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

Sunday May 9th

3pm

656 Avenue of the Americas (6th Avenue)

Only in NYC can a church be transformed into a night club and then years later reinvented again into an indoor marketplace. The Limelight Marketplace recently opened this past Friday and I couldn’t wait to check it out. The 3-level 25,000-square-foot space features a variety of shops, ranging from retail (Havianas), to chocolate (Mariebelle), to tea (Miss Tea), to a variety of gourmet and specialty food purveyors and a green market in the courtyard. As if all of this wasn’t enough Grimaldi’s pizza will soon open an outpost here, which in addition to a dining room, is slated to be open 24/7 serving slices to-go from a takeout window on 6th Avenue. Brilliant!

Note: Hours are Monday – Saturday 10am – 10pm and Sunday 11am – 8pm.

The Sweet Room:

• The Cupcake Stop
• The Little Candy Cake Co.
• Maribelle Express
• Mari’s New York
• Wannahaveacookie

Gourmet Food:

• Jezalin’s
• Grimaldi’s (opening soon)
• Gastropub (opening soon)
• Peak Season Green Market (located in the courtyard)

Specialty Food:

• Baci Gelato
• Butterfly Bakeshop
• Carter & Cavero
• Miss Tea

Good for: Gourmet and Specialty food, The anticipation of 24/7 Grimaldi’s slices in Manhattan, green market

Friday April 30th

8:30pm

Pier 66 (W. 26th St. and West Side Highway)

A few friends were meeting up at the Frying Pan and it seemed like the perfect spot for drinks on a warm Spring night. It’s a bar on a boat that’s moored on the Hudson River, open seasonally from May through October. Maybe it’s just me, but I think the idea of drinking on a boat overlooking Manhattan is kind of brilliant. The boat is an old railroad car float that was originally used to transport cars between New York and New Jersey by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western railroads. It was refurbished to it’s current state (complete with restrooms and a kitchen) as a floating day-drinking oasis and opened to the public in the Summer of 2008. Prior to tonight I had only been there post-brunch on the weekends and found it a relaxing place to soak in the sun with friends, sharing a bucket of Coronas with lime. Tonight it the crowd was a little too young and a bit too frat-tastic for my liking, and my group agreed we’ll stick to the daytime. It was so crowded they ran out of limes, which made me (and my Corona) sad…

Tip: Ladies, this is a boat so it’s probably best to leave the heels at home (maybe next time I’ll take my own advice). For those of you downtown, catch the water taxi at the Seaport or Battery Park to West 26th Street.

GOOD FOR: DAY DRINKING, GROUPS, SINGLES, EVENT SPACE, LIVE MUSIC, OUTDOORS, FLOATING DIVE BAR

Sunday April 4th, 2010
1:30pm
146 Beekman Street

What better way to spend a sunny Easter Sunday than dining al fresco with an English Bulldog in tow. Fresh Salt seemed like a great option – there’s dog friendly outdoor seating (only a handful of tables) and a $10 prix-fixe brunch menu that features a choice of 9 entrees with a juice or coffee included. I’ve been here for lunch and the sandwiches are great, but brunch not so much. My omelette was completely overcooked (notice the golden brown hue in the photo below), as were my friend’s over-easy eggs (the yolk was just about fully cooked). The high point of the meal was my bloody mary, nice and spicy and served in a pint glass – however my friend’s mimosa was served in a small juice glass and cost $1 more than mine. The sunshine made up for it all, but I think next time I’ll stick to the daily happy hour  - from 4pm-8pm there’s $4 drafts and well drinks and $6 martinis and margaritas. The bar is open until 4am daily – a rarity in the Seaport area.

GOOD FOR: LUNCH, HAPPY HOUR, LATE NIGHT, OUTDOOR SEATING, NEIGHBORHOOD FAVORITE

Saturday April 3rd, 2010
3pm
35-33 36th Street

In anticipation of the (finally) warm and sunny weekend forecast a friend organized some day drinking fun at Studio Square in Astoria. Part outdoor beer garden with large communal picnic tables, part indoor bar with multiple TV’s playing sports, live music in the summer and part event space there’s something for everyone here. Aside from the nearly two dozens beer on tap there’s also pitchers of Sangria and vodka lemonade along with a small wine list and full bar. The grill menu features brats, hot dogs, burgers, chicken and pulled pork, but oddly enough there’s also a sushi menu. It’s a bit of a trip from lower Manhattan but the outdoor space and beer selection makes up for waiting on the weekend N train. As an extra treat someone brought a fruit tart from Martha’s Country Bakery, which proved to be a nice twist on beer and food pairing…

Beer (pitchers for the table)

• Sam Adams Cherry Wheat (seaonal)
• Blue Moon

GOOD FOR: OUTDOOR SPACE, EVENT SPACE, BEER SELECTION, LIVE MUSIC, LARGE GROUPS, SINGLES

Sunday March 28th, 2010
2pm
31-86 37 Street
A friend told me about a Croatian food and wine pairing at their favorite wine bar, Winegasm. I was intrigued, and at the cost of $45 for a 6 course pairing, couldn’t think of a better way to spend (yet another) rain soaked Sunday. Taking the train from lower Manhattan to Astoria should speak to the fact that it’s a great neighborhood gem. A long high-top communal table separates the bar from a few private tables, and in warmer weather the wall opens out to sidewalk seating. The owners are very knowledgeable and friendly, and the tastings are laid back. It feels like you’ve been invited to someone’s home for the afternoon. Rather than listening to someone speak about what you’re eating and drinking, each course was introduced briefly with the focus on enjoying. The wine was from the portfolios of Oenocentric and Vinum USA and the food was prepared by the owner’s mother – and nothing is better than “mom” food on a Sunday.

