Restaurant experiment: Tuck Shop

Tuck Shop

68 East 1st Street between First and Second Avenues

New York, NY 10003

212-979-5200

http://www.tuckshopnyc.com/

Meat pies. Sweeney Todd!

Luckily these pies don’t have people in them. Or so we believe.

Blondie was cranked in the background, and folks floated in and out of the petite pie purveyor. Some to go, some squishing at tables and ledges. I joined Stacy and Julie at the bar where they were nursing brewskis. I tried an Aussie beer; it was all right. The worker dude recommended it to me.

Julie and I picked one of the evening’s specials called “The Kiwi” which was ground beef and cheese. We agreed that you can’t go wrong with that. Words never truer have been uttered. Just a little spicy but not overwhelmingly so for wimpy me. Julie suggested I do a pre-eat picture and a post-eat picture, but the latter turned out rather dreadful, so I am sparing you all. You’ll have to imagine meat with melty cheese in your heads then. For $5-6, you really can’t beat the deal.

Then our trio split the vanilla slice ($3) because our top choice of the rhubarb pie was not available. Sadness. “Vanilla custard, sandwiched between 2 layers of puff pastry finished with a white fondant icing atop.” What a treat! Looks like a Toaster Strudel. To prevent sugar OD, split with friends! Do not eat solo.

Tuck in at the Tuck Shop!

Restaurant experiment: Lima’s Taste

Lima’s Taste

122 Christopher Street at Bedford Street

New York, NY 10014

212-242-0010

http://www.limastaste.com/

Pisco sours, where have you been all my life? We have a lot of catching up to do.

Since Stacy and I were across the street seeing Coraline the musical (one word review: wacky), we came here after to have a post-theater meal. Even though she made a reservation, the staff seemed confused. I have a feeling they didn’t even make note of her call. At any rate, Lima’s Taste was doing brisk business but there was no real wait. It was like 0 degrees in there. I was shivering through the first half of the meal, but later they gave the AC a rest.

Three men asked us for drink orders. Um, this is not a sign of confidence.

Continuing with the passion fruit theme, I ordered a passion fruit pisco sour while Stacy ordered a plain ol’ one. Going to this About.com site, I learned that pisco is a brandy distilled from white muscat grapes, and it was adopted by both Peru and Chile as a national drink. Does the US have a national drink? Looks like no. How sad! You can associate other liquids with other countries, but the US just has ‘em all, so I guess no national drink for us.

Stacy and I shared two appetizers: tuna ceviche with creamy lemon aji sauce ($16) and bacon wrapped shrimp with Peruvian dipping sauce ($11). The tuna ceviche was spicy and cilantro-laden, so I couldn’t approve it personally, but luckily Stacy was there to eat that while I took care of the bacon wrapped shrimp business. I wish the bacon were a little crispier, but oh well. The sauce, green of hue, was yummy.

My main was the rather dull-seeming lamb stew, “hearty helpings of lamb with assorted vegetables & rice” ($17). It’s very comforting, like blankets in winter. Nothing that nutty or bonkers, but that was just what I needed. Too much filling up on appetizers necessitated a to go box. Then the waiter brought it out in an untimely fashion, making me wonder if my leftovers were tossed out or neglected.

Later the Amy Winehouse background music stopped, and disco hits blew out our eardrums. What was up with that? First I assumed birthday party, but nope. My ears were relieved when the music was toned down though considering the neighborhood, I’m not surprised about the music selections. When I think of Peruvian comida, yes, 70s disco hits come to mind, or at least now they certainly will.

P.S. I love this picture. Funky angles, glowing lights, drinks and dinner.  More glam than it was.

Restaurant experiment: Cafe El Portal

Cafe El Portal

174 Elizabeth Street between Kenmare and Spring Streets

New York, NY 10012

212-226-4642

Cafe El Portal is one of those places which is sort of like a hole-in-the-wall but not really, or more like a fake hole-in-the-wall. It’s tiny but not so tiny in that you’re sitting in your table neighbor’s lap. Slightly low on the lights, cheery atmosphere verging on nearly raucous.

Stacy and I got the party started with margaritas. If you are a margarita enthusiast like me, you should find something you like on the drink menu. Frozen, on the rocks, plain, fruity…you’re set. Stacy got the prickly pear non-frozen, and I opted for the frozen passion fruit. Yeah! Just what I needed post-another day at the grind and pre-rocking out.

