Deborah: A (for brunch)

I've been having a love affair with Deborah's brunch ever since I passed it on the way to another restaurant and decided to be spontaneous and give it a try. I am so glad that I did; there must have been something in the air that lead me to Deborah that morning. Because there are so many quaint restaurants on beautiful tree-lined streets in the West Village, I never would have tried Deborah out on appearances alone. It's located on Carmine street, one of the more busy/less cutesy streets of the village, down the street from Grey Dog's coffee. It's absolutely nothing special from the outside and someone with refined taste might even find the location and appearance a bit tacky. And that's fine with me - I've never once waited for a table during prime Sunday brunch hour and I can attest to the fact that Deborah's brunch merits an hour wait easily. My point is, I don't know exactly what drew me to Deborah that morning long ago but my standards for brunch are forever changed because of it.

I've enjoyed brunch at Deborah's a handful of times but only snapped up a couple of pictures the last time I brunched there. On this particular morning, my table ordered the Challah French toast with carmalized bananas (and no I did not order this as anyone who knows me well knows that I don't eat fruit) and the Shirred Eggs. Although I didn't enjoy the complete Challah french toast experience, since I could not partake in the carmalized bananas, what I did taste of the french toast itself was excellent: sweet, rich, dense, just enough fluff and just enough sogginess to make a divine bite. And Justin, who devoured the entire plate, can attest that if you like bananas, the caramalized bananas add a heavenly touch.



I've had the Shirred Eggs multiple times, not because the rest of the menu isn't fabulous, but because the Shirred Eggs are so good that it becomes difficult to order anything else once you've tasted this dish (although I could say the same thing about the Ranchero Eggs as well, but that will have to be another post..): " roasted potatoes, cheddar cheese, bacon, scallion, topped with eggs, married in the oven." The flavors truly burst, making this dish feel almost too complex, too flavorful, to be just...eggs. But obviously this is so much more than eggs and each ingredient compliments the ingredient next to it so that I literally had to take a figurative step back after every bite, just to enjoy the medley of flavors in my mouth.



If I haven't convinced you to try Deborah's at this point, then perhaps I should add that the waitstaff is the nicest, most cheerful bunch I ever seen in all of nyc. I'm so glad it's Friday - I'll see you at Deborah's this weekend!!

Pasta X 2

In the past week I've made pasta for dinner twice which is rare for me - even though I'm not a believer in Atkins I think the whole "carbs are the devil" seeped into my brain because I usually eat something pastay/bready for lunch and not so much for dinner. So why did I make pasta twice for dinner you say? Well, the reasons not that exciting. I've been so busy with frank the tank and can't really leave my apartment to go grocery shopping unless someone is watching him like a hawk, so when I had to cook for two separate occasions (for different friends on different nights). I looked in my fridge and voila! Two meals came to life before my eyes. All you really need is some pasta, garlic, spinach, onions, olive oil, and some sauce, all ingredients that you'll likely have in your fridge already, and you can really throw together a delicious meal. Oh did I mention cheese? Yes, that was an extremely important element of both of my pasta dishes. I used fresh mozzarella, mmm.

The first pasta I made for my friend Rachel who I've been friends with since Middle School. We both live in NYC now but rarely get together because...well we really have no good reason but I've found that a lot of people have the same trouble with getting together with friends in NYC...for me it's basically an issue of laziness and having a cozy apartment makes it even harder to get off my butt and socialize. Anyway, I made rigatoni with spinach, garlic, olive oil and mozarella cheese. And it was tastyyyy.



The second pasta meal I made with my friend Sara. Another friend since long ago - she's appeared in this blog before (see Leela Lounge). And by "with my friend Sara" I mean she asked me if she could help and I responded "Sure, cut the garlic" to which she responded "What??? How do I do that??? No, seriously, I don't know. How??" so we settled on a comprimise and she ended up cutting the bread into little segments. Go Sara!! Thanks for the help! Although she did come with me grocery shopping beforehand to Gourmet Garage so really it was a team effort. We decided on homemade goat cheese ravoli and picked up some wine on the way home. We sauteed some garlic and spinach (I'm a big fan of this combo clearly), mixed in the vodka sauce and poured the whole thing on top of the steaming goatcheese ravoli. We barely got this picture taken before we ravenously dug in.



