The Redhead

The Redhead is a much blogged about Southern restaurant/bar in on 13th. Street between 1st. and 2nd. Avenue. Finally ate there the other night with two girlfriends. The spot was full for a Thursday in the midst of a recession. It is a dark, moody room with velvet banguettes surrounding the perimeter. We each ordered an appetizer and mine was the sunchoke and sweet potato salad with hazelnut, pear, aged goat cheese and spicy watercress for $9 bangers. This is definitely a case of a dish sounding better than the execution. The sunchokes should have been warmed slightly otherwise it was a reasonably good balance of flavors. Next time it would be the bacon peanut brittle(because every thing is better with bacon) for $5. The best app. of the group was the braised red-wine short ribs for $11, with potato pierogi and carmelized onions, yum. The winner of the main course and much renowned online was my buttermilk fried chicken with baby spinach, apples, candied walnuts and an add-on of a biscuit for $16. Salty, crunch, juicy perfect fried chicken with the savory/sweet accompaniment. The biscuit was delish with honey butter. The accomodating waiter also gave us three wrapped up chocolate chip/oatmeal cookies to take with us.
GO!

Thai Basil

I ascended to Massaman heaven during my lunch meal yesterday at Thai Basil on 9th. Avenue. The place has been renovated with white plastic wainscotting and high backed white plastic chairs and some Thai wall decorations. They did forget to redo the toilet which has the same green tiles and stinky smell of years ago. Though who cares about the toilet for this level of true yum yum food. A lunch special of $6.95 which the price has also thankfully not changed from years ago includes a nice salad with mesculun, tiny tomatoes, cucumber and carrots as well as a fresh spring roll. I ordered pork massaman which is served in a rich brew with coconut and hot pepper flecks with smashed skin on red potatoes and cashews. Delish. Lot's options with chicken or beef for that bangin' deal and of course you have the choice to eat at a dozen other Thai joints on 9th., but for this price and great grub is there really a choice.
MUST GO!

Windsor Wines

Windsor wines opened it's new location under somewhat a veil of secrecy in the charming Windsor Terrace neighborhood. Signs saying ice-cream parlor were visible during construction of the former pet store leading many to hope for a sweeet shop or cute old fashioned diner. Now it is all clear, a big, well stocked, friendly wine store opened. Wine tastings are held every Thursday and Saturday. The big surprise here is the lovely stained glass in front reminicent of a long gone ice-cream parlor.
GO!

Christine Valmy

My facial was $33.50 for a weekday service with extractions.. Did I mention that there was a class going on right next to me and a few bumps into my horizontal self during the nearly 2 hour service. High quality products and a classic European facial left my skin silky soft afterwards. No frills though for a lengthy Euro treatment with lots of bang for the buck, Christine Valmy rocks.
Must Go!

Cafe Petisco

I hauled myself down to the corner of East Broadway early Sunday morning to meet a friend at this new cute corner spot. Cafe Petisco could not be a more pleasant place to brunch. A light and bright corner, with an uber friendly staff, good music and not too crowded. The waiter was accomodating and concocted a dark hot chocolate with bittersweet stuff as I requested a rich brew. We both ordered the egg burritos for $9 bangers and they were large and served with a side salad and sliced fresh avocado. Very tasty. Other brunch options include a steak benedict, french toast, and Petisco's eggs which include scrambled eggs,asparagus, hearts of palm and melted mozzarella with a baby arugula salad for $11 bangers.
GO!

Jimmy's

If you could call a restaurant a dive this would be one. No frills, low budget and pretty tasty grub is served here. Four dishes over rice, chow fun, or low mein cost $5.75. Some of the dishes include mini spare ribs(yum), broccoli with chicken, fried chicken, small pieces of asparagus in sauce, beef stew with carrots and potatoes(good), funky whole fish, string beans in sauce, bok choy or baby bok choy(yum). This spot is frequented by Baruch students as it is up the street from te college and Postal workers for some reason as Jimmy's is cheap, fast and good.
GO!

Aspen Social Club

Breaky and lunch are now available at the Midtown outpost connected to the Stray Hotel. The decor is sexy, upscale, log cabin like and boasts a white antler chandelier in the center of the ceiling, and faux rawhide banguettes around the oddly shaped dining room. It would be fun to stop in at night as the food is more of an after thought and may be enhanced after a few libations. There are fun dishes like bison sliders with smoked cheese for $7 and fries with chipotle ketchup for $6 bangers. I ordered three dishes, some biscuits with butter for $7, a beet and feta tart with hazelnuts for $6 and chicken quesadillas with guacamole for $8. The biscuits while probably baked in house were not particulary buttery or warm or flavorful. The beet tart while beautiful lacked flavor and the feta tasted like blue cheese. The chicken in the chicken quesadilla was also lacking in seasoning though the guacamole tasted super fresh and flavorful. The menu lists housemade ice-cream for dessert which is a personal fave, though the savory portion was quite enough.
SLOW GO!

