04.07.08
Review of Jane, Friday February 2008
100 W. Houston & La Guardia Pl./Thompson St., 212-254-7000
Great for: small parties, celebrations, un-fussy food
Jane is one of those restaurants that just complements a night out with friends perfectly. It’s casual, but not too much so; the food is delicious, so are the drinks, and it’s not too expensive (although the wine will set you back a bit). This particular Friday happened to be the one before my birthday, and the Boyfriend and I met up with three of his friends for a nice pre-crazy-party dinner. [He took me to River Café in Brooklyn (yes, I crossed water in a car without murmur!) for my actual birthday - I took the night off from reviewing, so I will just say Oh. My. God. Go there immediately as soon as you have some money. Oh and proper clothes.]
My appetizer of chipotle shrimp with sweet corn griddle cake, barbecue butter and herb salad was great, even though the corn was a bit sweeter than I normally like. The Boyfriend’s crispy sesame calamari with pineapple-chili sauce, green onion (scallions) and cilantro was also well-executed; the sauce was quite sweet but pretty good.
The grilled sirloin steak in green peppercorn sauce with potato and gruyère gratin was quite good, nice and spicy. I was happy with the texture of the meat. Just the thing to soak up bottles of vodka later at the club. The seared diver scallops with white corn pozole, apple-smoked bacon and roasted poblano were also very good – the sauce reminded me of red fra diavolo. Our friends’ main dishes did not disappoint either; the lamb shank off-bone with couscous was as yummy as the baked rigatoni with spicy homemade sausage, Italian eggplant, slow roasted tomatoes, basil and fresh mozzarella.
Not only does Jane make good food, it comes in huge portions as well. I am so happy I finally came here. The drinks are just as expertly made, especially the Fling, of vodka, sauvignon blanc, elderflower liqueur, tarragon and lemon, which is delicious and a bit spicy; and the peach caipirinha, which was subtle and good. The only bad part was our waiter. We had to repeat everything we said to him three times, despite all of us speaking English perfectly and loudly. He forgot us frequently and was generally very frustrating. It didn’t even seem like he was new, so we couldn’t figure out why he was doing so badly. Fortunately, the dining room is decorated in a lovely, calming manner, we had quite a lot of wine and cocktails, and I had a wonderful birthday dinner overall.
Rating: 7.5 / 10
Our cost: $417+63 (for 5 people with 2 cocktails each) because the waiter was stupid and/or neglectful
Noise level: happy hum
Chance of walking in: low.
