Restaurant experiment: Piatto d’Oro

Piatto d’Oro

349 East 109th Street at First Avenue

New York, NY 10029

212-722-7220

http://www.restaurantpiattodoro.com/

I’d been meaning to try Piatto d’Oro for the longest time but it never ended up gelling until now, when That Girl and I were looking for a place for our dinner appointment.  Its pros included being not too crowded, a different style of cuisine (it is Spanish Harlem after all), and reasonable costs.  When I stepped into the small restaurant, a gentleman who I assumed is the owner, guided me to a table in the center of the room but graciously let me switch to one by the wall (to avoid drafts from the open door).  There were only two other parties present when I arrived, and there was a family left right before we departed.

That Girl showed up soon after me.  The meal started off with a bang: complimentary garlic bread.  And then a basket of more bread, sadly not of the garlic variety.  Piatto’s menu is sprawling so you’re apt to find something for your needs.  Pastas, meats, salads, pizzas, yeah, no worries there.

I ended up getting the rigatoni ai carciofi, rigatoni with artichokes.  White sauce, wonderful!  Comfortably butter and rich, and plenty of artichoke pieces for my tastes.  And with freshly grated parmesan on top, perfecto!

The two of us couldn’t resist dessert.  Lots of options.  I nearly went for the chocolate mousse but then my eyeball latched upon the coppa spagnola which appealed to me after it was described as something like a semifreddo with fruit.  Sold!

It was kind of like cherry and vanilla ice cream, ultra-frozen, meaning very hard.  That Girl’s chocolate gelato was practically blackness and tasted like chocolate on the bitter side but felt gritty, for lack of a better adjective.  Was it supposed to be like that or not?  That Girl and I were unsure.  Bottom line?  Desserts were OK.

The owners let us linger as long as we wanted or at least I wasn’t noticing any dirty looks being shot our way.  I’m charmed & will be back no doubt.

Not charming, down the block, a man screaming obscenities at a woman.  Not a way to end a meal.

Restaurant experiment: Gong

Gong

173 East 99th Street between Lexington and Third Avenues

New York, NY 10029

212-360-5874

gongnyc.com

That Girl endorses Gong, and so Dave and I had dinner with her one fine evening.  Despite the place’s small size, I still managed to miss That Girl who was tucked away in the corner by the door.

Gong is probably one of the prettiest restaurants in East Harlem.  Maybe even the prettiest.  Or at the least the prettiest one I’ve been to so far.  There’s dark wood juxtaposed against white walls and curtains, and there are nifty touches like bamboo growing in tin kettles and the wavy white plate holding the spring rolls that That Girl ordered.

I shared pad see ew ($8.50), “flat rice noodles, wok fried in black soy sauce with egg & Chinese broccoli” which I got with beef.  Good stuff.  Not too salty or dull.  Dave shared his grilled tofu in chili basil sauce ($8.95) which despite being a 1 out of 3 on the spicy scale, still made my lips and tongue tingle.  Doesn’t the tofu look like giant grilled marshmallows?

Cash only, bleh.  The irritation is lessened by the cool wooden frog percussion instruments which bear the bill.  Rub the mallet over the back, croaks emerge.

Restaurant experiment: Hop Devil Grill

Hop Devil Grill

129 St Marks Place between First Avenue and Avenue A

New York, NY 10009

212-533-4468

http://www.hopdevil.com/

After celebrating the births of That Girl and This Girl by burning up the microphones at karaoke bar Planet Rose, the remainder of the celebrants strolled down Avenue A on a particularly mild April evening in search of a restaurant. Being as it was late on a Saturday night, the options were limited unless you wanted to wait hours, but no one wants to do that.

Hop Devil Grill came to the rescue, especially since Tex-Mex is usually agreeable to all sorts of guests. The place kind of fooled us since it had a secret annex attached to the restaurant, like its lounge/bar segment off to the door. What was annoying that the door that separates the restaurant from the lounge kept slamming shut whenever anyone would pass by. The host with the southern drawl and “ya’lls” seated us at some padded furniture at the calm back area of the secret annex.  How very A list!

Our waitress looked like she was about to go to a cocktail party after her shift, in a V-necked black dress. It was very abnormal eating dinner while in lounge seating. The small tables were too low to eat conveniently, so I followed Shanna’s lead and put my plate in my lap. Everyone agreed that the food was fine. I got kind of a college vibe from Hop Devil; the restaurant place would seem at home in any Division I football-centered college town.

The complimentary chips came with some sort of salsa/dip, but I didn’t try the dip. Since I ate too many cookies during karaoke, I tried to order something small. That happened to be the southwest chicken sandwich ($8.99): “cajun seasoned chicken breast, melted cheddar, crispy bacon, caramelized onions & chipotle remoulade.” This sandwich was a hot mess to eat with my hands and with that unique table situation. The bun was primarily to blame, somewhat wimpy. Had to use my fork and knife. The innards of the sandwich were heavy/oily. But cheese and bacon, how can you go wrong? You can’t. Your stomach is grumpy at you for a while, but it forgives you because it can’t be mad. That should be a rule: never pass up cheese and bacon.

All in all, That Girl and This Girl had a whale of a birthday party.  Cheers all around.

Restaurant experiment: La Galette

La Galette

177 East 100th Street between Lexington and Third Avenues

New York, NY 10029

212-410-6361

http://www.lagaletteny.com/

That Girl kindly invited me to join her dinner club on this particular outing since she knows I dig eating at restaurants I’ve never dined at.

French-Senegalese?  I am/was so there.  How cool is that?

Professing my ignorance, I had to only a few minutes ago look up where exactly Senegal is.  I knew it was in Africa, but that was it.  It so happens that Senegal is on the western coast, right in the middle of the fat panhandle of Africa.  And it used to be a French colony.

The restaurant is BYOB.  Just FYI.

Also FYI, the service is sloooooooow.  Nice, but not fast.  I sort of feel bad for this place since it doesn’t receive much foot traffic, being off Lex.  There’s live music which was kinda neat.  And as That Girl raved, the bathrooms were spotless.

I ordered the thiebou yapp which is “rice with marinated lamb, onion, and mixed vegetables.”  I wished the description had also included “spicy” as a keyword since the thiebou yapp was definitely not bland.  Darn spices.  Looking on the bright side, the portion was generous so I was all set for lunch the next day.  And the lamb was superb the next day too.  Love that lamb.

I was surprised there was no gratuity tacked on because of the size of the group, safely over six/eight.  We checked, none to be found.  The other clubbers waxed enthusiasm for their plates, so La Galette won the approval of this particular gang.

That SpaHa dining scene, so hot right now.