De Mole

I would move to Sunnyside for this level of good and cheap food. A cute corner location and a nice crowd at lunch welcomed me to this much blogged about spot. The menu has many desirable options including some not often seen like grilled pork chops with rice and beans for $8.75. My only dissapointment was that their much heralded salsa was not ready at the time of my meal. The chips here are good though not housemade, but every thing else shined. I ordered the pollo with mole poblano with rice, beans and corn tortillas for $9 bangers. The slow cooked chicken leg was smothered in a rich, complex and chocolately mole. Rice and black beans completed the dish which was deliciouso. Fresh squeezed to order juices are $2.50. My orange juice was super good and a large size for the price. After lunch or dinner head over to Skillman Street for the cute vintage store Stray and other cute cafes and foodstuff stores.
GO!

Bon Appetit Supper Club

Open only once a year and featuring famous chef offerings, food freebies plus other goodies. The spot on 57th street featured different chefs daily and I was there twice for the food and fun. A chef demo one day and a how-to use a coffee press the next were the featured demos on the day I was there. The food was divided into sandwiches and salads as well as hot food for the day. Almost all were under $10 bangers. The dish on the right was Ben Ford's Atlantic salmon with artichoke and potatoes with a fennel dressing for $9 and was absolutely delicious. The desserts were pretty fab and I had the strawberry, rhubarb, coconut cupcake for a desert which was super tasty. There was a chocolate chip brownie I had twice and was tdf. The second day there were foods featured by Batali and Tyler Florence and I had the clam chowder with leek cream for $6.50 which was richly yum. Free wine and free makeovers with Maybelline as well as a complimentary lipgloss made me wish this pop-up spot stayed a little longer.

L&B Pizzeria & Spumoni Gardens

This iconic institution has been family owned and operated for over 40 years. Sitting at the crossroads of Sicilian Ave. U. and across the street from Marlboro projects, L&B is still as popular as ever. There has always been something special about a warm day eating a slice of pizza outside on the benches and then a homemade Italian ice or Spumoni at Spumoni Gardens as we call it. Firstly, pizza wise skip the round slice here as it is all about the square. The Sicilian is what they are famous for and I have been eating as long as I can remember having grown up in the nabe. The square is $2.25 which is a bargain for the quality of the slice. What distinguishes this pizza is the dough, kinda sweet and fresh with very little char. The sauce is sweet and piled over the cheese instead of vice versa. Is the pizza as good as Artichoke Basil's complex square, absolutely not. Will people ever stop coming to L&B, probably not as it is quality and nostalgia all in one bite.
GO!

Char no. 4

Char no. 4 mambo no. 5. This stylish bourbon, scotch bar and accompanying back restaurant is one of the most original spots I encountered in awhile. Located on Smith Street in the midst of many good restaurants, Char no. 4 distinguishes itself with amazingly good grub. We started with the Clam Chowder to die for. Velvety chowder with super flavor finished with chopped chives and the chowder rounds floating on top. We also shared a house cured bacon with black-eyed peas cooked with a tomato coulis. This was pure pork heaven. Amazing! For the main, we both ordered the seared scallops over a mashed pumpkin for $20. Also, lots of flavor. Dessert was a homemade butter pecan ice-cream finished with bourbon. Super duper! The restaurant is decorated in beige and brown with lots of brown booths for comfort.
This place is not served with a bargain twist, but is definitely an original.
MUST GO!

AQ Kafe

Can anyone say Swedish soul food? This newly opened bakery and restaurant sits directly oposite the Time Warner Center on Broadway and 58th. Gorgeous darkly baked loaves and a yummy pretzel welcome you in. The adjacent restaurant has common and private table seating and is set up like a Scandanavian Pain de Quotioden(sic). I ordered the smogasbord plate for $12.95 and though lots of little bites all were delish. Different smoked herrings, a Swedish meatball, shrimp salad, a boiled potato and ligonberries made for an interesting taste sensation. The lovely breads were the perfect accompaniment. A weak hot chocolate sweetened the savory. Lots of sandwich options under $10 including a meatball with potato salad on potato bread or a roast chicken with potato salad sound like pleasant lunch options. The place is also open early for breakfast and judging by the look of the coffee and the yumminess of the bread it sounds like a good wake-up option to me.
GO!