 With Ma Peche, David Chang’s NYC-dominating Momofuku empire—so far ensconced in the East Village—stretches to midtown, specifically to a subterranean space in the Chambers hotel with an X-shaped communal table, a slightly disjointed suits-meet-hipsters crowd, and a menu that is unmistakably Changian. [...]  Very rarely does a restaurant start hitting on all cylinders from the moment it opens. But to paraphrase that old ad: With a chef like Andrew Carmellini, it’s got to be good. Alas, this place is hardly flying under the radar; it’s become dicey to get a table anywhere near prime time, but hang in and it’ll be worth the effort. At Locanda Verde, Carmellini offers a genius lineup of pastas [...]  Ever since he turned up in NYC, first at the long-defunct Atlas on Central Park South, UK-born chef Paul Liebrandt has been sprouting all kinds of nut-job ideas—and bless him for that. Say what you will about molecular gastronomy and its equally overwrought brethren; it’s healthy to have a cheerfully bonkers streak running through a few of the city’s restaurants. Chicago embraced this long before NYC did. At Corton, Liebrandt may [...]  Nothing about “vegetarian souvlaki” sounds appealing—unless you’ve tried the sandwich at Snack, Soho’s microscopic Greek restaurant and takeout joint. Big fat Greek butter-beans are doused in rivers of [...]  Café Gitane sums up what’s enchanting about Nolita—and what’s so damned annoying about it. A little café on a side street with deliciously potent coffee; a laid-back, vaguely French-Moroccan [...]  The name doesn’t lie: You will find meatballs at the Meatball Shop—loads of them. Beef, spicy pork, chicken, and even a vegetable version. You pick a meatball, you pick a sauce (tomato, or a creamy Parmesan, or spicy beef, or mushroom gravy), and provolone or mozzarella, and it’s all piled onto a white or wheat hero. You can also go with a meatball-slider version, or a heftier “Meatball Smash” sandwich on a brioche bun. [...]  Kuma Inn somehow avoids the rampant douchebaggery (sorry, overused word but most appropriate here) of the surrounding restaurants and bars on Ludlow, Orchard, Stanton, and Rivington. Must have something to do with its almost-invisible perch one level up from the street. Walk up a narrow stairway to the second floor and you’ll find a buzzing room—and, alas, a wait on weekends. Filipino-American chef and owner King Phojanakong’s menu has an appealing mix of spicy-meaty Asian-inspired dishes (like sauteed Chinese sausage with [...]  The neon-lit Chinese spot Grand Sichuan, along the chaotic Bowery-Canal nexus, is not a first-date spot by any stretch—unless you want to prove your cheapness, or, well, your impeccable taste in Sichuan. Also, [...]  One of the best things about Gramercy’s small Spanish restaurant Casa Mono is that if you’re stuck waiting for your table, you can hit the tapas joint Bar Jamon around the corner for a pre-dinner Iberico ham gorge. And if you [...]  Impossible to be Lebanese and not have cripplingly high expectations of Lebanese restaurants in NYC—partly because there are barely any to speak of. Yours truly, of Beirut extraction, wasn’t too blown away by Ilili when it first opened (the menu seemed a bit too fusion-y), but now chef Philippe Massoud is doing spectacularly authentic, [...] |
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