02.19.08
Review of Little Giant, Friday January 2008
85 Orchard St. & Broome St., 212-226-5047
Great for: chic LES dining, getting over claustrophobia, good simple food
The Boyfriend used to live in DUMBO and no one would visit him there so he’d come hang out on the Lower East Side, and that was when he first discovered Little Giant. After hearing him talk about it for a year, finally we went. It seems to be part of the same building as Elyssa Dido, with the interesting wavy brick ceiling. The exposed brick walls and slightly uneven floors also contribute to the cozy feel.
We were lucky to get a table almost right away. The waitress/hostess helped us squeeze into a deuce by the window just as two other parties walked in. We enjoyed the bread and notably yummy butter as we waited for her to come back. I’m not entirely sure, but it seemed as though she was the only waitress for the whole place. Sometimes we saw the bartender carrying a drink or two, but generally she looked completely overworked. She was really good if that was the case, because it didn’t feel any slower than leisurely service.
We started off with chicken liver mousse for the Boyfriend and spinach dip for me. The mousse was sweet but creamy and surprisingly tasty for liver. I loved the very cheesy dip – probably not the healthiest dish I could have picked, but I felt like cheesy spinachy scrumptiousness. I was glad it came in such a small bowl, because I probably would have finished whatever size they put in front of me.
Next up was cod and short ribs. My Bourbon-molasses braised short ribs came with Rockland plantation stone-ground grits and roasted tuscan kale with grana padano, pine nuts and macerated raisins. The grits were creamy and delicious, while the kale was a bit sweet but also good, which went really well with the moist, tender and very yummy ribs. I could have done without the raisins though. The Boyfriend’s pan-roasted cod with fresh and shell bean ragout, toasted Israeli couscous, mustard greens and lemon gremolata looked a lot simpler than it sounds, and was tasty. Our side of macaroni & cheese with bacon and crunchy bread crumbs was good too, albeit quite unnecessary. We would have been pretty full with just our entrées.
The two house cocktails I tried, the sugar plum and the almond horchata, were quite yummy. The Boyfriend contented himself with beer. I really liked the cozy feel of the place, even though I couldn’t go to the bathroom until we left. We were so squished together, we actually got into a conversation about Buttercup’s motivations in the Princess Bride with the couple sitting next to us. We’d listened to them for about 10 minutes until I couldn’t help myself and had to rebut the guy’s assertion that Buttercup was a heartless bitch. Anyway, there are some larger tables as well, and it’s nice to look out the windows at the Lower East Side. It’s a young-feeling, hip kind of place without being precious. And since I live a few blocks away, we’re definitely going back soon.
Rating: 7.5 / 10
Our cost: $140 (2 cocktails and 2 beers)
Noise level: good
Chance of walking in: medium
