Immaculate Infatuation

Midtown wine bars are pretty high up there on the list of places you won’t find us hanging out. Why? Well, first of all, the majority of them are slightly less exciting than having a glass or two inside your local Pottery Barn. Second, we’re not so down with the menus rife with shitty pizzas and cubed cheese served on cutting boards. Oh and that fig thrown in next to the pile of Wheat Thins? Yeah, that’s not fooling anybody.

On the surface, Bocca di Bacco doesn’t look much different than any of those places. What is interesting, though, is that the food is actually very good. On the menu is an extensive offering of Italian small plates, pastas, and tasty full sized entrees to accompany all the wines that pour from a giant wine keggerator behind the bar. The crowd is a nice mix of Hell’s Kitchen’s hottest residents and some downtowners that know where to get good eats when they’re in the area. We went in on a Twitter recommendation and have now had two solid meals at Bocca di Bacco, along with some nice wines by the glass that didn’t put too bad of a hurting on the wallet. I’m glad we gave it a chance. The ridiculous house music on the website almost doomed it from the start.

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On a recent trip to the West Village we were stopped dead in our tracks. Whoa. What on God’s green earth do we have here? The bar standing in front of us was truly immaculate. We couldn’t look away. There was some kind of Daniel Faraday/Lost island style frequency sucking us inside even though our lives were supposed to go down a different path that night. We couldn’t resist it. We bailed on our plans and hit the Highlands.

As we suspected, Highlands is an Infatuation kind of joint. Rows of whiskey and bourbon line the exposed brick walls behind the bar. A packed house of put together, good looking locals sip on dark drinks, specialty cocktails and international beers with high alcohol content. Everyone is feelin’ it and having a grand ol’ time. Although we haven’t been on the weekend, we hear it’s slammed shoulder to shoulder, Spotted Pig style.

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Writing this review made me realize we need to call out restaurants that are greatly enhanced by a nice view of the surroundings. Join us in welcoming Eats with a View as the newest “Perfect For” tag. With a backdrop of the NYC skyline and both the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges, this bi-level brunchplex/event space is home to one of the dopest views in town. You’re so close to the water you might even be able to trick Four Square into unlocking the “I’m On A Boat” badge.

I was working in Dumbo some six years ago when Bubby’s docked near Water Street. It’s arrival couldn’t have come soon enough. Back then, Dumbo was a complete wasteland in terms of food. With the exception of Grimaldi’s, it was slim pickins for eats – it was either Front Street Pizza, Peas & Pickles, a sushi spot that’s probably closed now or the dirtiest DIY salad place you’ve ever seen. Midtown lunchers have no idea how good they have it. I would have killed for a Cafe Metro. But thanks to the arrival of Bubby’s, I finally had a lunch routine worth looking forward to. My gangster move was a soup/sandwich combo and then a drive by at Jacques Torres around the corner for dessert.

If you live in Dumbo or Brooklyn Heights, Bubby’s is your go-to Chronic Brunch spot. The two restaurants are nearly identical, sans the constant Celebrity Sighting at the Tribeca location. The best you’ll do around these parts is Mos Def, who lives in the building next door.

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The owners of Penelope must have good connections at City Hall. That or they found a loophole the zoning code requiring all Murray Hill restaurants to have at least six flat screen televisions on each wall. They have also somehow figured out how to run a successful establishment in the neighborhood that doesn’t primarily serve Tasty D-Lite.

Penelope is a comfortable little establishment on a quiet stretch of Lexington Ave, devoid of LCD TVs and sporting a comfortable country house feel to it. They do simple food like a killer mac and cheese, a chicken meatball sandwich, and a decent burger – along with several other gems. Brunch is excellent, but can be a bit crazy. Dinner is a little more reserved and is a great option if you feel like some decent eats and a reasonably priced bottle of wine without a scene. If you live in the ‘hood, the sandwiches deliver well, and it’s usually quick. Also, don’t sleep on the home made baked goods.

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Aside from having a bocce court in the dining room, Il Vagabondo isn’t much different than any other old school, NYC Italian restaurant. We have so many places like this in town that it’s hardly worth writing them up … “the home made pasta is great, best meatballs ever, their red sauce is to die for” … whatever. What makes Il Vagabondo special, and worth some real estate on this site is that it’s a true neighborhood restaurant. Regulars have been coming here for forty years, not four. Friendly faces and consistent food keep people coming back. It’s a relaxed atmosphere – the antithesis to Il Mulino, and not somewhere you are going to bring your friends on a weekend night to blow their mind. This is a place to chill out and get down on some pasta on a winter Tuesday. The front bar and dining room have been renovated sometime within the last ten years, but we recommend eating in the “vintage” dining room with the bocce court. If you’ve got any self-respect, you’ll slam a bottle of wine and challenge some old dudes to a game.

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