05.14.09
Posted in Chelsea, Italian, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, West Village, rated 8 to 8.5 at 05:14 by Dominique
202 W.14th St. & 7th Ave., 212-255-2060
Great for: large parties and dates, carbonara, hearty good food for very little money
It used to be Osteria Primitivo, but the pressure of the recession inspired the owners (who also run several other Italian restaurants in New York) to replace it with an incredibly wallet-friendly place. Every dish is less than $15! Plus, each one is good! It’s so rare to find both characteristics in the same place. How lucky that we settled on it for girls’ night out.
We managed to get a table for six on Friday at 8:30 when I called the day before, which was a little surprising to me but less so when I saw how effectively they’d utilized the mid-sized space. Our table was right in the middle of the room, great for people-watching. We didn’t have much time for that after the food came, though. The traditional oven-baked eggplant appetizer with tomato, mozzarella and basil was “sloppy but yummy,” R said. L and D found the steamed black mussels in a white wine and black pepper broth garlicky and delicious. K loved her tomato carpaccio special with mozzarella and chili oil. The spaghetti alla carbonara with very fatty pancetta, eggs and pecorino romano cheese was definitely worth naming the restaurant after. Shredded basil leaves scattered on top helped counteract the heavy deliciousness and I was kind of happy I hadn’t eaten all day so that I had room for it and a main course.
K was observing Lent so they made her a gnocchi special with just asparagus and no speck. The tagliatelle with shrimp, arugula and cherry tomatoes was also delightful, as was the pan-seared salmon in an herbed crust with lentil salad and lemon dill sauce. (These girlfriends are great, they always make sure to let me try a little bit of everything.) My own main course of baccalà codfish with Gaeta olives, oregano and parsley in a spicy tomato broth was great; spicy and garlicky with nice crisp fish. I loved the long strings of onions and the giant soft onion on top. It is a very salty dish though, and the fish was a tad dry.
The portions are quite generous. It was just the right amount of food for me, but then I hadn’t had anything all day. Everyone cleaned their plates or tried to. The wine is priced as reasonably as the food. We got two bottles of the shiraz Mandra Rossa from Sicily for $23 each. It was all right – I found it a bit watery. Our servers got confused and brought out two main courses with apps but were quick about straightening that out. Though a little abrupt sometimes, they were nice overall.
I liked the inviting and well-lit room with a good mix of candles and recessed ceiling lighting. The music was a little odd sometimes, but not too loud, thankfully. The dining room is pretty large and there’s a small private alcove too. Rustic wooden furniture completed the homey look. I’ll definitely be back soon to try more of the menu.
Rating: 8 / 10
Our cost: $215 for 6 ppl (2 bottles of $23 shiraz)
Noise level: pretty noisy but less than you’d expect; conversation isn’t too difficult
Chance of walking in: it’s new so you should call ahead.
Oh fun! La Carbonara liked this review enough to link to it. I’m happy to support a deserving restaurant.
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01.07.09
Posted in Asian, Chelsea, Japanese, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, rated 7 to 7.5 at 15:18 by Dominique
185 7th Ave. & 21st St., 212-989-4466; 427 Amsterdam & 80/81st Sts., 212-580-0007
Great for: tuna usuzukuri, elegant dining in Chelsea (I haven’t tried the UWS one yet)
I have been meaning to come here for about four years, and somehow I’m always in the area during the late afternoon when they’re closed. This time I was going to a shopping thing around dinnertime so I finally got to cross it off. Well, not literally, since I liked it, but I moved it from “should try” to “proven good.”
My appetizer choice of tuna usuzukuri turned out to be inspired. It’s a really big plate of slightly seared tuna slices, jalapeño, cilantro, yellow tobiko, wasabi mayo, tomatoes and crunchy bits. Everything goes together so well. I ate every last bite, even the tomatoes, and could have had more. It wasn’t too spicy for me; I liked the contrast of crunchy vegetables and tobiko with the soft tuna.
