LE PETIT BELGE

LE PETIT BELGE
22 East 14th Street
New York, NY 10003
(212) 807-7027

I'm finding myself on 14th Street more often these days than I ever thought. I'm either wandering the Farmer's Market or cruising the bargains at Filene's Basement, sitting in Union Square Park wondering what all these people are doing there in the middle of the afternoon or standing on line at Trader Joe's Wine. Somehow, I'm here all the time. In the course of these wanderings, I noticed a new little place, Le Petit Belge, occupying the spot where Tavalon Tea used to be. Since it was new, cheap, and I'm pretty sure that the logo is supposed to be Hercule Poirot, I knew I had to try their goods.

Le Petit Belge sells waffles and coffee. I was lucky when I went since there was no line, as usually there's a line to the door. In truth, this isn't hard. The space between the counter and the door is only about three feet. It's an extremely small space and if you think you can eat inside... think again. I ate at one of the two standing tables on the sidewalk. Luckily for me, it was warm enough to do so. Pretty soon, that option will go out the window.

The standard 6-inch Waffle is $3.50, but toppings can jump the price pretty quickly. I ordered my waffle with blackberries, fresh whipped cream and a dusting of powdered sugar. With a Cappuccino, I was looking at $8.75 before tax. Not terrible.

The waffle was incredible. Light and sweet, it was the physical manifestation of what a waffle's supposed to taste like. If you've been ingesting those horrid Eggo attempts at a waffle, I suggest you leggo. See what they're supposed to taste like. The only downside was that there were no knives when I was there and i was pretty much forced to tear the waffle apart with my fingers.

Since Le Petit Belge has a pastry selection, I also decided to try a Chocolate Croissant. I liked it a lot and wholly recommend it, but it was a little on the dense side and could have been lighter. I say this not being a croissant connoisseur. Those more in the know can add their two cents if they've tried it.

I returned with Bro today to try out some other toppings. He ordered his with raspberries and powdered sugar, and I tried caramel, kiwi, and powdered sugar. We they still good? Yep. And this time, I got a knife.

Read more...

GUSTO

GUSTO

519 Sixth Avenue
New York, NY 10011
(212) 242-5800

Organic food, in the last few years, has become a multi-billion dollar industry. One would think that some entrepreneurial soul would open a restaurant for holistic types who fear hormones more that a lobster fears butter. Wait! There us such a place; an organic-only foodery where carnivores and vegans alike can coalesce in culinary unison.



Seth, in the city on business and in dire need of warm food and my futon, met me in midtown where we decided to traverse southward looking at menus while I blathered on ad nauseum about my recently atrocious dating life. Frankly, all I wanted was a drink and really good food. Passable wasn't gonna cut it. Two miles later, we walked into Gusto.



We sat by the window in Gustos ultra-high-backed chairs. They were perfect for those winter nights when you're wearing a long coat. That said, it's to bad that the window was so drafty. I suggest that you pick a less drafty table unless you're wearing something warm.

Even the drinks at Gusto are organic. Organic beer, organic wine, organic cocktails. Organic shots are $8 each. At that price, I suggest that you savor every drop rather than line them up frat house style. Seth got an organic pale ale and I got an organic cocktail, a Caipiroska. Actually, I ordered two because the egg-shaped glass was actually plastic and, before I could take so much as a single sip, slipped out of my hand and was lost to the table. The staff at Gusto were nice enough not to charge me for a replacement. We followed these up with two more beers later on.

Seth skipped getting an appetizer, but that doesn't help you readers at all... plus I was starving... so I ordered the Empenada de Carne, a ground beef empanada. A single, lonely ground beef empanada. A single, lonely, delicious ground beef empanada. If you like your empanadas greaseless and sweet, soft but still crisp, then this is something you simply must order. I wish there were more of them. I wish there were ten.



