[Photo: Kathy Chan]
Crunchy cookie meets weightless meringue, with just the slightest bit of chew—it's the pistachio cookie at Abraço, with the nut pureed through and through. Pistachio evolved into a cookie. A little crumbly, a little messy, but bold and honest in flavor, and just sweet enough.
86 East 7th Street, New York NY 10003 (map)
212-388-9731
abraconyc.com
Robataya! [Photographs: Tam Ngo]
Robataya is the latest from the restaurant group that manages such Japanese gems as Sobaya. Its grilled menu offerings are similar to those of Aburiya Kinnosuke, but presented with greater fidelity to the rowdy spirit of the robatayaki.
With ro meaning fireplace, bata meaning around, and yaki meaning grill, robatayaki is a phrase literal of its intent. The U-shaped seating around a central hearth, the booming call and response, and the food served precariously on the fat ends of oars hark to practices among Japanese seafarers hundreds of years ago. According to legend, the fisherman grilled their catch on boats and shared the bounty with other fishermen by bellowing announcements. Food was then distributed, from boat to boat, on the very oars they rowed with.
At Robataya, even glass bottles of soda are proferred to diners via oar, a feat just barely on the fun side of disaster. Two chefs in white-footed socks cook and shout from a raised platform equipped with infrared gas.
Cozy footwear
You place your order with a waiter who barks it to a chef. The chef thunders a confirmation back. With efficient commotion, the chef then scuttles over to stage's perimeter where foods are piled preciously, spotlit and on pedestals.
The chef gestures while on hands and knees. He points at an ingredient and you nod. He plucks the food right then from view and grills it immediately to order. A final broadcast of the dish, and you are presented the dish by extended oar.
Lunch at Agnes & Eva's Cafe started like this: a window seat facing out onto East 13th Street, and one hot chai latte ($2.50). This Polish East Village cafe, run by a mother and daughter team, is equipped with wireless, plenty of seating, solid food and low prices. I wrote about their peach pie when they first opened; I was not a fan.
But the cafe has improved with time, working out a number of kinks, and while the desserts are still far from fantastic, you won't be disappointed stopping in for a quiet meal, with soups, sandwiches, and more. Should you be lucky enough, you might come in on a day where Hungarian specialties are on the menu—if so, make those dishes your first eating priority.
[Photograph: Robyn Lee]
If I lived in Australia, I'd want to eat sticky date pudding all the time. Alas, I don't, so I've only eaten it twice in my deprived life, the second time at The Sunburnt Cow in Alphabet City. The uber-moist, warm cake morsel acted as a sponge (and had a spongy texture) for the caramel sauce topping and doesn't taste of dates as much as the intense caramel sauce that soaks into every crevice. Which is perfectly fine with me. I thought the sweetness level was just right—"just right" to my taste buds being a smidge below "diabetes-inducing"—but if your sweet tooth is more normal than mine, the accompanying whipped cream helps to cut through the sweetness.
137 Avenue C, New York NY 10009 (map)
212-529-0005; thesunburntcow.com
[Photo: Kathy Chan]
Recommended by serious eater Alaina Browne, the pumpkin ice cream at Sundaes & Cones is a definite neighborhood go-to. Solid and satisfying, and best in a sugar cone (per Alaina's recommendation) and not the cup. It's that extra bit of crunch that completes this particular flavor, like a makeshift frozen pumpkin pie. It's nothing fancy or extravagant, but a total feel-good dessert, especially when enjoyed with a friend at one of the window seats.
95 East 10th Street, New York NY 10003 (near Third Avenue; map)
212-979-9398
sundaescones.com
[Photo: Kathy Chan]
Crunchy cookie meets weightless meringue, with just the slightest bit of chew—it's the pistachio cookie at Abraço, with the nut pureed through and through. Pistachio evolved into a cookie. A little crumbly, a little messy, but bold and honest in flavor, and just sweet enough.
86 East 7th Street, New York NY 10003 (map)
212-388-9731
abraconyc.com
Robataya! [Photographs: Tam Ngo]
Robataya is the latest from the restaurant group that manages such Japanese gems as Sobaya. Its grilled menu offerings are similar to those of Aburiya Kinnosuke, but presented with greater fidelity to the rowdy spirit of the robatayaki.
With ro meaning fireplace, bata meaning around, and yaki meaning grill, robatayaki is a phrase literal of its intent. The U-shaped seating around a central hearth, the booming call and response, and the food served precariously on the fat ends of oars hark to practices among Japanese seafarers hundreds of years ago. According to legend, the fisherman grilled their catch on boats and shared the bounty with other fishermen by bellowing announcements. Food was then distributed, from boat to boat, on the very oars they rowed with.
