Reviews
Posted by Ed Levine, November 3, 2009 at 11:00 PM
"We only had a fraction of the 237 items on the Amazing 66 dinner menu."
[Photographs: Robyn Lee]
Amazing 66
66 Mott Street, New York, NY 10013 (b/n Bayard and Canal; map); 212-334-0099
Service: Efficient, friendly
Setting: Brightly lit dining room
Must-Haves: Pastrami shrimp fried rice, roast chicken with garlic and preserves
Grade: B
When Save the Deli author David Sax wanted to meet up at Amazing 66 to try some of its deli-derived dishes while we discussed his extraordinary book, that's when I knew that Amazing 66 had, well, a truly amazing menu for a Chinese restaurant.
I brought Robyn and Alaina along for the interview, and we knew we weren't in the Chinatown that I grew up with, the moment we started reading the huge menu. Consider the following Sax-recommended items: Pastrami over Spinach. Corned Beef over Lettuce. Pastrami Shrimp Fried Rice.
And how about these chef-recommended dishes:
- Short Rib Beef in a Pumpkin
- Golden Prawns over Twin Rice
- Mixed Asian Mushroom over Bean Curd Rolls
- House Special Crispy Chicken Stuffed with Sticky Rice (Pre-order Required)
- House Special Crispy Chicken Stuffed with Shrimp & Almond (Pre-order Required)
- Roast Chicken with Garlic/Preserved Vegetable
Of the three deli dishes, the one to get is the pastrami shrimp fried rice. Why? It's pastrami and shrimp nuggets in fried rice. What could be bad? If I had a reform Jewish, decidedly-not-kosher nephew or niece having a bar mitzvah, I would tell their parents to serve this dish at the reception. The rest of the deli dishes were more interesting than delicious, but they certainly piqued my interest in returning. What clinched it were the two dishes that required pre-ordering: Crispy Chicken Stuffed with Shrimp & Almond, anyone? We were so there the next week.
My first impulse was to quote (or should I say, liberally paraphrase) Talking Heads founding member David Byrne. "You may ask yourself, how did they get there?"
Continue reading »
Posted by Ed Levine, October 27, 2009 at 11:00 PM
Top: Bill's Bar and Burger; bottom, left to right: Shake Shack and RUB. [Photographs: Robyn Lee (Bill's Bar and Burger and Shake Shack) and Nick Solares (RUB)]
Right now, at this moment, it's raining burgers in this burg. And not just any kind of burgers: smashed burgers made from freshly ground, humanely raised beef.
Danny Meyer and company were the pioneers of this style of burger in New York with the now legendary Shake Shack, though the Shackers don't really smash their meat so much as press it down rather gently. In fact, it should be noted that burger lovers owe Meyer a smashing debt of gratitude for the lead role he and his crew have taken in treating the reasonably priced burger with respect and love—and elevating it to serious deliciousness with careful preparation, cheffy techniques, and quality ingredients. But enough about the Shack for now.
Restaurateur Steve Hanson has now stepped up to the (blue) plate with his newly opened smashed burger emporium Bill's Bar and Burger. And RUB's pitmaster Scott Smith and co-owner Andrew Fischel have snuck up on Meyer and Hanson with their burger, which is currently being served only on Monday nights.
A Hamburger Today and Serious Eats have been chronicling Shake Shack's serious deliciousness for years now. More recently in the past few weeks, my man Adam Kuban waxed enthusiastically about Bill's, Kenji Alt told us how to fake the funk of the Shake Shack burger with his amazing Fake Shack post and recipe, and I had a ridiculously fabulous urban burger at RUB.
So what's left, my burger-loving compadres? Why, it's obvious to me: It's the Serious Eats New York–AHT smashed-burger roundup, the ultimate throwdown. Is there one smashed burger in New York City that reigns supreme? Which of these juicy suckers should you pledge your burger-loving allegiance to? Which burger is worth your hard-earned money, your valuable time, and your true burger devotion?
We've got you covered, starting now.
Continue reading »
Posted by Ed Levine, October 20, 2009 at 11:00 PM
"We figured out people don't want sandwiches for dinner. Even I don't." —Sisha Ortuzar, 'Wichcraft chef-partner
[Photographs: Robyn Lee]
'Wichcraft
11 East 20th St, New York NY 10003 (b/n Broadway and Fifth, map); 212-780-0577; wichcraftnyc.com
Service: Friendly, accommodating, a little inexperienced
Setting: Simply furnished second floor dining room overlooking 20th Street
Compare It To: Bouchon Bakery
Must-Haves: Grilled breads: charred eggplant and goat cheese, gorgonzola and pears, gruyere, roasted onion, and olives; Salads: shaved brussels sprouts with pine nuts and currants, roasted beef short rib; apple and walnut crisp with caramel ice cream
Cost: $25 for a grilled bread, salad, and dessert
Grade: B+ for grilled breads and salads, B- for meat dishes
To me it was only a matter of time before 'Wichcraft, Tom Colicchio's very solid sandwich bar, started serving dinner. Why? A couple of reasons. Its food has been overseen since its inception by chef-partner Sisha Ortuzar, who like all talented and trained chefs, developed his craft making non-sandwich food; and in these troubled economic times, restaurateurs feel the need to maximize the revenue derived from a given space. So a breakfast and lunch place like 'wichcraft can make the transition to dinner without incurring too many business-breaking incremental costs. And without ever using the word "sandwich" on the menu.
When we arrived at the upstairs dining room we definitely felt like we weren't in a 'wichcraft any more. There were servers, candlelight, china, and other signs of civilized restaurant-dom.
All six of the "on grilled bread" ("don't call them sandwiches") options on the 'wichcraft dinner menu sounded seriously delicious, so the four of us did the only sensible thing: we ordered all of them. Hey, I'm no dummy. When in Rome, and all that—and there we were sitting in a pleasant dining room above a really fine sandwich-making operation. And you know what? It was a smart decision. These people are truly gifted, in the "put toppings on good bread" department.
