New York City Restaurant Reviews
2394 Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard on 140th Street
212/281.1477
$10 for one, without drinks, with tip
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It was counter-productive to bike eight miles in Central Park and only end up eating the calories I lost, but I was famished and Harlem Wing & Waffle called my name.
I have no idea who thought of fried chicken and waffles together, but he or she was a genius. It’s not the best friend chicken in the neighborhood, but when you’re feeling snackish, it’s the perfect combination.
85 Broadway between Wythe and Berry Streets in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
718/486.3077
about $140 for three people, with cocktails, with tip
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We waited for our Marlow & Sons seats at the Diner’s bar next door. After comparing the menu between the two sister restaurants, we knew we had to go back to the Diner to try theirs out. The Diner had the more exciting and elaborate menu for less of the wait. Weeknights are definitely less busy, but this block which used to be dominated by Peter Luger’s, is no longer quiet. Hipsters in plaid shirts congregate outside to meet friends, smoke a cigarette and finish a cocktail.
The menu is longer than next door’s and for some reason, management expects the servers to memorize the entire thing including the details of each dish. We cringed as our waitress struggled to remember what was in the pork rilette. I wanted to pat her hand and comfort her when she juggled her words between the frisée and the market salad.
The only struggle involved when the food came was who would get a bigger bite of which. The butternut squash apple soup was delicious and hearty made even better by chanterelles. The flatbreads’ caramelized onions came through so strongly, I wished I could serve them as appetizers at home. The specks of apples on them just showed how much the restaurant was taking advantage of the seasonal produce. Someone in the kitchen was definitely making them with love.
The beef burger was to die for: meat juice escaped from our mouths without the bread breaking up and getting soggy. The mussels were a good match to our basil cocktails and cold lagers and the market salad was a wonderful break that cut through all the lardon.
We were aching by the time the waitress came back for the dessert options. We saved her from having to recite and write them on our paper tablecloths by skipping them entirely.
Related post/s:
Sister restaurant Marlow & Sons has a shorter menu
81 Broadway between Wythe and Berry Streets in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
718/384.1441
about $96 for two people, without drinks, with tip
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No paying customer should have to wait an hour and a half to be seated at any restaurant. No one deserves to wait an extra forty-five minutes to eat after that. Alas, we suffered both while sitting on a sliver of wood under some canned goods on a shelf. Twice someone had to excuse herself to reach for a few items while we ate. But at least there weren’t five of us squeezed in the corner of a shared table by the door like those next to us–they looked more uncomfortable on their small Goldilocks chairs than we were on our bench. Welcome to much-hyped Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
When our oysters came, the waiter couldn’t tell us which ones were briny. We had to share our beer and onion soup using one spoon because he never returned with our request for another. I had to get up and get our own forks and knives from the counter when he abruptly put down our plate of brick chicken on our table without a pause. It took another twenty minutes to get our tab; we could have probably just skipped and no one would have noticed our absence.
I liked the dimly-lit and wooden look of Marlow & Sons because I’ve always liked the idea of eating in a market setting, but the staff struggle during the week and can barely eke it out for weekend service. Luckily for them, a lot of New Yorkers will carry the burden of waiting for seats and food just to be surrounded by what’s new and hip.
Related post/s:
Market Table’s lamb chops are superb and you can make a reservation so you don’t have to wait
19 Kenmare Street off Bowery
212/966.1810
about $85 for two, with two glasses of wine, without tip
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Is it always like this? I had to ask the restaurant manager. He gave me a smirk; he knew exactly what I meant. No, this is the weekend. It’s usually more quiet on a weeknight. I was glad to hear that because I really liked the food at Travertine but I don’t need to eat next to guys with perfectly sculpted five o’clock shadows while a DJ spins Michael Jackson mixes on the side. When I eat, especially if I’m sitting at the bar, I would like to be able to talk to the bartender without screaming and without getting shoved to the side by drunk ladies who take photos of themselves for their Facebook pages.
The beef carpaccio was delicious. The meat was beautifully cut with marbling that formed like snowflakes under a microscope. Beets and micro-greens were sparsely distributed to complement the crumbles of Stilton. The bone marrow aioli brought the two dishes together. The duck breast was very well-seasoned and perfectly cooked. The roasted plums had a hint of lavender that penetrated the thick red wine drizzled all over it. I asked the bartender for the menu again because I couldn’t figure out where that different taste to the plums was coming from.
At Travertine, desserts were not afterthoughts. The basil gelato was to die for, served with a dark chocolate topped with crushed hazelnuts and cocoa nibs. If I had more room, the panna cotta with figs would have been the next candidate.
I’ll heed the manager’s advice next time and visit on a weeknight. I hope the food would be of the same caliber when there is no hoopla.
Related post/s:
A more casual meal awaits at Cafe El Portal
More pretty people at Cafe Select
250 West 41st Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues
212/764.7663
if we paid, about $125 for two, with two glasses of wine, without tip
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I was invited by Montenapo to a tasting last week. I jumped at the chance because I think the restaurant scene in the midtown west area could use some help. Wait, what restaurant scene?
With Montenapo and Inakaya, both located in the New York Times building, no one has to subject themselves to the Times Square franchises anymore, nor do they have to eat mediocre food on Eighth Avenue before heading out to the theater. Unlike most of the city’s restaurants, you can enjoy your meal in a spacious atrium surrounded by glass windows. Ask to be seated next to the Renzo Piano-designed birch tree indoor garden for a view far away from outside traffic. Visit after 9pm and you can have a more intimate dinner without the suits.
We started with the buffalo strip loin carpaccio served with black peppercorn and Parmesan cheese. The celery sauce and mustard on the side helped cut the rawness of the meat. To sample their pasta selection, we opted for the tris and tried the pappardelle with lamb ragout, the ravioli with beef cheeks and the fettuccine with shiitake and oyster mushrooms plus some very fragrant morels. Unfortunately, the entire table must order the tris so we had more pasta than we could handle. We didn’t have enough room for the ossobuco served atop a saffron risotto, but it did serve well as leftover lunch the next day.
But of course, we managed to squeeze in desserts with our coffee and Mighty Leaf tea: tiramisu with a sliver of gold flake, blueberry cheesecake, mousse and strawberries served with a brush of chocolate sauce. At Montenapo, managing partner Jozef Juck and his staff were very generous and attentive. Throughout our time there, we felt like we were indulging ourselves in another city far away from home in the best sense possible.
Related post/s:
Inakaya is in the same building
