01.05.11
Posted in American, Chelsea, Meatpacking District, New York City, New York City Reviews, rated 8 to 8.5 at 23:30 by Dominique
409 W. 14th St. & 9th Ave., 646-289-3930
Great for: food, cocktails, large parties, an entire night out in one place
The Music Exec liked to impress me, and he certainly did a good job picking this place. I used to party here when it was Lotus… those were fun nights. I was not expecting much after reading some snide reviews so I was very pleasantly surprised at the quality of the food.
We started with a special appetizer of grilled octopus in lovely romanesco sauce with chorizo and almond. The octopus was soft, just the way I like it, and as it so rarely is. The tuna tartare tacos with avocado, citron-soy and red chili aïoli were also wonderful.
His medium rare New York strip steak with peppercorn sauce was a little more towards medium, but still quite good. The meat itself is flavorful even without the delicious sauce. It was also nice and big, maybe twelve ounces. My pan-roasted cod and crispy rock shrimp with ramps, snap peas, young ginger and sweet soy was terrific. Everything was tender, juicy, plump and bursting with flavor. I actually found the soy sauce salty, a good contrast to the near sweetness of the seafood.
We couldn’t resist a side order of truffled Parmesan herb fries. They are as crispy and addictive as you could desire. I was starving, to be sure, but they’re truly awesome.
The cocktails here are expensive and great. Our waitress wasn’t sure which pinot noir ME wanted so she brought both bottles; she was that thorough all night.
Sitting upstairs is nice and noisy, though not too much so. The tables have extremely sharp metal corners but are wide enough that you probably won’t hurt yourself until you’ve had a few drinks, by which time you won’t care. Although we didn’t have trouble making a reservation the day before, the place was totally packed.
The place turns into a club after dinner, so it’s basically a one-stop shop for going out. The next time I want a pricey, crazy, delicious night out with rich friends, this will be my choice.
Rating: 8.5 / 10
Our cost: $195 (2 apps, 2 mains, 1 side, 2 drinks)
Noise level: the people are loud but the music is quiet enough
Chance of walking in: you probably can’t. Call ahead and bring ten friends to share the fun.
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05.10.09
Posted in Meatpacking District, New York City, New York City Reviews, rated 7 to 7.5, small plates, Spanish at 00:32 by Dominique
405 W.14th St. & 9th/10th Aves., 212-366-1640
Great for: tapas, red snapper chicharrón, cocktails, people watching
Software Guy thoughtfully picked a restaurant I haven’t reviewed for our date. He also proved himself to be really thoughtful later when some jackass stole my phone and he helped me get it back even though it took 15 hours. (No, I’m not kidding.) Happily, the night started out well.
The almejas villa clara, littleneck clams in Hoegaarden beer and saffron broth with cilantro and garlic, were pretty good. I preferred the giant papitas rellenas filled with ground sirloin. Their accompanying tomato sauce was sour in a good way. The generous amount of chorizo in hot oil was also satisfying. The empanadillas with sautéed spinach and Manchego cheese are small and heavy, a good dish in small doses.
The lovely calamari were on a different level. Large but tender, they were also easy to bite through. The best was definitely the chicharrón de pargo, lightly breaded red snapper with tartar sauce. It came in nice big flaky chunks and I had a hard time not scooping up every last piece.
We tried several of the cocktails, all of which I can recommend. I think the guava jalapeño martini and bellito were the best. Our waiters were pretty attentive and it’s a fun place. It’s quite large, but I’ve never see it less than packed all the years it’s been open. Side note: we saw Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman filming their new movie outside on our way out!
Rating: 7 / 10
Our cost: $195
Noise level: loud
Chance of walking in: you should probably reserve.
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12.28.08
Posted in Italian, Meatpacking District, New York City, 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.
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Posted in African, Meatpacking District, New York City, 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.
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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.
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10.08.08
Posted in French, Meatpacking District, New York City, New York City Reviews, rated 7 to 7.5 at 13:46 by Dominique
409 W.13th St. & 9th Ave./Washington St., 212-675-2400
Great for: picking up cute finance boys, tuna tartare, steak aux poivre, sparkly bottle-fueled birthdays, lazy people who want to go clubbing after dinner
My friend Dominique (she’s Angel, I’m Devil) invited me to her friend’s birthday here. It’s extremely scene-y and fun. Plus, the club Kiss & Fly is only a short passage away.