Continue reading »
Posted by Ed Levine, October 13, 2009 at 11:00 PM
[Photographs: Adam Kuban]
Joseph Leonard
170 Waverly Place, New York NY 10014 (at Christopher; map); 646-429-8383; josephleonard.com
Service: Casual, enthusiastic, attentive
Setting: A tiny space that looks like your favorite eccentric uncle's studio apartment
Compare It To: Little Owl, Bouchon Bakery
Must-Haves: House-made pastrami, hamburger, hash browns, brussels sprouts, salted caramel pudding, carrot cake
Cost: $20 for a burger, fries, drink, tax, and tip
Grade: A-
Adam Kuban and I were looking for a suitable spot in the Village to have lunch with our Pieman's Craft co-stars Anthony Mangieri and Mathieu Palombino. Both Mangieri and Palombino are discerning serious eaters, so I was feeling the pressure that comes with finding just the right spot. I had read a fair amount about the dinner menu at new West Village spot Joseph Leonard, but no one had written anything about the newly inaugurated lunch menu.
I knew that former Bouchon Bakery chef de cuisine Jim McDuffee was in charge of the kitchen at Joseph Leonard, so I thought the man would have lunch chops to burn.
When we walked into Joseph Leonard we were confronted by a blackboard sign:
"Open for lunch. Get your stretch pants ready for a one-way trip to Yummyville."
With a sign like that, I thought to myself, this food had better be good. Either that or Joseph Leonard owner Gabriel Stulman needs to take a copywriting course at the School of Visual Arts. So would the next stop on the Serious Eats train be Yummyville or Palookaville? The four of us were going to find out.
Continue reading »
Posted by Ed Levine, October 6, 2009 at 11:00 PM
Photographs: Robyn Lee
Char No. 4
196 Smith Street, Brooklyn NY 11201 (b/n Baltic and Warren; map); 718-643-2106; charno4.com
Service: Relaxed but attentive
Setting: Minimally decorated bar and narrow dining room with booths, with a pleasant "garden" in the back
Compare It To: Brooklyn Star, Fette Sau
Must-Haves: Lamb pastrami, house-cured BLT, brisket sandwich
Cost: $20-$25 for lunch, including food, beverage (unless you're drinking hard stuff at lunch), tax, and tip
Grade: B+
Here's how Char No. 4 describes itself: "Char No. 4 is a whiskey bar and restaurant inspired by a passion for bourbon. It features over 150 American whiskeys and serves a menu of American fare with a Southern influence. The American whiskeys are augmented by an extensive list of whiskeys from Europe and beyond as well as a selection of all-bourbon cocktails."
Hmm: "Passion for bourbon." "150 American whiskeys." "All-bourbon cocktails."
I don't drink whiskey or bourbon, no matter what its provenance (yes, I'm a wuss who drinks so little my wife calls me a Mormon). So even though I've always been intrigued by the sound of the bacon and barbecue-centric American southern fare, I've managed to stay away from Char No. 4. Then I found out that the restaurant has started serving lunch, on Fridays only, during the week. That Friday gave me just the opening the Serious Eaters needed to descend on Char No. 4 one particularly lovely fall afternoon.
It's hard to miss the whiskeys. They're lined up ever so carefully on a pretty backlit bar located in the front of the restaurant. We walked past the handsome wooden booths to eat in the small fenced-in outdoor seating area, in what would be the garden if there were any grass or plants to be found.
Char No. 4 is not exactly a barbecue restaurant or joint, but chef Matt Greco brings some legit barbecue bona fides as well as serious classic cooking technique cred to its kitchen. He grew up in Texas, smoking meat side by side with his dad; at the restaurant he uses only white oak, the same wood used in bourbon caskets, in his Backwoods Smoker made in Louisiana. When he was eighteen, he and his dad built a smoker together. (That's my kind of father-son bonding experience.) Add that to his CIA training and his years spent with Andrew Carmellini and Gray Kunz and you get Char No. 4's genuinely barbecue and pork-centric menu, infused with plenty of chef skills and know-how, that is not wed to traditional barbecue and bacon orthodoxy.
Continue reading »
Posted by Ed Levine, November 3, 2009 at 11:00 PM
"We only had a fraction of the 237 items on the Amazing 66 dinner menu."
[Photographs: Robyn Lee]
Amazing 66
66 Mott Street, New York, NY 10013 (b/n Bayard and Canal; map); 212-334-0099
Service: Efficient, friendly
Setting: Brightly lit dining room
Must-Haves: Pastrami shrimp fried rice, roast chicken with garlic and preserves
Grade: B
When Save the Deli author David Sax wanted to meet up at Amazing 66 to try some of its deli-derived dishes while we discussed his extraordinary book, that's when I knew that Amazing 66 had, well, a truly amazing menu for a Chinese restaurant.
I brought Robyn and Alaina along for the interview, and we knew we weren't in the Chinatown that I grew up with, the moment we started reading the huge menu. Consider the following Sax-recommended items: Pastrami over Spinach. Corned Beef over Lettuce. Pastrami Shrimp Fried Rice.
And how about these chef-recommended dishes:
- Short Rib Beef in a Pumpkin
- Golden Prawns over Twin Rice
- Mixed Asian Mushroom over Bean Curd Rolls
- House Special Crispy Chicken Stuffed with Sticky Rice (Pre-order Required)
- House Special Crispy Chicken Stuffed with Shrimp & Almond (Pre-order Required)
- Roast Chicken with Garlic/Preserved Vegetable
Of the three deli dishes, the one to get is the pastrami shrimp fried rice. Why? It's pastrami and shrimp nuggets in fried rice. What could be bad? If I had a reform Jewish, decidedly-not-kosher nephew or niece having a bar mitzvah, I would tell their parents to serve this dish at the reception. The rest of the deli dishes were more interesting than delicious, but they certainly piqued my interest in returning. What clinched it were the two dishes that required pre-ordering: Crispy Chicken Stuffed with Shrimp & Almond, anyone? We were so there the next week.
My first impulse was to quote (or should I say, liberally paraphrase) Talking Heads founding member David Byrne. "You may ask yourself, how did they get there?"
