West Village

Swine – Home to the Foie Gras and Jam-Wich

April 25, 2013 By fritosfg Leave a Comment

One of my girlfriends recently went to a restaurant that she said reminded her so much of me that I had to eat there, and fast.

That’s why it’s important to have good friends who really know you.

Swine is a west village restaurant specializing in all things barnyard. Yes, there is lots of pork, but also expect chicken, duck, beef, and anything else that flies, runs, or swims.

There are a few veggies on the menu too, but (luckily) most of them are drizzled in pork fat.

The restaurant is small ad dark, with a pinball machine at the entrance and a long bar. The vibe is great for a few drinks or for an intimate dinner with friends.

Duck fat cashews

Dining alone, I would never have ordered these, because I find cashews overly fatty and a little unctuous for my tastes. However, these totally changed my perception of cashews. Served warm and heavy dusted in a spice mixture, they are zesty, smoky, and redolent with Asian style spices. The duck fat gives the nuts a meat, grounded taste that somehow takes away their inherent greasiness.

Fat combating fat…it’s the way of the future, friends.

FG and J sandwich

Foie gras and strawberry balsamic jelly. If there is a more perfect sandwich in the world, I certainly haven’t found it. The first bite is a little sweet, but as you keep eating, the foie asserts itself. It is creamy and room temperature, melting in between the charred toasts. The jam is sweet enough to stand up to the wonderfully rich foie. This sandwich had us all licking our meaty, jammy fingers. This was a standout of the meal and in the neighborhood. It’s absolutely exemplary and at $18 a splurge, but a worthwhile one.

Bone marrow and brisket burger with potato wedges

A first rate ”cheffy” burger. Moist and thick, loosely packed and loaded with earthy, beefy flavor. The bun is substantial enough to stand up to its juices and the onions are sweet and soft. The potato wedges are also excellent – well seasoned and crisp on the outside while very fluffy within.

All that said…this burger is pricey for what it is. It’s high quality and well portioned, but just a wee bit overpriced, considering that it’s merely tasty and not totally craveworthy.

Braised chicken with garlic, peas, bacon, and mashed potaotes

Just like you wish your mama made. Dark meat chicken braised until it is totally tender but not at all mushy or stringy. The potatoes are smooth and buttery with a savory, bacon dotted gravy floating atop. The lardons are crunchy and salty and the peas and a welcome burst of sweetness. This bowl is elevated baby food, and I mean that as a compliment – the flavors are simple, direct, and focus on the ingredients. No fancy, high end products necessary. Just wonderful chicken, creamy potatoes, and the warmth of roasted garlic. This is something I can’t wait to reproduce at home, albeit with a tad less salt.

Swine is a very tasty restaurant. The food is a bit salty and the prices are a bit high, but the wine and cocktail list is wonderful and fairly priced. It’s better for a drink and a few bites than a full meal, but the FG and J sandwich is worth the trip alone.

People always talk about how important it is to have friends when you are going through hard times. But sometimes it’s just as important to have friends when you are hungry for dinner. They should know just where to send you!

Filed Under: review, West Village Tagged With: American

Aria Raises the (Wine) Bar

March 1, 2013 By fritosfg Leave a Comment

Wine bars are plentiful in NYC, but great wine bars are hard to find. So often, there is a large selection of wine, but it is exorbitantly priced or only the usual suspects. Perhaps the atmosphere is lovely but the service is snooty or the food is subpar. Worst of all, sometimes everything is great but there is just no place to sit.
Aria avoids all of these pitfalls and goes above and beyond in every respect. As a bullet point list:

- The atmosphere is ethereal and dreamy, but not too cutesy. A long farmhouse table in the center of the restaurant hosts many diners and the bar seats patrons on both sides, doubling the number of people who can sit. If you arrive with only half of your party, you will be promptly seated and offered drink service, and–as a major plus—this place takes reservations. The few cozy tables to the sides are ideal for a first date.