At Robataya, even glass bottles of soda are proferred to diners via oar, a feat just barely on the fun side of disaster. Two chefs in white-footed socks cook and shout from a raised platform equipped with infrared gas.
Cozy footwear
You place your order with a waiter who barks it to a chef. The chef thunders a confirmation back. With efficient commotion, the chef then scuttles over to stage's perimeter where foods are piled preciously, spotlit and on pedestals.
The chef gestures while on hands and knees. He points at an ingredient and you nod. He plucks the food right then from view and grills it immediately to order. A final broadcast of the dish, and you are presented the dish by extended oar.
Lunch at Agnes & Eva's Cafe started like this: a window seat facing out onto East 13th Street, and one hot chai latte ($2.50). This Polish East Village cafe, run by a mother and daughter team, is equipped with wireless, plenty of seating, solid food and low prices. I wrote about their peach pie when they first opened; I was not a fan.
But the cafe has improved with time, working out a number of kinks, and while the desserts are still far from fantastic, you won't be disappointed stopping in for a quiet meal, with soups, sandwiches, and more. Should you be lucky enough, you might come in on a day where Hungarian specialties are on the menu—if so, make those dishes your first eating priority.
[Photograph: Robyn Lee]
If I lived in Australia, I'd want to eat sticky date pudding all the time. Alas, I don't, so I've only eaten it twice in my deprived life, the second time at The Sunburnt Cow in Alphabet City. The uber-moist, warm cake morsel acted as a sponge (and had a spongy texture) for the caramel sauce topping and doesn't taste of dates as much as the intense caramel sauce that soaks into every crevice. Which is perfectly fine with me. I thought the sweetness level was just right—"just right" to my taste buds being a smidge below "diabetes-inducing"—but if your sweet tooth is more normal than mine, the accompanying whipped cream helps to cut through the sweetness.
137 Avenue C, New York NY 10009 (map)
212-529-0005; thesunburntcow.com
[Photo: Kathy Chan]
Recommended by serious eater Alaina Browne, the pumpkin ice cream at Sundaes & Cones is a definite neighborhood go-to. Solid and satisfying, and best in a sugar cone (per Alaina's recommendation) and not the cup. It's that extra bit of crunch that completes this particular flavor, like a makeshift frozen pumpkin pie. It's nothing fancy or extravagant, but a total feel-good dessert, especially when enjoyed with a friend at one of the window seats.
95 East 10th Street, New York NY 10003 (near Third Avenue; map)
212-979-9398
sundaescones.com
[Photo: Kathy Chan]
I'll pass on the quartet of soft serve flavors served at Momofuku Milk Bar any day for the two flavors that appear at Momofuku Noodle Bar. At Noodle Bar, Christina Tosi's flavors are just as inventive, only with a touch of restraint. Currently on the menu: Sweet Potatoand Pie Crust soft serve, with toasted marshmallows on top. The Sweet Potato is delicious on its own, but if you're also craving the Pie Crust, make sure to get it with the Sweet Potato twist and not just on its own—otherwise it just taste of milky, salty soft serve. And say yes, yes, yes to the option of toasted marshmallows.
171 First Avenue, New York NY 10003 (map)
212-777-7773
momofuku.com
For the month of October, Prune celebrates their ten-year anniversary (impressive!) with a rotation of three special prix fixe menus ($53). Today brings an end to the first menu, in which an extravagant meal of monkfish liver with buttered toasted, braised rabbit legs in vinegar sauce, and roasted beet aioli is followed with a wedge of Brenton Butter Cake. Golden, flaky and simply sublime with a sip of the accompanying glass of muscat.
After this, look out for sweet endings of Pistachio Pithiviers with Buttermilk Ice Cream (from 10/14-10/20) and Lemon Curd Pavlova (10/21-10/27).
54 East First Street, New York NY 10003 (near First Avenue; map)
212-677-6221; prunerestaurant.com
No matter how often you stop by Momofuku Milk Bar, you'll rarely find quite the same menu twice. Blondie from Blondie and Brownie tries their Rice Pudding Pie: "With a gingersnap crust and topped with caramel apples, the pie felt in place for fall and was certainly delicious."
We'll take it over a few of Momofuku's newest soft-serve flavors, debuting tomorrow; fruit cobbler, okay, but stuffing? Yikes.
[Photographs: Tia Kim]
Bibimbap (a spicy Korean mixed rice dish, also spelled bibimbop) isn't bar food, here or in Korea, but when you combine bibimbap and a sake bar, you get Bibim-Bar, a tiny bar/restaurant specializing in bibimbap and small Asian plates tucked away in the back of Ramen Setagaya on First Avenue.
