Food Rundown:

Crostino
A trio of crostino with varying toppings each day. A safe bet if you’re looking for some finger foods while you drink. Eight dollars gets you three.

Buratta and Grilled Broccoli Rabe
It’s really hard not to like buratta, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that this is good.

Bucatini
Our favorite dish at ESSC. This is an excellent homemade pasta tossed with silver dollars of gooey mozzarella and big wedges of fresh tomato. Simple and slammin’.

Spaghetti
A respectable plate of spaghetti in red sauce with meatballs. This is obviously the dish that’s meant to sell the whole old-school Italian vibe, and it does the job OK…but I still don’t feel like I’m on Arthur Avenue.

Grilled Octopus
A pretty standard small plate of grilled octopus and fingerling potatoes. Skip it unless you’ve got an insatiable craving for tentacles.

Branzino
Again, a pretty standard piece of fish, but a serviceable option if you’re not in the mood for pasta or meatballs. By default, this is served with head and tail on, but they will remove them if you ask nicely. Honestly though, suck it up.

Tuna Burger
Last time we at here, it was about three hours after a lunchtime visit to Prime Burger. There was definitely a temptation to go back-to-back burger, but common sense stepped in. We ordered this tuna burger with a salad instead. You’re welcome, heart. Tuna burgers in general aren’t our thing, and as we expected, this didn’t do much for us. Maybe your vegaquarian friends will like it.

Photo Credit: Daniel Krieger

The Lion is a new joint opened by the chef from Waverly Inn and a bunch of other people you would only know if you a) spent too much time at Beatrice Inn or b) give a shit about who the “celebrity” investors are in a restaurant. Either way, this place is New York’s newest hot spot, and if you read all the other reviews, you’ll no doubt find a long list of A-listers recently sighted here. Exciting! But what has us considering an amendment to one of our beloved dining axioms is that despite all the baggage that comes along with a “scene” like this, the food at The Lion is actually pretty damn good. We’ve even found the place to be generally tolerable on all of our recent visits. Yes, tables can be hard to come by, and yes, it’s full of people who probably refer to themselves in the third person, but so far we’ve found the staff to be friendly and courteous. And while the quality of food and service are a bit surprising – what makes the biggest impression is the interior of the restaurant itself. The main dining area is an amazing two-story space that looks like the living room of a drug addled safari hunter/art collector (my dream job). It’s a pretty incredible place to eat your steak, and makes the hefty price tag a little more bearable. The bar in front is cozy and tavern-like, a perfect spot for sucking back dark and stormys and even possibly scoring a walk up table, especially if you arrive for dinner on the earlier side of the evening.

So while we can’t fully throw our full Infatuation approval behind a place that has a door guy out front, we have to admit that there is a lot to like about The Lion. Enough for us to make one exception to a big time rule…for now.

Photo Credit: Janelle Jones

Food Rundown:

Artichoke Fritters
Delicious little fried spheres with soft artichoke and lemony goodness inside them. On the small side for what you pay, but tasty nonetheless.

Spring Asparagus
A straightforward Spanish classic – fresh asparagus with a soft egg on top. This is always a crowd pleaser, and the Lion’s version is no exception. I think I saw one of these things coming over the kitchen counter and off to a table every twenty seconds.

Pasta Annunziatta
On one of our visits, the waiter had the balls to recommend I try this pasta rather than the burger, which I appreciated. After having both, I’m glad he steered me in this direction. Octopus, guanicale and olives make for an incredible combination tossed with pasta. That guanciale pops in your mouth and leaves behind a fat slick that makes everything that comes after taste awesome.

Burger
We’ve heard people throwing around comments that this thing is up there with Minetta’s Black Label Burger. It’s a good burger for sure, but let’s everyone sit down and take a breather. Plus, we’re not entirely sure that a piece of pork belly on a burger is a good, or particularly responsible idea. We do respect the gusto though.

Lobster Pot Pie
Flaky crust, lobster, vegetables…what’s not to like? This is a football shaped pie full of lobster, and it comes to the table volcano hot.

