New York Restaurant Reviews – Page 17 – Writing With My Mouth Full

Boqueria SoHo

171 Spring Street between West Broadway and Thompson
212/343.4255
$70 for three, with drinks, without tip
♥ ♥

I felt like I got the gist of Boqueria SoHo after I stopped by for “dessert” with my brother and sister-in-law during its second weekend. We walked in around 5:45pm to eat an early dinner but were turned away because the bar was full. The maitre d’ refused to seat us fifteen minutes before the official start of dinner service. It seemed like a ridiculous rule only a person with a clipboard would impose, so we went to Snack around the corner instead for a better dinner.

My companions really wanted to taste some Spanish wines, so we returned after dinner to try and score seats at one of the long tables in the middle of the restaurant. We were seated immediately by the beautiful pata negro and a few spots away from a swollen-looking Bobby Flay.

We started with beers on tap before we moved on to the full-bodied red wines. Because we were only there to pick and taste, we shared the Garrotxa goat cheese, the Valdeon blue and the Idiazabal, a smoked sheep’s milk cheese. A smattering of salchichon was thrown in the mix for a few extra dollars. The Brussels sprouts with sausage was a favorite, as well as the roasted green peppers I learned to love while I was in Barcelona.

Two years ago, I said the food at the first Boqueria needed to be more inspired. It’s more refined here in SoHo, but the attitude need not match the neighborhood.

Peter Luger

178 Broadway, right under the Williamsburg Bridge in Brooklyn
718/387-7400
about $350 for five, with a bottle of wine, with tip, cash only
♥ ♥

Our waiter spilled porterhouse juice all over my sister-in-law’s hat. She wasn’t wearing it at the time, but it still sucked when she realized it outside. It was windy and 30 degrees.

I’ve been to Peter Luger several times and like most New Yorkers, I go for the porterhouse and not for the service. Being old school is one thing but the restaurant staff can really use some manners. Our waiter was brash: he grunted and interrupted whenever we had a question and he splashed sauce and fat on our table whenever he served. The attitude could be part of the draw that makes Peter Luger “authentic”, but after paying over a thousand dollars the last six years, you’d think it would at least buy politeness.

The food also hasn’t changed. It’s still the best place to get porterhouse in New York City even though they push every customer to get more than they can eat. (We watch a group of four novices at the next table fall for their bit and order three steaks for two. Their bill was already guaranteed to be $240 before ordering any side dishes or wine.) The bacon is still to die for and the creamed spinach still a good match to a perfectly-cooked piece of meat.

Maybe when I return two years from now, I can finally tune the staff’s attitude out and just eat my steak in peace. For now though, one less heart from the last review.

Cafe Select

212 Lafayette Street off Kenmare
212/925.9322
$40 for two, with 2 drinks, without tip
♥ ♥

Everything Serge Becker touches turns into the next place-to-be. (You’ve seen La Esquina and The Box in the news, right?) A 1pm lunch date with my friend at the bar started gloomy: we were meeting to drown our sorrows about the grim economy and the prospect of losing our jobs. But by the time I was halfway through my Swiss Lagrein wine and he was done with his Stella beer, we were celebrating the fact that it’s still an incredible city to live in. People around us were drinking bottles and eating as if they have all the time in the world even though the giant Rolex clock above us ticked. (Hey, maybe they’ve lost their jobs already!) Sharply-dressed men waited for their equally beautiful partners to show up. We heard French and some other indistinguishable language behind us; ah, must be Euros taking a break from shopping.

I opted for the comforting elbow pasta with ground beef in brown sauce and it came with applesauce on the side. It was weird, but if the Swiss say they go together, I believe them. It was an unusual combination I couldn’t stop eating. The bratwurst was smooth and the rösti, or Swiss potato pancake, added good texture.

I couldn’t help but love the red and white check table napkins. It’s only one of the details that make the place whole. A diner-style bar displays the ready-to-eat breakfast items like yogurt and muesli. The small room in the back seemed like the perfect place to rendezvous with someone while the chef’s table in the kitchen would be a good place to get some friends together. The dungeon-like storage room behind the kitchen includes a mezzanine you can rent for a private party–what New Yorker doesn’t like access to “secret” places?

Almond Restaurant

12 East 22nd Street
212/228.7557
$90 for two, with 2 glasses of wine, with tip
♥ ♥ ♥

We’ve driven by Almoncello on Montauk Highway only to stop at Townline BBQ for lunch instead. This summer I told myself, okay, I’ll definitely eat there next year. But now that their Manhattan branch has opened, I don’t have to keep empty promises anymore. Closer to me is homey French bistro food good enough for a no-hassle night out with friends.

After a stiff and stress-relieving dirty martini at the bar, my friend and I sat down and ravaged the appetizers list. We couldn’t get enough of the fruits de mer with curried mussels, octopus and a delicious scallop and fennel ceviche. For $15 it was a steal, though I would gladly give the rest up for more of the ceviche.

Almond excels at the duck confit. It was my favorite dish among the few that we ordered. The polenta ravioli and the mac and cheese were too rich for my taste, but that was probably because I was already at my limit after the frogs’ legs with the puff pastry. My friend, whom I convinced to eat frogs’ legs for the first time, loved them and went on raving about them to her husband when she got home.

For a last-minute decision to eat out in the Murray Hill area, I think Almond is an economical and good choice. I doubt that it will be as empty in the weeks to come.

Post to be updated as soon as my friend sends me the photos.

Talay Restaurant

701 West 135th Street and Twelfth Avenue
212/491.8303
$104 for two, with 3 drinks, without tip
♥ ♥

If anyone in the restaurant industry deserves a break, it’s King Phojanakong, owner and chef of Kuma Inn in the lower east side. I don’t know if it’s the Filipino-Thai upbringing that keeps him humble but I’m sure he’s worked hard enough to keep Kuma Inn as unpretentious as possible. I believe that it’s his time to shine with Talay, his new Asian-Latin restaurant in West Harlem with co-chef Phet Schwader.

They couldn’t have picked a better neighborhood, too. Harlem is going through some major changes and Talay joins the new Body Club next door and old favorites Dinosaur Bar-B-Que and Fairway Supermarket. Ignore the irritating name the real estate agents are trying to christen the area–ViVa for Viaduct Valley–and check out this micro-neighborhood as it transforms warehouses to nightclubs.

We visited during a more sane Sunday night and sat at the bar in front of the kitchen to watch all the action. The green papaya beef salad was delicious and only made me salivate for more food. We loved the pork sausage spring rolls as well. We also ordered the octopus salad, a dish that I think caters to the few uptowners who want to be more adventurous. Talay does it pretty well. The summer roll had more vermicelli noodles than vegetables, but they cleansed the palate just in time for our blackened ahi tuna dish. With all the flavorful tastes in our mouths, the ahi tuna came out bland in comparison–we should have skipped it or at least ordered it first. There are some Latin-influenced dishes so as not to alienate the targeted crowd–arroz Valencia, ropa vieja, bistek churrasco–but the Asian dishes stick out and are among the tastiest.

After dinner, I asked the maitre ‘d to walk me upstairs to check out the party space. Talay is making up for what Kuma Inn lacked in space. There is bottle service and curtains can be drawn to keep a room more private–just the way the uptown and New Jersey crowd coming from across the bridge like it. While I don’t think the downtown crowd will make the trek past 42nd Street, Talay is a good reason for the uptown crowd to stay uptown.