For my meal, I had the burrito de tinga, “tortilla filled with beans, rice, cheese, sour cream, guacamole and beef cooked in tomato/chiporle sauce” ($10.50). The menu definitely read “chiporle” sauce (as it does on MenuPages), but after Googling, I wonder if it’s supposed to be chipotle and was a typo. Anyway, soft beef and a hint of creamy sweet cinnamon I detected, delightful! I was giving myself a pat on the back for eating it all.

Caveats: no complimentary chips and salsa (though I believe this doesn’t exist in NYC period), no credit cards besides American Express (dumb!). Aside from that, I would recommend the Portal if you’re bopping around the Nolita area. Muy bien.

Restaurant experiment: Andaz

Andaz

1378 First Avenue between 73rd and 74th Streets

New York, NY 10021

212-288-0288

First Avenue was a mess, post-street fair.  The sweepers were sweeping.  Andaz tried to seat us closer to the door, but Kora insisted on a different table, and they obliged.  I did make a reservation after all so I was a VIP (no, wishful thinking).

When I ordered, I declared my drink (mango lassi) first, but the waiter quickly asked what I wanted as my main course.  That was odd.  Like he had to approve what I was going to eat as my entree before he would allow the mango lassi.  Um, okay.  Kora and I shared some samosas before our mains, and we both liked those a lot. 

Usually I go back to the website to review my menu selections, but Andaz does not have a website!  That does not help me.  Now I’m embarrassed because I forgot what I ordered.  I want to say lamb korma.  Maybe I should start whipping out a miniature spiral bound notebook or voice recorder and make notes that way.  Then the staff can notice, think I’m a bigwig food critic, and comp my meal.  That’d be awesome.  It would have been better if the food were a little hotter, temperature-wise, but it wasn’t a major issue.  The lamb was tender and went well with the rice and the naan we requested. 

Later, the guy who I assumed was a manager of some sort, approached us and asked what we thought of the food and if we would come back. I explained that I didn’t live in the neighborhood (plus I don’t like eating at the same place twice), but I would certainly recommend Andaz to my pals who live and work in the region.  I did follow-up on my promise, and I passed a menu along.  The servers were almost too caring.

Andaz: a welcome addition to the soul-sucking Upper East Side.

Restaurant experiment: BXL Cafe

BXL Cafe

125 West 43rd Street between Broadway and Sixth Avenue

New York, NY 10036

212-768-0200

http://bxlcafe.pregraphic.com/

I’m doing good with the Belgian places in NYC. Here’s another one to assess.

BXL was on Lily’s Yelp bookmarks, so we gave it a shot because we were in the Times Square area. Let me tell you, shutting down the traffic that feeds into the square is totally boss. It makes an already unbearable area much improved.

Lily and Jesse ordered beers and burgers. I expressed my disappointment that they decided not to go with cheese on their burgers. For shame! Note: they wanted me to specifically mention this in my writeup.

As for yours truly, I ordered the American Prepare or steak tartare if you will, for $17. I must admit I prefer the raw meat that Le Singe Vert serves up since BXL made it too peppery/mustardy for me. The fries were seasoned well and crunchy, but that all went downhill after they cooled off. Lily agreed. Note to self or to people going here and planning on chowing down on fries: eat them while they’re hot.

I stole sips from Lily’s Lindemans Framboise: “spontaneously fermented raspberry lambic. Very sweet, perfect with dessert. 5%.” Suggested by the waitress with the Eastern European accent. Dessert beer? Now that’s a concept I can fully support.

BXL was hopping with the post-work happy hour crowd, but that tapered off. Not too many tourists for that part of town though. It was still noisy with chatter, and if you’re into sports on the television, BXL can help you out there. I don’t know much about the beer selection, but it seemed adequate enough.

Restaurant experiment: Lombardi’s Pizza

Lombardi’s Pizza

32 Spring Street at Mott Street

New York, NY 10012

212-941-7994

http://www.firstpizza.com/

I was stoked to knock off two New York institutions in one night (the other being Katz’s). And no waits and throngs of tourists. Score!

Usually I am on my burger quest, but now I’ve taken a wee detour into a pizza quest. Lily was hungry, we were in Soho, I suggested Lombardi’s. That worked. On the way, we saw a dalmatian at the FDNY station. Novelty.

The hostess was wearing some earpiece like a Secret Service telemarketer combo. We were seated in the first dining room; I was surprised at how large Lombardi’s is. There was an obnoxious large group which needed to shut up, especially the loud talker man. After some deliberation, Lily and I agreed to share a small pizza with sauteed garlic spinach; it won out over roasted red peppers.

