Thursday May 20th

3pm

84 Stanton Street

After sending a few places from my “must try list” to The Wandering Foodie we decided on the recently open Meatball Shop in the Lower East Side for a late lunch. I read about it when it first opened, and the idea of being able to order meatballs at 4am was intriguing (the kitchen is open until 4am Thursday – Saturday, until 2am Sunday – Wednesday). If you didn’t guess from the name, meatballs are the specialty of the house. The space itself is small—a large communal table fills most of the dining room with a few tables running along the side wall and about a dozen seats at the bar. During warm weather there’s a few tables available outside as well. Fresh flowers are neatly arranged at each table, a chalkboard announces the specials of the day (featuring a daily meatball, sauce, side, salad and ice-cream) and black and white vintage family portraits line the red wall.

When you sit down you’re handed a laminated menu and a dry erase marker to make your selections. The menu is divided into 3 sections: Ala Carte Balls, Sandwiches – hero (served on a baugette) or sliders, and a meatball smash (served on a brioche bun).

How it works:

Step 1. Select ala carte, slider, hero or smash

Step 2. Select your meatball – chicken, beef, pork, vegetarian (made with lentils and walnuts) or special

Step 3. Choose a sauce – classic tomato, spicy beef, parmasean cream, mushroom or special

Step 4. Mozzarella or provolone

I love the idea of taking one food – the meatball – and creating an endless choice of options, but I guess this is why you get the dry erase marker in case you start to second guess. If you’re at a loss the wait staff will gladly offer up their recommendations and favorite combinations. These aren’t Mom’s meatballs (my Sicilian Mother and Grandmother used a mix of pork, veal and beef and simmered them in a tomato sauce with neck bones for flavor), but they were tender and delicious. I recommend trying the basil pesto (if available as the special) with a chicken meatball or the spicy beef with a beef meatball (beef on beef seems so gluttonous but tasted so good).

Tip: Don’t forget to save room for dessert! The ice-cream is made in-house and you can create a “custom” ice-cream sandwich from a choice of four types of cookies or a brownie.

Lunch

(I had a taste of each)

• Sliders – beef with spicy beef, special jambalaya with shrimp, andouille and rice with basil pesto (the only miss, was too salty and fishy), pork with mushroom, chicken with classic tomato
• Smash – chicken with basil pesto and mozzarella (my favorite)
• Side of white beans
• Special salad – arugula with asparagus and a creamy lemon vinagarette
• Market salad – arugula with apples
• House made tangerine, caramel and mint ice-cream with a ginger snap cookie on the side (We couldn’t come to a decision on a sandwich combination so ordered ala carte)

Good for: Meatballs, Endless Choices of Meatballs, Late Night Meatballs, Customizable Ice-Cream Sandwiches

Saturday May 15th

10:00pm

155 Varick Street

City Winery is a truly a hybrid of a space –  you can purchase a barrel of private-label wine, order a case for delivery, take a class, dine in the private cellar, have brunch or dinner in the main dining room upstairs, sip wine at the bar or attend one of the many weekly events. A friend emailed me about a Burlesque Show there, and always up for something new we purchased tickets (a mere $10 each). We arrived early to grab a glass of wine but were turned away until 11pm because the earlier show was still clearing out. When we returned the line moved quickly and we were able to choose our own seats for the show. Given the amount of people the service was surprisingly spot on. The only downside was due to the event the menu was limited to the “Concert Series” selections which was a paired down version of the regular dinner menu and wine list. All in all it was a great night – where else can you enjoy a glass of Cava and a cheese plate while watching a master roper yielding whips followed by Miss Coney Island performing her seductive routine.

Note: City Winery is the brainchild of Micheal Dorf who also started the Knitting Factory.

Wine

• Cristalino Cava Brut

Concert Series Cheese Tour

• Petit Billy, Taleggio and Roncal

Good for: Owning your own private label barrel, Wine, Brunch, Dinner, Events, Dining in the Private cellar, Taking a class, Cava paired with Burlesque

Friday May 14th

6:30pm

40 Broad Street (located on the second floor of The Setai)

I met the Wine Dutchess for an afternoon work session at the Hive at 55 to design her new logo—and since we were already on Broad Street we felt compelled to stop in SHO for a Friday evening cocktail. SHO is located on the second floor of The Setai, luxury condos that are a brand extension of the Miami namesake. A quick elevator ride after entering the small black and red lobby you step in to the bar and lounge area of SHO. The space is very sleek and minimal, evocative of Miami Beach style – except here the Stock Exchange is steps away rather than the beach. Just past the entrance is a walkway lined with wine bottles from floor to ceiling set behind glass, which leads to the main dining area. I had dinner in the dining room back in January and the 6 courses were mostly a hit (one or two dishes were misses, they felt a little dated like they belonged in the movie Wall Street circa 1987), but I digress. Tonight was about the cocktails and a cheese plate, which at $20 for the chef’s selection of 6 came complete with a lesson in fromages from our server. We learned that fine blue cheese is often cored and served with champagne in the center, that fruit paste is meant to cleanse your pallet between tasting the different types of cheese (as ginger does for sushi) and that cheese plate selections are presented left to right from fresh to sharp.

Tip: Monday – Friday SHO offers a 3-course prix fixe lunch for $30, a small price for a fine dining experience.

Cocktail

• French 75 in Padua – Aperol, Citadelle, Prosecco, Blood Orange

Chef’s Selection of Cheeses

• Lynnhaven Goat Cheese, Comté, Langres and two that were off the menu including a blue and and a Sheeps Milk

  

  The cheese plate was small for $20, but delicious.

  

  French 75 in Padua made with blood orange and Prosecco

  
  
  

Good for: Expense check dinners, Special Occasion, Foodies, cocktails, award winning Wine list, Fine Dining in FiDI, Prix Fixe Lunch

Monday May 11th

7:30pm

913 Broadway (located on the 2nd floor of Punch Restaurant)

My bookclub was meeting to discuss our Spring read The Help, and since we all live in different parts of the City the Union Square/Flatiron area seemed to be the most central spot. There was six of us so we needed someplace that could accomodate a group and provide a somewhat low-key ambiance so we could chat about the book while we sipped drinks and nibbled on food. I remembered Punch Restaurant had opened a wine bar on the second floor called Wined Up. At 7:30pm on a Monday night the place was fairly empty, except for a few people sitting at the bar. Our server was very accommodating and offered great wine and food suggestions. The menu is a paired down version of what you’ll find downstairs at the restaurant, and in addition they recently started a separate “Green Market” menu featuring a variety of small plates, crostini, charcuterie and cheese selections which are all a great size for sharing. The wine by the glass selection featured about 30 wines moderately priced (you can also purchase bottles and they offer specialty cocktails, beer and champagne as well).

Wine:

• Valpolicella Classico, Veneto Italy, 2007
• Pink Sauvignon Blanc, 3 Stones New Zealand, 2008

Dinner

• Zatar crusted tuna (raw) with green lentils and harissa
• Salmon tartar served with toasted pita (had an interesting addition of fresh apple mixed in that added brightness and crispness to the flavor)

GOOD FOR: Wine by the glass, Small plates, Low-Key, Groups, Date Spot