Being Korean, bibimbap is one those dishes I hardly ever order at a restaurant. Along with kimchi jigae (kimchi stew) and denjang jigae (fermented soybean stew), it's easy to make at home with ingredients I usually have in my refrigerator. This weekend, though, I was by St. Marks and I needed Korean food stat, and after quickly surveying the area (Seoul Station is still closed for renovations), I found myself in Bibim-Bar.
[Photo: Nick Solares]
While I don't find the hamburger or even the regular menu at The Smith particularly inspiring, their breakfast offerings are much more compelling. I recently wrote about the Croaker and ventured down to The Smith this morning with that sandwich in mind. But after perusing the menu I decided upon a dish that I now wish I had discovered sooner: the potato waffle.
Three poached eggs come set atop three quarters of a crunchy potato waffle, with spinach and caramelized onions ladled over them. The eggs came out nice and runny, the yolk spilling out and mixing with the spinach to create a very creamy concoction. Truth be told, I barely noticed the caramelized onions, but it mattered not; the hearty waffle was a golden brown and the creamy topping created a pleasing synthesis. I wish more waffle fries could taste this good.
The dish looks large, and I didn't think I would finish it when it was deposited on my table. But after wolfing down the three eggs and waffle quarters, I found myself wondering what happened to the last quadrant. I bet the kitchen loves it when an order of the dish comes in; there will always be an extra waffle quarter.
Available seven days a week, the dish costs only $8 on weekdays with a glass of orange juice or a coffee.
55 Third Avenue, New York NY 10003 (map)
212-420-9800
ctrnyc.com/THESMITH/index.html
Related:
Breakfast of Champions: The Croaker at The Smith
Another Burger Ruined by Brioche from The Smith
The newest baked good at Birdbath, in both East and West Village locations, almost qualifies as health food. Behold, the banana-miso muffin, made with spelt and soynuts. It's on the dry end in that healthy sort of way, but is strangely addictive, barely sweet at all, and goes very well with a cup of hot coffee. Chunks of fresh bananas fill out the hollowed center of this "muffin." The miso isn't prevalent, but I love the nutty pop of the soynuts in every bite.
223 First Avenue, New York NY 10003 map)
646-722-6565
145 Seventh Avenue, New York NY 10014 map)
646-722-6570
buildagreenbakery.com
D-list sushi—unlike bad pizza, say, or a not-great chocolate chip cookie—simply has no reason to exist. Eating it is a terrifying experience, not worth the assault on your palate or risk to your life.
That said, I do believe that there's a place in the world for the moderately good sushi restaurant. We can't all be Morimoto (and we certainly can't all afford to eat at his place every night). As long as the fish is halfway fresh and the rice isn't gummy, I'm perfectly happy with a just-okay plate of sushi—as long as I pay proportionately less.
I thought that Cube 63 on the Lower East Side might be just that—a neighborhood sushi spot where I could grab a few rolls, bring my own booze, and not break the bank. But unfortunately, this techno-lit, inattentively staffed, and strangely pricey BYOB Japanese spot wasn't quite that.
The Senor Pollo madness started with fellow Serious Eats contributor Kathy YL Chan. A few months ago she professed her Senor Pollo love in her blog and has since then repeatedly informed me, "You can get a quarter chicken and two sides for only $6.50—it's so good!" with such zeal that if we were in a cartoon, little pink hearts would've popped up next to her face. Not being one to turn down Peruvian-style rotisserie chicken (or meals that cost less than $10), I finally got my Senor Pollo Night last Wednesday.
Over on East 12th Street is Ciao for Now—coffee shop, meets lunch spot, meets after school hangout for parents and their elementary school children. It's breezy, laid back (though ridiculously efficient), and everything comes with a smile. The food is not exactly amazing; it's straightforward fare, something you could likely reproduce at home, but often times it's nice to be served. And there are real highlights on the menu. Order at the counter, and make your way to the dining room on the right. They deliver to your table.
On weekdays they offer "Daily Working Lunch Specials," which includes the dish of the day and dessert—a pretty good deal for $8.50. I lunch'ed on a Friday, when the special was Mac & Cheese Two Ways: "Traditional super cheesy Ciao mac or sun-dried tomato and spinach." They were sold out of the latter, so I went with the former, extremely cheesy and creamy indeed. It lacked a crunchy breadcrumb topping, and wasn't particularly memorable, more cream than cheese, under-salted. But it was more than satisfying. Especially with rain drizzling outside.
