Known to most simply as Frankies 457, this is the flagship restaurant from “The Franks” who (see it coming?) happen to be two guys named Frank. The Franks are also the proprietors of Prime Meats, and 457’s Lower East Side clone, Frankies 17. Not that Frankies needs another glowing review, but this place really is a fantastic restaurant if you can manage to get a table. It’s a tiny, cozy joint with simple Italian cooking, and the food is pretty damn great. Also adding to the awesome is a very reasonably priced wine selection and playlists that are heavy on The Stones and Zeppelin. It’s a nice place to linger, especially in the summer when the back garden is open. Downside? Tough to linger when you can’t get a table. Waits can push well past an hour during prime time, sometimes close to two. Every once in a while you’ll get lucky and sit sooner than you expect, but there isn’t a ton of bar real estate, even if you get sent next door to Prime Meats. The bummer of it all is that without those unpredictable waits, both 457 and 17 would be absolutely ideal date spots. Did you both have “unimaginable patience” listed as a quality on your match.com profile? Welcome to the best night of your life.
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.
The Mermaid Inn … this place has been a staple in the Infatuation playbook since back in 2003 when we were standing in line outside of terrible Manhattan night clubs and listening to nothing but Brand New and 50 Cent. Fortunately, we’ve matured (a little) since then, and The Mermaid Inn is not only still hanging around, it’s thriving (they recently opened an Upper West Side location). The secret to this upscale clam shack’s longevity is nothing more than consistency. The fish is always fresh and fantastic, and their lobster roll is solid. It’s all reasonably priced considering the seafood is top rate, and service is always good. These days they have even stepped it up and frequently throw down fish frys, clam bakes, and all other manner of seafood-centric specials that you can get in on. Also worth noting, they are currently running a “Blue Plate Special”: lobster roll, Old Bay fries, and a Blue Point beer for twenty dollars from 5:30 to 7:00 every evening. You can find me in the club …
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.
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.
Feature: Infatuation TV: P.O.S.