And was that the right choice or what? Totally appetizing. Marvelous sauce and fresh mozzarella. The center of the circle’s crust wasn’t falling apart. The outer crust was a tiny too much floured, but no biggie. The spinach brought the pizza to a whole new level. It all worked. It’s like one of those days where the sun is shining, it’s not too humid, you are wearing a new snazzy outfit, you left work early, and you excited about meeting friends for dinner at a place you picked out (wait, that’s me). Modify that to your liking.

It was about $20 total. Cash only, sigh. I might wait fifteen minutes in a line for Lombardi’s. Generous, because I dislike waiting in lines. This just well maybe perhaps might be the best pizza in Manhattan??? At the very least, it’s the oldest parlor in the US, birthed in 1905. Ancient!

Restaurant experiment: Katz’s Delicatessen

Katz’s Delicatessen

205 East Houston Street at Ludlow Street

New York, NY 10002 

212-254-2246

http://www.katzdeli.com/

I haven’t seen When Harry Met Sally in years, but I finally saw it in college.  My roommate at the time declared she was envious because she wanted to be able to see When Harry Met Sally for the first time again.  Meg Ryan’s face used to be normal back then.  Now, it’s just plain frightening.

Now I’m only reminded of that movie because I went to Katz’s Deli the other day with Lily.  Since it was early evening on a weekday, the place wasn’t very crowded; I’ve strolled by and seen it stuffed to the gills.  It’s like stepping into another era inside.  The place just is old, with pictures of famous folks up on one wall, right above the wait service only side.  You’ll get chastised if you countered and try to sit down there.

Katz’s is confusing for no good reason.  Once you enter, a bouncer gives you a ticket which you can’t lose, or you have to pay $50.  Then you have to go into a cutter’s line to get your sandwich.  If you want fries or drinks, you have to wait in a different line.  And you sit down in the cafeteria space and pay at the end, turning in your ticket marked with your purchase.  There are probably some ways of making that process less head scratching.

While you’re waiting by the cutters for your sandwich, they give you extra pieces of meat to nosh on while you’re waiting.  And then there’s a fat side of pickles that go along with the sandwich.  Later I realized that those things were salty as heck as I scrambled to quench my thirst with water. 

Warm pastrami on rye with mustard.  Yummy.  Though hot dog-ish.  One hour wait yummy?  No.  Thirty minute wait yummy?  No.  Ten minute yummy?  Yeah, all right.  I asked for a ticket as a souvenir after I turned it in, but that was a no go.  Huh?  They sure are psycho about their tickets.

Restaurant experiment: Motorino

Motorino

319 Graham Street at Devoe Street

Brooklyn, NY 11211

718-599-8899

http://www.motorinopizza.com/

The picture is gigantic on delicious purpose.

I didn’t have a choice in the matter; it was destiny. It was fate. Last week, the heavens were telling me to go to Motorino.

• My Newsweek from last week contained an article, “Save the Slice,” which mentions Motorino. The article was kinda dumb though.
• My Time Out New York from last week did a mini-writeup about Motorino in a section about pizza.
• And I was slated to be in Brooklyn that weekend anyway.

Since Lily, Nina, and I showed up at a funky time (mid-afternoon) on Sunday, Motorino wasn’t very crowded. I’m not sure how crowded it gets, but with all these articles and buzz, I’m sure the traffic has been heavier as of late. We were given the option to sit in the backyard but since the sun was in full force, we opted to stay in the main dining room by the open doors. The staff is very helpful and genuinely affable. It’s Williamsburg, ya know? So that was surprising.

There was a $10 brunch which I didn’t select mostly because it offered two liquids and I didn’t want to drink much (non-alcoholic but alcoholic for $3 more). I opted for a pie for myself, and Lily ordered one for herself. The Prosciutto di Parma ($12) featured parmiggiano, olive oil, and oregano, though I maintain that my pie was meatier than hers and more filling. Nina commented that they sure were generous with the prosciutto, and I concur. See the evidence above. The crust was outstanding! The right amount of burnt combine with a hint of cheese, aw yeah.

Lily’s pie was sort of like the flagship Motorino pizza: the Margherita DOC ($13). That baby had tomato, mozzarella di bufala (tangy buffalo cheese), and basil. She and I slice exchanged, and I also approved the message the Margherita DOC was expressing. Very thin dough in the center though. Typical New York.  Lily also had wanted lemonade and was offered some lemon drink ($3) which was astronomically sour, meaning I loved it or at least the sips I stole.

In the battle of the Williamsburg pizza parlors, I might have to side with Fornino but I still like you lots, Motorino.