[Photographs: Tia Kim]
One and One is an Irish-style pub in the East Village bordering the Lower East Side. Full of rowdy NYU kids and the after-work crowd catching the game with a cold brew before commuting back home, the bar is low-key with no pretense. At night, the people get louder, and the music starts pumping—but if you're lucky enough to grab one of the tables outside, you'll be able to chow down on some hearty food guaranteed to sop up all the beer you have (or will have) in your system, in relative New York City peace.
I still don't know if I love or hate the wasabi ice cream at Sundaes & Cones in the East Village. My usual routine: sample the wasabi, sample the corn, and get the black sesame. But last week, instead of sampling my usual and ordering black sesame, I decided to break out of the routine with a cup of wasabi. The first dozen licks were intriguing, my mind calculating whether I should file this frozen treat under "dessert "or a different category (I reasoned that if I didn't file it under dessert, I could potentially have another cone). But on the thirteenth lick, I felt tired of the nasal cleansing flavor. Who really wants a cone-ful of frozen wasabi cream? If only they would do half-scoop—now that would be awesome.
95 East 10th Street, New York, NY 10003 (map)
212-979-9398
sundaescones.com
[Photographs: Kathy Chan]
We were on our way to dinner when a sign at The Smith caught my eye: ice cream sandwiches. You don't even have to step into the restaurant—talk about convenience. Just catch someone's attention through the window (though that might be hard to do during peak brunch or dinner hours) and place your order.
"One Smith'wich, please."
Like magic, in exchange for a very fair $3, you're presented with an enormous creation of vanilla ice cream sandwiched by two crisp and pretty darn tasty chocolate chip cookies. You are advised to share this monster, lest you invite a premature heart attack.
55 3rd Avenue, New York NY 10003 (map)
212-420-9800
www.thesmithnyc.com
Editor's note: New York's cocktail shakers work all kinds of wonders behind the bar—so why not learn a few tricks from the pros? In Mix It Up, Serious Eats contributor Laren Spirer will find out the secrets behind the city's best cocktails, with the recipes to shake 'em up at home. Take it away, Laren!
[Photographs: Laren Spirer]
Mayahuel is a love letter to Mexico. From the moment you walk down the stairs you are surrounded by ornate metalwork, colorful tiles, and Spanish lyrics in the air. In this cozy East Village spot, Phil Ward, who took a short jaunt down the street from Death and Company, has taken an often overlooked category of spirits—tequila and mezcal—and elevated them to an art form, building a shrine in their honor.
If your experience with these agave-based spirits has been limited (or colored by an unfortunate past experience), Mayahuel is the perfect place to open new doors and wipe away old memories. There is a cocktail on the menu for everyone—some light and fruity, letting a tequila blanco shine through, others deep and smoky, highlighting the complexity of mezcal.
Negroni-style tequila and a mezcal cocktail recipe, after the jump.
A lot’s been said about DBGB, Daniel Boulud’s new downtown digs, but brunch hasn’t been discussed much. I wondered why; a menu largely comprised of sausages seemed a perfect fit for a hearty morning meal. Truth be told, there’s probably good reason brunch has been less talked about—it’s just not as impressive—but that doesn’t mean there aren’t standout dishes worth trying.
My favorite was the Vermont Banger ($14), which features a sausage made of smoked pork and cheddar alongside hash browns and red onion crème fraiche. It’s a peasant dish gone upscale, and what it lacks in size, it delivers in flavor. A cut into the sausage reveals just the right amount of crackle, and leads to an ooze of cheese that’s literally melted into the meat. One bite and I was wondering why I’d never seen that done before—it’s brilliant.
Black Hound's window display, fronting 12th Street in the East Village, is such a pretty sight. Whenever I happen to pass by, it is inevitable that I stop and pause, observing the neatly arranged rows of sweets—hummingbird cakes, triple mousse towers, and chocolate cappuccino cups. And then I sigh, wishing I had both the wallet and the stomach to experience it all.
The cakes clock in slightly north of everyday affordability, but don't let that deter you from stepping into the shop. It's only inside that you'll spot the cake stands, perhaps a dozen or so, filled with brownies, little pies, and cakes.
These tiny treats are of the same quality as the window cakes, only less fancy and prettied up. They're $3.50 apiece, definitely worthy of a weekday indulgence. Choose between the chocolate-on-chocolate Mud Ball, an almond touched Snowball, the Checkerboard, and the Hazelnut. The Checkerboard marries chocolate and vanilla cake in (you guessed it) a checkerboard pattern with a silky strip of dark chocolate buttercream cutting through center. The whole "cake" is enrobed in white chocolate buttercream, and rolled in both chocolate and vanilla cake crumbs. Simple at its core, but certainly a bit more fancified than your everyday cake.
170 Second Avenue, New York NY 10003 (map)
212-979-9505
www.blackhoundny.com