I was in a noodley mood that day, I guess (I had ramen at Tsushima a few hours beforehand), and went for the tempura soba. I ended up regretting the choice a bit, for reasons unrelated to the cooking. The tempura were two shrimp, yam, eggplant and squash. I don’t like any of those except shrimp. And the three kinds of mushroom – string, wood ear and regular – were lost on me as they are the food I hate most. The rest was really good though. There were a couple spinach leaves I could eat. I even enjoyed the fluorescent green pickles slices on the side but only cold, as I discovered after attempting to add them to the soup. There was a satisfyingly large amount of soba, which tasted the same as usual noodles. I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad thing, but I liked it. There wasn’t an overabundance of broth either.
I found the service very friendly. The many waiters wore all black and were quiet like ninjas, albeit super cheerful ninjas. They didn’t bother me much as I sat alone reading my Economist but were unfailingly quick and attentive, especially considering it was 7 pm on a busy Wednesday. The large space extends quite far back and was packed when I left. I liked the nice grey-streaked marble that was the sushi bar as well as the airy minimalist design and blond and dark wood with cool white accents. There was an interesting sculpture behind the sushi chefs that reminded me of a Jenga game. I was surprised at how little the place echoed, since the ceilings are high and wooden-looking and I didn’t notice any carpeting. Overall, a very pleasant experience.
Rating: 7.5 / 10
My cost: $30 (no drinks)
Noise level: not bad, despite high ceilings
Chance of walking in: low.
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01.03.09
Posted in Chelsea, Italian, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, brunch, rated 7 to 7.5 at 11:47 by Dominique
191 7th Ave. & 21st/22nd Sts., 212-675-5980
Great for: minimuffins, alcoholic brunch, reliable food
My dear friend C was visiting from London and planned brunch with me and our other friend K. I was bored of not drinking – I went three months and lost about 1.5 inches in circumference! Although my mother has been force-feeding me over the holidays and I think I will need to stay on the wagon a while longer – and wanted to celebrate her brief return, so I got the $15 unlimited champagne too. It turned into a very not-sober, fun day.
First off they have cute little minimuffins with what looked like strawberry jam. They seem very popular with everyone (no bready things for me). My eggs Benedict with one crab cake was quite good. The eggs could have been a shade less cooked, though. And both could have been larger. C’s rigatoni with eggplant was tasty but also small. She ordered it expecting it to be enormous since she was really hungry; it was funny to find the one Italian restaurant in the city without huge pasta portions. K’s burger with bacon, on the other hand, was very large. She enjoyed it a lot.
I liked the pretty plating. We had mainly leisurely service except when our waiter was making sure we had enough champagne in our giant glasses. He even refilled me after we paid the check (it never hurts to smile sweetly). C, who used to live in the neighborhood, said she has always seen it totally packed and was surprised she could even get a reservation for brunch. I definitely want to try their dinner.
Rating: 7 / 10 (just brunch, pending dinner visit)
Our cost: $110 (3 brunches with $15 unlimited drinks)
Noise level: boisterous
Chance of walking in: not good, definitely reserve.
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09.03.08
Posted in Asian, Chelsea, Japanese, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, rated 8 to 8.5 at 02:45 by Dominique
88 10th Ave. & 15th/16th, 212-989-8883
Great for: omakase, toro, sakephiles, design enthusiasts
Commodities Broker had had a terrific day in the markets, and I was stressed out mid-acting program, hence an 8-course omakase splurge one night at Stephen Starr’s giant Philadelphia import. CB’s also fun to dine with because he likes to drink even more than I do.
I saw a couple things I wanted to substitute on the tasting menu, but was convinced to give them a chance. I even tried CB’s special appetizer of hydroponic tomato salad with onion, soy, and shiso. It was really fresh and juicy – I’d love it if I could stand tomatoes outside of sauce. The onions were also raw but didn’t hurt too much, to my relief. Sometimes raw onions can pack a wallop like straight wasabi.
The most elaborate toro tartare I’ve ever seen was up next. It came with osetra caviar, crème fraîche, wasabi, dashi-soy, chives, avocado paste and tiny rice cracker croutons. The lovely soft toro itself came in a shallow square dish with a dainty silver scraper. Be careful with the super spicy wasabi. The whole thing was delicious artwork. An itty-bitty raspberry-sized yamamomo peach waited on the side as a palate cleanser after we destroyed the pretty sculpture.
The sashimi course consisted of beautiful thin strips of amadai (a Japanese tilefish, seared slightly) and yellowtail with ginger and different varieties of soy sauce on small green leaves. It was great though the yellowtail was a little chewier than I expected. I especially loved the oil – sesame, maybe? – it all came in.
