Maybe it’s the location, maybe it’s the rustic interior, or maybe because it’s a Keith McNally restaurant, but for whatever reason, Morandi is a big time destination for Girls’ Night Out. We happen to like the place as well, especially for the amazing porterhouse for two, but you have to know what you’re getting into. The restaurant is always loud and packed, especially as the week goes on. Morandi also does an excellent brunch, which can’t be a coincidence. Maybe McNally has just figured out the secret that every college town bar owner has known for ages. Figure out a way to get the girls to come, and everyone else will follow suit.

Food Rundown:

Fritto Misto di Pesce
This is a great way to kick off a dinner at Morandi – with salty fried things to make you drink your wine faster. Sure, you will find the typical calamari rings in there, but there are also shrimp with their head still on and little whole fish that have been cross sectioned. It’s all tasty.

Polipetti e Sedano
A popular grilled octopus starter with celery and olives. This is good, but be warned, it’s a small portion and it will cost you fourteen bucks.

Pici al Limone
We like our pastas simple, especially when it’s handmade. This is a great, basic dish of spaghettti with lemon and parmesan.

Porchetta
A Tuesday night special that’s worth ordering if you’re a porchetta fan. The plate is assembled elegantly, but it’s really still just a pile of pork and crispy skin cracklings. We like that.

Bistecca per Due
Meet our favorite thing on the menu at Morandi. This dry aged porterhouse for two is ridiculous.

Focaccia “Occhio di Bue”
Yes, it’s a breakfast pizza, and you need it. This is a sunny side egg and pancetta atop a perfect oblong pizza crust. Worth the every penny of the thirteen dollar price tag.

Actually, I bring that up because Aurora is an excellent Williamsburg Italian restaurant that’s apparently run by fiery Latin people. And we’re not talking about some kind of fusion thing here. This is real deal Italian food, down to the hand made pasta and fresh burrata. Other than the friendly Latin staff, the occasional salsa music on the playlist, and the watermelon sangria, you would think Aurora was a Williamsburg cousin of Supper. And as you would expect from a place reminiscent of those East Village favorites, Aurora’s solid food and charm make it a great First/Early In The Game Date spot. The noticeable lack of hipsters also makes it a good option for Dinner With the Parents, just swing them by the ATM first – it’s cash only. But the real notable feature at Aurora is the garden. A huge, partially covered, and well-greened patio make this Williamsburg’s best Outdoor/Patio Situation. On prime days, just make sure to reserve ahead of time if you want a table outside, or be prepared you to face a sultry yet slightly annoyed hostess that looks kind of like Penelope Cruz. So yeah, on second thought…walk-ins recommended.

Food Rundown:

Buratta with Truffles
One of the antipasti specials, this was a fresh burrata with what seemed to be a half-pound of black truffle shaved on it. Seriously, look at that thing. I was expecting everything I ate to taste like truffles for days after this, but somehow you could hardly tell they were there. Strange. The mozzarella was delicious, but I felt duped.

Insalata d’Anguria
A watermelon salad with feta cheese and olives. That’s a winning combination in our book, and this salad was no exception.

Eggplant Caponata
Strongly recommended by our waiter and severely disappointing, this pot of eggplant was way too sweet. Don’t do it.

Fettuccine al Limone
This dish is perfect. We love pastas tossed in lemon and nuts, and this thing was incredible. Thick cut fresh fettuccine in a lemony sauce and some pine nuts for crunch. We’re coming back for this dish alone.

La Pasta al Bolognese
Another amazing pasta dish from the specials menu, this time with an delicious bolognese sauce. Simple does the job.

Pesce alla’Isolana
A market fish filet with white wine, tomato, and olives. We had branzino, and it was delicate and tasty, though didn’t quite pack the wow factor that the pastas did.

Food Rundown:

Berkshire Pork Sausage
Be aware that they only have six meats available every day and the menu changes daily. All of the meats are smoked in house and seasoned in their own dry rub. The sweet sausage is really good, the spicy sausage even better. You can’t beat three bucks for a big fat link of goodness.