And guess what?? I'm not any fatter than I used to be!! Take that Atkins diet, carbs rule!!

The Spotted Pig: A-

The Spotted Pig

I decided I wanted to try The Spotted Pig a long time ago but never seemed to get around to it. It wasn't the distance that kept me away (it's a mere 5 minute walk...as is everything in the west village), but the mixed reviews of the restaurant. It seemed that depending on the pull of the moon, you could either have a phenomenal, cozy meal or average food with a side of unpleasantness and over-crowding.

The Spotted Pig is a West Village landmark, I'm not really sure why, but it just is. Apparently it's even somewhat of a celebrity hotspot which has always confused me considering it's outter appearance. I wouldn't use the words shabby or dingy by any means but other than the cute spotted pig painting hanging from the side of the building, it's just a plain looking square box from the outside. Appearances can be deceiving though....

Once inside, I realized that the seemingly small building actually gives way to multiple rooms and floors inside. We were quickly led upstairs to a small, warmly lit room shared only by an odd pair of men eating together - I say "odd" because one was completely blinged out in rapper gear and was glued to his cell phone until he abruptly got up from the table never to return, and the other man never spoke a word and then left when his credit card was denied (I'm pretty sure he went to an ATM and came back to pay but i decided to tune out at that point). In any case, we were off to a good, if not interesting, start. The waitor (an ironically nerdy looking fellow who closely resembled Napoleon Dynamite's brother) started us off with a glass of wine (for me) and a beer (for Justin). I believe The Spotted Pig is known for having a nice selection of beer but because I hate beer I can't really speak to that...maybe Justin can update this entry with his perspective later. We wanted to take our time and have a liesurely meal so even though I had already mapped out exactly what we were getting (choosing the two best sounding dishes from all the reviews I came across), we listened to the specials and told the waitor we needed a few minutes to decide. In this time, I ventured to find the bathroom and took in the upstairs scene of the restaurant. I was starting to understand the mixed reviews and unique appeal of this restaurant. There is a certain je ne sais quoi about the restaurant itself and its patrons...sorry that's not very descriptive but go to The Spotted Pig and you'll see how difficult it is to put your finger on the pulse of the restaurant. The crowd was fashionable and many seemed to be distant ancestors of the modern day hipster. These people seemed to be...dare i say...real hipsters, and that in itself made them not hipsters. I felt as if I were actually in the midst of a genuine artist colony, something I thought only existed in "old new york," rather than the paper mache version found in williamsburg.

We finally decided it was time to order - due to our not-so-ravenous appetites and the not-so-wallet-friendly prices, we spit two items: The Pumpkin Salad and the Sheep's Ricotta Gnudi. They arrived at the same time and we dug in. The Pumpkin Salad combined chunks of warm pumpkin pieces, argula, pecorino and a contrasting pucker-your-lips tangy dressing. The dressing was a bit too tart for me, but I had to appreciate the lovely arrangment, fresh pumpkin and creativity of the salad.



The Ricotta Gnudi on the other hand was pitch perfect. I'd never tasted Gnudi before but had always wanted to and this was a very nice first gnudi experience - I just realized it sounds like I'm talking about adult films...well I'm not, I'm talking about the deliciousness that were these little dumplings filled with ricotta cheese. Gnudi is much lighter than Gnocchi due to the fact that it is filled with ricotta and not made with potato. It was like eating a delicious edible pillow filled with ricotta cheese.



Unfortunately, we did not get dessert here because I was hell-bent on trying Rocco's - A pastry shop famous for their canolis that I walk by almost everyday but for some reason, a reason that goes against my personal love for all things chocolately and sweet, had not yet ventured into. I was bound to change this....tonight!! Stayed tuned for my full-blown Rocco's dessert experience.....

Frank!!

This post has nothing to do with food but I want to introduce the newest addition to the Waite family!! Meet Frank, a pug-puggle, meaning his father is a full pug and his mom is a puggle (pug and beagle mix).