-The wine list is varied, well priced, and focused, but not solely, on Italian varietals. There is often an herbal, light albarino from Spain that won’t break the bank, and the house prosecco is sweet and bubbly, an ideal aperitif. Though the wine is served in tumblers, the effect is charming, not lazy.
-The food, an area where so many wine bars fail, is where Aria excels.

The bread that comes to the table is crusty and charred, with a tangy interior.

The pappardelle with veal Bolognese is toothsome and hearty, with a mild veal ragu that is lush and fragrant.

The mussels are sweet and tender, served in a garlicky white wine broth.

This wine bar goes above and beyond the call of duty – it is a wine bar, a full bar, a restaurant, and an ideal meeting place. The price is right, the service is attentive but not pushy, and the atmosphere is elegant without being uptight. It really raises the (wine) bar in NYC.

Filed Under: review, West Village Tagged With: bar, Italian

Bites and Sips Around the City

January 9, 2013 By fritosfg 1 Comment

There is just one burning question every New Yorker needs to know (now that we know that Dan was Gossip Girl):

What are the tastiest snacks, bites, and drinks around town, and where can you get them?

Read on, hungry city dweller:

Hummus Plate at Le Pain Quotidien

Ah yes, this upscale coffee shop/bakery does more than just great breakfasts. Order the hummus plate and you will be surprised at how tasty it is. The hummus is thick and lemony, slick with fruity olive oil. The kalamata olives atop are juicy and soft, the perfect salty counterpart to the hummus.Also on the plate is garlicky, almost velvety babaganoush and quinoa tabouleh that is earthy, herby, and chock full of juicy tomatoes and diced onions. The sour wheat, crusty white, and sweet raisin breads served alongside complete the dish. This is enough for a very satisfying lunch or a shared snack plate among 3 friends. It’s amazing how well this Belgian place does a middle eastern plate.

Foccacia de Recco at Rosemary’s

This locavore west village restaurant is a little too pricey for what you get, but there is one thing worth trying here. The foccacia filled with milky, creamy stracchino cheese is among the best breads in the city. Your order arrives piping hot, slick with slightly spicy olive oil and topped with grains of coarse sea salt. When you tear a chunk off the bread, the first scent that hits you is the rosemary, deep and woodsy. Then, the tantalizing smells of yeast and spicy olive oil hits your nostrils. The taste is as good as the aroma. The bread is pliant and soft, with a thin crust, punctuated by sharp rosemary needles. The inside is filled with that mild, creamy cheese, so soft that it makes mozzarella look hard and pungent. This is like grilled cheese on steroids, and it’s worth a visit to the restaurant to try this.

Any cocktail at The Dutch

I have been here several times, and each time have ordered a different cocktail. Every single one has been exemplary – well balanced, interesting but but not different just to be weird, nuanced and also pronounced in all the right places. The bartenders are knowledgeable but not snobby, and have no problem recommending something that you will like. The bar is small but comfortable and the vibe is extremely laid back. Of course, also order something to eat, but this is a great place to get a little tipsy before dinner.

Beef Carpaccio with Truffle Oil at Slightly Oliver

I know I have talked about this place before, but it deserves more mention because I just love it. The cocktails, the faux-British vibe, and the tasty small plates make this a real gem on the Upper West Side. This carpaccio, made with tender slices of beef and dressed with a peppery arugula salad with a tiny fried quail egg and toast, is a perfect appetizer or even light meal. The addition of truffle oil just elevates it. Mushrooms and beef are always a win, especially when the beef is filet mignon and the mushrooms are truffles.

#winning

Filed Under: SoHo, Upper West Side, West Village Tagged With: bar, British, Italian, middle eastern

Taim – How Have I Not Tried This Amazing Falafel Before Now!?

January 8, 2013 By fritosfg 1 Comment

Ugh…this is just like that humiliating Shake Shack experience. Why did it take me so long to get to Taim?! I love falafel. I love casual places. I love to eat…why didn’t I go here sooner?!

Just like when I realized what I had been missing with Shake Shack …the embarrassment may never leave me.

Taim is a tiny storefront in the West Village. Really small…only a few seats at the window, and even those are cramped and tiny. It’s best to get takeout or, on a nice day, eat outside. It is possible to sit comfortably if

But however tiny and cash only this place may be, it’s worth it.

