Little Owl, I want to love you. I really do. We’ve had a few nice evenings together and honestly, I think if things were different, it could work out between us. The problem is that none of my friends like you. Every time I bring my friends around, you make them mad. You sometimes serve a sub par piece of fish or kill your tuna lettuce wrap appetizer with salad dressing. Every once in a while you run out of an entree. You are always so friendly and they expect things to be great, but then something goes awry and I have to defend you. They tell me I should be spending my time somewhere else. They say there are better places in the West Village to spend my money. They say I am too good for you. I know I should just take their advice and walk away, but you have such a sweet, sweet pork chop. If you only served pork chops and meatball sliders, I would give you a 9.0 rating and we would move in together and have game night every Thursday. Think about it. We would be so happy. I made you a mix tape.
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.
Finding quality sports bars in NYC isn’t easy, especially when you don’t run in the backwards/upside down visor wearing crowd that thinks Brother Jimmy’s is the greatest place on earth. We love our sports here at Immaculate Infatuation and hold the sports bar to the same high standards we expect from our favorite sports teams. We realize that food is not the top of the pecking order, but some solid pub grub isn’t asking too much.
Expectations are as follows: We expect flat screens, everywhere, all in HD. We expect ample seating and enough personal space in the bar area to breathe. We expect game audio during big games, not “Living on a Prayer” on full blast. We expect a just say yes attitude as opposed to just say no (Ever been to Croxley Ales? You now understand). In addition to these obvious parameters, a fun crowd (even if that crowd includes a couple Philly or Boston fans, good for shit talking), a nice selection of beers on tap and most importantly, memorable food is what we’re looking for. Hot bartenders/waitresses always a plus.
The Blue Seats thrives off their obsessive attention to detail. Cushy booths that you need to reserve ahead of time house five personal screens, perfect for following all your fantasy players on Sundays. The bar area doesn’t get overly packed and big screens consume every available inch of wall space. Their private back room and skybox make for excellent large group hangs in case any given Sunday just so happens to be a special one worth splurging for. What keeps me coming back aside from the fact that the Jets seem to fare pretty well every time I go? Magic Hat #9 on tap (thankfully, not that rare in NYC anymore) and their sesame glazed wings which are ridiculous.
Last weekend, we went out for a buddy’s 30th birthday and wound up at the friends and family opening party at Rye House. Awesome. A timely new review sitting and waiting to be written without having to go out of my way. Perfect timing too considering both UrbanDaddy and Grub Street blew this place up that same morning.
The recent movement in NYC nightlife away from red ropes and bottle service might actually make this city fun to ‘go out’ in again. We’re huge fans of these new school drinking establishments that deliver the goods with their beer and cocktail repertoire, but also make sure the kitchen plays a big role in defining what they’re all about. Rye House is a perfect example of this trend. It’s not fancy or trying too hard. It’s the kind of place ideal for grabbing beers and grub with friends after work on a Friday night. When I think about bars in this city I actually enjoy hanging out in, Rye House definitely fits the mold.
Local produce is hot right now, Padma hot. Last week’s Top Chef revolved around the local produce of Napa Valley (and Padma of course) and I feel like every restaurant I go to now is making a big fuss about it. Bandwagon initiated. Hop on board, drink some Blue Point and eat some pigs that grew up in Dix Hills.
This brings us to East Village newcomer Northern Spy Food Co. which recently popped up around the corner from Infatuation HQ and prides itself on serving – yes you guessed it – local produce. Interest was piqued when Eater posted Chef Nate Appleman’s tweet saying he had his “best meal of 2009″ here. It’s a chill spot, and they succeed in establishing the country vibe. It’s set up as both a sit-down restaurant and a take-out market. Think of it as Westville light with a smaller menu (that changes every week) and hotter waitresses. Northern Spy is a solid local hang with a very reasonable price point. It’s not necessarily a destination restaurant, but if you live in the hood, it needs to get into the rotation, if only to grab a beer poured from the taps protruding out of the wood paneled wall. We feel that.