The watercress salad with seared sockeye salmon sashimi and mild jalapeño sauce was pretty good. The sauce reminded me of relish, and the vinaigrette was delicious. I was bit disappointed when I realized the salmon was not spicy; even a little bland, in fact. But combined with everything it was a good dish. Don’t eat the random line of sauce or whatever it is, it’s nasty and bitter.
The next course was a tasting of two of their star dishes, the market oysters and the foie gras chawan mushi. The two oysters came with foie gras and uni in teriyaki sauce, which really helped me get mine down. Everything was soft and slimy but actually good. The two dainty little cups of foie gras chawan mushi with egg and heavy cream tasted like meaty, foie-gras-infused custard. They weren’t as heavy as you’d think.
The nigiri plate came with cockle clam, kanpachi (amberjack yellowtail) with sweet ikura (salmon roe), snapper, beltfish with yellow tobiko and chutoro. All of it was very fresh and lovely. The slightly rubbery clam was sliced so thin it turned out very well. The beltfish was rubbery and scary but a bit spicy and still pretty good. The chutoro was like seared butter made of meat. I was surprised all the exotics didn’t put me off – I remember when I had the omakase at Blue Ribbon and really didn’t like any of the rarer sushi. I guess that means they have better quality fish here.
It was now time for a palate cleanser before the main course of Korean green tea and a red bean macaroon. The tea came in powder form that the waiter mixed into water with a whisk for us. The presentation was over the top but it was really good.
All the fanfare was for flash-fried Kobe beef on sweet Japanese yams and a half lobster épice with garam masala, lemon crème fraîche and alfalfa sprouts. The soft lovely beef was folded over in thin slices, but there wasn’t much of it and it was quite tendon-filled. I found the yams super sweet, maybe from the sauce. I really liked the dish but it could have been any steak. I loved the lobster without reservation. The bitter alfalfa and meringue-like crème fraîche was a good contrast to the succulent, tender, spicy lobster. CB didn’t love it as much but he doesn’t enjoy Indian food. I thought the garam masala was the best part of an excellent dish.
We finished up with a sweet potato cake with red bean center and brown sugar ice cream accompanied by red bean compote. It was pretty good; the cake was not that sweet. I would have eaten a bowl of the ice cream, though all the red beans didn’t add much to the dish. I don’t understand the Asian obsession with red beans – they’re crumbly in a bad way and neither sweet nor savory. They’re like blah soft sand. Anyway, the wonderful ice cream made up for all that.
We tried all three levels of Morimoto sake – ginjo, daiginjo and junmai ginjo. The first, caramelized pear aromas with a ripe stone fruit finish, was smooth and not too strong, dry but still hearty. The daiginjo had melon and honeysuckle fragrances and was also yummy. The Shichi Ken (Seven Swords) Yamanashi, with a custardy richness & sweet rice aroma, was extremely smooth. It was like drinking vodka straight without having to make that “eeeee” face.
Our waiter was wonderful and cute, and patient with all my questions. He was knowledgeable yet not afraid to pull out the cue card. He advised us well on the sake too. I liked how he made sure we were done with every dish before taking it. I found his service very caring, as though he was personally invested.
The whole place is outfitted in crazy finished concrete with very mod curvy furniture in blond wood. There’s a huge glass water bottle wall, all lit up like a giant Lite Brite. The translucent plastic swirl chopsticks were pretty and functional; the folded white cloth ceiling was just pretty. They had the same cool Neorest toilets as at Megu Midtown, with fewer bells and whistles but still awesome. A tip, in case you get confused or you’re a little too drunk; slide the restroom doors, don’t push/pull.
Overall, it was an enormous amount of food, most of which was done extremely well. I was really impressed. I can’t wait until I get to come back again.
Rating: 8.5 / 10
Our cost: $535 (8-course omakase $120, 1 big $75 & 2 small $42 & $31 bottles sake)
Noise level: not too bad.
Chance of walking in: low.
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06.03.08
Posted in Asian, Chelsea, Japanese, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, Southeast Asian, rated 6 to 6.5 at 03:26 by Dominique
143 8th Ave. & 17th St., 212-691-8600
Great for: eating & drinking cheaply, bathroom amusement, male waiter ogling
It was my friend A’s birthday, and sixteen of us came out to dinner. A’s friends who sat close to me know about the blog and very kindly shared bites of their dishes with me so I could review them. I love this (non-) job.