He's so ugly he's cute! So far he's been an amazing little puppy, he's slept through two nights without much crying and loves to play and snuggle.

Chicken Quesadilla - A -

These chicken quesadillas kind of came together in a haphazard way, as most of my dinner recipes do actually. Justin was already simmering some black beans and rice but he was planning to add gross looking pre-packaged chicken strips that he had bought especially for this occassion. The whole thing was very sad. So I leaped off the couch and out the door to the meat market right down the street (I've been living next to one of the best meat markets in the city for almost a year now and only a few weeks did I actually venture inside and buy some meat). I bought two huge, fresh chicken breasts which were de-boned and skinned right in front of me, yum. I ran home, sliced up the chicken, drenched the bits with flour and threw them on a skillet with some olive oil. We then put everything together and magically realized we had made quesadillas! Sometimes the randomly put together meals turn out to be the tastiest and this was definitely a case in point!

Semi-homemade goatcheese and vegetable Pizza - A

Last night Sara came over for a magical dinner surprise prepared by moi. I enticed her over with the promise of a delicious homecooked meal. Then I realized that I had only a couple of usable things in my kitchen: garlic, olive oil and a portabello mushroom and I scurried to find a recipe that could emcompass these ingredients in a clever and tasty way. Tada! I found a goatcheese and vegetable pizza recipe. "Perfect for a vegetarian" I thought and I might actually enjoy it as well. You could pretty much give me goatcheese on a stick and I'd be happy. So I set off to Gourmet Garage and snapped up some veggies, like roasted red peppers, another mushroom, a red onion, and goatcheese and two ready to go boboli mini crusts (because that's all they had - I love (read: HATE) grocery shopping in new york!

I popped my creation in the oven and 18 minutes later...look!! Isn't it glorious?? It tasted glorious too!!

French Onion Soup - A-

Another Nigel recipe the other night - "French Onion Soup without the Tears". The "without the tears" part is what really initially drew me to this recipe and the lovely smokey flavor of the soup has kept me coming back for more. Instead of slicing up three of four onions, this recipe has you cut a few onions in half and leave to roast until golden brown and soft, hence the "without the tears" part. I start to tear up when someone else is chopping onions..and I'm two rooms away, so while I love french onion soup, the prospect of chopping up onion after onion was about as inviting as a Parisian waitor. This recipe is also extremely easy and consists of only a few ingredients...isn't it nice eating a meal that isn't made from things starting with aspartaaslkfj or phenaphoasfklj or partially hydrogeanslkfjlas. Here it is, my french onion soup masterpiece!

Disney Marathon/Vacation (more pics to come)

I know this blog is supposed to be entirely dedicated to West Village restaurants but I just returned from running the Disney marathon in Orlando and I wanted to share some of my pleasureful meal experiences. Now let me just preface this by saying (sidenote: I never knew that I used the expression "let me just preface" but this blog has made me realize that I not only use it, I use it at a frightening frequency) I was never one for Disney World. I'd been once before when I was 8 years old on a family vacation, and, while I have one of the most awesome families to ever exist, I really don't remember having fun on this particular vacation. In fact, if I could post some photos from this dismal period you would see clearly the pain and despair on our faces as we, native mainers, not at all used to 100 degree heat, trudge aimlessly through throngs of people and the occassional disney character with a sad, sticky, melting ice cream cone in hand. That is all I remember from this vacation. Well, can you guess what I'm about to proclaim now?! I LOVE Disney World!! I am obsessed. I am already planning my next vacation with various people. It was potentially the most magical weekend of my life (don't tell this to my parents who have shelled out a pretty penny on much more sophisicated and cultural vacations to date). I am so very glad that I have seen the light and can now count myself among the Disney lovers of the world. OK I'm done with my rant...WAIT one more thing, I love the World Showcase LOVE IT. Done. And Space Mountain!! Oh and the Animal Kingdom and the Monorail...AND and and. OK really I'm done. But don't think I couldn't go on...because I COULD.