The falafel is outstanding.

Falafel Sampler

An uber popular choice that lets you try the three flavors of falafel offered here. Be sure to dip the balls in the creamy tahini, a middle eastern sesame paste that is somewhere between peanut sauce, tzatziki, and heaven.

Green: with parsley, cilantro, and mint. This traditional falafel is special mostly because of its texture – dense and moist, with a very thick, crackly crust. The taste is classic middle eastern, fragrant with the parsley and mint. The hit of cilantro adds a welcome, sharp flavor.

Harissa: mixed with Tunisian spices. This is my favorite flavor. It has the same marvelous texture as the green but with the added slight heat of harissa, one of my all time favorite hot condiments. The paste is fiery but earthy at the same time, akin to a less smoky chipotle. The harissa falafel elevates the chickpeas, adding fire and salt. It isn’t super hot, just a bit spicy for those of us who like to mix it up.

Red: mixed with roasted red peppers. This tasted a lot like the original green falafel, but with less of that fresh taste of cilantro. the red peppers were not noticeable in the taste of the falafel and this was probably my least favorite. That said, it is still heads and tails above most other falafels in town.

Falafel Platter

The way to go if you eat in – if you are going to walk as you eat, go for the more user friendly sandwich. This comes with a selection of those wonderful falafel balls, fresh Israeli salad, a wonderfully lemony tabbouleh, and a few pieces of the most tender, fluffy za’atar dusted pita bread on the planet. No exaggeration, it is the best pita bread I have had in ages…it’s enough to make me realize why Israel is called the holy land.

Be sure to help yourself to some of the sauces served alongside, including the oily, garlic laden s’rug (like chimichurri) and the addictive spicy-sweet mango sauce called amba.

Fried Eggplant

It’s oily. It’s messy. It’s soft and slick and might be too much for some people.

Some people who have no tastebuds.

This overload of creamy, fatty, eggplanty-goodness put the meal over the top. Be sure to get an order.

The food here is incredibly cheap, especially for the quality. Everything is made fresh to order, the staff is courteous and extremely adept, and the food is really, really good. They have a food truck. They have a restaurant. They even have another sit down restaurant that has now made it to the top of my list. There is no reason that you can’t go get some of that falafel this week, right?

Take it from me…to wait one more day before you try Taim is one day too long.

Filed Under: West Village Tagged With: inexpensive, middle eastern

Kingswood – Not Living up to its Potential

November 27, 2012 By fritosfg 1 Comment

There are a ton of small plates restaurants in NYC. It’s a market that is heavily saturated, and in order to stand out from the crowd or even last, you had better be pretty damn great at what you do. At the very least, the food should be delicious, the service should be efficient, and the prices should be commensurate with the experience.

Let’s see how Kingswood measures up, shall we?

This west village restaurant is dark and eccentric, sort of a Narnia-meets-Anthropologie feel. Think long wooden tables, a happening bar scene, and a cozy, but not cramped, feel. Perfect for a double date, dinner with a friend, or a quick drink at the bar.

Roasted Quail over fregola sarde with spinach

An auspicious start the meal. The quail is roasted until it has some lightly charred spots on the skin but the meat is still very juicy and woodsy, slightly pink in the center. Quail, like duck, can and should be eaten cooked medium at most. This quail, a cross between duck and pork to my tastes, is earthy, pleasantly musky, and very rich. The bones crunch pleasantly beneath the teeth, and some can even be eaten along with the supple meat. The fregola sarde, toasty and plump, are filled with the garlicky, meaty juices from the quail meat, interspersed with ribbons of fresh spinach. A wholly satisfying dish.

Smoked Trout Dip with Treviso and Baguette

Another great appetizer. The dip is smoky and mild, with no fishiness. It really tastes more meaty than fishy, with just the slightest salinity that lifts the dish from being too creamy and smoky. The treviso, dressed lightly so it is crisp and vinegary, cuts through the somewhat heavy dip. Served with tiny crostini, this is a knockout appetizer, though perhaps a bit expensive for the portion size.