Both Seth and I did the unthinkable and ordered specials rather than something off the menu. But I get the impression that the menu changes frequently. So, whatever. Ask for these dishes, you won't regret it. Seth ordered the Pasta Special, which is a fancy-schmancy way of saying penne alle vodka with asparagus and chicken. Al dente, sweet, smooth. Delicious. But not as delicious as mine, the Pumpkin Gnocci with Walnuts, which was incredible. Alas, the portion was rather small (good for my gut, bad for my tongue). Possibly the best gnocchi I've had in who knows how long and next time I might order two (bad for my gut, good for my tongue). In fact, I might ask for it even if it isn't on the menu.

After dinner, the meal slid a wee bit downhill. I ordered a coffee and Chocolate Ice Cream. The coffee bordered on terrible and the ice cream had the consistency of dust bunnies. It was clearly homemade. It didn't taste "bad" but if you're used to Edy's or Ben & Jerry's and like your ice cream creamy and butt cheek smooth, then skip it and get something else. However, that something else should not be the Tirmisu, a cake that looked far better than it tasted. Too moist, too syrupy. Seth liked it more than I did, but it didn't floor him and he rated it by simply shrugging his shoulders and grunting. Lastly, the tea. While I would certainly expect an organic restaurant to serve loose tea over bagged tea, I would not expect said loose tea to be served in a wasteful disposable paper contraption instead of a washable metal strainer. I mean, look at that thing. It just screams landfill.



One cocktail, three beers, one appetizer, two entree, one coffee, one tea, and two desserts came to $95 even, tax and tip not included.

Read more...

DEATH & COMPANY

DEATH & COMPANY
433 East 6th Street
New York, NY 10009
(212) 388-0882

I've found myself addicted to cocktails. I'll be at Strand pouring through cocktail guides, trying to find one that fits the "home bar" I made in the corner of my living room. And to continue that train of thought, I made a home-bar in the corner of my living room. Once upon a time, I couldn't have cared less. I thought that alcohol was just for those with nothing else to do. I thought that drinking just to get drunk was a waste of precious booze. But now I know that there's a time and there's a place where I can choose to walk the fine line between self-control and self-abuse.

Continuing my slow (and none-too-cheap) crawl across the city searching for good cocktails, I found myself at Death & Company, a bar which either has the coolest name ever, or the most pretentious. I'll go with cool. Situated smack in the middle of the 6th Street between First Avenue and Avenue A, if you don't know it's there, you'll walk right by. Hell, I know it's there and I still miss it. Fear not, dear traveller, there's a sign. Sort of. It's really more of an unlit carved wooden plaque that hopefully no one will be standing in front of at the moment you need it.

Death & Company does not take reservations; you just have to hope for a seat. Unlike at Pegu Club, standing at the bar isn't allowed. This ain't no meat market bar. If there aren't any seats, just give the guy at the door your cell phone number and he'll call you. Or prop yourself up against that carved wooden plaque and wait.

Death & Company has a small plates menu for those feeling a might but peckish, but I've never ordered the food here, instead choosing to stick to their libations. One very nice thing about Death & Company is that their menu is both larger than most others, as well as more traditional. In other words, you'll see something on it that you might have liked elsewhere, like a daiquiri (The Classic Daiquiri) or a mint julep (The Classic Julep), and then find variations on that theme, rather than some bizarre concoction, half of whose ingredients you've never heard of. In that sense, Death & Company possibly the perfect cocktail lounge for cocktail-scene newbies. You can order something unique, knowing that if you don't like it, you can fall back on an oldie but a goodie without fearing that the bartender will sneer at you while muttering "plebeian".

All of my drinks have been tasty, and if they weren't so damned expensive and the wait so damned long (expect to wait half an hour to an hour Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights), I'd be coming back again and again, working my way through the menu. In addition to the two "classics" above, I can recommend The Green Mile, if you like citrusy licorice, and The Spicy Paloma, if you like spicy. It's certainly an acquired taste, but by the bottom of the glass, I acquired it.

Cocktails are $13 each. 

Death & Company closes every day at midnight, so if you plan on staying out late, you'll need a backup bar.

Read more...