In this spirit of magical Disney creatures and child-like wonder and innocence, I'm going to "share" my gastronomic experiences with you all through pictures but I'm not going to offer a full critque because this blog is really primarily dedicated to critiquing restaurants in the West Village, not restaurants in Orlando. That being said, I did partake in some very fine dining and was surprised to find what I would consider top nyc restaurant quality food at a couple Disney Resort restaurants.

Blue Zoo at the Dolphin

Blue Zoo is located in Disney's Dolphin Resort, one half of Disney's Swan and Dolphin Resort. The Swan and Dolphin hotel emits granduer and cheesey oppulence from the gigantic swan and dolphin statues sitting atop the hotels to the amazingly ornate lobbies and interiors. If this resort was located anywhere else in the world, the word "gaudy" might come to mind, but being in Disney, gaudiness somehow becomes a cherished art form, and I giddily embraced everything about the Swan and Dolphin, right down to the seemingly out of place 50's diner serving hot fudge sundaes located directly across from the high-brow Blue Zoo restaurant. Take a look at our entrees and dessert!

Entrees: Lobster Fidelini and Chilean Sea Bass



Dessert: Chocolate Tort with Peanut Butter Ice Cream



Jica at the Animal Kingdom Lodge

Jica is located in Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge. While we missed out on actually touring Animal Kingdom itself (we didn't realize this park in particular closes at 5pm and arrived promptly at 5:30pm, patting ourselves on the back for tearing ourselves away from Tomorrow Land at the Magic Kingdom), we did get to experience the Animal Kingdom Lodge Resort set smack in the middle of the park. Disney's speciality seems to be either creating whimsical and/or thrilling fantasy worlds out of glimpses of dreams and imagination or extracting, and exagerating, only the best, magical parts of something based in reality (whether it be a french boulangerie or the wild west). The AKL encompases all of the excitment and exoticsm of being in the middle of an African safari, while staying at a safe and luxurious resort, complete with a gigantic swimming pool and giraffes lounging in an enclosed area about 50 feet away. Not a bad sight to wake up to.

Jica is one of the restaurants in the AKL and undoubtedly the nicest of the bunch.

Appetizer: Olive flatbread




Entrees: Slow-cooked lamb and Pork chops






The Grand Floridian Cafe

The Victorian themed Grand Floridian boasts a view of Cinderella's Castle and quick access to the Magic Kingdom via monorail that travels right through the resort - it is also known to be the most beautiful and most expensive Disney resort, with prices sometimes climbing into the 400's/night for a standard room during low season. Rather than break our wallets by staying at the Grand Floridian, we decided to visit one afternoon for lunch and soak in, temporarily, the beauty and luxury the Grand Floridian has to offer. I wasn't dissapointed - it is a gorgeous resort with sprawling grounds, a beach and even an idillyc wedding chapel, however for the price I could not justify actually staying there, sorry.

Lunch was hearty and refreshing - exactly what we needed after 13 miles of running in the Florida heat. And it was fun being served by waitstaff dressed in Victorian costumes.

Sandwhich consisting of lots of meat and cheese and Justin's cheeseburger:



And Justin with his special pinacolada:



Yum. So that was my weekend at Disney World. Sigh.

Leela Lounge - A

Leela Lounge
1 West 3rd street

I'm so excited about this place Leela Lounge - I had never heard of it before my friend dragged me in last night, weary and hungry. You see, we had made plans longgg ago (read: 2 days) to have dinner and see the movie "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" (I know this isn't a movie blog but seriously one of the most gut wrenching and beautiful movies I've ever seen), and I promptly forgot all about our plans, was all dolled up ready to go to my company holiday party when my friend called to say she was headed my way to pick me up for dinner. WHOOPS, so being the good friend I am, I ditched the company party, threw on some jeans and ran to meet her at the subway. This is a frequent occurrence in my life, being slightly schizophrenic, forgetful and spacey; I've been known to book plans for the same night at the same time one right after the other (I'm not actually that popular but that sounded good). So let's get crackin' with this restaurant experience!! Oh and what an experience it was!