Continue reading »
Posted by Ed Levine, October 27, 2009 at 11:00 PM
Top: Bill's Bar and Burger; bottom, left to right: Shake Shack and RUB. [Photographs: Robyn Lee (Bill's Bar and Burger and Shake Shack) and Nick Solares (RUB)]
Right now, at this moment, it's raining burgers in this burg. And not just any kind of burgers: smashed burgers made from freshly ground, humanely raised beef.
Danny Meyer and company were the pioneers of this style of burger in New York with the now legendary Shake Shack, though the Shackers don't really smash their meat so much as press it down rather gently. In fact, it should be noted that burger lovers owe Meyer a smashing debt of gratitude for the lead role he and his crew have taken in treating the reasonably priced burger with respect and love—and elevating it to serious deliciousness with careful preparation, cheffy techniques, and quality ingredients. But enough about the Shack for now.
Restaurateur Steve Hanson has now stepped up to the (blue) plate with his newly opened smashed burger emporium Bill's Bar and Burger. And RUB's pitmaster Scott Smith and co-owner Andrew Fischel have snuck up on Meyer and Hanson with their burger, which is currently being served only on Monday nights.
A Hamburger Today and Serious Eats have been chronicling Shake Shack's serious deliciousness for years now. More recently in the past few weeks, my man Adam Kuban waxed enthusiastically about Bill's, Kenji Alt told us how to fake the funk of the Shake Shack burger with his amazing Fake Shack post and recipe, and I had a ridiculously fabulous urban burger at RUB.
So what's left, my burger-loving compadres? Why, it's obvious to me: It's the Serious Eats New York–AHT smashed-burger roundup, the ultimate throwdown. Is there one smashed burger in New York City that reigns supreme? Which of these juicy suckers should you pledge your burger-loving allegiance to? Which burger is worth your hard-earned money, your valuable time, and your true burger devotion?
We've got you covered, starting now.
Continue reading »
Posted by Ed Levine, October 20, 2009 at 11:00 PM
"We figured out people don't want sandwiches for dinner. Even I don't." —Sisha Ortuzar, 'Wichcraft chef-partner
[Photographs: Robyn Lee]
'Wichcraft
11 East 20th St, New York NY 10003 (b/n Broadway and Fifth, map); 212-780-0577; wichcraftnyc.com
Service: Friendly, accommodating, a little inexperienced
Setting: Simply furnished second floor dining room overlooking 20th Street
Compare It To: Bouchon Bakery
Must-Haves: Grilled breads: charred eggplant and goat cheese, gorgonzola and pears, gruyere, roasted onion, and olives; Salads: shaved brussels sprouts with pine nuts and currants, roasted beef short rib; apple and walnut crisp with caramel ice cream
Cost: $25 for a grilled bread, salad, and dessert
Grade: B+ for grilled breads and salads, B- for meat dishes
To me it was only a matter of time before 'Wichcraft, Tom Colicchio's very solid sandwich bar, started serving dinner. Why? A couple of reasons. Its food has been overseen since its inception by chef-partner Sisha Ortuzar, who like all talented and trained chefs, developed his craft making non-sandwich food; and in these troubled economic times, restaurateurs feel the need to maximize the revenue derived from a given space. So a breakfast and lunch place like 'wichcraft can make the transition to dinner without incurring too many business-breaking incremental costs. And without ever using the word "sandwich" on the menu.
When we arrived at the upstairs dining room we definitely felt like we weren't in a 'wichcraft any more. There were servers, candlelight, china, and other signs of civilized restaurant-dom.
All six of the "on grilled bread" ("don't call them sandwiches") options on the 'wichcraft dinner menu sounded seriously delicious, so the four of us did the only sensible thing: we ordered all of them. Hey, I'm no dummy. When in Rome, and all that—and there we were sitting in a pleasant dining room above a really fine sandwich-making operation. And you know what? It was a smart decision. These people are truly gifted, in the "put toppings on good bread" department.
Continue reading »
Posted by Ed Levine, October 13, 2009 at 11:00 PM
[Photographs: Adam Kuban]
Joseph Leonard
170 Waverly Place, New York NY 10014 (at Christopher; map); 646-429-8383; josephleonard.com
Service: Casual, enthusiastic, attentive
Setting: A tiny space that looks like your favorite eccentric uncle's studio apartment
Compare It To: Little Owl, Bouchon Bakery
Must-Haves: House-made pastrami, hamburger, hash browns, brussels sprouts, salted caramel pudding, carrot cake
Cost: $20 for a burger, fries, drink, tax, and tip
Grade: A-
Adam Kuban and I were looking for a suitable spot in the Village to have lunch with our Pieman's Craft co-stars Anthony Mangieri and Mathieu Palombino. Both Mangieri and Palombino are discerning serious eaters, so I was feeling the pressure that comes with finding just the right spot. I had read a fair amount about the dinner menu at new West Village spot Joseph Leonard, but no one had written anything about the newly inaugurated lunch menu.
I knew that former Bouchon Bakery chef de cuisine Jim McDuffee was in charge of the kitchen at Joseph Leonard, so I thought the man would have lunch chops to burn.
When we walked into Joseph Leonard we were confronted by a blackboard sign:
"Open for lunch. Get your stretch pants ready for a one-way trip to Yummyville."
With a sign like that, I thought to myself, this food had better be good. Either that or Joseph Leonard owner Gabriel Stulman needs to take a copywriting course at the School of Visual Arts. So would the next stop on the Serious Eats train be Yummyville or Palookaville? The four of us were going to find out.
