I walked in to find a dark restaurant lit with an abundant amount of candles and walls of exposed brick. It had a modernized gothic feel to it, but in a sexy way.
There is a bar up front, with the main dining room in the back separated by a small hallway. I walked past the bar to the Hostess station to see if there were any seats available. I noticed an open table and asked one of the hostesses where she thought I should eat. She recommended the bar where "Heather would take good care of me." I like being taking care of, and also like making conversation with everyone who works at a restaurant (and eats at a restaurant too) so the bar was where I sat.
I started out with a Manhattan. I figured a stiff drink would be a good way to get the night going (it was 10:30pm). I was excited to check out the menu, for the chef, Neil Ferguson was plucked from Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in midtown, a reputable dining destination in NYC.
After perusing the menu and inquiring with Heather what her favorite dishes were, I eventually made the decision to go with an appetizer of Skin Roasted Spanish Mackerel with bacon gnocchi, and apple cider vinagrette ($15). For my entree I chose the Moulard Duck Magret with turnip confit, buttered radishes and foie gras.
The highlight of the meal was actually the bread. The bread is baked in-house, and I was given a plate of one sage and bacon roll, and one regular roll, along with a side of butter. Both rolls were warm, and fluffy, and absolutely delicious. The butter was amazing as well. It was extremely creamy, which I liked. It was one of the best plates of bread I have ever had.
The Spanish Mackerel appetizer was a very interesting dish. The combination of flavors were unlike any I have encountered before. Mackerel is a very "fishy" fish, so the bacon gnocchi and apple cider vinagrette were used to counteract that fishiness. The fish was well cooked, but the dish to me only works when you combine all three elements on one forkfull. I will admit I am not a fan of apples, so that might have been a turn-off. But the bacon gnocchi were not what I expected either. In fact, I was having trouble locating which was the gnocchi and what was apple. I wish the gnocchi had stood out a little more. I was still pleased with the dish and the use of unusual flavor combinations, I just wasn't blown away.
The Moulard Duck Magret was yet another dish with unusual flavor combinations. The duck was presented in the center of the plate cut into many slices. It was perfectly cooked, and nice and juicy. I never had turnip confit or buttered radishes, and both were fine. They were interesting compliments to the duck, and the dish had a very "Autumny" feel to it, but I can't say I loved it. It was something different though, and I love trying new things and experimenting. The best part of the dish though was the foie gras. There was a small piece of duck foie gras at one side of the plate, really not the focus of the plate at all. What made the foie gras so great was it was topped with toasted almonds. It gave it some great texture, as well as some added flavor, and I loved it.
I was too stuffed for dessert, although they all looked interesting, with again some unique flavor combinations, such as one dessert that came with olive oil ice cream!
So, if you are looking for a sexy dining experience, with good food with unique flavors, Allen & Delancey would be a very good choice.
Allen & Delancey
115 Allen St. (and Delancey!)
New York, NY 10002
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( 3 / 822 )Saturday night I decided to go to Lupa, one of the Italian restaurants in Mario Batali's empire. I got there at 10:15 and it was around a 45 minute wait til I got seated. I've been wanting to head to Lupa for some time now, for I heard great things. Now, I don't know if I'd recommend waiting 45 minutes for pasta, but Lupa doesn't disappoint.
It's a nice medium sized restaurant, with a rustic and casual feel to it. I started with a special of sliced Copa -pork shoulder ($12). They have a guy in a "meat" station next to the bar who slices many different types of fresh meat. The Copa came in 10 thinly sliced pieces. It was very fresh and delicate, and went nicely with a red wine I had.
I had been craving to try the pasta at Lupa, so I went with a special of Orecchiette with pork sausage and broccoli rabe ($22). This pasta dish was great. It was the most al dente pasta I have ever had. It was dressed with olive oil and had a nice kick to it from crushed red pepper. It was definitely a perfect pasta dish.
For dessert I tried the Lupa Tartufo ($8), which came with hazelnuts and hazlenut ice cream. It was a big ball of chocolate surrounding the hazelnut ice cream on top of some chocolate sauce. I love chocolate and hazelnut together, so of course I loved this dish. It was the pefect ending to a great little meal.
Lupa is a great place to grab some wine and some non-fussy Italian food. It's worth the wait.
Lupa
170 Thompson Street
New York, NY 10012
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( 3.1 / 157 )Last night I decided to go to the one-month old Spanish tapas spot El Quinto Pino. El Quinto Pino comes to us from Mani Dawes and chef Alex Raij, the crew that brought us Tia Pol, one of the best tapas joints in NYC.
El Quinto Pino is small. It is sparsely decorated with some mirrors on one wall, with some seats up against the wall, and a semi-circular curved small bar, with the kitchen behind the bar. The food and drink menu are written on two chalkboards behind the bar. The tilings on the wall behind the bar resembled the patterns of your grandmother's couch. You don't come to this spot for the decor. You come for the great authentic Spanish tapas.
I took a seat at one end of the bar. There were only a handful of people inside, which surprised me, for I thought it might be packed, because Tia Pol is always packed. I was happy it wasn't packed, for it gave me more time to converse with the bartenders.
I asked Veronica, one of two bartenders what her favorite dish was, and she told me it was the shrimp. I asked Matt, the other bartender what his favorite dish was and he said the braised meat sandwich. Not feeling shrimp- at the moment- I went with Matt's suggestion. I also went with the Victory Pilsner beer they had on tap.
The sandwich ($7) came out on hot and crispy bread. The meat was braised pork shoulder. It was a really nice sandwich. The flavor was really nice and the meat was well seasoned. After enjoying this tasty little sandwich I was contemplating if I should get the garlicky shrimp too. And like a mindreader, Matt comes over and asks me if I wanted the shrimp too, I of course, obliged. And I am so happy I did.