Delmonico Steak
An expensive steak at $55, but one of the better things on the menu here. This guy is tender and has a nice marble, so it definitely doesn’t lack in flavor.

The reason we bring this up is because it has presented us with a conflict when it comes Il Bagatto. This is a really good East Village Italian restaurant that we used to hit up often for upbeat drunk dinners and the occasional date. It’s a dark yet lively space with a great downstairs bar and a few excellent menu items. Unfortunately, Il Bagatto has also become home to super long waits, obnoxious patrons, and a guy downstairs on the ones and twos trying to beat mix Rhianna into Men at Work. We’ve dealt with annoying crowds before, but for god’s sake don’t encourage them.

At the end of the day, we’re not recommending that you stay away from Il Bagatto entirely. Just know what you’re walking into during prime time hours. Things can be more sedate early in the week, and it’s honestly worth a visit just for the grilled calamari. Otherwise, there are plenty of other great Italian restaurants in the area, including Il Posto Accanto right next door.

Food Rundown:

Calamari Alla Griglia
Under no circumstance do you skip this. A beautiful plate of grilled calamari with some greens and a few lemon wedges. The calamari has a nice char on it and is perfect. This makes the fried stuff seem like cafeteria food.

Padellata di Cozze Coltivate
Decent mussels that come in a strong garlic and white wine broth, which we’re always a fan of. Honestly, not a dish that will blow you away, but a decent starter.

Gnocchetti Verdi Blu
We have never had gnocchi quite like this. These are bright green spinach gnocchi coated in a fantastic gorgonzola sauce. If you’re into blue cheese, order this.

Fusilli Campagnola Fusilli
A great homemade pasta in with sausage, tomato, and cream sauce. Another one of our favorites here.

Sunday Lasagna Special
A ten layer meat lasagna that is only served on Sundays. Yet another reason to skip the prime-time crowds. Also, this lasagna is a proven remedy for both hangovers and diets.

Now that we’ve been to Blind Tiger, we will retract that last part. I grew up in Colorado, and went to college in Fort Collins, which is place that several very successful breweries call home. Needless to say, I became accustomed to drinking in bars with incredible beer selections. What I also became accustomed to, was eating some kind of terrible chicken ranch sandwich for dinner in these places, because that’s what you get in Fort Collins (ranch dressing is a religion in this part of the country). What we have found at Blind Tiger is a New York City bar that actually has an extensive microwbrew selection AND excellent food. Unfortunately, we’re not the only ones that know it. The place gets very crowded at times, but weekend afternoons are perfect, as are late nights when you need a good beer and a grilled cheese. The wings and sandwiches are also excellent, and it’s a great place to mix it up and meet people. Be warned though – the bar staff know their beer, but they’re not very friendly. We’ll let it slide…but only because there are Colorado brews on the tap every once in a while.

Food Rundown:

Hot Wings
We have been pretty vocal about our distaste for most wings that we come across in this town. Blind Tiger’s wings are actually pretty great. Tangy, peppery, and of decent size, we’ll come back just to eat them.

Old School Grilled Cheese
A really great classic grilled cheese. You can even get a bowl of tomato soup with it, just like what I used to have every day after school when l when I was six. Yes, including the beers.

Classic BLT
A killer BLT on white toast. We highly recommend this as it’s a prime beer absorbing agent.

Bloody Beast Sandwich
Great name, great sandwich. This is a fist sized roast beef sandwich with cheese, served with a sauce on the side that they call “bloody mary” sauce. I think it’s just a bowl of bloody mary mix, but I am also totally cool with that. Probably because I carry tiny bottles of vodka with me at all times. Order this.

Banh Mi Mini
We’re growing a little tired of the banh mi thing that took over the city last year, but this one is a good snack sized sandwich. But it’s not quite the traditional bahn mi. This one comes on a round crusty roll and has a mango slaw rather than the usual fixins.