Continue reading »
Posted by Ed Levine, October 6, 2009 at 11:00 PM
Photographs: Robyn Lee
Char No. 4
196 Smith Street, Brooklyn NY 11201 (b/n Baltic and Warren; map); 718-643-2106; charno4.com
Service: Relaxed but attentive
Setting: Minimally decorated bar and narrow dining room with booths, with a pleasant "garden" in the back
Compare It To: Brooklyn Star, Fette Sau
Must-Haves: Lamb pastrami, house-cured BLT, brisket sandwich
Cost: $20-$25 for lunch, including food, beverage (unless you're drinking hard stuff at lunch), tax, and tip
Grade: B+
Here's how Char No. 4 describes itself: "Char No. 4 is a whiskey bar and restaurant inspired by a passion for bourbon. It features over 150 American whiskeys and serves a menu of American fare with a Southern influence. The American whiskeys are augmented by an extensive list of whiskeys from Europe and beyond as well as a selection of all-bourbon cocktails."
Hmm: "Passion for bourbon." "150 American whiskeys." "All-bourbon cocktails."
I don't drink whiskey or bourbon, no matter what its provenance (yes, I'm a wuss who drinks so little my wife calls me a Mormon). So even though I've always been intrigued by the sound of the bacon and barbecue-centric American southern fare, I've managed to stay away from Char No. 4. Then I found out that the restaurant has started serving lunch, on Fridays only, during the week. That Friday gave me just the opening the Serious Eaters needed to descend on Char No. 4 one particularly lovely fall afternoon.
It's hard to miss the whiskeys. They're lined up ever so carefully on a pretty backlit bar located in the front of the restaurant. We walked past the handsome wooden booths to eat in the small fenced-in outdoor seating area, in what would be the garden if there were any grass or plants to be found.
Char No. 4 is not exactly a barbecue restaurant or joint, but chef Matt Greco brings some legit barbecue bona fides as well as serious classic cooking technique cred to its kitchen. He grew up in Texas, smoking meat side by side with his dad; at the restaurant he uses only white oak, the same wood used in bourbon caskets, in his Backwoods Smoker made in Louisiana. When he was eighteen, he and his dad built a smoker together. (That's my kind of father-son bonding experience.) Add that to his CIA training and his years spent with Andrew Carmellini and Gray Kunz and you get Char No. 4's genuinely barbecue and pork-centric menu, infused with plenty of chef skills and know-how, that is not wed to traditional barbecue and bacon orthodoxy.
Continue reading »
Posted by Ed Levine, September 29, 2009 at 11:00 PM
"I'm not going to spoil the party. I just don't know that I need to return any time soon."
[Photos: Robyn Lee and Erin Zimmer]
Dallas BBQ
261 Eighth Avenue, New York NY 10011 (at 23rd Street; map); 212-462-0001; dallasbbq.com
Other locations: See website
Service: Friendly and familiar the first time, off-putting and weird the next
Setting: A big diner with cacti, a concrete ceiling, and reasonably well-spaced tables
Compare It To: Applebee's, Chili's, TGI Friday's
Must-Haves: Hot Dog, Onion Loaf, Chicken Tenders, and yes, a big ol' blue drink
Cost: Twenty bucks will get you enough food for two to share and one of those drinks
Grade: C+
Almost every day I pass by Dallas BBQ, and each and every time it's packed. Lunch, dinner, even in between. Even more interestingly, it's packed with an incredibly diverse set of New Yorkers, of every race and ethnicity imaginable. All these folks appear to be having an insanely good time. In fact, it looks like they're having a big old house party—complete with super-cheap humongous meals, made up mostly of grilled or fried or barbecued meat and foot-high plates of fried accompaniments, and moat-sized multi-colored drinks (with umbrellas) to wash it all down.
Hundreds of people eat at this restaurant every day, and savor every last fried or grilled bite. But nary a food critic or food writer or blogger among them. Until now. The serious eaters hit Dallas BBQ en masse last week, and I for one survived with my palate intact... and my stomach full for a full week afterwards.
Continue reading »
Posted by Ed Levine, September 22, 2009 at 11:00 PM
"You will not speak to your lunch companions until you are finished with it."
Photographs: Robyn Lee
Eleven Madison Park
11 Madison Avenue, New York NY 10010 (at East 24th Street; map); 212-925-3797 elevenmadisonpark.com
Service: Faultless, friendly, and accommodating
Setting: Open, airy, elegant half of the Met Life Building lobby with well-spaced tables
Compare It To: Gramercy Tavern, Jean-Georges, Craft, Del Posto
Must-Haves: Sweet corn chowder with Nova Scotia lobster and bacon, corn and bacon soup, gougeres, pork
Cost: $28 for two courses plus drink, tax, and tip
Grade: A
When, like me, you've spent the better part of fifty years searching for the cheapest form of deliciousness possible, it's hard to just swallow hard and accept the fact that eating at four-star restaurants is, well, expensive. Really expensive.
So, until I ate the insanely reasonable $28 two-course lunch a number of times at Eleven Madison Park recently, the only place I could send serious eaters in search of a four-star midday meal at neighborhood restaurant prices was Jean-Georges--where you can still, as of this moment, buy your four-star meal one course at a time, at $14 a plate.
But Jean-Georges looks and feels like a formal French restaurant, albeit one that serves resolutely contemporary and often forward-thinking food. So in spite of the fact that I am known there (hey, I can sniff out food bargains in any class) and I am greeted extremely warmly whenever I go, I have been searching for a less formal, slightly less fancypants alternative.
Enter Eleven Madison Park, a restaurant I have always liked, often admired, but never fallen in love with... until now. Why now? Because in a strange way I think that the lower-priced lunch menu has brought out the earthier, simpler aspects of Daniel Humm's cooking. And because, let's face it, I love a bargain, and $28 for two courses, an amuse, and some gougeres thrown in for good measure is, relatively speaking, a steal. Strangely enough, that fact was buried in Frank Bruni's recent four-star review (it was only in the box).
Twenty-eight bucks for food that ranges from very good to breathtakingly delicious, served in a gorgeous and resolutely adult room that manages to be quiet and full of energy at the same time? I am so there. And serious eaters, you should be, too.