Restaurant experiment: Le Singe Vert

Le Singe Vert

160 Seventh Avenue between 19th and 20th Streets

New York, NY 10011

212-366-4100

http://lesingevert.com/

Rain rain go away.  Lily and I had wandered over to The Green Monkey after checking out the Rubin Museum nearby.  At least this place makes it blatantly clear that they take only American Express or cash.  Lame.  Poor Lily had to deal with the rain again to pay a visit to an ATM.

Le Singe Vert has the closest seating that I’ve seen in New York.  I did not feel like a party of two, rather a party of six.  The tables were seriously three inches apart.  I was sitting in the booth part, and I could not escape unless a worker helped me push the table out.  C’mon now.  Just take out one two top!  It won’t kill you.

To my left were two gay men on a “get to know you” date.  Since I couldn’t help it, I heard their chats, and 90% of the conversations were about Broadway.  To my right were a middle aged white man and younger Asian woman.  The man was annoying and sounded like Gary Marshall which adds to the annoyingness.

I ordered the le steak tartare ($19.50) which was billed as “raw beef tartare with capers, shallot, cornichons, mustard, quail egg, french fries, and baby greens.”  It was quite temping to get my usual burger, but I should take a break from burgers, as difficult as it is to say.  The free bread’s crust was too tough-chewy, and they needed to make the slices thinner since they were as thick as they were wide. 

The visual.  I play with camera settings and am still rewarded with bleached out photographs.

So I haven’t consumed steak tartare all that much, but I’m venturing into its realm.  It’s like getting into a new band; you’ve heard one of two songs but know you need to take the plunge and buy some albums.  Raw meat is so yummy when it’s mixed up with all that stuff.  Raw beef and raw egg and mustard?  What a manly meal.  The fries were wonderful (crispy, not too thick, seasoned/salty) except for the fact that they should have been hotter.  The greens were your standard greens.  Lily’s chicken was pretty tender and she gave it her seal of approval.

Le Singe Vert: non-human primates skinnier than a toothpick, drop on by!

Restaurant experiment: Maxie’s Bar and Grill

Maxie’s Bar and Grill

233 Park Avenue South/19th Street between Park Avenue South and Irving Place

New York, NY 10003

212-979-7800

http://www.angelo-maxies.com/home.htm

Mike and I came here for happy hour after we were rebuffed by Sugarcane at SushiSamba. In case you are wondering what went down (OK, I made it sound more drama-filled than it was), they wouldn’t let you sit at [empty] booths if you were just ordering drinks; the bar was packed. Ridiculous.

Fine, they didn’t want our money; we were going to patronize a different watering hole. Going down Park Avenue South, that ended up being Maxie’s, the non-steakhouse sibling of steakhouse Angelo and Maxie’s next door since Mike had been there before and could vouch for it.

He and I plopped ourselves down at the spacious bar. The happy hour special was from 4-7pm I believe, with various beers and wines and wells being discounted. Mike stuck to non-happy hour martinis, and I grabbed a gin and tonic before the clock struck seven.

Hot damn! The gin and tonic was packing a punch. I approved. Eventually we decided to order food as well as another round of drinks. Mike decided to go with a classic martini, and I went with another G&T. Since we love burgers, Mike suggested we try the slider sampler. The slider sampler ($9.95) was very confusing so the cheerful bartender had to explain it to us, and we were still confused. I’m sure the alcohol didn’t help, but it would have been easier for everyone if the menu included a description of what burgers exactly were sampled. As it turns out, you can pick plain burgers with the cheeses of your choice (plenty of cheeses to pick from), and/or the teriyaki, au poive, or coffee burgers. I think? Poor patient bartender.

The food was a bit of a bust. I would have never conjured up a coffee burger. Good effort, but coffee and ground meat do not really enhance each other. According to the bartender, the rub was coffee, not the sauce like I thought. That was simply the caramelization of the shallot. The blue cheese slider we ordered was too skimpy on the cheese. The sweet potato fries were fine to me, but Mike declared them too airy, and he’s the sweet potato fry connoisseur so I’ll have to defer to him. Fries came with the slider sampler, but you had to fork over an extra buck for the sweet potato fries. We splurged ($0.75 each) for dipping sauces: roasted red pepper and Hollandaise since I’m on a Hollandaise sauce kick. Holla! The Hollandaise sauce tasted like melted butter. The two of us were still skeptical, even though the bartender swore it wasn’t the truffle butter sauce.

The place was not crowded which was a shame. Yeah, it was a Monday evening, but the joint was not jumping. Poor Maxie’s. Though I did like being able to speak at a non-shouting volume and not be bumped or anything like that. Commendable bathroom facilities.

You know a place isn’t very busy when the hostess volunteers to take a picture for you. How kind of her though. Thanks to Mike for food styling and the picture! I labeled our order at your request.