Both the food and service at Public are consistently excellent. Chef Brad Farmerie knocks out inventive, flavorful dishes that both look and taste great. It sure as hell isn’t cheap, but you absolutely get your money’s worth. Public is also a pretty well known event space. Hang out in Manhattan long enough and you’ll probably wind up at an after-party here, intoxicated in the restroom, trying to figure out how many little bars of Public branded soap you can shove in your pockets. Or maybe you can afford to buy your own fancy hand soap for your house. Must be nice.

Food Rundown:

Mushroom Ceviche
I loathe mushrooms and somehow really enjoyed this ceviche. Either my taste buds are rapidly maturing as I approach 30 or Public has some kind of magic potion in which mushrooms suddenly taste like candy. I’ll go with the latter.

Grilled Scallops
Load up on the shellfish apps, they’re all money. These grilled scallops with sweet chili sauce, crème fraiche and green plantain crisps taste as good as they sound.

Fried Barron Point Oysters
Fried oysters with a spicy Japanese flair? Yes please. We could eat these puppies all day. The wasabi-yuzu dipping sauce is real tasty.

Cured Wild Boar Plate with Garrotxa Cheese
When wild boar is on the menu, I order it. It makes me think of three things, all of which I dig: 1.) Lost (Locke) 2.) Friday Night Lights (Riggins) 3.) apizz (Wild boar lasagna). Served with olives, caper berries and crostini, this meat plate was solid, but unspectacular. Next time I’m doubling up on the fried oysters.

New Zealand Venison Loin
From one gamey meat, to another. It’s obvious Chef Farmerie enjoys a little hunting in his life. The entire table agreed that this was the standout dish of the night. Rich meat with deep flavors are complimented with cheese dumplings, mushrooms and salsa verde. It sounds like it’d be a heavy dish, but it’s not. The consistency is just right and the execution is spot on.

Roast Lamb Sirloin
Again, great presentation. The lamb roast shows up on top of a crispy goat cheese polenta with saffron braised baby vegetables. The meat is juicy, and well cooked. All love here.

Roast Duck Breast
Although overshadowed a bit by the venison and the lamb, the duck is another excellent option. We dug the accompaniments too: Korean pepper spaetzle, sautéed snow peas and a radish and grape salad. Seasonal and not what you typically see served with duck.

If however, you are just in the ‘hood looking for a drink, Cask will do just fine. They have a good selection of beers, and are probably the only bar within three blocks that doesn’t have a weekly Jagermeister promotion. The downstairs Cellar Bar is also a great option for a birthday or a private party…we would just recommend setting up a dinner somewhere else first.

Food Rundown:

Philly Cheese Steak Spring Rolls
Sort of like the Northeast’s version of a Southwestern egg roll. We’ll recommend you pass on these.

Kobe Sliders
Perfectly fine sliders with a red onion marmalade. Three come to an order, and they’ll do the job of soaking up some booze, especially since they’re a little dry.

Bruschetta Flatbread
The flatbreads are a safe choice on the Cask menu, but don’t expect to be blown away. The bruschetta flat bread can be ordered hot or cold, and hot is definitely the way to go…we think. Either way, it’s a pizza.

Truffle Mac n’ Cheese
Usually putting truffle in Mac n’ Cheese is like putting Spanx on a fat girl…so forgiving and sexy. But somehow this mac n’ cheese still wasn’t attractive.

Braised Short Ribs
One of the better things we’ve had at Cask, but definitely not a short rib we’ll be coming back for. The mashed potatoes were good I guess.

It wasn’t until recently that we figured out D&C was more than just a place to grab a libation or two. You can actually have an excellent meal as well. Think of it as tapas joint the resembles a wedding cocktail hour: American classics that go quite well with a drink shaken or stirred. The kitchen paces itself well, so dishes come out one at a time, and they give you a chance to enjoy your drink as well as the food. After a long day, a Robert Johnson Swizzle (single barrel bourbon, lime juice, 10yr port, vanilla syrup and more) with a side of truffle mac n cheese is exactly what the doctor ordered.

