Every neighborhood needs and deserves at least one first-rate neighborhood restaurant. A neighborhood restaurant is reasonably priced, easy to talk in, serves good, unfussy food, is within a ten minute walk of your house, and doesn't require a reservation made more than a day in advance. Shorty's.32 is chef-owner Josh Eden's attempt to create just such a neighborhood restaurant in Soho, and he has succeeded so well I might consider moving.
Eden spent many years working for Jean-Georges Vongerichten, so he has culinary technique to burn and a great appreciation for both street food and haute cuisine.
Shorty's 32 menu reflects both of these attributes:
The burger, which Eden grinds from a mixture of short rib, brisket, and hanger steak, comes on a buttered brioche bun and housemade pickle slices. It is juicy and beefy and has great flavor, but the night I had it the sear was missing. The accompanying fries were championship-level fries, crisp on the outside and creamy on the inside. The macaroni and cheese, made with four cheeses including Gruyere and Beemster, is paradigmatic. It has lots of great crunchy bits on top, tangy to the max, and has just enough primordial mac and cheese ooze. For dessert a piece of toasted pound cake was topped by sweet tristar strawberries and a generous dollop of what tasted like Devonshire cream. I also tried three scoops of ice cream made by a chef friend of Eden's, and I thought the not very sweet, almost burned caramel rocked.
I wanted to try some of the fancier pants options, like the steamed sea bass with quinoa and pickled beets or the scallops with sweet corn risotto, and bacon jus, but one man can only eat so much.
Shorty's 32 is not a big restaurant. It has 32 seats, hence the name. But the tables are reasonably well-spaced, so having a conversation in the restaurant is fairly easy to do, even over the Dylan soundtrack playing in the restaurant the night I was there.
Every neighborhood needs a Shorty's 32. Do you have one in your neighborhood?
Shorty's.32
199 Prince Street (at Sullivan)
New York, NY 10012
Ph: 212-375-8275
Advertisement will not be printed.