Sara (one of my bestest friends since sixth grade - although our friendship was pretty one-sided, her being a mute until 10th grade), and I walked into Leela's because, quite frankly, it was the only GD restaurant we could find within a 5 block radius of the Anjelika. What the hell? Maybe we walked in the wrong direction from the subway but the area seemed completely desolate until...low and behold! We spotted Leela Lounge. Which didn't actually look all that fantastic from the outside but I sure am glad we took a chance and, upon seeing the restaurant down a sidestreet, did that slow, side-step, cautious walk, knowing full well that once we had walked a block in that direction, our lazy asses certainly weren't going to backtrack. I immediately shrieked when I saw the dozens of articles in the window of the restaurant, surely this was a good sign, no?! And then...I saw it...the glowing Zagats rating, get ready for this! It had been rated a Zagats 26!! Sara continued to berate me for my excitement while I muttered like rainman "26, wow 26, that's really good...that's rare, yes very rare...zagats 26."

Now full of hope, but also lacking a lot of time, as our movie was to start in..oh 20 minutes (whoops!!), we ordered quickly: For starters we split something called Corn Palak Kabobs - and you'll even get the description, courtesy of menupages: Fresh hand made Spinach and corn tikkis flavored w/ green onions and garam masala. Served w/ ginger sesame seed chutney. Look, there below, there it is!!



A little blurry, I know but I only had one shot to get a picture of each dish, as the table next to us made me feel self conscious about the flash emenating from my huge Zach Morris camera from 1999. These things were absolutely divine. Sara agreed. The intense flavor contrasted sharply with their outer "dull-looking balls" appearance. Just goes to show you, looks aren't everything (when it comes to food I mean! ha! As if personality counts for anything!). The chutney was also smooth and tangy, the perfect sassy accent to the comfort of the kabobs.

For our main course, I ordered Lukhnawee Ghosht nawabi delicacy: "succulent lamb slow cooked with fresh ground spices and medley of greens". This is one of those cases where the food itself actually is BETTER than the amazing description on the menu. Succulent lamb? Check! Fresh ground spices? Check! And then there was an added bonus of some sort of delightful and flavorful bean dip on the side. Sara, being a vegetarian (don't worry I've already made fun of her enough for this so don't feel the need...although if you want to go right ahead), ordered "Spinach & Cottage Cheese Koftas infused with ginger, fresh spices, cashews & raisins served in a delicious plum tomato sauce". I'm not going to lie, I don't know what a kofta is, but these koftas were awesome - balls with a nice crispy outside and a subtle cheesey inside. The sauce itself tasted like a high class tomato sauce. Just the right mix of sweet and savory goodness, topped off by that amazing bean dip that I got too. Look here's a picture of both our meals:



And here's one of Sara enjoying her Kofta (see how her eyes are closed in pleasure?):



And here's one of me enjoying my succulent slow-cooked lamb:



Alas, we did not have time for dessert as we were already 10 minutes late for the movie but this just gives me a reason to go back again, which I will...maybe tonight!

Annisa - B+

After reading about Annisa on The Amateur Gourmet and then reading up on the restaurant on every other website produced out of a quick google search, I considered myself pretty knowledgeable about, not only the supposedly awe-inspiring food, but also its chef, Anita Lo (a formidable chef who kicked Mario Batali's butt on Iron Chef), and the basis of the restaurant (the name Annisa means "women" in Arabic and the wine list "celebrates women in the wine industry"). I have to admit, I was looking forward to my dinner at Annisa the way a 10 year old looks forward to Christmas morning, and truth be told, I now realize that all the build up beforehand resulted in inevitable dissapointment (kind of similar to when I was 10 years old and received a cookbook for Christmas and my sister received a huge stuffed teddy bear...kind of ironic, huh?). This is not to say that I didn't have a great meal at Annisa, however I had placed all my hopes and dreams in this restaurant: I was expecting something magical and instead had a...well a great dinner but no fireworks.