Pork fritter with fried egg over frisee

Another tasty, though somewhat misguided dish. The fritter, crisp without and tender within, is a hearty porcine treat that desperately needed something other than a rich, gooey egg yolk to temper it. The yolk added some moisture, but also dulled down the already subtle taste of the pork. Some sort of vinegary, chile-tinged sauce would have really catapulted this dish from good to great. The portion size was also quite meager.

Steak Tartare

The biggest miss of the night. The meat is sloppily cut and a bit mushy. The feel of it is very wet, exacerbated by the quivering raw quail egg yolk on top – usually inviting and here way over the top. The seasonings are obscured and so is the taste of the meat. This is very disappointing, and too small to boot.

Kingswood…I wanted to love you. Most of your food was quite good. But it was also served in very small portions, especially given the price point – I actually had a post meal slice of pizza to quell my hunger. The service was also totally bizarre. The food was paced oddly – sometimes there were piles of empty dishes on the table, sometimes we were waiting for what seemed like years on end for our next dishes, and more than once, a wrong dish was delivered to our table. The staff was quite nice but totally haphazard and it created a rather disjointed dining experience, rather than a relaxing, smooth one. I can’t fully recommend this place – even though the quail was downright wonderful. However, with some work on the service and a readjustment of either the prices or the portions, I would be happy to give this place another shot. I definitely think that it has potential.

Filed Under: West Village Tagged With: American

Barraca – Barockin Tapas in the West Village

November 14, 2012 By fritosfg Leave a Comment

Let’s get down to brass tacks – if you like tapas, sangria, and feeling like you are part of the cool crowd, get yourself to Barraca.

Barraca is a new West Village tapas restaurant by chef Jesus Nunez. The night that we were there, the NYC chef was actually walking around the restaurant between cooking in the back, which is sadly the exception and not the rule in NYC. Don’t even think of coming to this small, bustling restaurant unless you have a reservation. This is the crowd at 8 pm on a Saturday night:

And when you do have a reservation that will be honored promptly you feel unspeakably cool walking past all of the attractive people huddling in front of the hostess booth, begging for a seat.

What, like I’m the only one with that kind of schadenfreude?

Albondigas

These little meatballs are more flavorful than their names would have you believe. The beef is soft and spiced with garlic, onions, and oregano. They are moist, laying in a broth of roasted carrots, turnips, and other root vegetables, making a sweet and savory bed for these heavenly meatballs. They are almost like a slightly spicier version of tsimmis.

Ensalada de Foie

That’s right. I can have my salad and eat my foie, too. Tender baby greens with a tart raspberry vinaigrette, crunchy candied hazelnuts, and fresh, firm berries. Alone, this would be a well balanced, refreshing salad, but adding the tender lobes of foie bring it to w wholly new level. Though the foie lacked a charred, crispy sear, it was cooked to the proper temperature, still slightly pink and meltingly tender. This is not a perfect salad, but such a good one that I would absolutely order it again.

Patatas Bravioli with ali-oli and brava sauce

Brava sauce indeed, because BRAVA to whomever invented this dish. Crisply fried hunks of potatoes, crispy outside and unbelievably fluffy within, they are layered with fragrant saffron and pepper heavy brava sauce and garlicky, creamy ali-oli. It is french fries gone Spanish, and it is absolutely fantastic. As a bonus, they are great for soaking up the booze in the deceptively easy to drink pitchers of sangria.

Jaretta de tenerra

The veal shank of my dreams. Sweet and savory, mingled with softly caramelized onions, the deep tannins of wine, and the slightly salty taste of Cabreles cheese. It has an almost jamlike consistency, spreadable and pleasantly fatty on the pliant charred bread served alongside. For all the world, this is the Spanish version of pulled pork and Texas toast – indulgent, meaty, and totally satisfying.

Lechuga a la Brasa

We ordered this braised lettuce mostly as a lark. After all, who the heck eats braised LETTUCE? At a restaurant offering pork and foie gras nonetheless? Well, the joke was on my carnivorous friend ans myself. This is marvelous! Tender in some parts, crispy and charred at others, served with a sauce so garlicky that it would kill Dracula on the very spot. It is warm, slightly bitter, and surprisingly meaty almost like bok choy, but with a decidedly Spanish kick. This is an absolute sleeper hit, and must be eaten to be understood.