Berkshire Belly (Bacon)
You don’t see dry rubbed pork belly hanging out by the brick behind a glass counter very often. This is a special occasion. While this belly wasn’t incredibly flavorful, it’s definitely worth getting a couple of slices. Mmmmmm, pure pig fat. So moist and tasty.

Brisket
Fette Sau’s brisket takes Hill Country‘s to town, Vince Carter over Fredrick Weis style. Toss a couple slices of this dripping wet brisket onto a Martin’s potato roll, add some homemade chili pepper & vinegar sauce and you’ve got yourself a nice big bite of heaven.

Berkshire St Louis Style Pork Ribs
You can taste the quality oozing out of these pork ribs. The rub is what really sets these meaty, tender, delicious pig bones apart. They’re not as good as Georgia‘s, but they’re pretty damn close.

Guss’ Half-Sour Kosher Pickles
Why any restaurants would choose to serve any other kind of pickle is beyond me. Guss’ pickles are incredible.

Dante’s German Potato Salad
I’m not going to lie, the sides are a little disappointing. The potato salad looks really freakin’ good, all chopped up with a mustard dressing of sorts. Oddly, it just doesn’t have much taste to it. It’s not bad, it’s just not amazing. We’ll just order more pickles and cole slaw next time.

Burnt End Baked Beans
These beans pack some serious flavor. They’re good, but if you’re a fan of of Boston style, they might be a little smoky and spicy for your taste.

Cole Slaw
A little soggy, but that didn’t stop me from licking the paper bowl clean.

Food Rundown:

Butterhead Lettuce Salad
As discussed, meals at Back 40 start strong. The butterhead lettuce is similar to bibb lettuce. This salad is well dressed in a white balsamic and the shallots taste like candy. It’s also got a great name.

Summer Corn Soup
My favorite part of the meal, this corn soup was done right. Served cold with lime and chili oil, the combination of flavors was both refreshing and exciting. Excellent soup.

Summer Succotash
Here’s where the bottom starts to drop out. This summer veggie mash-up of corn, romano beans, tomatoes and squash sounded great of paper, but this came out a little slimy and kind of gross. Avoid it.

Grilled Catskill Trout
Speaking of gross…the trout came highly recommended from our waitress as the best fish swimming out of the kitchen. Sadly, it was a little bland, a little fishy and quite underwhelming.

Lemon and Coriander Rubbed Roast Chicken
More bad news. This chicken dish looked like something you bring home from Boston Market. It was greasy, oily and didn’t settle well in the belly. Not even the crispy smashed red potatoes and cipollini onions it was served with couldn’t save this dish.

Grass Fed Burger
This burger had the complexion of ET: a little gray, kind of gloomy and absolutely not something you want to put in your mouth. Since I went in thinking this could be awesome, it was a pretty big let down. Also, the rosemary fries were so-so. Oh well. You want a burger on Ave B? Head down the block to Royale.

The Red and Black
We’ll close this review up on a high note. This Red and Black drink is incredible, so incredible that I’m now making them for myself at home. Tequila, strawberries, black pepper and lime. Trust me, you’ll dig this.

Everyone loves August. It’s impossible not to. The same way I’m always down to watch those movies that are endlessly on TV like Any Given Sunday or Empire Records, I’m also always down for brunch at August. This little European bistro is perfectly located in the heart of all the good West Village action. The friendly space smells of firewood and has an awesome glass enclosed garden that gets tons of sun. August is really a better brunch/lunch spot than it is a dinner spot. The dinner entrees are never as exciting as the eggs, sandwiches and pizza you get during the daytime hours. Plus, the prices on the dinner menu are a little steep. One dinner option we do like, however, is the Sunday night “Pizza & Peronis” meal: one pizza and four Peronis for $25. Not necessarily the Gray’s Papaya recession special, but we back the idea and the pizza is really good. Speaking of pizza and beer, dudes, listen up – August is a great First/Early In The Game Date spot. Considering that her and her friends already love it, you’ll score extra points right off the bat by taking her to the location of her last Book Club meeting. Trust me; it’s a better option than the new Dos Caminos in the Meat Packing district.