The tuna tartare with ginger and scallions is very good. It comes with a lot of avocado but they are quite generous with the tuna as well. I found it slightly chewy in a good way, not so much that you forget what you’re eating; just enough to avoid being slimy. The lobster ravioli tasted noticeably of mushrooms, which was mitigated by their texture blending in with the onions. The pasta was soft with not much lobster flavor; still pretty good in its pesto sauce.
The calamari came in what I call crazy Chinese form – unbreaded, with an abundance of peppers and sauces. (It’s crazy because I don’t like it.) It was too chewy for me to forget I was eating squid. I just picked at the peppers. The coquillette, elbow macaroni with Emmental and ham, was probably the best mac & ham with an afterthought of cheese I’ve ever had but that’s not saying much. It did taste nice and fresh though. Don’t touch the bowl, it’ll burn you. I found adding some tuna salted it up nicely.
My steak aux poivres with creamy spinach instead of french fries, which they brought me anyway, was tender, spicy and delicious. Bagatelle definitely made up a few points in this round. The spinach had only a hint of cream, with bread crumbs on top, and was quite good at first until it bored me. Incidentally, the lighting is so dark I had to eat the fat in my steak because I couldn’t see to cut it away.
Instead of dessert we had lots of bottles of Champagne. Also, I met a really cute guy in line for the bathroom and some other guys at the bar as I waited for Dominique Angel before dinner. Better than dessert, in my opinion.
The waiters try but service can be desultory, what with the crush at the bar and the sheer volume of ego and hair in one room. Try for a table in the romantic, cozy back nook but don’t expect the waiters to be able to reach you there. They are at least nice, which makes up for a lot of slowness. Don’t be intimidated by the pretty hostesses, either. They’re very helpful.
Apparently on Saturdays around 2 the place is like a day club in St. Tropez. Don’t bother trying to do anything at the bar after 10pm - it’s about 6-7 deep in a space that supports 5 at best so only the skinny will succeed. There are lots of cute banker boys if you’re into that, as well as a DJ who’s quite good. Take a deaf date, you won’t be able to hear anyway.
The food is better than it has to be but not as good as it could be. It’s clearly a bagatelle compared to keeping the crowd liquored up, though they provide an impressively extensive menu considering the simple banker/model/ad girl/socialite clientele. It’s fun, I’d definitely come again.
Rating: 7.5 / 10
Our cost: don’t know, probably a lot. (Thank you B!) Apps are $10-18, entrées $24-36.
Noise level: club with non-deaf DJ
Chance of walking in: as slim as most of the social x-rays who come here.
I did end up coming again, on a date this time, and I can wholeheartedly recommend the scallops St. Jacques as well.
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05.02.08
Posted in Asian, Meatpacking District, New York City, New York City Reviews, rated 8 to 8.5, Southeast Asian at 00:59 by Dominique
403 W. 13th St. and 9th Ave, 212-675-2322
Great for: dates, Asian-French fusion, getting hammered in a civilized fashion, impressing out-of-towners, pre-club wallet lightening, family style
My friend V was about to set off on a very long tour of Asia and Europe, so we had dinner to celebrate and say goodbye temporarily. It’s fun eating with her – she loves meat and food in general about as much as I do. Plus I am usually out with the Boyfriend (like last time), and it’s nice to have a girls’ night once in a while.
We shared three entrees and a side instead of doing the normal three course meal. First up: a really good seafood laksa, which was Gulf shrimp, scallops and some kind of white fish in a curry coconut broth with thin noodles. The seafood was tender, and the noodles were properly slender. I usually don’t like coconut-flavored things, so I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the broth. Next, the pork vindaloo was also great. It’s not actually that hot if you’re used to spicy food, but we liked it a lot. The cod with Malaysian chili sauce and Thai basil was comparably excellent. We thought it was actually spicier than the vindaloo. To balance out all the meat, we got the baby corn and broccoli with lemongrass and chili over seared corn, and were delighted with that too. Everything was executed very well.
We tried the pattaya, kumquat mojito, Saigon cosmo and ginger margarita from the cocktail menu. They were all good, but I think my favorite was the Saigon cosmo, made of Skyy and plum sake, while V’s was the self-explanatory kumquat mojito. The verbena mint tea we shared at the end to sober up a bit was good as well. Our cute waiter took attentive, friendly care of us; the décor is still the same sexy Asian chic as always; and the food was consistently excellent throughout the entire meal. I’m looking forward to my next visit.