Barraca isn’t cheap, but it isn’t priced out of its neighborhood or quality either. It is an upscale night out, great for a group of friends or a double date. It is delicious, the service is fantastic, and they actually managed to make me eat grilled lettuce.

Will wonders never cease?

Filed Under: West Village Tagged With: Spanish

A Salt and Battery – NYC’s Own Fish and Chips

November 8, 2012 By fritosfg Leave a Comment

If you have ever been to England, you have undoubtedly looked the wrong way when you crossed the street, marveled at how the entire country closes early on Sundays, and eaten fish and chips.

I don’t mean fried fish and french fries. I mean fish and chips. Fresh British fish, served under puffy golden batter alongside fat, pale yellow chips, doused with sour malt vinegar.Preferably eaten standing up. Preferably eaten slightly drunk.

There is, thankfully, a place to pretty much recreate that experience on this side of the Atlantic.

A Salt and Battery has been in Greenwich Village for a several years – it has beaten Bobby Flay in a Throwdown, been touted as the finest fried fish by The Village Voice, and has been the late night haunt for many NYU students.

The tiny shop, in a row of 2 other same-owned shops offering British candy and tea service, has only a few stools and a counter. Read the menu on the wall and order fast – if you are lucky enough to snag a seat, do it now. And do it with someone you know well – the food here isn’t right for a first date.

Fried Haddock and Chips

The real deal. Thick, flaky haddock is mild and clean tasting under a puffy, perfectly crispy sheath of golden batter. It is moist within its greaseless cage. It sits atop beautifully fried potatoes, thick and creamy within, crunchy without – just like in London. Doused with vinegar and salt until my mouth puckered, this was the best fried fish I have had in this country, without a doubt. The tartar sauce was also good, though a bit less tart than I like.

Mushy Peas

The perfect food for those of you who love squash puree and carrots cooked to oblivion. These are verdant and fresh without being overly grassy. They are served piping hot and need only a touch of salt to make them the perfect accompaniment to the main event.

Coleslaw

Incredibly crunchy though being very thickly sauced with a heavy, creamy dressing. Traditional without being overtly seasoned, it provides a cooling and crispy component to the meal, juxtaposing those gloriously mushy peas.Don’t miss it if you love coleslaw – it’s a solid rendition.

Deep Fried Mars Bar

What, you though that state fairs invented these?

Imagine the world’s gooeist brownie with a molten, creamy nougat center, enclosed in doughnut batter. Yeah. Share one…don’t try to eat one on your own.

Your heart will actually beat slower from all of the fat.

The food is great, the service is charming, and the price can’t be beat. Don’t expect fast food – this stuff is made efficiently, but it’s made to order. And it’s worth it. Grab a Boddignton ale, a jar of malt vinegar, and sit down to wait for one of life’s great pleasures.

And, be warned, A Salt And Battery…next time, I’m coming for the eating challenge. And I’m not going home until I win.

Filed Under: West Village Tagged With: British, review, seafood

Murray’s Cheese Bar – Small in Size, Big in Flavor

October 22, 2012 By fritosfg 2 Comments

It’s not that a world without cheese would cease to exist for me. Rather, it’s that I simply wouldn’t believe in it. It would be the boogey-man, or some other scary figment of a child’s imagination.

I believe in cheese the way that some people believe in showering every day.

Murray’s Cheese Bar must feel the same way as I do. Run by the cheese-niuses (def: a cheese genius) this new restaurant right down the street from the Bleecker Street location of the shop had high acclaim from one of my favorite lactose loving gals. Of course, I promised to check it out ASAP.

The restaurant is very narrow and cozy. It manages to feel spacious thanks to a long, wide bar at which you can sit comfortably and order cheese and wine, though there are also a few tables. Come here with a close friend or 2 but not more than that you really want to be able to chat while you chow.

