Restaurant experiment: Ovelia

Ovelia

3401 30th Ave at 34th Street

Astoria, NY 11102

718-721-7217

ovelia-ny.com

I’m an iota jealous of Max since he’s a regular here. I’ve always sorta kinda wanted to be a regular at some food provider but I think I’m doing it wrong. The sandwich shop I go to nearly ever week seems to not know me at all. Sad. Sob. Our waitress greeted my dining companion warmly during this weekend brunch, and she knew what drink he wanted. See, that’s the bomb.

Astoria eateries are so quaint. They all seem to have glamorous bathrooms and turn into loungey dance club-esque joints at night. Here at Ovelia, we were seated adjacent to the DJ booth, and since Ovelia’s on a corner, the space was flooded with light and offered views of the fleeting flurries.

I ordered a tiropita toast: a sandwich of sorts which was crispity crunchity granny smith apples, cream cheese, and bacon enclosed between two slices of grainy feta bread, and I got a Greek salad as a side. The salad had generous bricks of feta in it, score! It’s a cinch to make me happy: use cheese. My stomach rebelled, and I had to take half the tiropita toast home with me. The food portions in Queens are impressive; I’ve been living in Manhattan too long.

Bummer: the faucet in my bathroom was out of order.  But it was still a snazzy bathroom regardless.

Restaurant experiment: Omonia Cafe

Omonia Cafe

32-20 Broadway between 32nd and 33rd Streets

Astoria, NY 11106

718-274-6650

omoniacafe.com

Continuing our whirlwind tour of Astoria, the team of Max, Lily, and myself migrated to Omonia Cafe which I hadn’t tried but Lily and Max had. As they were discussing the place, I thought it was Ammonia Cafe, like the cleaner. They warned me that it had a clubby atmosphere. The bakery which looks like a bakery is attached to the restaurant which during the day is normal, but at night, it transforms into a colorful glowing establishment with techno music pumping in the background. Stare at the bar; it’ll change through all colors of the rainbow.

The menu, handbook sized, has a lot of food options. Since we were here for dessert only, there were options aplenty for us, including a section of Greek desserts, most of them being variations on honey, phyllo, custard, and nuts. I went with the politiko, again because I liked the name, very political. It was generously sized, with lots of custard and the leaves of phyllo swimming in honey. Maybe a bit too sweet, but it was fine. I guess I like more crunch than drench. Lily let me try some of her coffee. Can we say potent?

I must give props to Omonia for having the niftiest bathroom sinks I’ve seen in NYC. The sinks are practically flat pieces of stone, with only a subtle concave just under the faucet. Almost an optical illusion. If you come here, be sure to wash your hands.

Restaurant experiment: Anthos

Anthos

36 West 52nd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues

New York, NY 10019

212-582-6900

anthosnyc.com

Anthos sure has accumulated the accolades: one Michelin star, nominated as a James Beard Foundation Award Best New Restaurant. This was the last meal during my Restaurant Week. We were seated upstairs in a small anteroom containing four tables. I couldn’t decide if upstairs was where they put the rejects, or if it was special and more private and quieter than the main dining hall downstairs.

The meal started off with lots of little goodies. There’s a tray of olives and fried fish, amongst other things. And you get a free shot of mysterious vegetable puree. The guy who presented it to us was sort of a low talker. I thought he said parsley soup, but that couldn’t be right. Parsnip? It was truly amusing my mouth. And there is a roll presented with both cow and goat milk butter.

Down to business. My first course was the raw meze of fluke with apricot, yogurt, and hazelnut. It was pleasant, then again, I am a raw fish fiend and am partial to uncooked fish flesh. Ambika said it was a bit salty, but it wasn’t too sodium laden for me. The second was a lamb shank. The meat was falling off the gigantic Flintstones-sized bone, very tender. However the flavors just weren’t doing it. I was eh on it. The dessert was interesting. Stacy got prepared strawberries in a little bird nest, too cute! Ambika and I went with the chocolate sesame cake: chocolate bottom layer, mousse-like sesame top layer. And hazelnut brittle crumbs on the side. At first bite, the combo was a bit weird, but it grew on me with each subsequent bite.

Anthos sure has a large staff. We had a main waiter, and with each plate, it was a different runner. With this kind of upscale joint, you expect a certain level of service. Therefore I was slightly dismayed when the runners put the wrong item in front of me not once but twice. We had to tell the guys that I ordered that, this plate is hers, blah blah. At least the service wasn’t snobby. And when they put the forks down, the tines were facing the table. I wonder if there is a reason for that. The check comes with little take homes, twin almond cookies wrapped up with pink ribbon. Like a party favor from a wedding!