Continue reading »
Posted by Ed Levine, September 8, 2009 at 11:00 PM
[Photographs: Robyn Lee]
Prime Meats
465 Court Street, Brooklyn NY 11231 (at Luquer; map); 718-254-0327; frankspm.com
Service: Attentive, forthright, knowledgeable
Setting: A restored corner bar with a pleasant garden attached
Compare It To: Char No. 4, General Greene
Must-Haves: French toast, rosti, mushrooms with poached egg and bratwurst, smoked trout salad
Cost: $20 including tax and tip for a hearty breakfast
Grade: A-
Serious cooks are getting mighty serious about breakfast in this town. And as an early riser and serious eater, all I can do is say yay, halleleujah, and it's about time!
Because there was a time, not too long ago, when breakfast choices in New York were limited to Greek coffee shops, retro (and real) diners, and overpriced hotel dining rooms. (Barney Greengrass was, and still is, a delightful anachronistic exception.) Egg in Williamsburg, Cookshop, Trestle on Tenth, and Locanda Verde have led the serious breakfast wave, and now here come the Frankies, Frank Castronova and Frank Falcinelli. Their newest venture, Prime Meats, is open for breakfast seven days a week at 7 a.m.
While I couldn't convince the serious eaters to get up that early to check Prime Meats out, I did manage to get Robyn, Erin, and Kathy out there on Labor Day, though I'm sure the principal enticement was the fact that I was paying the check and not the pleasure of my company.
No matter. The six of us managed to order just about the entire breakfast menu (the exceptions being the French breakfast pastries from Ceci Cela and the burger, which we had already sampled a few weeks back). And that breakfast menu turns out to be a model of seriously delicious consistency. There wasn't a loser in the bunch. From French toast to perfectly fried eggs over-easy to a fine trout salad, Prime Meats delivered on the promise of serious chefs thinking about breakfast in this town.
Continue reading »
Posted by Ed Levine, September 1, 2009 at 11:00 PM
[Photographs: Robyn Lee]
Fairway Cafe
2127 Broadway, New York NY 10023 (b/n 74th and 75th; map); 212-595-1888 fairwaymarket.com/restaurant.html
Service: Haphazard and slow, but improving
Must-Haves: Foccaccia, onion rings, Boston lettuce salad, lamb chops, marinated chicken, bone-in ribeye
Cost: $26, $31, and $39 three-course prix fixe menus—or you can just have a damn good burger with fries for $12 at dinner
Grade: B/B+
I have literally eaten hundreds of meals at the Fairway Cafe, but most of them have been breakfast, where the pancakes are sublime and the eggs will be scrambled soft if you're willing to send them back the first time, or lunch, when the burgers and fries are both excellent, and the chicken salad not far behind.
But dinner has been the hole in the Fairway Cafe's game. I've always thought that was because Mitchel London, the eccentric but oh-so-talented Fairway Cafe chef, dessert maker, and food maven, never properly focused on the dinner menu. Until now. A couple of weeks ago I had a very good dinner there with my wife Vicky and son Will. So, last night, four serious eaters descended on the Fairway Cafe to see if Mitchel really has raised his game just in time for the U.S. Open.
Continue reading »
Posted by Carey Jones, August 25, 2009 at 11:00 PM
"Thoughtful dishes and obvious afterthoughts, eight-dollar meals and twelve-dollar bites—Rye is all over the map."
Editor's note: Ed Levine is off this week; Carey Jones, editor-in-chief of Serious Eats: New York, will be filling in.
Photographs by Robyn Lee
Rye
247 South 1st Street, Brooklyn NY 11211 (b/n Roebling and Havermeyer; map); 718-218-8047 ryerestaurant.com
Service: Welcoming and professional
Compare It To: Dressler, Watty and Meg
Must-Haves: Short rib sandwich, smoked sturgeon, grilled sardines, steamed lemon cake
Cost: $10 cocktails, small plates $6-$14, larger plates $12-$25
Grade: B/B+
Somewhere in this world is a dog-eared manual inscribed with the title: How To Open A Brooklyn Restaurant: 2008-2009 Edition.
I’d like to get my hands on a copy, though it’s probably buried under piles of Liquor Authority paperwork in someone's Fort Greene apartment. But there’s really no need to flip through. A few meals around town gives one good idea of what it might say.
Chapter One: The urban-Prohibition aesthetic. Start with a lofty Brooklyn space, exposed brick and/or rafters. Uncover the stamped-tin ceiling, or install one. Frosted glass, ironwork on the windows. Tile floors, bistro tables, and a long mahogany bar.
There will be a wine list, a concession to the dining room traditionalists, but it'll play second fiddle to the cocktail menu. Drinks should be spirit-forward, with housemade syrups and sodas, where used; at least two should have a “muddled” component. Bitters are a plus. So are custom ice cubes. Four to six beers on tap—at least one Belgian, one stout, and one craft beer produced within a 500-yard radius.
The menu. Eschew traditional classifications—really, why corral your plates in outdated brackets?—and let the dishes roam freely: small plates and large, sandwiches and sides, starter-sized meats and entrée-portioned salads. The diners can dictate their own experience.
And, of course, the food. Local, seasonal, and fatty. Short rib. Pork belly. The people want fat—all the better if it comes from a pig, all the better if it comes from a familiar farm.
It almost goes without saying that Rye, arriving in South Williamsburg several months ago, falls neatly into this mold. Which is not to suggest that it’s simply capitalizing on a trend. Owner and chef Cal Elliott has earned his culinary chops, most recently at Dressler and DuMont—establishments that put Williamsburg on the culinary map and, one could argue, helped sketch the outlines of the very patterns Rye abides by. At their best, the plates emerging from this kitchen are intelligently composed and memorably delicious; the sort one mulls over on the walk home, imagining how to recreate, plotting when to make a return visit.
But Rye is maddeningly inconsistent. One could drop $20 on a phenomenal sandwich and pint of craft beer and escape, full and happy, with change—or ring up three times that and walk away unimpressed.
Continue reading »
Posted by Ed Levine, August 18, 2009 at 11:00 PM
"As a standalone restaurant, Brooklyn Bowl would be totally in the pocket."