Ellsworth Creamery Buffalo Cheese Curds with celery and blue cheese dip

Squeaky, bouncy cheese curds, fried so that they are warm on the inside and crispy on the outside. Doused in a garlicky, spicy buffalo sauce, this is at least as good as my favorite wings- maybe even better, considering the high-end blue cheese dressing that accompanies it. Creamy and peppery with huge hunks of soft, assertive blue cheese. This is one of the best renditions of buffalo anything in the city.

Trio of dips with crackers:

Pimento Cheese, A Taste Of The South prairie breeze cheddar, pimento, paprika. Creamy, with hunks of medium sharp cheddar. A bit too mild for my taste, sweet with the pimentos and lacking any bite from cayenne or freshness from scallions. My least favorite of the dips.
Obatdza, A Taste Of Bavaria romadur, vermont butter and cheese creamery butter, horseradish, caraway. Easily the most unusual dish of the night. Romadur makes blue cheese look like low fat american cheese - subtly put, this stuff is stanky. Bottom of the sock drawer, wake up with your eyes tearing, stanky. I LOVED it. The soft dip had notes of wood, grass, and ocean air- it was really that unique, all thanks to the fabulous ramudur cheese. The caraway brought out the woodsy notes, but butter helped tone down the strong flavors, and the horseradish cut right through the stank. If you love kimchi, steak tartare, or other strong foods…this may be for you!
Kopanisti, A Taste Of Greece feta, pepperoncini, dill – standard but tasty. Good, creamy Greek feta, none too bitter, mixed with tangy pepperoncini and grassy dill. Fresh, flavorful, and a crowd pleaser.

Haloumi with mint, lemon, and olive oil

Simple? Sure, but so well executed. The halloumi is crispy and salty, splitting to reveal melty insides, stretching like the your favorite grilled cheese sandwich. The lemon caramelizes, turning sweet and deep in the oven, tempering the bright mint. A finish of sweet, rich olive oil brings the dish together in a way that proves that Murray’s really knows what it is doing.

Look, the food and atmosphere here makes it a destination eatery. In fact, throw away the menu and just have the cheese-passionate staff choose your meal for you! If you like cheese, fair prices, and great service, you really must come here.

And if you don’t like any of these things, go find a technology blog, cause this one really isn’t with you.

Filed Under: West Village Tagged With: bar, review

Buon Italia, Txikito, and Hakata Tonton

October 18, 2012 By fritosfg 1 Comment

I go out to eat a lot – at restaurants, at food trucks, and at street fairs. Though most of the food I eat is pretty tasty, some of it is really exceptional, and that’s the food we are talking about today – 3 recent bites that are so phenomenal that they deserve a post all their own!

Buon Italia Bruschetta Caprese

I have long loved this Chelsea Market store for its wonderful Italian imports. If it’s Italian, you can find it here. From truffled cheeses to Nutella the size of an Olsen twin, to homemade porchetta, everything Italian is either imported or house made here. I have come here many times for artisanal pasta, rich cream, and imported olives, but I have rarely stopped at the small counter just outside the store, selling prepared food. A recent lunchtime visit proved that I have been a moron, yet again. This is the best bruschetta I have had since I was a child in California. One bite of this brought me back to the first time I ever tasted the Italian delicacy. The bread is toasted but not thick crusted, so it can be easily bitten and its surface is saturated with sweet tomato juices. Overtly garlicky, strewn with floral basil and very light, clean olive oil. Salted enough to bring out the tomatoes’ juices, then finished with three slices of mozzarella so creamy that they could practically be burrata. This isn’t a particularly big or inexpensive bite, but it is so perfect that it is worth every calorie and every cent.

Albondigas at Txikito

This tiny Basque-style tapas (which are called pinxtos) restaurant is hardly a sleeper hit, but it has taken me way too long to get here. Along with the cinnamon and apple tinged sangria, the don’t miss dish here is the albondigas. These little lamb meatballs are juicy and soft. They are crisp and caramelized on the outside and robustly lamb-y on the inside. Served in a broth made with white wine, garlic, and chiffonades of sharp mint, the dish is at once bright and deep. I could easily make a meal of this alone, with a side of bread. That is the only issue I have with this dish – stop being stingy with the bread, folks! Give a gal a piece!

