Head spinning after a long day of getting dragged around Soho with the female? Find salvation in a crisp Blue Point Toasted Lager draft and steak frites at Jane. It’ll help restore the equilibrium. The predecessor to fratty East Village favorite The Smith, Jane is its slightly more sophisticated older sister. Holdin’ it down in a prime location just above Soho, Jane is the epitome of utility neighborhood staple. A warm, friendly ambiance and diverse menu of relatively simple, but flavorful dishes make it perfect for Early In The Game Dates, Dinner With The Parents, Groups of 4-6 and Chronic Brunch. Jane has long been an Infatuation standby, and that’s not changing anytime soon. Next time you’re looking for a low-key, reasonably priced meal, hit up our girl Jane.
If there’s one cuisine whose hype is usually warranted, it’s pizza. Because of its universal nature, critics and “the people” will generally see eye to eye. At the end of the day most pizza is either fantastic or good enough and it doesn’t take a food expert to distinguish between the two. With these facts in mind, the Infatuation was fired up to investigate New York Mag’s declaration of Kesté as NYC’s best pie of the moment.
As anticipated, Kesté serves up some of the best pizza in town. We went during prime time and waited about half an hour for our table – the perfect amount of time to whet our appetites with a couple craft pints from the Blind Tiger down the block. Kesté doesn’t serve by the slice (unless you’re lucky and they hook you up with a taster slice for waiting), and while the pies are sized for one person to eat, you should come hungry and with friends. On our last visit, we each ordered our own pie and no slice was left uneaten. Kesté’s decor could use a little spruce up; the exposed brick almost looks fake, and the random artwork doesn’t add much to the vibe. They jam as many tables as possible into the small space and it’s hot as balls thanks to the open oven in the back. You know what though? I’m fine with Kesté concentrating their efforts on the food, and it pays off. I’d rather eat like a king at a dive than consume crap in a palace. Not that this place is a dive by any means, but you get my point.
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.
After a great recent meal at Bar Carrera, it occurred to me that this review should somehow incorporate the idea that the little things in life usually end up being the most important … I just wasn’t sure if I should reference Malcolm Gladwell or Good Charlotte. References aside, Bar Carrera is an example of little things done right. The diminutive Spanish restaurant and wine bar turns out excellent small plates from a tiny kitchen at the back of the room. The menu is relatively brief, yet well thought out, especially considering the limitations of the kitchen in back – not unlike one you would see set temporarily set up on 5th Avenue for a Good Morning America cooking segment. Despite the constraints, Bar Carrera is proof that doing a few things well is enough to keep people coming back … even if it’s just a handful of killer small plates. We’ll give Bar Carrera points for excellent food, a great wine list, and for reminding us of Muggsy Bogues, and we deducted a few for the douchey bar tender and lack of decent tunes.
It would seem to us here at Immaculate Infatuation that the only way to properly assess the fawned over revival of the Minetta Tavern is to take aim directly at the ridiculous love fest that both the national and New York food media has had with the place. Let’s start here – everyone chill the f–k out.
I don’t want to start this review out with negativity, but it’s only fair that we discuss what has been said about Minetta. All the hype led us in with high expectations, as it would with anyone paying attention to the heavy hitters like The New York Times, New York Magazine, and The Food Network. It’s one thing to read a chorus of glowing reviews about a new restaurant online, but once Frank Bruni crowns Minetta Tavern “the best steakhouse in the city,” you should be expecting perfection. It’s also probably worth mentioning that Tyler Florence went off about the burger on the Food Network for a full half hour, but then again, anything that guy puts in his mouth on television is “fantastic.” That being said, here’s the Infatuation bottom line: while the food at Minetta Tavern is very good, it does not, and can not live up to all the hype. Is it the best steakhouse in New York? No way.
Our meal at Minetta was definitely satisfying, but there were some notable let-downs. The $26 Black Label Burger is excellent, and the cheaper Minetta Burger is also very good, but going to a place like this just for a burger seems counter-intuitive … a burger joint, this is not. For starters, there is a gigantic bouncer with a clip board at the door, and reservations at a decent hour are nearly impossible to secure. The room is appealing and the service is good, but an attempt at exclusivity diminishes the charm. If Minetta Tavern were a little cheaper, a little more accessible, and a little less Waverly Inn, it could be one of the great restaurants in New York for a long time to come. We’ll see if it can continue to thrive under the weight of such great expectations.
Giveaway: Dinner On Us