First Course:

• “Bakalar” – Adriatic cheese, prosciutto, and olive platter
• Wine: Toljanić Žlahtina 2008

Second Course:

• Octopus salad with potatoes
• Wine: Zlatan Hvar Pošip/Maraština Blend 2008

Third Course:

• Black squid ink risotto
• Wine: Bibich Debit 2008

Fourth Course:

• Ćevapi” - Lamb/Pork/Beef grilled sausage served with pita and red pepper tapenade
• Wine: Bibich Riserva Babich/Lasin/Plavina Blend 2006

Fifth Course:

• “Fuži” with veal sauce – Istrian bow tie pasta
• Wine: Lirica Plavac Mali 2007

Dessert:

• “Palačinke” and “Fritule” – carmel filled crêpe, bread dough fritters with powdered sugar
• Wine: Kozlović Muškat 2006

GOOD FOR: WINE BAR, WINE TASTINGS, CLASSES, DATE NIGHT, SMALL GROUPS, OUTDOOR SEATING, SMALL PLATES

Tuesday March 23, 2010
9pm
137 Avenue C

Whenever someone mentions the Sunburnt Cow I have hazy images of  going once for the “unlimited brunch” (aka drunk brunch). But tonight the group was going for dinner to take advantage of the $18 3 course prix-fixe. The vibe is mostly a bar scene, but there are a few tables in the back of the bar and a separate back room that’s open during weekend brunch rush. It was another rainy night in the City and our group took up two of the four tables in the back. Some of the more unique winter menu items include a Kangaroo Shepard’s Pie, Shark Pesto Pasta and Wild Boar Spare Ribs. There’s also a fun specialty drink list with 5 different kinds of “moo juice” to keep with the theme. If you’re feeling adventurous, they have a $20/2 hour happy hour.

Dinner

• Appetizer – Calamari
• Entree – Lamb burger with eggplant chutney and cucumber yogurt
• Dessert – Fruit Pavlova and the table shared a Lamington (both were good, but the lamington was my favorite)

GOOD FOR: HAPPY HOUR, PRIX-FIXE, UNLIMITED BRUNCH, AUSTRALIAN CUISINE, COCKTAILS, GROUPS

Sunday March 7, 2010
9:30pm
22 9th Avenue

I have to admit, I was a little surprised when BR Guest announced the opening of Bill’s Bar and Burger last October – the city has a myriad of burger places already and Pop Burger is right down the street. After seeing Alice in Wonderland in 3D at the Chelsea Clearview Cinema my movie companions and I decided to take advantage of our proximity to 9th Avenue to check it out. The bar has wood floors, brick walls and checkered tablecloths on high-top tables and we were seated right away (probably because it was Oscar Night). The menu is very simple – a few kinds of burgers (the freshly ground LaFrieda blend beef is reminiscent of a Shack Burger, but slightly larger) along with a turkey burger, veggie burger and a fish sandwich. They also serve wings, hotdogs, onion rings, fries and a variety of milkshakes and beers (there’s even a milkshake with beer in it).

Late Dinner:

• Bill’s Classic with American Cheese – cooked medium well and served with lettuce, tomato and pickles on a sesame seed bun
• Onion Rings

Dessert (shared)

• Apple crumb pie (skip it, served half-frozen and it never really thawed out)

Good for: Sunday funday, burger cravings, milkshakes

Sunday February 28, 2010
7:00pm
207 2nd Avenue

Baked goods, soft-serve, flavored milk, freshly baked breads and pork buns – it’s no wonder we were greeted by a line that looped around the wooden tables towards the hallway leading to Ssäm Bar. Milk Bar is part of the David Chang’s Momofuku empire and is headed by pastry chef Christina Tosi – she appeared on the Martha Stewart show in January of 2009 and shared her recipe for Milk Bar’s signature blueberry and cream cookies.

The sweet indulgence for two included:

• Red velvet cake and cream cheese soft-serve twist (some of which made it’s way on to my coat sleeve but totally worth it)
• Slice of cinnamon bun pie
• Red velvet milkshake
• 4 types of cookies to go
  • cornflake chocolate chip marshmallow cookie
  • compost cookie™ – pretzels, potato chips, coffee, oats, butterscotch, chocolate chips
  • chocolate-chocolate cookie
  • blueberry cream cookie – dried blueberries, milk crumbs

You can now place an order online and pick it up from a separate area but part of the fun is food-stalking others and devising your order while waiting on line. Coming here makes me feel like a kid again but with complex grown-up flavors.

Good for: a whim, Sunday funday, taking guests from out of town, a date, post-breakup (unless he lives in the East Village), special occasion treats