Hakata Tonton Pork Belly

When I ran headfirst into a ramen festival on the Upper West Side, I was reminded again how much I love this city. Where else can you head out for pancakes and eggs and find yourself walking amidst ramen, gyoza, obanyaki, and other Japanese delicacies?! Even at 10:30 AM, I knew what my first bite would be. Hakata Tonton is famous for making all things pork – ear, belly, shanks…if it comes from the pig, it’s at Hakata Tonton, and it is delicious. These freshly grilled pork skewers proved that the restaurant deserves its excellent reputation.

The smoky and crisp meat is tender, contrasting with bouncy ribbons of pure, opalescent fat. If you don’t like the texture of fat, this isn’t for you, but I love it. Slathered with a tangy-sweet Japanese BBQ sauce and a smattering of sesame seeds, I could have eaten this entire skewer then had another.

But, as you see, there are just so many delicious bites in NYC – I always like to save some room for the next serendipitous dish.

Filed Under: Chelsea, review, West Village

Betel – Fantastic Happy Hour in the West Village

October 10, 2012 By fritosfg Leave a Comment

If you find yourself out of work early (say, by 5:30) and anywhere near the West Village, you have to head to this spot. It is one of the best places in the city to grab some really flavorful food and inventive drinks for great happy hour prices. Though it gets crowded later on, early for happy hour is pretty mellow,so you can get the bartenders’ full attention (and the gentleman who served me was very cute and Australian ladies…or maybe he was just Australian and the accent made him cute…who knows, right?)

via

Betel is a year old Asian restaurant, focused on the flavors of Thailand and Malaysia. It is dark, small, and oozes “hip.” You know the type: long communal tables, exposed brick, and sexy music. This is a fantastic first date place – hey, if your date doesn’t like these libations and foods, you don’t want to stick with him/her for long.

via

Lychee margarita with lime juice, silver tequila, lychee puree, and raw sugar rim

This is for those of you who like a drink to taste like there islittle alcohol in your juice, but act like there is a little juice in with your alcohol. The tequila is smooth and citrusy, with a little bit of bite that works well with the sweet, aromatic lychee puree and the fresh lime juice. This is more like a sweet and sour juice with just the barest kick of tequila, but after 2 just try to stand up without swaying. It’s in there…

Smoked Duck Sausage with chiles and ginger (right)

Soft duck sausage, smoky and gamey, served on a betel leaf that is slightly waxy but without much flavor. The sausage is intensely meaty, tempered by the sharp pickled ginger and a chile so spicy that you really have to eat it at your own risk. It is positively fiery, picking up the deep woodsy notes of the duck. it adds a high, bright note to a very musky bite, but – once again – with the ginger, this is a lot of heat and not much relief. Consider yourself warned.

Chicken Betel Leaf with roasted shallot and eggplant relish, lemongrass and mint (left)
Now, here is something that everyone can get into. Diced chicken laced with tangy shallot and eggplant relish, pickled and salty enough to counteract the herbal lemongrass and zip of mint. The chicken is moist and juicy, full of sour and salty flavors. that is toned down by the cool lettuce cup. These small bites are so addictive you might need 2 orders.

Sweet and sour pork ribs

Absolutely the belle of the ball. Saucy, juicy, and satisfying on every carnivorous level. Tender bbq pork, charred at the edges, crunchy and smoky. Underneath the thick lacquer of sweet and tangy sauce, the meat is tender and juicy, striking the perfect balance between melting in the mouth too quickly and having too much chew. Sharp scallions atop the deep, hearty ribs, are the final touch.

The food here is delicious any time of night, but when you get it for almost half off, there is no excuse to miss it. The bartenders are really great – my glass of water is always full, they are never pushy with the drinks, and food comes out fast and hot. Now that you know about Betel, the only thing keeping you from checking out happy hour is work.

That stuff always gets in the way.

Filed Under: West Village Tagged With: Asian, bar, Thai