If the day ever comes when I leave this city – voluntarily, by court order, or otherwise – my last meal in town might very well be a few margaritas, an order of plantains, and 1/4 kilo of pork tacos at Mercadito Cantina. The newest outpost of the Mercadito NY restaurants is all about tacos, and though the fish tacos have been the main focus of raves and praise for Mercadito Cantina, the pork offerings are not to be missed. Most everything on the menu is simple, well executed, and gives you that special kind of gratification you get from eating street food, yet the dishes are anything but pedestrian. The space has the feel of the Momofuku dining room … wood paneled, lively, and has a very similar seating layout. I have always had good luck getting a table on busy nights, and the staff is welcoming. Bring friends and come hungry … ordering the tacos by weight is definitely the way to go.
On a beautiful day when Frank is on full blast it’s like the East Village’s see and be seen answer to Pastis. Everyone at Frank is feelin’ it; “it” being life. The vibe is contagious, and you really can’t escape it. That is, if you can handle people in your personal space. Frank packs ‘em in like the L Train at 8:30am on a work day. What’s that? You don’t like my elbow in your spaghetti? Sorry about that, but there’s no other place for me to put it. I promise I showered this morning.
It’s not like the East Village blew up into this crazy culinary hotspot overnight. Where leaders succeed, others follow. Frank Prisinzano opened Frank in 1998 and quickly became a leader in the E.V. food movement, blazing the tastemaker trail and building an Italian empire along the way (Lil’ Frankies, Supper). Frank has been serving hungry hipsters in this hood for years now and doing it with their own DIY “we do it our way” attitude. The food is consistently solid, though a little underwhelming at times, but you come back regardless because it’s places like this that make the East Village one of the dopest neighborhoods in the entire world.
Pearl, Ed, Mary, meet Luke. He’s come to town to show you what’s up. Luke and his lobsters have arrived in the East Village, and anyone in the neighborhood with a lobster roll on the menu is officially on notice. Luke grew up in Maine and the family business is seafood, so he’s using his lobster connections to get them cheap and truck them in daily. His mission? Show this city what a lobster roll should be – pure, unadulterated lobster goodness at an affordable price.
Now, we’re no stranger to the lobster roll, and honestly, there are some that come chock full of mayo and celery that we love. However, at the end of the day, a fourteen dollar roll of high quality fresh lobster is exactly the kind of thing that gets us fired up, even if it comes in the middle of October. There are definitely going to be some haters out there, and no doubt we’re going to get a bunch of emails from some jackass in Boston about how much better some seafood shack in Rockport is, but we don’t care. This is about New York City, and we back this place. One last thing to note: crowds are already starting to gather and lines are inevitable, but Luke’s Lobster is actually something in the neighborhood worth waiting around for. Artichoke, you are officially on notice too.
Let’s take a moment to set the record straight here. If any of you happen to show up at a restaurant and see Padma Lakshmi sitting at a table, it is your duty as a citizen to let us know. Hit us up on Twitter, send an email, put up the bat signal or, at the very least, sedate her and tag her ear so we can track her whereabouts. But please do something. Just as I was about to write this review of Il Posto Accanto, a close friend tells me he was there on our recommendation and saw the Indian queen of food and sexy dining at the bar with a friend. He just didn’t feel the need to tell us until two days later. How are we supposed to get a Friday Fives/start a family with her if our informants are sitting on info? I guess even though the intel is old, it does confirm that we have awesome taste. Il Posto Accanto is fantastic.
There is a good chance you’ve eaten Italian food on this block before, and if you haven’t, it’s time you do. This one street is home to not only Il Posto Accanto and it’s sister restaurant Il Baggato, but also date night MVP Supper. But Il Posto Accanto is the one that nobody seems to talk about. It’s the smallest, quietest, and least flashy of the three Italian spots on the block, and that’s what makes it great. You can still roll in on a Friday night and get a seat because everyone else is trying to get a table next door at Il Baggato. What they don’t know is that the two restaurants share a kitchen, and Il Posto Accanto is home to some of the best meatballs and pastas in town, along with a great wine list and open air dining. We were honestly sort of torn about writing this place up, but you’re a loyal reader and deserve to have it in your repertoire. Just promise you won’t tell New Jersey.
I don’t believe that Spitzer’s, a self proclaimed “Gastro Pub” (see The Spotted Pig), is in any way associated with our recently disgraced governor, though it would not surprise me to run into him drinking one of their forty hand crafted beers gearing up for an evening of chasing under-age women around the Lower East Side. This establishment, by the way, has a strict ID policy, so be prepared to get carded and have your hand stamped before you sit down. Once you get past that and the ridiculously wide bench seats that require a gymnastics routine to get in and out of … you are in for a treat. This is some of the best “bar food” in the city. The menu at Spitzer’s is a masterful example of taking the basics and turning them into truly special, one-of-a-kind signatures. Do not miss the short rib burger or the serrano chicken sandwich – number one on my list of New York’s best chicken sandwiches.
Feature: Infatuation TV: P.O.S.