Photographs by Robyn Lee
Brooklyn Bowl
61 Wythe Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11211 (b/n N. 11th and 12th; map); 718-963-3369
Service: Friendly, enthusiastic, and solicitous (they happily transport food from the restaurant to the lanes)
Compare It To: Bowlmor Lanes, Blue Ribbon Bakery, 100 Acres, Shorty's 32
Must-Haves:Pork rinds, burger, brisket sandwich
Cost: $10-20 per person for bowling snacks and beer; $35 for a three course meal
Grade: B/B+ for the food and for the bowling
Though bowling and eating seem in some ways to go hand in hand, no bowling alley I've ever been in has tried to seamlessly blend an ambitious menu and a state-of-the-art bowling experience quite like the newly opened Brooklyn Bowl. It's not a bowling alley with really good food—it's a bowling theme park for hipsters of all ages.
Why do I say this?
- The shiny bowling lanes are graced with two alternating video installations, shown on screens right above every alley.
- The kitchen has been turned over to the haute comfort food championship chef team of the Blue Ribbon boys, Bruce and Eric Bromberg.
- Every 21st-century bowling alley needs a soundtrack, but Brooklyn Bowl takes the music bowling thing to another level—adding a large stage with a high-quality sound system to accommodate live music of all stripes.
- And when there's no band, they blast an incredibly pleasing mix of music from the last four decades. So even if you bowl a gutter ball, you can snap your fingers. (If they're not too greasy, that is.)
If you find this all a little overwhelming and distracting, join the crowd. Look at me. This is supposed to be a restaurant review, and I haven't written one word about the food yet. Yikes! At Brooklyn Bowl, my bowling score suffered, but I ate very well—if rather messily. And my guess is that they're still cleaning sloppy joe out of the finger holes of the orange ball I was bowling with.
Not surprisingly, the stuff emerging from the kitchen is all comfort food, Bromberg Brothers-style. Though some of it is knife-and-fork food, a lot of the menu is literally finger-lickin' good—fine, if you're not bowling, but not so fine if you want to bowl your best. All the wet naps in the world can't stop the good eats from seeping into the bowling experience.
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Posted by Ed Levine, August 11, 2009 at 11:00 PM
"All the ingredients are there. Like many loaves of homemade bread, it probably just needs a little more time to rise."
Photographs by Robyn Lee
Recipe
452 Amsterdam Avenue, New York NY 10024 (b/n 81st and 82nd; map); 212-501-7755; recipenyc.com
Service: Well-meaning if a little unseasoned
Compare It To: Craftbar, Tavern room at Gramercy Tavern
Must-Haves: Tomato & Buffalo Mozzarella Tart, Burger, Crab Cake, Pork Chop
Cost: $35-40 for two courses including tax and tip
Grade: B
Traditionally, the Upper West Side of Manhattan has been a place for established chefs to open their first major restaurants. Bill Telepan, Tom Valenti, and Ed Brown all came to the neighborhood to open fairly big, ambitious operations after they had established reputations in other parts of the city. Rarely has the Upper West Side proved to be hospitable to the type of small, young chef-driven restaurant you might find in the East Village or Williamsburg.
But then there's Recipe. David Bank, chef-owner of the fine Thai restaurant Land, took over the adjacent space and brought in friend and partner Shawn Paul Dietzel to run the kitchen. Like Land, it's a very small space—with, it should be said, a memorably cool bathroom. (You'll have to go to see for yourself; some things are better left as surprises.)
Its aim, according to its website, is to be an "intimate neighborhood restaurant featuring rustic new American cuisine inspired by fresh, local ingredients."
"Intimate" is right. When every seat at the bar and tables is full, Recipe holds only twenty-six people. It's a restaurant every Upper West Sider would like to see succeed—a lower-priced, casual, but still ambitious alternative to the restaurants listed above.
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Posted by Ed Levine, August 4, 2009 at 11:00 PM
"Asian-inspired sandwich shops presided over by talented chefs are OK in my book."
Photographs by Robyn Lee
Xie Xie
645A Ninth Avenue, New York NY 10036 (at 45th Street; map); 212-265-2975
Service: Reasonably fast counter service
Setting: Stylized, slightly glitzy sandwich shop
Compare It To: Num Pang
Must-Haves: Fish Cha Ca La Vong hero, Vietnamese BBQ Beef sandwich, "1,000 Year Old" ice cream sandwich
Cost: $17 gets you a sandwich, ice cream sandwich, and a Red Jacket Orchard juice
Grade: B+
I always get nervous when I hear chefs or restaurateurs talking about "concepts"—as in, replicable concepts that can be cloned around the city (and around the world) as part of a brand roll-out. (In fact, it always makes me nervous when chefs start talking about "brands" and "roll-outs.")
So when I heard that Xie Xie (Mandarin for "thank you," pronounced shay shay) was a sandwich concept rather than a sandwich shop—complete with a second location already secured—I was worried.
I liked chef-partner Angelo Sosa's cooking at his short-lived Yumcha, and he has an impressive résumé, having worked for Jean-Georges Vongerichten for two years. So I know the dude can cook. But replicable concepts are much more difficult to pull off than they appear, so I really didn't know what to expect from Xie Xie.
Xie Xie is not a banh mi joint, and it's not a hero shop. It most resembles a slightly more elegant and stylized Pan-Asian version of Num Pang. (Really, if George Jetson opened an Asian-inspired sandwich shop, this is what it would look like.) "After my last stint with Jean-Georges I spent a year cooking in Asia," Sosa says. "The menu at Xie Xie is based on culinary impressions that were left during my travels."
To make the concept more cloneable, Sosa has limited the menu to five savory items. It does put a lot of pressure on those five sandwiches to be terrific, because there aren't many places to turn if one or two of the sandwiches turn out to be clunkers. But that's all right by Sosa. "I wanted to create five signature dishes," he told me.
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Posted by Ed Levine, July 28, 2009 at 10:00 AM
Note: Ed's review is running a little early this week so that New Yorkers have enough time to reserve a seat for the special Tuesday night meal at Hearth.