Food Rundown:

Tuna Tartare
Some of the best tuna tartare we’ve had in recent memory and a steal at twelve bucks – it’s a nice amount of food. The tuna has a really nice spicy kick, and it’s served with homemade kettle corn chips that are stupid good. Get this.

Truffle Mac & Cheese
When we sent out a tweet from Death & Co, we got like 6 replies all saying some version of “holy crap the mac and cheese spoons are off the chain!” The people are never wrong. Indeed, this stuff is chronic. Served on individual spoons, this mac with aged cheddar and truffle bread crumbs hits the spot.

Seared Petite Filet Mignon
A pleasantly surprising ditty of a steak. The meat has a great seared crust on it, and for sixteen dollars, we aren’t complaining. This is really good, and could easily fill up one not-so-starving person.

Lobster Brioche Rolls
Three lobster sliders served on toasted brioche rolls. These bad boys were a great compliment to the Grass Kilt (coconut green tea-infused grouse scotch, lemon juice, pineapple juice, acacia honey syrup, cinnamon syrup) I was sipping when they rolled out of the kitchen. Now, this isn’t the purist Luke’s Lobster approach – this is more of a chicken salad type of lobster salad as the lobster bits are mixed in equal parts with crunchy jicama, apple and fennel slaw. They’re little mini lobster sandwiches, and they’re good.

Wild Mushroom Tart
Sautéed mushrooms with caramelized onion pesto and walnuts on top of a pastry tart. Surprisingly tasty, and definitely a good drinking snack.

One of our all time favorite La Esquina dinners was the result of an unannounced Tuesday night visit. Smooth talking and a small diversion (smoke bomb) got our group of three dudes down without a reservation, and what ensued was a great meal at the chef’s table and a valiant attempt to drink Mexico into another agave shortage. Those are the nights that make us love this place. Even despite the weekday fashionistas and weekend crowds, La Esquina can still play host to the next great time you can’t remember.

Food Rundown:

Empanadas De Chorizo
A basic empanada, but the chorizo is spicy and delicious. A simple favorite of ours.

Quesadilla De Huitlacoche
A tasty, mushroomy quesadilla with corn and Mexican truffle. This is earthy and good, but different than most quesadillas you’ve probably come across.

Cangrejo Tostada
Our favorite of the tostadas on the menu (three per order), and a must have. The cool crab meat is piled high on a half-dollar sized tostada with mango and spicy mayo. It’s one big bite of goodness.

Tinga De Pollo
Chicken might not be the sexiest tostada option on the menu, but across the board, La Esquina’s slow-cooked, shredded chicken is a winner.

Elotes Callejeros
Don’t mess around. Each person at the table needs to have an ear of this grilled corn in hand. You’ll be smiling…with shit in your teeth.

Tacos
In order of our preference: bistec, pescado, carnitas michoacan (crispy pork), cochinita pibil (pulled pork). You really can’t go wrong.

Chile Relleno
A decent chile relleno, but not our favorite. File these under tasty Mexican food item that is usually disappointing in New York City Mexican restaurants.

Carne Asada
A good strip steak served with a nice chimichurri, but nothing special. In general, you will be happier if you stick to the smaller plates.

Double Crown is a bar and restaurant where people who have outgrown the club scene hang out. At least this crowd knows it and doesn’t still wait in line outside of Greenhouse on the weekends. Or maybe they do, but they just eat here first. Either way, the place is a scene, but one with pretty good food. The short description of the menu at Double Crown is that it’s Colonial Asian, meaning the cuisine that resulted from British expansion into Southeast Asia. We’ll go ahead and just call it Pan-Asian, and we had some dishes that were very good. It’s a bit on the pricey side for sure, but the cheaper things on the menu tend to be the better choices, and the $35 Sunday Nyonya Dinner is a good deal. As for the atmosphere, the room basically looks like a west side mega-club with better lighting, but it’s tasteful and doesn’t feel too kitschy. I’m pretty sure this restaurant is exactly what Shang was supposed to be, just with customers and food that doesn’t taste like poison.

