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Village Voice's Choice Eats, a Little Nutso Crowded But Some Good Bites

Posted by Erin Zimmer, April 1, 2009 at 10:00 AM

Photographs by Robyn Lee

Last night, 56 restaurants downsized into table form, dispensing bites of signature goodies inside the Lexington Avenue Armory for Village Voice's 2nd annual Choice Eats. Boy, were there a lot of bodies in there. So many that at times, it didn't feel worth the "No, I was really here first" look. Our strategy—to avoid the super insane long lines (for Porchetta, Momofuku Milk Bar, No. 7, and Cheburechnaya) in the beginning, and hit them up at the end—was so wrong. They ran out of goods! Duh, us.

The smartest thing to do would've been to arrive exactly at 6:30 p.m. and just start charging. Serious Eats contributor Kathy YL Chan did just that and managed to hit every table—check out her round-up at her blog, A Passion for Food. Unfortunately, due to our slowness, we didn't get to try all of her favorites, but we still had a disorienting hour-and-a-half of roaming around. Some highlights, after the jump

Best Trek from Brighton Beach

Cafe Glechik, you rule for making the commute from Coney Island Avenue. Your "Napolean" pastry, with layers of rich cream, was so satisfying. And the nice Russian-looking lady slicing it up—if you slaved over it, thank you. Also, the tasty eggplant "caviar" (garlicky mushed-up eggplant goo) with chewy mini toasts and sausage slices was appreciated. 3159 Coney Island Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11235 (map); 718-616-0766

Best Thing in a Roll

Baoguette offered mini banh mis with both the classic chicken liver pate filling and "Sloppy Bao," a spicier ground beef cousin of Joe. They were both satisfying, nice and compact, and still available at the end of the night. 61 Lexington Avenue, New York NY 10010 (map); 212-518-4089. And two new locations on the horizon

Meat Slices Are Always Good

Salumeria Rosi stuck to the simple salumeria. Pink and reddish meats you could just pick up with your sticky hands. That was hard to argue with. 283 Amsterdam Avenue, New York NY 10023 (map); 212-877-4800

Most Likely to Burn Your Mouth

Cabrito's stuffed chili relleno packed some heat, but the one from Tortilleria Nixtamal from Corona, Queens, ayeeyiiiee. Mouth felt like death after just a nibble! And it was rough dodging bodies to get to the middle water bottle table for salvation. But, nice work. 104-05 47th Avenue, Flushing NY 11368 (map); 718-699-2434

Honorable mention to Fatty Crab for the dab of spicy dark red sauce next to the Nasi Lemak (chicken curry on coconut rice). You weren't kidding when you only shelled out a dab! 643 Hudson Street, New York NY‎ 10014 (map); 212-352-3592. Second location: 2170 Broadway, New York NY 10024 (map); 212-496-2722

Mac and Cheese Award

Somebody had to bring the ooey gooeyness. Mama's Food Shop had that covered. When the kebabs and curry were getting a little much, it was nice to see some starchy familiarity. 200 E 3rd Street, New York NY 10009 (map); 212-777-4425

Pizzeria That Didn't Serve Pizza

Motorino. Though the bombolino (filled with jelly, chocolate, or cream) was a nice little sugar high, no pizza pie? Kind of a letdown. 319 Graham Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11211 (map); 718-599-8899

Best Party Favor

Thanks, Whole Foods, for the reusable bag full of oranges, lemons, whole wheat couscous, boxed tomato soup, and fennel bulbs! By 8:30 p.m., as the crowd started fizzling, Whole Foods broke down their booth and just handed stuff out. Time to make something really healthy with all this to negate all the fat pockets we just ate!

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Tags: Baoguette, Cabrito, Cafe Glechik, Choice Eats, events, Fatty Crab, Mama's Food Shop, Motorino, Salumeria Rosi, Tortilleria Nixtamal, Village Voice