Crispo is another restaurant that falls into the category of long-time Immaculate Infatuation favorite. The restaurant opened in the summer of 2002, and has since seen some strong competition open up in the neighborhood – Scarpetta, La Bottega, and the Standard Grill to name just a few. We hadn’t been back in a while and recently decided to check in and see how the place is holding up. Amazingly enough, Crispo is still hanging tough like Keith Richards’ internal organs. They’re drawing nice crowds most nights, and the food is exactly as we remembered – high quality Italian with great pastas, a nice selection of cured meats and antipasti, and a solid wine list. It seems that once again consistency is the key to success. For the warm weather months (both of them) Crispo has a huge back garden that’s a relatively well kept secret. Keep that one in your pocket and let everyone else flock to Pastis while you dine outside with people that don’t suck.
Whether you realize it or not, you’ve probably eaten a ton of Sullivan St. Bakery’s bread. Over 250 of New York City’s restaurants and markets serve this fine yeast, from Babbo to Dean & Deluca to Murray’s Cheese. When you dominate NYC’s dough scene, why not start a pizza joint? Co. (aka Company) is the hip, quasi-new addition to the Sullivan St. Bakery monopoly, and features a more complete menu than other next level pizza-throbs like Motorino and Keste. While the pizza is damn tasty, it’s not of the traditional variety. It arrives in awkward shapes and plays out more like awesome bread with toppings than actual pizza…which is by no means a bad thing.
Ask any New York City female what her favorite Chronic Brunch spots are, and I guarantee Prune is on the list. Chicks freakin’ LOVE this place. They can’t get enough of the predominantly gay wait staff in their tight pink t-shirts, and are willing to to wait obscene amounts of time for Prune’s killer bloody marys and infamous triple decker Monte Cristo. The place is tiny – the mob scene out front on any given Sunday is worse than the first day of a Steven Alan sample sale. But while we all know the brunch is solid, what you may not realize is that they also have an adventurous and quite tasty dinner menu. It’s a cozy little restaurant, and combine that with a quality drink list and aphrodisiacs like oysters and mussels on the menu and you get a good sleeper spot for a First/Early In The Game Date. Good luck.
Like most people, the idea of gourmet Mexican is a bit foreign to us. Our south of the border cravings are usually accommodated by cheap tacos and a couple cans of Tecate. Needless to say, we were skeptical going in. $16 margaritas? $28-30 entrees? $21 for guacamole and two salsas? No offense Crema, but we could eat at Mercadito Cantina for a whole week at these rates. When spending our hard earned cash on expensive food, it’s usually not going to be on Mexican. Outrageous prices aside, Crema was a nice surprise. They impressed with a fancy New York take on traditional Mexican. Dishes like their big eye tuna burrito had pretty damn good flavors, textures, and presentation.
Let’s talk scene for one moment – Chelsea is not known for their restaurants so we’ll excuse the wacky clientele. On Infatuation’s recent stop at Crema, here’s what we were working with. To our left, what appeared to be an eHarmony first date between older bridge and tunnel hopefuls, rocking matching his and her bedazzled Ed Hardy gear. To our right, another date. This time, a rather large man, making a mess of himself while making ga ga eyes at his date from across the table. A date that, without a doubt, had at on point in her life, been a dude. Awesome.
What does Txikito mean? Well, first of all, it’s a play on the ancient Basque language where a T followed by an X makes a “ch”. Therefore, you get the adorable name, pronounced “chic kee toh”. What does “chic kee toh” mean? That two straight guys can never meet here for dinner. “Dude, meet me at txikito.” “What? What is that?” “This super cute tapas joint in Chelsea.”
Aside from my hysterically immature observation about the name, Txikito really is a place best suited for a date. It’s a quaint, fun spot with ample bar and dining room seating. The people are friendly, the wine list is interesting, and it’s always lively. The food? It’s tapas, but from the Basque region of Spain, so things are a little bit funkier and have less familiar names. Almost everything on the menu is interesting and sharable, though certain items are overpriced, and at times underwhelming. Overall, the food is solid, and the wines are priced reasonably enough that you can both drink until you’re funny. Perfect recipe for a date spot.
Relevant footnote: Txikito is on a block that every single person in NYC should have on his or her radar. At this intersection of 25th Street and 9th Avenue, there are no less than three excellent First/Early In The Game Date destinations within a few hundred yards. Should Txikito not work out, there is always its sister restaurant, El Quinto Pino just around the corner. If El Quinto Pino is full, Co. is always there for a pizza and a bottle of wine. Still not feeling it? Cookshop is close, and Billy’s Bakery is only a few blocks away. If you can’t make it happen with those options at hand, you probably just can’t make it happen. Maybe you should look into getting a cat.
