Immaculate Infatuation

We’re not usually crazy about wine bars. There are a few on this site that we can get behind, but generally we stay away. Why? Well first of all, there aren’t many that serve good food, and it’s rare that we’re heading out to drink without some serious eating on the agenda as well. Second, wine bar crowds are usually a room full of awkward first dates, and that girl who turns bright red after two glasses and spends an hour telling her friend and everyone else within thirty feet how ugly Becky’s bridesmaid dresses were. Inside voices please.

So it’s not often that a wine bar comes with an enthusiastic Infatuation Approval, but Terroir’s new outpost in Tribeca most certainly does. Yes, we love it because the food is awesome, but we also love it because owners Paul Grieco and Marco Canora clearly don’t take themselves too seriously. Just watch this video. These guys are enjoying themselves, and so are the people that come to their establishments. We found no sign of the typical wine bar crowd, but rather a full house of happy people tearing into some food and drinking (a lot). That’s more our speed. The menu has all the snacks and charcuterie that you might expect to find, but there are also some gems like the meatball sandwich and pretty much anything with the word “balls” in it. Check the Food Rundown for our favorites, and also take a look at this wine menu next time you have a few hours to kill. That sh*t is crazy.

… read more

“Selling out” will always be a hotly debated topic. Growing up, my friends and I would spend hours arguing about whether or not our favorite bands were sellouts. Green Day, Rancid, Bad Religion, all bands that were supposed to be so punk, yet signed on with a major label at one point in their careers. Were they sellouts? To a 16 year old, absolutely. But looking back, can you really blame them for trying to make some money? After all, music is a business just like everything else. Is LeBron James a sellout? Hells yes. Sure, he took less money to play in Miami, but LeBron’s selling out doesn’t have to do with the green stuff. Not only did he sell out the city of Cleveland, he sold out his own legacy and all the fans he fooled into believing he had the make up and desire to be one of the greatest players of all time and lead his own team to a championship.

Now on to restaurants. Is Danny Meyer a sellout for popping out Shake Shacks faster than The Duggars pop out Mormon children? Nope, he’s just an opportunistic businessman flippin’ burgers in a silly hat, Reel Big Fish style. Shacks are multiplying at record speed, across NYC and beyond. Meyer just opened a Miami Beach Shake Shack, and has plans for Washington DC, Saratoga Springs, Boston and Dubai. We’re happy to report that this increase in quantity has had no ill effects on the quality. In fact, this Double Shack Burger I recently took down at the Times Square location was hands down the best Shack Burger I’ve ever had in my life.

Be aware going in, Shake Shack Times Square is quite the tourist attraction. As you might expect, that means insane lines, loud music and all kinds of Euros In Crazy Outfits. Good for them. Now all those tourists who fail to make it out of Times Square on their trip can actually get at least one taste of what this city is all about. Nicely done Danny. It doesn’t matter what Johnny Quest thinks, the only thing selling out at Shake Shack Times Square is the merchandise they can’t keep in stock.

… read more

Earlier this year, a pretty hilarious war of words broke out between a random New York Times financial writer and Chef Marc Forgione. Apparently Forgione was gettin’ loud on one of his employees in his kitchen. This writer, who was dining at the restaurant, had a good view of the action. He heard the commotion and decided it was OK to let himself into Forgione’s kitchen to reprimand the chef on what is and isn’t acceptable behavior…in his own restaurant! Really dude? You don’t go into the kitchen unless you’re invited. That’s like running onto the field during a baseball game. Rightfully, Forgione asked the guy to remove himself from his restaurant. Following the incident, Forgione learned in this New York Times Diner’s Journal article that the man he gave the boot to was a writer. To Forgione’s credit, he handled the whole episode well. Maybe next time he’s in the New York Times, it will be because his restaurant finally gets a review.

Even though we haven’t been to Marc Forgione’s restaurant yet, we fully back him. Under the circumstances, we would have handled this situation in the exact same way. Also, the man has good taste. Many of his picks below are all Infatuation approved restaurants, plus he rocks a sweet lookin’ mohawk. It was just announced this week that Forgione will be a contestant on Season 3 of Food Network’s “The Next Iron Chef”, which debuts in October. To keep up with all the Marc Forgione action on the internets, become a fan on Facebook and follow the restaurant on Twitter.

… read more

Somewhere in between the porky excessiveness of Ippudo and the basic, hangover curing magic of Rai Rai Ken lies a bowl of Totto Ramen. This Japanese noodle outpost opened back in June, and we’re not sure that there has ever been a more welcomed addition to the Midtown food scene. After a few weeks of walking by and evaluating the crowds, we finally made our way in for dinner not once, but twice, and we’re happy to report that this place is indeed, the sh*t. But before you round up a crew from the office for some slurping, be aware that Totto Ramen is packed pretty much all of the time. We found the waits for two to be mostly manageable – around 30 to 45 minutes on average. Tables of three and four probably should not be attempted during any normal meal hours. We also noticed frequent availability of a single stool at the bar, so Dining Solo will definitely give you an advantage in this situation. Find a book that you can pretend to be reading, and maybe someone will think you’re interesting.

Photo Credit: Daniel Krieger

… read more

We went to Alta with high expectations after hearing multiple (mostly female) friends rave about the food and famous “secret recipe” sangria. After tasting their sangria, A.K.A. gutter juice, it became clear why people are so obsessed. Because they’re all f*cking wasted. The sangria tastes nothing like regular sangria – it’s more like a Spanish Long Island Iced Tea, spiked with tequila and roofies. Impaired senses are all part of the master plan here. After one glass of this toxicity, we can see how Alta’s barely mediocre fare might taste like gold to someone in an inebriated state.

Alas, we passed on the sangria, and not even decent brussels sprouts and a solid squid ink paella could salvage this sinking Santa Maria. We should have been wary ahead of time. Any restaurant that has 48 different tapas options and offers up “The Whole Shebang,” (one of everything on the menu for $450) is suspect. Not every one of those items can be awesome. As it turned out, most of them were quite the opposite of awesome. Half the food tasted like it was fresh out of the microwave, and the service was a joke. Not that our waiter was a dick, we just didn’t get to see him much. Alta is seriously understaffed, which is surprising for a restaurant that revolves around booze refills and the rapid fire of plates being shot out of the kitchen. If you’re entertaining a group of drunk, easy to please patrons, Alta is your jam. If you want quality Spanish tapas hit Tia Pol, Mercat or Txikito.

… read more