The restaurant is small and cozy, and we were seated side-by-side, a nice gesture that was appreciated as we were able to converse more closely and "ooh" and "ahh" right in each other's ears. The waitstaff was also extremely pleasant, in fact I even commented in the middle of the meal "they're REALLY nice here" after the waitress practically bent over backwards to assure us that "there's absolutely no rush, please take your time" about a dozen times. Being an expert on all things Annisa by this time, I of course knew exactly what I was going to order before we even sat down (umm ok so I knew 48 hours before I sat down...and kind of had my choices written out on a sticky note at my desk two days prior...yep that's kind of frightening actually - oh in fact here's me, pretending like I need to look at the menu!).



I started with the foie gras dumplings, followed by the Miso Sable. The foie gras dumplings were very good but a little difficult to eat (you have to eat them over a spoon so that the soup within the dumplings spill into the spoon to be later slurped up). As my friend put it "this is the best, and most difficult thing I've ever eaten."



DISCLAIMER: All photos were taken on an iphone (no flash) hence the dark, dreary looking photos.

The Miso Sable lay atop a block of tofu, the whole thing surrounded by spicy broth. The Sable truly was melt in your mouth, however the tofu didn't do too much for me and I wish the broth had been spicier and hotter temperature-wise.



My friend's entree, a pork dish with gruyere and millet (a grain), looked delicious and tasted almost as good. The gruyere added a nice touch to the dish, who can resist melty gruyere really?, but I think I prefer the pork chops I made last night :)



See those delicious looking crusty cubes? That's the gruyere!

Now OK here's where Annisa actually did live up to all my hopes and dreams!! We ordered the goat cheese cheesecake for dessert and OH. MY. GOD. That about sums it up. I would have been fine with JUST the cheesecake, in fact I would have bartered my previous two dishes for two more cheesecakes if I had known how good it was going to be. Here's a picture of pure heaven:



BOTTOM LINE: A solid meal, especially the signature dishes (foie gras dumplings and miso sable), but wouldn't be on my top ten "last meal list" (and yes this means I have a last meal list if I should ever end up death row..knock on wood...too morbid?).

INSIDER TIP: one...wait two..three? words : goatcheese cheesecake!!!!

Pork chops in a mustard sauce

I'll keep this short and sweet! I made Pork Chops in a mustard sauce (another Nigel Slater recipe) and they turned out fantastic. I've never made pork chops before so I was quite pleased with the results. Plus we had Magnolia cupcakes for dessert! (Sorry those were devoured too quickly for a picture.) I don't think I'm allowed to post Nigel's recipes so if you do want the recipe for this meal or the spaghetti bolognese, just contact me.

Mary's Fish Camp - A

First off, I need to make note that I did not have a camera on me during this visit, thus the lack of pictures. However I will gladly take one for the team and revisit and order exactly what I ordered below and post the pics here.

Now for my first restaurant review. Except I think these blurbs are going to be more "personal restaurant experiences" than reviews because until I've eaten at a place several times and fully tested the menu, I don't think a 'review' is quite appropriate. SO! My first "personal restaurant experience"!

One Saturday night Justin and I decided to ditch our cooking plans for the evening and try out Mary's Fish Camp, only a few minutes walk away (yes, I LOVE living in the West Village!!). I have to preface this by explaining that I've been to Pearl's Oyster Bar a couple of times and feel a certain nostalgia/defensiveness when it comes to Pearl's because the owner/chef is from Maine and I am from Maine, WOW! And anyone who is from Maine knows the deep burning pride when it comes to our home state. So I felt like a bit of a traitor going to Mary's, because, as most people know, Mary was a head chef at Pearl's before leaving Pearl's to open Mary's Fish Camp and word on the street is that it wasn't a pleasant parting...although the actual story is probably more complicated!). So, even though I felt hesitant about straying from Pearl's, I was perversely curious about the "bad" restaurant (see how much Maine pride I have??), so we decided to give it a try.