The Bangkok drumsticks – fried minced chicken wrapped over sugar cane skewers with sweet & sour sauce – were yummy, almost all meat and no filler. I liked them better with hot sauce than their only slightly spicy accompanying sauce. The crispy beef special was just well-done slices of beef with sriracha dipping sauce. We found them tasty, albeit a little chewy. The Thai chicken salad was a bit sour in a good way with lots of raw vegetables like onions, carrot and lettuce.
I rather liked my pad see oui enu (traditional fried chow fun noodles) with sliced beef, egg, giant pieces of cabbage, scallions and crispy garlic. I found the beef slightly sweet but the noodles scrumptiously soft and almost gooey. The stir-fried udon with black pepper beef was the best dish I tasted all night. The meat was done medium well and the noodles were lovely and tender. Considering it was practically the same dish as mine, it’s funny how much better the udon was. I wish I’d gotten that instead.
They have a huge menu of cheap cocktails, mostly $8 or $9. Champagne ones cost a bit more. I tried the special Hawaiian coco with green tea vodka, rum and lime, which was pretty good though very coconutty. You might need glasses to read the astonishing number of drinks crammed onto the one-page menu. They have a nice little bar in the middle of the restaurant, but we didn’t see any people come in just for drinks. It’s definitely more of a restaurant – though certainly a crazy, futuristic-looking one.
The waiters were super cute and nice. So much so that I wasn’t upset they forgot my entrée until they’d served everyone else and realized their mistake. They do tend to be a little slow, though that’s probably a kitchen issue, since the restaurant is not that big. I was amused by the funny LED scroll across the mirror in the bathroom showing pickup lines. I guess if you’re too drunk to come up with your own, you can go get some inspiration in the bathroom. If I’m in the area again I would definitely stop by for the black pepper beef udon. Nooch serves until 11:30 on weekends, and is fairly spacious for the area, so it’s a good choice if you’ve got a bunch of people out late and are hungry and/or thirsty.
Rating: 6.5 / 10
Our cost: $30/person (1 cocktail)
Noise level: dance music in the background, not too noisy otherwise
Chance of walking in: medium.
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11.15.07
Posted in Chelsea, Italian, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, rated 7 to 7.5 at 20:38 by Dominique
513 W.27 St and 10th/11th, 212-967-4392
Great for: eating before clubbing, planning an attempt on Bungalow 8, slutty outfit watching
We had tickets to the 8pm New York Philharmonic concert at Avery Fisher – we just wanted somewhere on the west side, not too far up so we could avoid the pre-theatre rush. I had Naima on my list from when it opened and off we went. It is eerie walking down “Club Street” when it’s so early. It could equally have been 5am or post-apocalypse. We saw several huge rats, which was yucky, but Naima itself was pretty. The bar was packed with what seemed like one group of people and maybe two other tables.
We shared the baked zucchini starter which was like a lasagna made with zucchini instead of pasta. I don’t like zucchini – for some reason I thought it’d be in fritters form which I do like, but it was really good. If you want to convince someone that squishy vegetables can be yummy, that dish would be a great introduction.
We went with the specials for our mains. The Boyfriend got the veal shank and I, pappardelle with crab. His came on a bed of creamy, cheesy risotto Milanese, in a sauce of cubed carroty goodness. I kept sneaking little bites as he tried to parry my fork. The bone seemed surprisingly large, although that could just be me because I rarely order osso buco and don’t know much about it. My pasta was in a light sauce of cherry tomatoes – a bit too light – with baby arugula on top. The crab was lovely and fresh, but it was somewhat bland overall. That may have been because I asked them to go easy on the actual tomatoes. I did say I like lots of sauce though.
Our waiter was very nice and attentive. He made sure our food came out quickly as we asked, and generally took good care of us. The space had kind of a warehouse/industrial vibe, probably partly to do with it being empty at such an early hour. If I’m in the area early again I’ll definitely try the much-vaunted cocktails.
Rating: 7.5 / 10
Noise level: Quiet, but I imagine it gets somewhat noisy
Our cost: $80 (teetotaling)
Chance of walking in: Medium, depending on how late
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