Kefi made the jump from tiny successful neighborhood restaurant to bigger successful neighborhood restaurant about two years ago. The original incarnation pre-dates this website (as does anything that’s had a second birthday), and we decided a visit to the Columbus Ave. location would do both you and us some good. We were pleased to find that the prices are still surprisingly low, the service still relaxed and friendly, and UWS locals are still hanging out and talking about books or whatever. We like Kefi because it’s a restaurant with something for everyone on the menu, and it’s multi-purpose like a Swiss Army knife. A date, lunch with moms, Greek Easter (Greekster?) brunch, a night out with the ladies…it all works. Also, if you can somehow manage to eat dinner between 5:00pm and 6:00pm, the three course prixe fixe meal costs only $16.95. You don’t need to be a member of AARP or anything. That’s a straight up deal.
We have covered a lot of ground in the East Village, and, on the surface, The Redhead looks like one of those places that was left behind as the neighborhood gentrified. It’s a small, nondescript bar that is not (yet) on the hit list of the post-college East Village crowd. What they don’t know (yet) is that the food coming out of The Redhead’s kitchen is some of the best in the neighborhood. The off-the-hook fried chicken has been drawing a lot of press lately, and the rest of the menu is shockingly good – the absolute opposite of what you would expect to get from a dark little East Village bar. It will be interesting to see how the regulars deal with the inevitable increase in traffic. We definitely noticed some dates going down in the room, and it’s probably a good place for that. Just be aware that it’s a relatively quiet place, which will no doubt make those awkward silences extra painful.
Danny Meyer. Gobbling up screen time on this site just like he’s gobbling up restaurant space all over town. We finally got around to a review of The Modern, and it’s about time, they needed more good press. Or wait a minute, no they didn’t. Along with a Michelin Star and constant raves, Chef Gabriel Kreuther was honored this past year with a James Beard award for Best Chef: NYC. We’re actually still waiting to find out if we won for Most Influential Food Website: Earth. They’ll call or something right?
The best way for us to give you the lowdown on this place is to explain that it’s really two different experiences: the bar, and the dining room. The dining room is a beautiful, formal space overlooking the MoMa garden with a three course prixe fixe menu. It’s fine dining for sure, and it’s incredibly good. Think of it as a more “modern” Eleven Madison Park. The bar area is quite a bit different. It’s sleek, more relaxed, and on a good night, you’ll find some Action at the Bar. The plates are smaller and a bit more restrained, but you will still get A plus service and have a decent meal. We like the bar just fine, but what it really comes down to is this: … read more
Joseph Leonard is 650 square feet of seriously hyped restaurant. By my estimation that makes about four bloggers per square foot that wrote it up based on a pencil sketch and insider information from a delivery guy. I guess that makes us late to the game. So while we won’t exactly follow suit and take you through the place of origin of every antique light fixture and picture frame in the building, we will tell you this – it looks like a tastefully furnished studio apartment that’s 50% bar (my kind of apartment). It’s also pretty obvious that the restaurant was conceived in the spirit of Little Owl. Every inch of space serves a purpose, including the upper level bar seats, perfectly engineered for surveying the action while you eat. The menu is American with both French and Southern touches, and while dinner is generally better than brunch, it’s a nice place to dine any time of day. We like it and will visit often – a new West Village go-to even – but you’ll find that all that hype is pretty hard to live up to. Don’t look to us if you go in expecting a religious experience and come away a little disappointed. That’s what you get for spending too much time on Yelp.
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
