Downtown bakery Mexican food

This little spot churns out homestyle Mexican food and a few baked goods and has occupied the same spot at 69 1st. Ave. and 4th. Street since 1989. The owner graduated from elementary school across the street and has planted himself in the neighborhood ever since. There are three sticky tables and a counter with 4 barstools in which to eat. Pictures of Mayan goods and Mexican figures provide the only decoration here, and this spot makes no pretense about anything other than the food which is freshly made to order, cheap and good. There is an extensive menu including many breakfast burritos, tacos and platters and I already plan a breakfast excursion shortly. There are a few specials per day and mine was chicken chipotle which is pictured for $8. A large burrito arrived slathered with homemade guacamole and crema(Mexican sour cream). Spicy chipotle chicken, and black beans in a fresh flour tortilla. Que rico!
Go!

Griff's Gelati

On my never-ending quest for homemade ice-cream a new spot opens around the corner from the great ice-cream at the Odeon cart. Do I dare risk that the newcomer could be better? Well since at noon on Saturday, the Odeon cart had no ice-cream ready, the choice was clear. Griff's was also still setting up and the ice-cream was a tad soft. The ice-cream is sold out of a little closet on Duane Street and made by the Duane Park Restaurant daily. I tried the smores and bourbon pecan flavors. The bourbon pecan was quite tasty with a definite bourbon taste. Smores are a combo of chocolate and marshmallows, this ice-cream combo lacked flavor. I finally settled on grape ape which was grapey and good. Ice-cream here is $3 for one flavor and $5 for two with no homemade cones. No special toppings as mentioned in the Timeout NY blurb were anywhere in sight.
Go!

Scarpetta's

Located in the Gin House space on West 14th. Street, a diamond in the meatpacking district has emerged. Scarpetta's is a an upscale Italian with super service and delicious food that is on the pricey side. The space has been transformed into a brown, beige and black ultra modern room with brown banguettes and cool open skylights. There are mirrors on the walls with beige belt like pieces hung vertically in a strange design decision. There is a large wine room in the rear of the restaurant and an extensive selection. The bread arrives with four different kinds of house made breads including a lovely focaccia, pancetta bread, baguette and a roll. To enjoy with the bread are eggplant caponata, marscapone butter and citrus infused olive oil- all delish. To start we shared a scallop carpacio which was citrusy and light. Also to start was a mozzarella in carozza. The carozza was prepared in a Japanese panko which was good, though there was a tad too much oregano in the accompanying red sauce for my taste. The main courses were a raviolini with squash blossoms and a calamerata pasta with mixed seafood. The raviolini had pieces of baby zucchini as well as the squash blossoms and was flawless. The calamerata has a seafoody taste and was very interesting to taste. There was also an order of frito misto with fried seafood with lemon, again perfect. This is a place for a special dinner with exceptional service and a pricetag to match.
Must Go!

Resto

Resto the Belgian spot on East 29th. Street has been opened for months and recently also open for lunch. I had high hopes for Resto as I love Belgian food, having traveled to Belgium and enjoyed local spots under the last Belgian wave in NYC about 7 years ago. The restaurant looks like it was created with a Belgian farmhouse style in mind with white stucco walls, a natural wood waincotting and new tin ceilings. A modern bar with metal stools and bar hooks on the bar are there when you need them. Lot's of Belgian brews on tap available from the land of great beer. Being in the mood for a really good burger for lunch, I thought I would eat well here. The burger/fried egg optional is a small cylinder on a plain bun with gruyere red onion, pickle, fries and a side salad for $15. I was dissapointed to find the bun on the burger was not fresh so I put it aside. The burger was charred well beyond the medium requested, and the frites tasted reheated instead of freshly fried. My friend ordered the fish and chips for $20 which contained only a few small pieces of cod and frites with tarter sauce. She appeared moderately happy with hers. My biggest joy of this lunchtime meal was seeing the charming bathroom with moulin rouge style wallpaper of ladies gams and lingere as well as piped in music with a lovely country sink and beautiful wood sliding door.
Slow Go!