Food Rundown:

Wood Oven Baked Eggs en Cocotte
The big ticket item here are baked eggs, cooked up in their own iron skillets. August divides up the different varieties by the European region they’re inspired by. You really can’t go wrong with ordering any of these, but our favorite is absolutely the Alsatian (bacon and onion with crème fraiche) with the Andalusian (chorizo and blistered peppers) coming in a close second.

Challah Bread French Toast
So good. If you’re big on challah bread French toast, definitely calorie splurge on this one. The key to making the outside so crisp is that they finish it in the oven.

Asparagus Mimosa
One of my favorite things to order here, the asparagus mimosa is on both the lunch and dinner menu. A breaded ball of fried egg that looks like a croquette served over a heap of cold asparagus stalks with dijon dressing. Full of bold flavors, but also crisp and refreshing.

Burger
The only thing fancy about this burger is the fried egg you can elect to place on top of it (which you should do, obviously – check the twitpic). This burger is a dead ringer for the one I’m going to make on the BBQ this weekend: ground chuck, lettuce, tomato, pickles and raw onions on a nice kaiser bun. High quality and straight forward. We dig this burger.

Grilled Chorizo Sandwich
For chorizo fans who like a little spice in their life, definitely check this sandwich out. Chorizo sausages served on a super soft bun with baby arugula, blistered peppers, and spicy smoked mayonnaise. Yes.

This review is specifically for the cafe, La Esquina’s urban surf shack – and the taqueria, a prime Outdoor/Patio Situation for People Watching. We’ve bitched plenty about the fact that there is very little in the way of good Mexican food in this city. La Esquina may not be the most authentic Mexican in town, but it is one of the few establishments to properly spin everything we love about NYC restaurants – attention to detail, high quality ingredients and smart flavor combinations – into a taco. Sure, two fish tacos at the cafe cost twelve bucks, but they’re worth every penny. Mexican food also tastes better when you’re listening to mix of funky merengue interspersed between choice favorites from The xx, Miike Snow and Florence + The Machine. Infatuation Approved grub to go along with Infatuation Approved tunes. That’s how we like it.

Food Rundown:

Cafe:

Oxtail Taquitos
We love taquitos. These skinny, crispy guys are a nice way to start off your meal, and for eight dollars, you can’t go wrong.

Ceviche Estilo Acapulco
Easily one of my favorite things to order here, this is a fresh fish ceviche (usually red snapper) that’s served in the same glass bowl you used to get Friendly’s ice cream sundaes in. Fresh lime, avocado, tomatoes and jalapenos give this starter a nice kick. A must order.

La Esquina Mole Negro
Half a chicken drenched in a sweet and savory mole sauce sauce that makes a strong case for best mole in NYC. It’s perfectly balanced – not too heavy or too sweet – and it really brings the chicken to life. We like the chicken mole enchiladas too.

Fish Tacos
Definitely not our favorite fish taco – that honor belongs to Yerba Buena and Mercadito Cantina. That said, on any given day, these can be a little better (or a little worse) than what you’ll find at Pinche and Barrio Chino. The fish shows up skewered in a soft taco with pickled red onions and shaved cabbage. It’s the red onions that get me every time. Pretty damn tasty.

Crispy Pork Tacos
These are absolutely ridiculous. I daydream about them often and pretty much only order this and fish tacos every time I visit…which is why this food rundown isn’t longer.

Taqueria:

Tacos
Solo tacos in the three to four dollar range, most of which land somewhere between good and excellent. Our favorites are the chorizo and the sausage with potatoes and cactus. The seasonal mushroom tacos are also really good.

Tortilla Soup
If you like your tortilla soups thick, skip this. The broth is super thin, but it has great flavor and a nice serving of avocado.

Cafe Gitane is the epitome of the “it” downtown cafe – a quintessential Nolita eatery and place to See and Be Seen that so many places try (and fail) to replicate. The food is actually prettty good. Dinner can be underwhelming, but brunch is indeed chronic, and the prices aren’t as bad as you might expect. But Cafe Gitane isn’t for everyone. The place is tiny, and staring down a bunch of really hot people while you cram your fat ass into a little chair isn’t always awesome. You are also pretty much guaranteed to face long waits, but during the summer it’s a great Warm Weather Dining destination, and can be worth hanging around for a table on the street or near one of the big windows. Especially if you’re looking to drink some coffee and watch the action go by.