Food Rundown:

Salt and Pepper Squid
Essentially calamari, this wasn’t mind blowing, but it certainly didn’t suck either. We like the green chili dipping sauce.

Crispy Pork Belly
I hate to say it, but I think we’re starting to tire of pork belly. Yes it’s good, and Double Crown’s crispy belly is served in appropriately sized, tasty chunks, but it’s all starting to taste the same.

Duck Steamed Buns
Steamed buns are all over the place nowadays as well, but these were small rolled buns with duck and a really tasty hoisin sauce. Very good.

Apple, Lotus, and Lily Bulb Salad
A sweet apple salad with a kick, and nice crunch from the fried lotus. Definitely order one of these.

Seared Tuna
Small medallions of tuna served with a bonito custard and sweet sake sauce. This had nice flavor but didn’t overpower the tuna.

Prawn Dumplings
Possibly my favorite thing at Double Crown. These are big, plump dumplings served in a bowl of hot and sour broth. You can really taste the imperialism.

Grilled Strip Steak
This was fine, but definitely not one of our favorites. A little on the tough side.

Big Braised Short Rib
OK I’m no butcher, but I know a short rib when I see one. There is no way this is thing is anything other than the entire hind leg of an elephant. The meat falls right off the bone and it tastes really good, so I’m not complaining. I guess they just get good elephant.

Now, I can’t claim that I was around when The Bowery was home to Syd Vicious and Dee Dee Ramone and all the people they did smack with. But I did manage to get here before CBGB turned into a John Varvatos and before Daniel Boulud took a dump on it’s memory by naming his restaurant DBGB. That’s right Danny, God Save the Queen. Unfortunately, I missed the really good stuff, when the neighborhood was filthy and punk rock changed the world. But I did at least experience something a little different – before Mickey and Goofy cleaned up the streets and put in a gift shop.

Either way, Keith McNally is here now, and he’s brought his flagship Pastis over from the Magic Kingdom. What’s the difference between Pastis and Pulino’s? Pizza. Ultimately, this is just another McNally franchise, which is fine, but you better know what to expect before you eat. You aren’t coming here for a great New York pizza experience. You’re coming here to either stare at, or show off some ridiculous legs in a miniskirt, and God bless you for that. The pizzas are definitely decent, but this place is more about the scene and having a good time. We’ll go on record saying that we are totally cool with that…but let’s not shower the joint with Michelin Stars just yet. If you want to avoid the craziness but still get in on the action and get a table, we recommend rolling up at about 10:45 on a Friday night. The bar will still be bumping, but you should sit quickly, and at midnight they begin serving a limited number of killer late night burgers. Part of us definitely wishes there was still some grit to the area, but another part of us is also just fine with late night food and miniskirts. Maybe Disney World isn’t so bad after all.

Food Rundown:

Mozzarella Burrata
A killer burrata, drizzled with olive oil, and all around fantastic. You need this at your table.

Baked Ricotta
Another must to kick off your meal at Pulino’s. This is a cast iron pot of baked ricotta cheese, served with crusty bread. The edges are crispy and brown and the middle is soft, warm and perfect.

Margherita Pizza
The true test of a quality pizza. Believe it or not, this is one of the better pies we had at Pulino’s. Simple and delicious.

Gamberi Pizza
Rock shrimp and speck is an interesting pizza combo, but it definitely works here. The briny shrimp and salty speck are friends when they’re together in my mouth.

Porchetta Pizza
Ah yes, now we’re in our element. Porchetta on pizza is a good fucking idea. The pork is tasty and liberally dispersed, and the fennel comes through strong. This one racked up a few points on the rating for sure.

Funghi Pizza
A pretty basic mushroom pizza. The ’shrooms are good, and this is fine, it’s just nothing special.

Salcissia Pizza
Sausage and broccoli rabe, with a nice kick from some chiles. We liked this one quite a bit.