New Blog Rating System

Dear people about town,

Upon reflection and recommendation, I am instituting a new rating system for spots reviewed in the blog.

Must Go! Absolutely no question about it. Tops in it's class. Worth the trip from any borough or burb.

Go! This is a good spot. Try it!

Slow Go! Think it over.

No Go! Enough said.

Any thoughts or feedback is greatly appreciated.

Franny

The New French

I was wondering about the New French, mainly it's name intrigued me. An article in the Voice stated the restaurant was not French, but named after a place with the same name in Minneapolis. The chef was also explaining this to a table of family and friends on Saturday at the spot around the corner from the West 10th. Street Housing Works. It is a small thoughtful, ultramodern space with two sides of black slab banquettes and alot of tables in a small space. An open kitchen is towards the rear and the specials are written on a chalk board. I ate two dishes one was the New French salad which was chock full of many ingredients including romaine, red, yellow beets, green beans, gruyere and radish in a very light dressing for $12. The quality of this salad reminded me of salads I have eaten in Europe which generally and I mean generally taste more interesting than many eaten in NYC. Continuing on with the meal, was one of the specials pizza bianca for $8. This was a pizza on focaccia with grilled onion, goat cheese, gruyere and roasted peppers which again had many good flavors going on. The dinner special for $25 was a striped bass with bacon, french beans and cherry tomatoes. The bathroom which looked like it was preexisting and had grey tiled walls and a black and white tiled floor and two candles burning and was very clean. Should you go? Go!

The Odeon Ice Cream Cart

Still on the hunt for killer homemade ice-cream, I heard about the famous Odeon Restaurant sporting a cart in front. The Odeon in Tribeca is a classic N.Y. restaurant, around since it's heydays in the 80's famous for late-nite celeb and model bites. The little cart serves up ice-cream and homemade waffle cones all made from organic ingredients. For $4 you can get one or two scoops. On Saturday when I was there the flavors were chocolate, dulce de leche and cookies and cream. I ordered the dulce de leche and chocolate. I will say that I was impressed. Again made in smaller batches than some of the other homemade giants the ice-cream tasted super fresh and the chocolate was rich, not too dense and had great chocolate flavor. The dulce de leche had a faint caramel taste and both went well together as well as with the homemade waffle cone which was very light and absolutely perfect. Should you go? Must go!

Cabrito's

Cabrito's at 50 Carmine is a new Mexican joint with an super specialty bar menu and some killer Mexican grub. The space is big and rectangular with tables very close together. The yellow wooden bar has painted flowers and hooks for bags and jackets(this hook thing must be a new trend). There is a reggae soundtrack going adding to the chill vibe in the restaurant. Most of the dishes here are a la carte. Salsa is ordered with three kinds available- a salsa verde, salsa roja and pico de gallo. The salsas arrive with housmade chips- que bueno and are simply bright and all top notch. I order a cerviche with avocado to start for $11. The cerviche is small for the price, but the flavor is quite big and tangy with a tamarind undercurrent. My main is enchiladas con queso with a salsa roja. The tortilla is housemade and arrives again without any sides as the $14 main is served a la carte. Again the flavor is big and bold and tasty. The bathroom here is one of the cutest around with rose painted walls with stenciled flowers and a green pearlized toilet seat with gold flower stencils. Should you go? Go!

Madeline Mae

Located at 461 Columbus and 82nd. Street, I liked Madeline Mae's from the moment I walked in the door. Immediately, I was seated a nice seat in the center of the restaurant. Country style wooden tables are well laid out for a spacious experience. Corn bread and short bread were brought over on a curved wooden cutting board. The corn bread was especially moist and went well with the food. I started with a chilled cucumber soup and this was thicker style soup with pieces of cucumber with a spicy kick. Homemade lemonade was refreshing. Next, was the mac and cheese which like Wildwood Barbecue was a crustless top sporting a breadcrumb style top instead. I was offered dessert because of a faux pas with my fried chicken. Again the staff here could not be more accomodating, the butterscotch pudding was topped with carmelized bananas- hmmmmmmmmm! Bathroom was spiffy and clean.