The evening started off by strolling to Mary's, putting our name on the list (we were told the wait would be about 20 mins) and then walking to Les Deux Gamins to have a glass of wine while we waited for a phone call from the host at Mary's (they will call you approx 5 minutes before your table's ready so that you don't have to stand around outside waiting for your name to be called - I also imagine this is to encourage people to walk around instead of crowding inside and outside of the restaurant, as it becomes very cramped and busy during peak hours). Almost exactly 20 minutes later, and one glass of champagne later, I received a call from the host who very kindly told us to swing on by for our table. I'm very sensitive when it comes to politeness/niceness of waitors and hosts and I have to say that the Mary's host (why do I want to say his name was James?? I'm pretty sure he never told me his name so that's kind of creepy) gets an A+. He was the perfect mix of niceness and professionalism.

Now once I entered Mary's, I saw that there is a semi-circular bar that wraps around the kitchen (the bar is like a force field between the kitchen and the small dining area which seemed to hold only about 10 tables, no wonder we heard a 4 top being turned away at 8pm bc "unfortunately we won't be able to seat you tonight as we already have 5 other 4 tops on the list...so you would be seated after we've closed..."). At first I was dreading being seated at the bar. There's just something about being seated at a bar that I don't like. Actually I know exactly what I don't like about it and I'll tell you: it's the possibility of sitting right next to someone who is under the impression that because you're all at the bar it's OK to bombard you with unwanted conversation. Yes, call me anti-social but when I go out to eat with a friend, it's so I can talk to my friend, not to the nosy neighbor next to me. In any case, dun dun dun, we found ourselves being escorted to the bar, quelle horreur!! But you know what?? I actually LOVED being at the bar and, by the end of the meal, kept swinging around and looking pityingly at the folks in their cramped tables. My fear of being talked to by strangers was put to ease as we soon realized that these people were hardcore foodies just like us; they came to enjoy the food and conversation with their friends and hardly even glanced in our direction the entire time (score!!). Also the excitement of being front stage and center was wonderful as we could see the chefs work their magic in the kitchen and had prime access to the lovely servers.

Now for the good stuff! We started out with Crab and cheese gratin...just thinking about this amazing dish is making me long to go back to Mary's and order this appetizer. It was actually, no joke, one of the most tasty dishes I've ever had. Served in a small souffle-esque pot, the flavors of fresh crab and rich cheese melted perfectly together. It was also the perfect amount to whet our appetite for the lobster rolls to come but not so much as to have us wishing we had split one lobster roll. Yes, that's right, we both devoured our huge lobster rolls. And I have to say, as much as I love Pearl's lobster rolls, Mary's were just as good, if not better. In fact they're very similar - a heaping serving of incredibly fresh lobster meat overflowing out of the brioche-esque bun with the perfect amount of mayo-seasoned sauce. Mmmmmmmmm. I actually almost had a panic attack when I realized I had only two bites left. Luckily, we ordered a hot fudge sundae to split which was absolutely divine.

BOTTOM LINE: Get yourself to Mary's Fish Camp and if it's your first time, please please order the lobster roll. You will be in food heaven.

INSIDER TIP: Get there 20-40 minutes before you're acutally hungry and put your name on the list. Then take a walk down beautiful West 4th street and the side streets or have a glass of wine in a nearby cafe. The host will call you 5-10 minutes before your table is ready!

Spaghetti Bolognese

This is my first post (woohoo!) and I'm going to start off with a meal that I cooked just last night. The weather has alternated between being damp and cold and just plain freezing, so I thought it the perfect time to spend a Sunday afternoon cooking a slow-simmering spaghetti bolognese. This blog is going to be mostly dedicated to reviewing restaurants in the west village but every once in awhile, if I cook something realllly tasty, I'll share it here as well.

I received "The Kitchen Diaries" by Nigel Slater (an excellent food writer from the UK) for Christmas this year and so far I've tested out two of his recipes: Pumpkin Soup and Spaghetti Bolognese. I forgot to take pictures of the Pumpkin Soup (sorry!), so you'll just have to take my word that it turned out deliciously thick and full of flavor. The Spaghetti Bolognese turned out wonderfully as well - the flavors were allowed to simmer for over an hour, creating a rich and savory bolognese sauce. The plates were all but licked clean (sorry no after pictures, but there wasn't much to see!).