Rating: 8.5 / 10
Our cost: $150 (2 cocktails each)
Noise level: happy noisy
Chance of walking in: low (I made a reservation).
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02.19.08
Posted in French, Meatpacking District, New York City, New York City Reviews, rated 8 to 8.5 at 18:40 by Dominique
8 Little W. 12th St. & 9th Ave., 212-463-8345
Great for: very drunken brunches, awesome burger, dirty bingo, yummy Champagne cocktails, Gallic accents without the attitude
A friend topped off her boyfriend’s birthday celebration weekend with Sunday brunch here, which only the two of them plus the Boyfriend and me were still capable of attending. Everyone else had been felled by alcohol on top of more alcohol. Brunch is $25 for entrée plus all the Champagne you want… We figured our livers could handle unlimited Champagne cocktails, and they did, although our sobriety didn’t do as well.
We thought we’d share the charcuterie plate, but they forgot to bring it. It turned out for the best though, since we were very full after our entrées. I got the wake & bake, which is two eggs sunny-side up over polenta and andouille sausage covered in Gruyère cheese. It tastes even better than it sounds! Scrumptious runny egg yolk, creamy polenta, thin slices of perfectly salted sausage, and cheese cooked enough to be crispy is a wonderful combination. The other three got variations on the burger, which according to the menu makes “all the burgers at all the fancy-pants places [...] taste like dookie”. I can’t call all the other burgers dookie but the Paradou one sure is good. It comes on what look like baguette slices, except they’re soft and fluffy. The meat is juicy and tasty – maybe they marinate it in something? – and the fingerling potatoes on the side are also great. The sandwich is pretty huge, too; no one at the table was able to finish theirs.
I’d definitely recommend trying all the cocktails. The Paradou X is a kir royale plus a special ingredient, and the Chaperon Rouge is Champagne plus muddled strawberries. They also have bellinis, mimosas and kir royales. My favorite is the Chaperon Rouge. They’re all great, especially after you’ve had a few. The waiters are really friendly, and we usually get to sit in the garden, which is covered in winter. It’s a great little place with consistently good food, drinks and service. We’ve been back for brunch about 4 times already.
Rating: 8.5 / 10
Our cost: $72 per 4 people
Noise level: happy noisy
Chance of walking in: medium
It’s now $29 per person for brunch.
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01.22.08
Posted in Asian, Meatpacking District, New York City, New York City Reviews, rated 7 to 7.5, Southeast Asian at 18:15 by Dominique
403 W. 13th St. and 9th Ave, 212-675-2322
Great for: dates, Asian-French fusion, getting hammered in a civilized fashion, impressing out-of-towners, pre-club wallet lightening
The Boyfriend and I had a friend visiting from England, and thought Jean-Georges’s take on Asian street food would be a nice New York-y place to take him. We’d had dinner elsewhere separately so we just did drinks and appetizers. The times I’d been here before, the food was quite good, and this time was no exception.
We got the pork satays, beef skewers with lime sauce, salmon sashimi and spicy chicken wings. The wings had a bit too much sauce, unlike the way I remember them, but were still yummy. The fish was really good, as was the pork, and the beef was my favorite. I also couldn’t stop eating the spicy chips with hot sauce that come in lieu of bread. They remind me of papadoms, a kind of super-thin baked Indian thing that looks a bit like a tortilla chip.
The cocktails are great. Between the three of us we had several beers and the pattaya, Saigon cosmo, mai tai and East India cocktail. They’re all delicious; the East India, made of Courvoisier VSOP, Cointreau, Angostura bitters and pineapple, was my favorite.
I love the way the place looks. It’s dark and romantic but also good for a bunch of friends. It’s pretty upscale for street food, although I’d expect nothing less from Jean-Georges. We had great service as well. Our waiter was clearly very busy but managed to be there every time we needed new drinks, plates cleared, etc. It’s also not as difficult to get a reservation as it used to be, which is nice. One time I went with two girlfriends and their guy friend, and it took him a $100 handshake to just get past the bouncer, then another $100 to persuade the hostess to believe his lie that we had a reservation. This time, we were able to walk in and get a table right away, although it being a Monday night at 9:30 probably helped. Overall, I like the place a lot. It’s definitely one of my favorites in the meatpacking district.
Rating: 7.5 / 10
Our cost: $130 for drinks and appetizers for 3 people
Noise level: medium, and there are lots of private nooks
Chances of walking in: low.
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