Vesta

Vesta is a corner trattoria/wine bar in the far reaches of Astoria and it is worth the trek from the 30th Street N train station. Our Queens group arrived at 6:15 on Sunday when it was empty and quiet and by the time we left at 8:30 it was packed. The friendly waiters brought over nice bread and olive oil to start. What sets Vesta apart is the interesting menu. Lots of interesting pasta dishes and the Sunday special of three meat lasagna(veal, pork & beef) for $15 was the big draw for me. Two of us ordered the meatball appetizer(pictured above) which was two tasty meatballs in a intense/red/winey saurce. For the main, I ordered the Sunday special lasagna served up in a ceramic baking dish(very rustic). Absolutely rich, meaty, cheasy and delish.
The side of garlicky Russian kale with smashed cannelini beans was the perfect compliment. Their internet touted Baby Jesus cake which is simply a date cake surrounded by toffee and homemade whipped cream was a happy ending to a perfectly lovely meal. Wines were quite good according to the group.
GO!

DBGB

Uber cool and hip industrial spot on the burgeoning Bowery. My second visit proved dissapointing foodwise. Though the bread and salted butter are what you expect from a high end restaurant other features are uneven. There are the sausages made on premises which are hit or miss. My viennoise with emmanthaler cheese(pictured) and served with housemade sauerkraut was a tad bland though sauerkraut was good. At $14 though it is pricey. A side of spaetzle for $6 was also underseasoned. The superstar dessert of rhubarb tart with meringue and ice-cream was a winner at $9. Unprofessional service for a spot of this caliber.
Slowgo!

Pain d' Avignon

Oh the bread.........Pain d' Avignon formerly sold to the trade from their bread ovens in Long Island City. Now in a tiny kiosk in Essex Street Market, one can enjoy the gorgeous breads and rolls at reasonable prices for artisan goods. Baguettes, pecan, cranberry, onion rolls are some of the offerings. These breads have depth, flavor and are perfect! If you are a bread lover.......you......
Must Go!

Hecho en Dumbo

Soaring, industrial space on the now trendy Bowery, Hecho soars with upmarket Mexico City style offerings. There is exposed brick on both sides of the long room and kitchen seating for those who like to watch their food being made. Water is brought over in a Patroon style bottle and they were nice enough to ask if I wanted ice in my water. This is not your chips and salsa style Mexican and you only get their housemade tortilla chips with an order of guacamole($7). The salsa shown above come gratis and include pico de gallo, a red and a green. The crema de elote soup of zucchini and corn with spring onion succotash was a perfect blend of flavors for $7.
The three sopes which you can mix and match- I had the chicken in a chile sauce plus two sopes de nopales(cactus) which included a spread of black bean puree on the tortilla(tasty) for $8. Enjoyed the hip, fab space and not too pricey food.
GO!