Friday, October 16, 2015

j.g. melon downtown: review

I have some vintage memories of the burger at the Upper East Side J. G. Melon outpost. There was a timeless quality about the place.

So I was curious to see if they could replicate the atmosphere of a venerable UES burger joint downtown.

The space is on a corner, a block down from Minetta Tavern. There is plenty of light, lots of windows, and many images of melons on the wall. There is a well stocked bar and some booths in the back.

The burger emerges on a truly tiny plate. It's a loosely packed patty, cooked on a flat-top with a soft bun. The fries are wavy disks the size of red gummy dollars.

Wine choices are limited, true to Wasp custom. Beer might be a better option.

Pleasant enough, but nothing to get excited about. Have the lesser burger at Minetta if it's open.

Grade: B

J. G. Melon

89 MacDougal St

212-460-0900

jgmelonnyc.com










Sunday, September 27, 2015

parm: review

What a fun time I had at Parm with two old buddies!

From the design, you'd never guess this place had any connection with the guys who are taking over the Four Seasons space. You have to go to Carbone first to understand what Parm is about. Carbone takes the old fashioned red-sauce Italian restaurant formula and makes all the food absolutely delicious and at the same time making you feel like you're in the movie Goodfellas. Parm is the casual spinoff of the same feeling.

One friend thought we were in some kind of retro diner. I said: "IT'S NOT WHAT IT SEEMS!" There is even a hint of TGIF about the red and white colors all over the place. But the food is another story.

Having been to Siberia lately (at Gotham), I scouted out a nice table. The service director was very nice about letting me choose a table. He was wearing a sharp suit and knew exactly what he was doing. We got a cozy booth by the window in the middle of the room.

Our waiter appeared. He clearly worked at Fawlty Towers before coming to Parm. He had that edge of anger and hostility that Basil Fawlty exuded, minus the ingratiating smile. He kept appearing when he was not wanted then disappearing when needed. He had no understanding of wine yet told us boldly what "his favorite" was. Then he tried to bully us into ordering more food and larger portions. I ignored him.

The fried zucchini was light and tasty: like french fries but much fluffier. The three giant meatballs, topped with mozzarella and tomato sauce were juicy and tasty. The linguine alle vongole was heaven: garlic, salt, parsley and a heap of fresh, tasty, small clams. The club sandwich had too much mayo (and potato chips folded in: gross). The chicken parm on an roll (a bargain at $10) was hot, had lots of tomato sauce, and was served on the perfect bun.

The wine by the glass turned out to be quite good: Chianti, Nebbiolo. The beer selection was good also.

The service manager passed by and I joked with him about his "special" waiter. The service manager is a former captain at Carbone: that's why he was so good. He explained that his mission was to bring some of the "Carbone feel" to Parm. I asked him if was interested in the Four Seasons project and he laughed and said that everyone was.

We did jumping jacks to order another glass of wine from our waiter. We asked for the dessert menu, but he was too busy. Then he came back and said there was no dessert menu. He listed what was available. We decided to split a brownie sundae.

The service manager came out and served us four desserts on the house: the sundae, two ice cream cakes, and key lime pie. All's well that ends well. It was fun.

Grade: A-

Parm Battery Park City

250 Vesey Street

212-776-4927











Wednesday, September 23, 2015

gramercy tavern: review

You know the food here is going to be good. And it is. It was fun sitting next to a group from Spain's fashion world.

Lots of affordable wines on the list.

Staff makes you feel a little bit like they've done all this a million times before. They know they're good.

Clam spaghetti was perfect. Pork and deckle was perfect. The chef seems very interested in peppers. They were everywhere. Ice creams were delicate.

Beaujolais was served cold (bravo) and was excellent and a bargain.

Grade: A- (points deducted for slightly jaded staff)

Gramercy Tavern

42 East 20th Street

(212) 477-0777


Thursday, August 13, 2015

gotham bar and grill: review

Forget trying to get a lunch reservation here. Luckily, it's easy to sit at the bar. Plenty of room if you get there around noon. This is restaurant week, the bartender warned us, so the bargain hunters would be out in force. They were. We ordered from the regular menu. Restaurant week is like an outlet mall: cheaper stuff for cheaper prices. Or, as I like to say, "It tastes like chicken."

We split the soft-shelled crabs as appetizer. Perfection. With a nice accompaniment of chopped vegetables. I had the seafood risotto which was also perfect: shrimp, calamari, in soupy but delicious risotto. The seafood salad was beautiful and was also delectable.

They had bargain bottles of wine for restaurant week, so we got a Verdicchio for $30. It was decent and very cold.

For dessert, just get the chocolate cake. It's been on the menu for 30 years according to the bartender. It's warm, bitter, powdery and the almond ice cream that goes with it is heavenly.

Service was friendly and efficient. Our bartender is a veteran of Minetta Tavern. We traded stories.

Grade: A+

Gotham Bar and Grill

12 East 12th Street

212-620-4020












Wednesday, August 12, 2015

motorino: review

I've been coming to this place long before it was Motorino.

For a while it was Una Pizza Napoletana, a one-man pizza show by a guy with a lot of tattoos. The guy meant business.

Luckily, the new owner, Mathieu Palombino, is just as serious.

If you like small, tender, charred Neapolitan pizzas, these are just about the best it town, neck and neck with Roberta's and Luzzo's (which has been around a long time and is just a block away).

Motorino and Roberta's have slightly puffier and blistery dough. Luzzo has half-melted mozzarella and a "finer" crust. They're all A+ pizzas.