Food Rundown:

Baked Eggs
Served with basil, tomato and cream, it’s the tangy tomato sauce that makes this dish. The eggs get nice and crisp on the outside edges and absorb the sauce and flavor in the middle. It’s a must to get some crusty bread for dunkage.

Orange Blossom Waffle
Orange blossom waffle? What? Don’t worry about it. Just order it. Topped with bananas, blueberries and strawberries, this big circular waffle looks like it came out of the same waffle maker you got off your wedding registry. You’re welcome.

Granola with Raisins, Cashews, Fresh Fruit and Yogurt
I admit there is nothing unique or original about this dish. You can find it on pretty much every brunch menu in town, but Cafe Gitane does good work with the basics.

Arugula, Beets, Apple, Olives & Walnuts Salad
Every restaurant in NYC has some play on this salad, and this one is head and shoulders above the competition. Everything about it is on point, from the fresh ingredients to the portion size. If you’re going salad, get this one.

Baked Feta
Served with capers, thyme, olives and tomatoes, this is one of the better “petit plats” on the menu. This part of the menu is straightforward; what you see is what you get. Brie & Apple? A couple slices of cheese, a couple slices of apple. The plats are a great way to start the meal or snack on while enjoying a coffee, just don’t expect to have your mind blown.

Avacado on Seven Grain Toast
Another “plat” (i really like writing that) not to miss. An excellent dish to share, this toast is topped with avocado, lemon juice, olive oil and chili flakes. Excellent.

Moroccon Couscous
One of their more popular specialties, this (sometimes leaning) tower of couscous is served with red peppers, raisins, toasted pine nuts, hummus and eggplant. We prefer the chicken add-on as opposed to the merguez sausage, although both are pretty solid.

The food is simple and very good – straightforward American, with something for everyone. Fish and meat dishes are equally tasty, and if all else fails, there’s french fries cooked in duck fat. There’s also a nice curbside patio and a huge wine list, which just so happen to work together very nicely. Order a few bottles and hang out for a while.

Food Rundown:

Buffalo Mozzarella
I haven’t met a buffalo mozzarella that I didn’t like, but this one is especially good, largely due to the balsamic carmelized onions on top.

Troutlings
Whole baby trout, deep fried and served with a tartar sauce. These are awesome. Pop them in your mouth head and all. I used to do this with goldfish in college, but they were alive and I was drinking Keystone Light out of a bucket instead of expensive wine. Otherwise not much else has changed.

Duck Fat Fries
I don’t know what to say about this other than to state the obvious. These are french fries, fried in duck fat. Enough said.

English Cut Lamb Chop
A huge cut of lamb that looks like a t-bone steak. Served with baby carrots, anchovy, and fennel. Excellent, but this is a massive plate of food, so come hungry. Those baby carrots are amazing.

Pan Seared Salmon
A really nice piece of salmon. Perfectly cooked and the peas and guanciale on the plate make it that much better.

Sauteed Skate Wing
Another great piece of fish, this one is a perfectly cooked piece of skate served with brown butter and golden raisins.

When it comes to good food and service, that hipster ideal of just not giving a shit doesn’t fly. Our party of four came in on a slow weekday night and our waitress was disinterested from the start. We don’t ask for much, and all it takes is about thirty seconds of pretending like you actually care for us to feel loved. Come say hello once. Let us know you’re at least attempting to do your job. Also, try not to give us terrible reccomendations (see the whole grilled trout). Lodge’s menu looked good, and it’s pretty damn cheap, but it ultimately fell short on the follow through. We’ll pass on the Brooklyn hipster aesthetic and eat somewhere good instead.

Food Rundown:

Hot Artichoke Dip
Very solid dip. Not in the category of Freemans by any means, but still quite good. Thick, almost doughy, and cheesy. Too bad it was downhill after this.

Steamed Mussels with Fries
Lodge cooks up its mussels with beer and Old Bay, making for a delicious broth. Unfortunately, these were a little on the fishy side, and tasty broth or not, we wouldn’t recommend them.