Photographs by Erin Zimmer
Hearth Pig Roast
July 28; August 4, 12, 18 and 25
403 East 12th Street, New York NY 10009 (map); 646-602-1300; restauranthearth.com
Service: Attentive and professional
Setting: The two dining rooms at Hearth
Compare It To: Resto, Klee Brasserie
Must-Haves: The pig itself, salad with bacon vinaigrette, and swiss chard
Cost: $43
Grade: A-
Though it might be a case of wishful (or should I say pig-full) thinking, I don't think it is: Pig roasts are everywhere. In fact, pig roasts may be the new bacon (or maybe they were the old bacon—it's hard to keep all the porcine references straight). Any day now I know that Starbucks is going to announce that some pig is going to come with every cup of coffee, and that means that McDonald's will follow in short order.
In the last two weeks the serious eaters have heard about recurring summer pig roasts at Resto, Klee Brasserie, and Hearth. We got wind of Hearth's kick-off roast last week, which prompted us to descend on Marco Canora and Paul Grieco's Italian-drenched contemporary American restaurant last Tuesday. Erin and I took a seat at the counter facing the kitchen, so we got a bird's (or pig's) eye view of the whole affair.
The Tuesday night menu includes:
- Frisée salad with gorgonzola, fried shallots and warm bacon vinaigrette
- Pork terrine with pickled vegetables, pistachios, and house-made mustard
- Roasted suckling pig with pork sausage, creamed swiss chard, canellini beans, and tomato
- Peach crumb pie with vanilla ice cream
But even more important than the individual menu items at the pig roast are the pigs that Canora starts with: Bev Eggleston's humanely raised suckling pigs. Canora says, "You have no idea how perfect Bev's pigs cook up. The layer of fat underneath that thick skin makes for a perfect self-basting roast. Cooking Eggleston's pigs are really almost foolproof. They are indeed a beautiful thing."
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Posted by Ed Levine, July 21, 2009 at 11:00 PM
Photographs by Robyn Lee
Eggs Travaganza
NE Corner of 52nd Street and Park Avenue, New York NY 10022 (map); 917-657-0987
Service: Efficient and ridiculously friendly
Compare It To: Loews Regency Hotel
Must-Haves: Pancakes; egg, chorizo, and American cheese on a roll; grilled chorizo and cheese sandwich on 7 grain bread
Cost: $5 or less for breakfast
Grade: A
As an unabashed lover of food carts and street cuisine I feel it is not out of line to complain about the quality of food at the typical breakfast bagel and coffee carts that are ubiquitous in many New York neighborhoods. Bad donuts, lousy coffee, and atrocious bagels are the mainstays of such carts, and the only edible items at these carts are egg sandwiches. How bad can a freshly made bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich be?
Maybe that's why I was so taken by a breakfast cart that a few months ago appeared on the corner of 62nd Street and Broadway on Saturday mornings right near the health club where I play squash. The first things I noticed were the whimsical graphics on the cart's signage, and the spelling mistakes on those graphics touting the homemade pancakes. Who makes made-from-scratch pancakes at a food cart?
I struck up a conversation with the brother and sister team who (wo)man the cart, Maribel and Arturo Macedo. Arturo had come to New York City from Puebla, Mexico, 15 years ago and worked at a Greek coffee shop on 57th Street and Lexington before setting out on the egg-trepreneurial path six years ago.
It turns out that their regular Monday-through-Friday spot was the northeast corner of 52nd Street and Park Avenue, smack in the middle of masters-of-the-universe financial power breakfast, let's-spend-$20-for-cantaloupe-and-dry-toast territory.
I started conjuring up images of bankers in yellow ties and pinstriped suits, or in power pumps and pantsuits, lining up post–financial tsunami for Eggs Travaganza's fine, fine pancakes and even better, chorizo, egg, and American cheese sandwich. Could Eggs Travaganza be supplanting the Loews Regency Hotel as the power-breakfast spot of choice for chastened bankers on Park Avenue? I had to find out.
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Posted by Ed Levine, July 14, 2009 at 11:00 PM
"He may call it a gastropub, but what Psilakis has really done is open a kick-ass diner that doesn't serve breakfast."
Photographs by Robyn Lee
Gus and Gabriel Gastropub
222 West 79th Street, New York NY 10023 (b/n Broadway and Amsterdam; map); 212-362-7470
Service: Professional, friendly, and diner-like in the best possible sense
Setting: Subterranean, windowless room in the original Kefi space
Compare It To: Chat 'n' Chew, Empire Diner, and Bubby's
Must-Haves: Beef brisket French dip, buttered sweet corn and jalapeno soup, Mexi mac and cheese, coffee malt, peanut butter banana shake
Cost: $20 to 25 including tax and tip
Grade: B+
Imagine, if you will, your local Greek coffee shop or diner (one that only serves lunch and dinner) being taken over by a hard-working fancypants celebrity chef, who happens to be Greek-American. Sounds promising, doesn't it? Inspired by the pleasure he derived cooking with and for his four year-old son Gabriel and the love he has for his dad Gus, chef Michael Psilakis (of Anthos, Mia Dona, and Kefi) has opened Gus and Gabriel Gastropub. Obsessive, perfectionist mad man that he is, Psilakis had decided that at his Greek coffee shop, everything from the hot dogs to the nachos to the ice cream is going to be made from scratch.
So what could be bad, the serious eaters figured. A talented Greek-American chef ready, willing, and able to take on the challenge of making terrific diner food without feeling the need to reinvent it? Of course, we did worry that Psilakis put "gastropub" in the name, because I, for one, have always associated gastropubs in London with places with greater culinary aspirations than those found at good diners. So we concluded that a lot could go wrong in the execution of this concept, so we descended six strong on Gus and Gabriel one perfect summer-y night to see how Psilakis is faring.
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Posted by Ed Levine, July 7, 2009 at 11:00 PM
"I would say that Carmellini has a hit on his hands."