This "garlicky shrump" ($9) dish is a great dish. Four shrimp come out in a broth. It's a simple dish, but the broth had such a great flavor I loved the dish. There was a little kick to the broth, which I enjoyed, and found out was from the addition of sirancha (not sure of spelling) peppers. These are hot vietnamese peppers which gave this Spanish dish a touch of Asia. The dish came with two pieces of warm crispy bread which was perfect for dipping in the broth.
Of course, I ended up doing magic for everyone in the restaurant, which was awesome. That was a good thing too, because an Australian couple sitting next to me had ordered some crispy cracklings, which thanks to my amazing magic and winning personality, they let me try. The cracklings were delicious. The perfect bar snack.
After eating great food, and entertaining and chatting with great people, the restaurant gave me this very homey vibe. Its the kind of restaurant I love. Non-pretentious, cozy, friendly, great food, and with no dish over $15, a great bang for your buck. It is a great neighborhood joint, but I would travel from other neighborhoods for the El Quinto Pino experience. And I will, for I live in Midtown, and it is in Chelsea, an I plan on coming back often.
So for great tapas in a friendly environment in NYC, El Quinto Pino is the perfect little spot.
El Quinto Pino
401 W. 24th St. (at 9th Avenue)
New York, NY 10011
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( 3 / 639 )Wednesday night I met a friend of mine at Pastis. If you never heard of Pastis, it is a "sceney" restaurant in the Meatpacking District, made "scenier" by it's appearances on "Sex and the City". On any given night you'll find your typical fashionistas, celebs, and "Sex and the City" wannabes.
I've been to Pastis a few times, and I think it is a great place to grab a drink and a bite. You would think that a restaurant like this would be more focused on its looks and vibe, then the food, but I feel compelled to write about their steak sandwich ($18).
I had the steak sandwich Wednesday-for the second time. I tend to like to try new dishes, but fate led me to order it again, after our waitress steered me away from the pork chop I was contemplating.
The sandwich comes with onions and gruyere cheese, and a side of fries. The meat was tender and juicy, and the onions and the cheese were not overloaded, so it was a perfectly balanced sandwich. In fact, it was the best steak sandwich I have ever encountered. The fries at Pastis need to be discussed too. Why? Cause they are pefect! Crispy, with the right amount of saltiness. I love these fries. There's nothing like sitting outside, having a drink, enjoying an awesome sandwich while good-looking people walk by.
For good eats, people watching, and a taste of cool, Pastis is the perfect spot.
Pastis
9 9th Avenue (at Little West 12th st.)
New York, NY 10014
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( 3 / 595 )Last night I decided to check out the new restaurant Tailor in SOHO. Tailor comes to us from the former pastry chef at WD-50, Sam Mason. WD-50 is the most experimental restaurant in NYC, and was the location of one of my greatest dining experiences in my life, so I was definitely excited to check this place out.
Tailor is located on a block away from all the commercial craziness that is SOHO. I knew the address was 525 Broome st., but I did not see any sign or number. What I did see was a large wooden door that I assumed was the place. Luckily for me, I was right!
There is a dining room on the first floor and a cool lounge downstairs. I took a table in the dining room, which was simply decorated, with dim brown/beige colors, and one wall of exposed brick. The mood was modernized 1800's.
In the back right corner of the restaurant is a service bar with a window, but no glass. I have seen open kitchens before, but rarely do you see an open bar. In other words, yes, most restaurants have bars, but this was a "Service" bar, meaning this is where the drinks the diners ordered were "created". Not a bar with stools, etc. I found this quite interesting, almost if they wanted to highlight the drinks. And, well, the drinks here should be highlighted.
The cocktail list was created by mixologist Eben Freeman, and it's an amazing list. I started with the "Blood and Sand" ($14)- scotch, sweet vermouth, red bach. This was a great drink. The balance between alcohol and flavor was perfect. There was just a touch of saltiness to the drink that I enjoyed.
The menu at Tailor consists of one side labeled "Salty" and the other side labeled "Sweet". For my first encounter, I decided to get one dish from each side.
From the "Salty" side I went with the Pork Belly with miso butterscotch and artichoke ($16). This was an amazing dish. The balance of sweetness and saltiness was perfect. The pork belly was perfectly cooked, tender, juicy and absolutely delicious. The miso butterscotch was interesting. I thought it had a chance to be too sweet, but in fact it was the perfect compliment to the pork belly. The artichoke was perfectly cooked, and gave a nice added texture to the dish. It was also beautifully presented. The colors on the plate were very appealing. This was a memorable dish.
After this dish I ordered a cocktail called "Good Ol Boy" ($12); bourbon, smoked coke, and preserved lemon. This was a nice drink as well. I look at the cocktails at Tailor as dishes themselves (they cost just as much too!).
From the "Sweet" side of the menu I had the Soft Chocolate with sesame ice cream ($12). This dish was also beautifully presented and tasted great. The sesame ice cream was a refreshing compliment to the soft chocolate.
Another aspect of Tailor that should be highlighted is the service. The service was extremely good. It seemed they had many more servers then needed, but that works to the diner's advantage, because there is someone always there to take care of you.
(They also walked around with two types of bread-raisin and olive- I had both, and both were very good.)
I definitely plan on coming back to Tailor to try the other dishes on the menu and to try more of their great cocktails. So, for great drinks, and memorable food, Tailor is the perfect spot.
Tailor
525 Broome St. (between Sullivan and Thompson)
New York, NY 10013
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