Lamb Sliders
If you ask us, a good lamb slider should be like a powerful little hand grenade of Mediterranean flavor, as opposed to these bland improvised non-explosive burger devices. Sorry…we just watched The Hurt Locker.

Whole Grilled Trout
What a travesty. Our uninterested waitress swore by this dish, only leading us to further question her competence. The fish was bone dry with giant pieces of undercooked rosemary. Note to all restaurants: if you’re not finely chopping the rosemary, leave it on the sprig and remove after cooking. The rosemary flavor will be there and I won’t have to chew on tree bark with my fish.

Pulled Pork
Some great sweet and smoky BBQ flavor going on here, but the presentation was a bit puzzling. The pork was served in a bowl with a little too much liquid goin’ on. No bread or anything to scoop up the goodness either. Luckily, this was served with a side of mac & cheese that may have been the best thing we ate at Lodge.

Scallop Jambalaya
This was a special when we came in, but was a thoroughly forgettable dish. Too much rice, and not much flavor. Gimme some spice please.

As for the food, the $62, four course tasting menu is a steal. This is first class dining at an affordable price. While the antipasta and main courses are solid, the pasta is the main event, and the reason you need to immediately make a reservation. We’re talkin’ next level shit. It’s so good that we would like to formally petition for a full pasta tasting menu a la Convivio’s sister restaurant Marea.

Service is low key, but incredibly informative. Our waiter knew every dish inside and out, and was pleasant but not overbearing. Almost everything we ate met or exceeded expectation, and we had a good time. We will say though, those Tudor City suits must be on a tight leash. The place was completely empty by 10pm. So while Convivio does have an excellent Outdoor/Patio Situation, perfect for a Special Occasion, don’t expect things to get too wild.

Food Rundown:

Brussels SproutsThe “Sfizi” section of the menu is made up of snack-sized plates of roasted sunchokes, saffron risotto croquettes, and spicy salame. It’s not part of the tasting menu, but is definitely something to pay attention to. Our first round of drinks tasted even better with some brussels sprouts, which came in an excellent vinaigrette with pancetta, and set the tone for the rest of the meal.

Grilled QuailIf you overcook quail ever so slightly, it can come out dry and bland (which we learned at Colicchio & Sons). This one was spot on. Tender, juicy and accompanied by a strong supporting cast of pancetta, radicchio, apples and mushroom. This was one of the better grilled quail dishes we’ve ever had, and we highly recommend checking it out.

Sliced YellowtailWe wanted to get down with a fish antipasti, and our waiter led us to the promised land. This buttery raw white fish was topped with a mix of pistachios and scallions in an olive puree. Every bite was absolutely incredible.

MalloreddusAfter an excellent round of appetizers it was time for the main event: pasta. Our waiter happily broke down just about every single pasta dish on the menu, and we came to the conclusion that I needed to get the Malloreddus. One of their signature pastas, this is a saffron gnocchetti with crab and sea urchin. Words can’t really describe how good this, and all the pasta is at Convivio. You’re just going to have to go and try for yourself. We hear good things about both the fusilli with pork shoulder ragu and the squid ink pappardelle. Put them on your list.

CaramelleRavioli filled with braised oxtail, escarole and pecorino. There wasn’t a chance in hell we were passing this one up. A glorious combination of a well crafted, and perfectly cooked pasta filled with slow cooked oxtail that tasted like the best short rib meat you’ve ever had. We could have easily taken down three orders of this.

Lamb ChopsThe pasta course is tough act to follow. I definitely enjoyed the salsa verde coated lamb chops, but couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that all I wanted was more pasta.

Strip SteakA massive, bone-in, Creekstone Farms strip steak, and it’s a $6 supplement to the prix fixe. For good reason. This is huge compared to the other entrees. The steak itself was extremely flavorful, but was missing that little something extra to make it special. More pasta please.

Fried CauliflowerSomehow, this kind of tasted like popcorn. Awesome.

DessertThe torta looked like something straight out off of Giada’s show, sans TV’s best cleavage. The almond cake with mascarpone cream and sour cherry gelato hit the spot. The bomboloni was solid too, although doughnuts are getting a little played out these days.