Immaculate Infatuation

Pleasantly surprising…that’s how I’d describe our recent visit to Apiary. Who would have thought that this little boutiquey restaurant next door to Village Barf House on 3rd Ave. turned out such high quality food? Thanks to the recent addition of new chef Scott Bryan (Le Bernardin, Bouley, Gotham Bar & Grill), Apiary has received some good buzz lately, and rightfully so. Apiary is not only a solid local East Village option; it’s a restaurant that should be on everyone’s radar. The food that’s coming out of that kitchen is excellent – top tier quality and at an affordable price. The flavor and texture combinations, presentation and all around attention to detail on each dish really wowed us. You can eat very well here, and even have a drink, for $50 a person. Definitely take advantage of the Sun-Thurs $35 three course tasting menu, that’s a damn good deal. Another plus, Monday is “no corkage” night.

While it is indeed a comfortable place to hang and eat, the one strike against Apiary is the décor. It’s trying a little too hard to be sleek and contemporary. The combination of what looks like glowing flamingo statues in the front window, big flower arrangements in the back and a half-assed play on silhouettes and shadows throughout makes it feel like you’re eating at CB2 showroom on Collins Street in Miami Beach.

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Sitting in Il Buco on a recent Tuesday night, one wouldn’t think our country was currently experiencing severe economic turmoil. The place is packed to the gills with people eating and drinking without a care in the world. Even some of the hottest restaurants have empty tables on “off” nights, but the fact that Il Buco is routinely slammed is a testament to the quality of the food and the unique character of the space. You won’t find another place in town quite like it. The restaurant’s rustic country vibe is as authentic as it gets. Originally opened as an antique store in the mid-90’s, the owners quickly realized their meal ticket wasn’t in the form of selling antique ceramic pots, it was the kitchen.

Il Buco has been a hotspot for a while now, attracting an older, celeb heavy crowd. Our girl Christina Hendricks (Joan on Mad Men) and her Infatuation approved ass got married here recently. The menu has become famous for its seasonal Mediterranean tapas and daily selection of homemade pastas, local poultry and fish entrees. We’d suggest focusing on the tapas and the pasta. Better yet, get a big group together and take advantage of Il Buco’s chef’s table or private dining room in the downstairs cellar.

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Cookshop, like Five Points, is a review that was long overdue on this site. There aren’t many restaurants in New York City that you can count on for an excellent meal regardless of circumstance, and this one is certainly among the few. Chances are that you, a dedicated Immaculate Infatuation reader, already know all of this, and have either recently dined at Cookshop or confidently sent a friend on a recommendation. Then again, maybe you haven’t.

In that case, we can simply tell you that breakfast, brunch, and dinner are all amazing, and that Cookshop needs to be on your list. Or, we can put it into our own terms to help you really understand how we feel. How good is Cookshop? So good that you won’t give a damn if you are the only person in the house not on a really intense date. So good that you will swear to never waste another dollar on trendy let downs like Permanent Brunch or The Standard Grill. Cookshop is so good that you’ll want to take your leftovers home and bury them in a time capsule.

Yep, we back this place pretty hard. Find yourself some time in the near future to visit. And make sure to bring something along worth burying.

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Oh Brooklyn. You’re so close, yet so far away. It definitely takes extra motivation to get Immaculate Infatuation to venture to BK, especially Dumbo. How anyone can live there and not go completely insane from the constant noise accompanying living under two bridges is beyond me. It makes you empathize with the troll from “The Three Billy Goats Gruff”. However, when we heard that a couple who met on the job at Freemans (one of our all-time favorite restaurants) opened Vinegar Hill House (V.H.H.) in Dumbo, we took it as a sign that it was time for Infatuation to expand out of borough. So without further ado … drum-roll please … we present our first Brooklyn review.

The first thing that will hit you when you walk into V.H.H. is the heady smell of smoldering firewood coming from the wood-burning oven in the open kitchen. V.H.H. has a more rural feel to it than Freemans, although they are definitely cut from a similar cloth. Feel like you’re eating in an eccentric friends dining room filled with vintage chotchkies and old family treasures? That’s because you are. The owners actually live in the house directly behind the restaurant and use the tree laden patio in-between for quaint garden dining. The old time vibe is cool, but they might want to look into some new outdoor furniture. We witnessed a fully plated table across from us crumble to the ground, spilling fine food and wine everywhere. It was kind of nuts.

Despite their lack of functioning furniture, the Hill House is well worth the trek to BK. It’s hip without giving off that “too cool” vibe some restaurants can have. The food is outstanding and, for a change, affordable.

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Since people have been bitching that we don’t get uptown enough, we turned to the Infatuation street team to suggest a local UES favorite. Ears popping, noses bleeding, we survived the trip to the north face and even lived to write about it.

An import from Nantucket, Sfoglia is one of the few upper east side joints that, if transported to any other part of reality (below 14th st), wouldn’t feel out of place. The front room feels like you’ve walked into an Italian market with shelves of food and baskets of produce greeting you in the entry way. Mis-matched vintage tables, stone walls and an array of assorted furniture bring a homey vibe to the front room. The back room is bigger and brighter, but still sports that same charm that makes you feel at ease the moment you enter Sfoglia. You can just sense that you are in for some good Italian cooking. A word to the wise, lean heavily on the pasta when ordering, that’s what separates them from the pack.

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