Lookout Hill

Lookout Hill opened in Park Slope at the corner of President Street where Biscuit BBQ never really succeeded. The space has been transformed into an unltramodern metal bar and softly colored room with a mirrored backsplash and front and back banquettes as well as an alfresco terrace. There are lots of hooks to hang jackets and bags at which is a thoughtful part of the design. Walking through the door you immediately smell a nice smokey smell and think it is an omen of good eats to come. There is a John Deer basket of sauces and condiments and the homemade sauces are quite good. I ordered the pulled pork sandwich which comes with slaw for $9. The pork was thick cut and slathered in sweet sauce and place on a toasted onion roll. The slaw was unseasoned and did not have any visible veggies like carrots, celery or onion. For my taste, the cue was too thickly cut and too slathered in sauce as well as having too crunchy a bun to hit the mark. The small side of corn pudding for $4. was really corn bread with a couple of pieces of corn. I thought of the killer corn pudding at Hill Country on 26th Street which is mainly all corn and so well seasoned. Now I do not like to be highly critical in my blogging, but the food never quite hit the mark. Additionally, I ate there for Sunday brunch and the floor was clearly unswept under my table and the lovely slate sink in the bathroom was sopping wet at 1:30 in the afternoon.

Grotto Restaurant

Located down metal stairs near the Grand Street hub, at 100 Forsyth Street, Grotto has been attracting the hip LES set to it's lovely subterranean hideaway restaurant and bar. I have eaten there several times in the last few months and last night it was warm enough to eat in their backyard patio which is lined with wooden benches and green and white striped cushions and pillows continuing the nautical theme from inside. We were early and the staff was barely ready though being the lone diners has it's quiet advantage. Three kinds of bread including a fluffy focaccia, a nice bagette, and a sesame seeded bread arrive with a ramaden of good Italian extra virgin and salt. Next our salad of arugula, imported parmigiano, roasted artichokes and a Meyer lemon dressing arrived and was looked lovely and tasted tart, refreshing and very flavorful. The artichokes could have been warmed slightly as they were cold. My dish of spaghetti carbonara was good with pancetta pieces on top of a creamy carbonara. My friend's clams vongole pasta dish looked very prettily presented and she claimed it to be one of the best ever as she ate it with vigor. There are also secondi meat dishes here which sound quite good. The prices here are generally reasonable with pastas under $20 and using lot's of good imported ingredients. The space inside with it's dark wood walls , ship like windows and narrow bar with a giant vase of beautiful flowers and exposed brick walls make for a romantic dating or drinking option. The bathroom is lined in grey slate marble and smells good with a burning candle and flowers it is one of the prettiest and cleanest I have seen in weeks.

Japanese Midtown Lunch Cart

Near "The Rock" there are many quality lunch carts like Daisy Mae's Barbeque etc. to feed the office surge at noon. On 50th. Street there are two Japanese guys with makeshift home storage units packed with fresh food to go. These guys come from restaurants nearby hoping to syphon off some of the surge. I tried the first guy on 50th. Street going from 6th. - 7th. Ave who sells a chicken or fish meal for $6., rice extra. There was a choice of broiled mackeral, soy bean paste with veggies and a spring roll with sweet red, yellow and green peppers. The other dish was skinless chicken pieces with a mystery sauce, the soy bean paste, and two shumai. I opted for the fish which came with chopsticks, no napkins and was in a plastic dish with partitions. The food was good- freshly made, the fish was a tad fishy, though went well with it's accompanying dishes. The soybean paste and spring roll were both very tasty and for $6, it can't be beat. A small salad with dressing is an extra buck.