All photographs by NIck Solares unless otherwise noted. Exterior photograph by Robyn Lee
Locanda Verde
377 Greenwich Street, New York NY 10013 (at North Moore Street; map); 212-925-3797
Service:Friendly and attitude-free
Setting:Hotel restaurant that doesn't feel like one
Compare It To:Scarpetta, Hearth, Convivio, Enoteca at Del Posto
Must-Haves: My grandmother's ravioli, scallops, blue crab crostino, sheep's milk ricotta, fire-roasted garlic chicken for two, toasted almond semifreddo, gelati, sorbetti—hell, any dessert on the menu
Cost: $50-$75 depending on what you order
Grade: A-
In New York, there are numerous schools (or should I say spheres of influence) of Italian cooking. There's the Lidia Bastianich northern Italian school, with both Istrian and Italian-American influences. Mario Batali teamed up with Lidia's son Joe to open Babbo, and that's when Batali's bold, ballsy, resolutely-Italian-meets-contemporary-New York cooking style flowered and spawned numerous imitators and acolytes both in New York and across the country.
More recently, Michael White came from Chicago's Spiaggia and teamed up first with Steve Hansen (Fiamma and Vento), then with restaurateur Chris Cannon, to open Marea, Convivio, and rejigger Alto. White's cooking is built around his unmatched ability to make fresh pastas of every size and shape imaginable, and fill or sauce them with classic Italian ingredients and flavors with a personal touch. I can't leave out hardworking Marco Canora's tradition and technique-derived cooking at Hearth, Insieme, and Terroir. Then there's Jody Williams' ultra-traditional, super-simple Italian cooking style at Gottino and Scott Conant's rich, complex, buttery take on modern Italian cooking at Scarpetta. And even with this extensive list I'm sure I've overlooked someone important.
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Posted by Ed Levine, June 30, 2009 at 11:00 PM
"Who knew that an Italian restaurant in Tribeca would produce New York's best breakfast?"
All photographs by NIck Solares unless otherwise noted.
Locanda Verde
377 Greenwich Street, New York NY 10013 (at North Moore Street; map); 212-925-3797
Service: Friendly and attitude-free
Setting: Hotel restaurant that doesn't feel like one
Compare It To: Trestle on Tenth, Norma's, Sarabeth's
Must-Haves: Any of the pastries and muffins, sheep's milk ricotta, cotechino hash, toasted hazelnut French Toast, crispy garlic potatoes
Cost: $6 to $14
Grade: A
The food world is a-Twitter-ing and a-chattering about Locanda Verde, and why not? Robert DeNiro's involved; it's succeeding a highly visible failure, Ago; critics' and eaters' fave Andrew Carmellini is the chef; and perhaps just as exciting for me, former Craft pastry chef Karen DeMasco is coming off a two-year absence from the New York restaurant scene and returning to the fray, and the ovens, at Locanda Verde.
So it wasn't exactly a complete surprise when I had an incredible dinner the first night Locanda Verde opened to the public. And it wasn't a shock when I had an extraordinarily delicious lunch there with Zach Brooks that featured an untraditional porchetta sandwich that crossed a Tony Luke's roast pork sandwich with a muffuletta.
But when I heard that DeMasco was doing an all-morning and all-day pastry and coffee bar for both Greenwich Hotel guests and serious eaters alike, and a pretty extensive breakfast menu to go along with it, I knew it was going to be good, seriously good in fact. But what I wasn't prepared for was the fact that Locanda Verde just might be serving the best breakfast in New York City, and maybe anywhere. Don't believe me? Let me show you.
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Posted by Ed Levine, June 23, 2009 at 8:40 AM
DBGB Dog at Daniel Boulud's DBGB.
Bacon has owned the "food of the moment" title for a while. The latest recessionary sales slogan should go something like: Make Money At Home While Still In Your Pajamas, Start a Bacon Blog! Cupcakes have also been glorified. And naturally, bacon cupcakes have developed a fanatical following.
Now hot dogs, or should I say haut dogs, are threatening to take away the glory. Fancypants chefs, French and otherwise, in pursuit of their own American hot dog dreams can't leave well enough alone. By nature, fancypants chefs are obsessive, compulsive tinkerers and lily-gilders. So now they're going about the business of reinventing the hot dog.
Hot dogs from Gray's Papaya. Photograph by Robyn Lee
My exhaustive New York hot dog research turned up compelling evidence that most great hot dogs in New York City are in fact made by the same company: Sabrett. Further, my research found that though Sabrett's makes many kinds of hot dogs, all the hot dogs we know and love in Gotham are virtually the same dog.
So how can fancypants chefs improve on what many observers say is tubesteak perfection? Dress it up, or start from scratch. Meet the New York haut dogs.
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Posted by Nick Solares, June 16, 2009 at 11:00 PM
Le Relais de Venise L’Entrecote
590 Lexington Ave, New York NY 10022; map); (212) 758-3989; relaisdevenise.com
Service: Charmingly continental, handled exclusively by women in black uniforms accented with white.
Setting: Casual room: tiled floor, brightly colored table cloths, and murals of Venice pay homage to the restaurant's origins.
Compare to: Pretty unique (for now) but the most obvious choices might be Balthazar, Pastis, Artisanal, and Steak Frites
Must Haves: Not much choice here since there is only one option. For dessert try the vacherin du relais
Cost:$24 for salad, fries, and steak. Dessert $6.50
Grade: B
In 1959, Paul Gineste de Saurs purchased an Italian restaurant in Paris's 17th arrondissement near Porte Maillot and converted it into what would become an iconic chain of bistros patterned after Cafe de Paris in Geneva. He kept the name of the former restaurant, Le Relais de Venise, appending "Son Entrecôte" to better describe the menu which offers but a single dish: steak frites. The single location soon became two, and by the late 1960s, it splintered into three distinct chains based on the same formula, serving the same menu and run by de Saurs son and two daughters.
The concept is wildly popular in London and Paris, where long lines form outside of the various outposts. I am not sure you will see the same thing happening in the newly opened New York branch. Certainly if the restaurant was situated in Soho or the Meatpacking District it might garner that type of reaction, but in Midtown, located on a rather non-descript block amongst hotels and office buildings, I am not sure it's in quite the right neighborhood.
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