Immaculate Infatuation

While we stand by our claim that there is not a more influential endorsement a restaurant can receive than one from this site, we’ll admit that a seated and former president can probably compete. If you’ve ever been to Il Mulino, you can probably guess that Bill Clinton was the one who picked the venue when he and Obama lunched there recently. Il Mulino is definitely a Slick Willy kind of place. The restaurant is a New York institution. An alpha-dog hot spot that most people around town will passionately defend as the best of it’s kind, even though the service is cold and the food heavy handed and extravagant. It’s a place that even though will piss you off at times, you still love it. The Bill Clinton of restaurants indeed.

Eating at Il Mulino is an exercise in tolerance. You’ll have to tolerate a lot to eat some good, though incredibly rich and over the top Itlaian food. The surly wait staff, impossible to secure reservations, ridiculously expensive everything – read a Zagat’s and it seems that all is forgiven with a little bit of Clintonesque charm. Il Mulino definitely isn’t an Immaculate Infatuation favorite, but as we do with Bill – we’ll give some credit where credit’s due.

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Since the day we launched this website as a side project from our full time jobs in the music business, it has been, and continues to be a labor of love. “Labor” comes in the form of lots of late night meals and early morning writing. The love part is our passion for eating good food and running our mouths about it (we also kind of love taking it to the house on bad restaurants when necessary). Next week, we’ll hit one hundred reviews on immaculateinfatuation.com. Along the way to one hundred, we’ve only come across a few places that were new to us and blew our minds. Barbuto is one of them.

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Aside from having a bocce court in the dining room, Il Vagabondo isn’t much different than any other old school, NYC Italian restaurant. We have so many places like this in town that it’s hardly worth writing them up … “the home made pasta is great, best meatballs ever, their red sauce is to die for” … whatever. What makes Il Vagabondo special, and worth some real estate on this site is that it’s a true neighborhood restaurant. Regulars have been coming here for forty years, not four. Friendly faces and consistent food keep people coming back. It’s a relaxed atmosphere – the antithesis to Il Mulino, and not somewhere you are going to bring your friends on a weekend night to blow their mind. This is a place to chill out and get down on some pasta on a winter Tuesday. The front bar and dining room have been renovated sometime within the last ten years, but we recommend eating in the “vintage” dining room with the bocce court. If you’ve got any self-respect, you’ll slam a bottle of wine and challenge some old dudes to a game.

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We’ve walked by this place a million times and never considered it based on looks alone, but when a reliable source recommended it, we decided to hit La Paella up. Apparently our friend who recommended this place likes his tapas on a level playing field with airplane food. Lesson learned, just because a friend generally has good taste in life doesn’t mean you should trust his or her taste buds. Don’t be fooled, although it’s written differently on the menu, just about every dish is served in the exact same sauce; a thin, spicy, garlic and tomato broth that is both oily and forgettable. The service is choppy, music cheesy and everything tastes the same. Bottom line, this is a place you can easily skip. The EV is packed with restaurant talent and we don’t want you wasting your money here like we did.

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The owners of Spitzer’s Corner are smart. They have a formula. They know their clientele. They pay attention to detail and they’re probably rolling in money at this point. Their LES takeover continues with Los Feliz, a cozy taqueria upstairs that opens up into a raucous fiesta downstairs. Located in the old Suba space, the entire place has been impressively (and expensively) re-worked resulting in a sprawling tequila cathedral. Think La Esquina for the common folk where the vibe and the drinks are the stars with stellar food to boot. We tried just about every taco on the menu, some were better than others but, in general, they were all tasty and affordable. With Los Feliz about to be crawling with popped collars and American Eagle button downs, you might want to check this place out before it becomes unbearable.

We understand that opening week isn’t easy, especially when it’s a taqueria/night club hybrid with multiple levels, rooms and bars to tend. Because we went two days after it opened, we’re going to judge Los Feliz on its potential and won’t fully hold them accountable for their suspect service and unfortunate hostess. A hostess who, when we asked for drink menus, responded with something to the extent of, “Yeah, people always ask me to do stuff like that, but I don’t get tipped out by the waitresses so I don’t do that.” Ok Crazy. Thanks for the info. A simple, “We don’t have drink menus.” would have sufficed. Although, considering Los Feliz carries all kinds of top shelf tequilas, drink menus might be a good idea.

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