Motorino is a great place for lunch. For $12 you can choose from four great pizzas and get a nice salad. It's a great deal.

Grab a glass of Gragnano, a Lambrusco-like, fizzy, sweet, low-alcohol wine, and you're all set.

Their tiramisu is excellent, but you won't have room.

Only gripe: wine servings are small and not cheap ($9, $10, $11). But a man's gotta make a living.

There's another outpost of Motorino across the street from Peter Luger in Williamsburg.

Grade: A+

Motorino

349 E 12th Street

(212) 777-2644






Tuesday, August 4, 2015

upland: review

The "likeability factor." That je ne sais quoi that makes you happy at one place and unhappy at another without being able to put your finger on it. Upland is likeable. The room is square, which somehow always appeals to me. The banquettes are green and clean and new. They sat me at my table before my dining companion had arrived (I could tell you stories about Franny's, an unlikeable place, but I'll spare you).

Wine choices were excellent: a Beaujolais rosé...new to me. Our bearded South American waiter was extremely attentive without being pushy and without hovering. The chicken liver pasta was somewhat disappointing (get the cacio e pepe...it looked amazing). The burger was very good, a lot like mine: two thin patties, soft bun, American cheese. Fries were great. Desserts were excellent: an affogato and a strawberry concoction.

But the food did not matter so much. The people were interesting; the atmosphere was pleasant, bordering on jovial; it was pouring buckets outside.

Grade: A

Upland

345 Park Avenue South

212-686-6345














Wednesday, July 22, 2015

le rivage: review

Despite its unhip location on Restaurant Row in the theater district, this authentic family-run French restaurant has a lot of charm. Mom greets you at the door. Son is in the kitchen. They also have a killer burger...but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Appetizers of romaine salad and onion soup were small but fresh and house-made. The $18 lunch special is a steal: appetizer, main course and dessert are included. Wine by the glass was not so great: you get to pick a region and they fill you glass (probably) from some bulk source. We tried "Burgundy" and "Bordeaux." I guess this is their moneymaker, because the $18 lunch is a steal. The boeuf bourguignon main course was nicely cooked, dark and tender. But the Onion Soup burger was the star. Served on a large, grilled English muffin, it had carmelized onion, bechamel, and melted Gruyère (I think). It was spectacular though hard to eat. I had to resort to knife and fork. Dessert, an überfresh cream puff, was sensational in a tiny, French way. The apricot tart was no slouch either.

The Eastern European waitress was stern and brusque in an almost French manner.

Grade: A-

Le Rivage

340 W 46th Street

212-765-7374



osteria morini

I did not like this place. It has all the trappings of a fancy, rustic Italian trattoria, but something is missing. And that's the chef: Michael White. If you're going to charge these prices for Italian food, the chef should be there and should even greet the customers. Yes, there were two hostesses at lunch. Yes, the service was attentive. Yes, the food was pretty good. It all just left me cold.

Grade: C

Osteria Morini

218 Lafayette Street

212-965-8777











Thursday, July 9, 2015

royal seafood: review

Don't read the Yelp reviews. They must have been written by the dim sum place down the block.

The waiters are attentive, polite, and helpful. They even smile (well, some of them). The servers can tell you in English the main ingredient of the dumplings on the carts.

We arrived at 11:40 in the afternoon, assuming we'd have the place to ourselves. The place was packed to the gills with Chinese people, mostly older. A woman with a microphone and standing on a soapbox to survey the room gave us a slip of paper with "15" written on it. "Shr wu" I pulled up from the memory banks and got a smile. We were seated in a few minutes in a good spot: near the dumbwaiter where the food comes up and on the outside of the table, so as to be close to the servers.

We ordered two half lobsters with ginger and scallion, crispy chicken, snow pea leaves. From the cart, we had shrimp dumplings (spherical, delicious) and some flat, rectangular shrimp dumplings that were also amazing. It was nice to get some dumplings as soon as we sat down.

The lobster, which is spectacular, comes cut up on a large platter. The pieces are cut so that the meat is easy to get out, even if you're not sure what part of the lobster you're dealing with. It was fresh, the sauce was subtle, it was some of the best lobster I have ever eaten. The crispy chicken was quite good, with crunchy skin and juicy meat. It comes with the bones, chopped into pieces with a cleaver. I would order this on a visit with a larger group; for two people, it was not interesting enough to justify when those shrimp dumplings are circulating. The snow pea leaves were tasty and a nice contrast to the other items. There was a pleasant dearth of saltiness which allowed us to taste the flavors of the meat more subtly. Is this a Cantonese thing? If so, it was very pleasant. Our one regret: passing up the barbecued pork bits on rice that passed our way as we sat down: next time.

The room is a huge dining hall with very nice lighting. The noise level is minimal. You will be seated with other people, but this went very well.

Prices were reasonable. Be aware a service charge of 15% will be added to the bill, though this was clearly explained to us. Opens at 11am. Get there early, even on weekdays.

Grade: A

Royal Seafood

103-105 Mott Street, Chinatown

212-219-2338






















barbuto

I love this place mostly because of the space. It seems to be a old gas station that has been retrofitted with see-through garage doors. The space is light, serene, spacious, relaxing.

It seemed full of neighborhood regulars, and everyone seemed to be ordering the potatoes.

Appealing Italian lunch options included antipasti, pastas (carbonara was good), fritatas, pizza, steak, swordfish. The potatoes are the best thing here: crunchy, chunky, golden, unique.

Grade: B+

Barbuto

775 Washington Street

212 924 9700