Slow Cooked

Smith's

I don't often spend my Monday nights out and about, but when picking a place to meet a friend last night, I figured a chilly Monday was the perfect opportunity to check out a relatively new, relatively hot restaurant without having to wait hours for a table.  Turns out, if the restaurant is new enough and hot enough, there will still be a 1.5 hour-plus wait on a Monday night.  Still, I was glad to have picked Smith's (the newest venture by Danny Abrams, of Red Cat, Mermaid Inn and Harrison), because it luckily has a clubby little bar in the back with a fun menu and a friendly bartender, and my friend and I managed to sample four or five dishes as well as a few glasses of wine, with absolutely no wait.

Smith's menu offers an exotic twist on greenmarket bistro fare: we had truffle deviled eggs, grilled tellagio and apple sandwiches, crispy brussel sprouts with almonds and an apple cake with ginger ice cream.  All of the dishes were almost dainty in presentation, but big on flavor, and the wines by the glass offered a generous selection with some options under $10/glass.  We each started with the sparkling Brut Rose di Rabosa, from the Veneto region of Italy, which was crisp and dry and acidic and delicious, especially with the cheese and apple dish.  My second glass was a lovely Zinfandel blend whose name escapes me but that I loved for being less jammy than a lot of Zinfandels I find on wine lists. 

The bar itself was a delight: it's dim and mirrored and there is velvet and a big Oriental rug and the entire vibe was very much goth-meets-club car.  The dining room is more understated but the bar felt like a secret compartment, hidden in the back of the restaurant, which made it all the more enjoyable.

I had neither the patience for the long wait nor the foresight to make a reservation, so I can't speak to the service or the full menu, but I can say that Smith's had a bewitching feel to it, and that I plan to return.  The location is somewhat surprising; it's on Macdougal, smack in the middle of NYU-land, amidst comedy clubs, coffee shops and bars, but Danny Abrams has created an elegant, stylish spot that is clearly attracting crowds.

Our bill, which included four drinks, three small plates (or was it four?  I feel like we tried something else that I'm forgetting...) and a dessert, came to $72 before tip.  Smith's ( 212-260-0100) is located at 79 Macdougal St., nr. Bleecker St. and accepts all major credit cards.

I am Officially Obsessed

...with Burrata cheese. On three consecutive Friday nights I've spent $8.99 at Citarella for a creamy Burrata. (Burrata, if you have not been lucky enough to encounter it, is a shell of fresh mozzarella filled with a mozzarella/cream fresh cheese center of gooey goodness.) I've spread it on bread, served it with sliced heirloom tomatoes, and most recently, replicated a favorite dish sampled in Boston last summer.

I whisked together about 1/4 cup olive oil, juice of one lemon, and about a teaspoon of honey and tossed lightly over baby arugula. Then I piled the arugula on plates, cut the burrata in half and put an oozing blob of cheese over the arugula, sprinkled with lemon zest and drizzled the tiniest bit of honey over the cheese. Heaven.

When I start eating burrata with a spoon, it's time to worry.

Noble Food & Wine

I wanted to love Noble Food & Wine but it was a case of the whole being less than the sum of its parts. We went on Saturday night, and I loved the decor, the sunken dining room with sleek wood paneling, loved the idea of reserve wines available by the glass but ultimately, I was underwhelmed.

The restaurant was strangely uncrowded for a Saturday night but even so, I was alarmed to see that there was (from what I could tell) one server attending to the entire room (which is small and beautiful, like sitting inside a jewelry box), and honestly, the pacing of the service was awkward: we ordered drinks by the glass but our first glasses of wine arrived well before our appetizers (I had ordered a sparkling wine from - no lie - New Mexico to pair with the tuna tartare appetizer but there was a long lag between receiving the drinks and the first course) and I was done with my entree before the pinot noir I had requested was brought to the table.

That said, the wine and food were all very good. The first wine I tried - the sparkling, from Gruet - was crisp and had pear and peach flavors, but not so much to overpower or clash with food. My first course was tangy and fresh: diced tuna and hamachi with grapefruit and watercress. Kevin started with a glass of oaky zinfandel and the crab cakes, which were thankfully not too bready (as a crab fanatic, too much filler is a cardinal crab cake sin in my mind). I had the lamb shank special which was served with exceptionally creamy polenta and sweet roasted tomatoes; Kevin had an excellent rib-eye steak with fingerlings and creamed spinach. The pinot noir (Roger, maybe? I can't recall the name but I think it was a Sonoma pinot) I ordered to have with my entree arrived too late to drink with the meal, but was delicious and chocolate-y.

Still, the overall experience didn't quite gel, and maybe it's a service issue more than anything else, but there was an...awkward vibe in the room. Also, and this might be nitpicking, but there was a large aromatic candle burning in the bar area, and while I couldn't smell it in the dining room (and it didn't smell BAD), I strongly dislike scented candles mixing with food; it's just too much. But, as I was waiting for my coat, I overheard the bartender waxing on about oyster varieties which gave me pause and might mean a return trip is warranted, even if just to sit at the bar and have some Blue Points. As long as that candle isn't burning.

Noble Food and Wine is located at 7 Spring Street and accepts all major credit cards. The menu is seasonal/new American, and the most noteworthy thing is their reserve list of wines by the glass (for instance: a glass of Silver Oak cabernet. For $55. A glass.)

Relocation

I am a Brooklyn loyalist but after a harried two weeks, I relocated to what initially felt like a brand new country: the Upper West Side. But along with having Central Park half a block from my door, I am discovering more than a few culinary treats in my new neighborhood. The Upper West Side has oft been maligned for its mediocre restaurants - at least, for quantity over quality - but there are several already on my list to try, including the recently-reviewed Dovetail on 77th. And, within just a few blocks of my apartment, I have Citarella (where I picked up a delicious burrata and heirloom tomatoes), Patsy's Pizza (where I ate my first night in the new digs), Jacques Torres (where I felt reminded, happily, of Brooklyn), Levain Bakery (where Sara swears I will find the best cookies in the city), Fairway (a madhouse, but one I keep going back to), City Grill (a comfy, favorite neighborhood bar and grill spot with a good burger and a bartender who knows his wines) and a branch of Le Pain Quotidien literally downstairs from my apartment. It was hard to leave all my favorite local Brooklyn shops and foodie haunts, but I'm starting to feel at home, here on my nice new block.

So share: what are the best spots on the Upper West Side? Good take-out options? Best brunch? Wine shop?