The paillard was just grilled, no breading or flour, and the edges were overcooked while the center was juicy and tasty. There is no excuse for a restaurant that has trouble with chicken.
The place redeemed itself somewhat with the Tilly cocktail, which was so good I asked the bartender for the recipe. 1.5 ounces Ketel One, 3/4 ounce triple sec, the juice of half a lime, 4 small strawberries and a splash of pomegranate juice all blended are heaven. There you go, a foolproof way to to make people’s eyes light up at your next party. When I made it at home, my friend and I couldn’t stop saying “Mmmm” for quite a while.
Our waitress was as pretty as she was nice. The cooking was also impressively fast, though it was very late and they weren’t packed. It’s a large restaurant with abundant sidewalk space, and somehow usually filled despite the mostly so-so food. I am proud of myself for not stopping here for the tuna tartare when I leave the Equinox up the block every day or so. It is good enough that I might consider working out an extra hour to have it! And maybe a Tilly. Just one.
Rating: 6.5 / 10
Our cost: $90
Noise level: noisy all the time
Chance of walking in: not great. With such a big restaurant, though, it raises your chances.
Their MacBar next door is not very good. I tried the small “lobsta’” mac and cheese and it was a disappointing waste of $9. It was my treat for the day, so I finished it, but there’s not a lot of flavoring, just expensive ingredients they overcharge for. I personally have not tried Delicatessen brunch. However, the place is always slammed during that time, and the patrons are pretty, so it’s probably worth stopping by.
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09.29.10
Posted in American, New York City, New York City Reviews, NoLIta, rated 6 to 6.5, SoHo at 21:59 by Dominique
282 Bowery & E. Houston, 212-226-1966
Great for: eating late in a weird area, pizza, noisy scene
I’m generally a Keith McNally fan. The man definitely has a way with French bistros. I wasn’t as impressed by Morandi, but then I was coming off a massive Halloween bender and that’s not their fault. In this case, I was on my way to an audition and sober, so I’m pretty confident about this review.
In deference to the cheapskate (and hence ex-) Boyfriend, we shared a salsiccia pizza, though everyone else seemed to have their own. I liked the superthin crispy crust, which was a bit too blackened. The ingredients were scattered in very even average density; someone clearly took a lot of care with that. Broccoli rabe plus sausage is a new combination to me and I grew to like it. If you don’t, they have more than ten other choices and fairly good ones. None of that lame no-topping crap like some other Italian joints. Yes, I know, it’s “classic” to have just sauce and cheese – whatever, I want meat on my pies.
The service and cooking are mercifully quick. I shudder to imagine how much longer the lines would be if they were any slower. It’s also admirable considering they serve late and open back up for breakfast a couple hours later. There are classic McNally touches of numbered wine carafes, tile and exposed brick everywhere. It looks basically like Schiller’s writ large, down to the double door entryway. It’s always lively, packed and a bit noisy from the tin ceilings. I like the enormous frosted windows. The retro slatted chairs are, surprisingly, fairly comfy. Be careful, there are children and the tables are close together so if you’re swearing at your meal partner because he won’t stop arguing, you might get some horrified parental stares. Overall, it’s not mind-blowing but it is really good pizza. If I want food late and haven’t had bread in a while I might come back.
Rating: 6.5 / 10
Our cost: $20
Noise level: loud party with children
Chance of walking in: haha you will wait a while. Have some drinks.
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09.05.10
Posted in Asian, East Village, Japanese, New York City, New York City Reviews, rated 7 to 7.5 at 01:43 by Dominique
210 E.9th St. & 3rd/2nd Aves., 212-473-3327
Great for: civilized sushi/sashimi in college kid-filled East Village
I read about this place in the New York Diet section of NY Magazine and got really excited to try it. I’d say it’s almost as good as I expected, but more expensive, especially for the area.
The three of us started with the tempura app of two shrimp, one broccoli and one eggplant. It was pretty crispy with nice sauce, though I wish $10 bought a bit more. I guess the giant shrimp is costly. They have a heavy hand with the miso in its soup, which is consequently only ok. On the other hand, salad with carrot ginger sauce is lovely.
The sushi and sashimi for two is great. It comes with fairly standard fish; 16 pieces of super fresh sashimi, 8 lovely pieces of sushi and 2 small rolls all for $40. It’s probably the best deal on the menu. We rounded out dinner with 2 more pieces of salmon sushi and a large scoop of delicious green tea ice cream.
Rating: 7.5 / 10
Our cost: $90
Noise level: quiet, but it’s popular
Chance of walking in: not terrible, open ’til at least 11 every night.
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Posted in Asian, Chinatown/Little Italy, Chinese, New York City, New York City Reviews, rated 8 to 8.5 at 00:38 by Dominique
1 Doyers St. & Bowery, 212-791-1817
Great for: noodles, nian gao
My friend G loves to organize little food outings in Chinatown, which is great because I live nearby and tend not to eat there. This time there were five of us. We took ample advantage of the sharing possibilities.
The fried pork dumplings, while not very crisp, were tasty. The steamed pork dumplings are both juicy and large; a good deal. The chicken and vegetable steamed dumplings are delicious too. I loved the chicken and vegetable rice cakes (nian gao), which were lovely narrow oval cakes in a nice gooey sauce.
You have a choice between hand-peeled and knife-peeled noodles in soup or sautéed, with various proteins. We chose fish meatballs, roast duck, egg with vegetable, and beef. The soup comes with a lot of spinach, scallions and pickled mustard greens. I was impressed by the quality of the duck and beef considering the very low prices. Overall, the hand-peeled noodles are skillfully executed, super thin and elastic. The knife-peeled look great and are that perfect mixture of chewy and tender, best described by the Chinese word qq (cue cue). It’s like al dente to the 4th power.
The people who work here are quite nice and they cook quickly. I have had trouble finishing this review because every time I sit down to write it, I want more of their food! (Haven’t had time to get down there yet.) I recommend either kind of noodle with anything.
Rating: 8.5 / 10
Our cost: cheap (I think it was about $45 for 5 people, but must have been too stuffed with noodles to take note)
Noise level: not bad, place is small
Chance of walking in: there aren’t many seats but it’s pretty out of the way, so maybe not too bad.
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