Holy last weekend! Bianca, The Palm, Home, and Colicchio & Sons!

Thursday night

After a long day at the office, we headed out for a meal at Bianca...a spot we had last hit up about 3-4 years ago and needed our fix again. Bianca is owned by the same person who owns Celeste (a Farkas family favorite) and Teodora - both of which serve authentic, delicious and affordable Italian food. The constant wait is partially a result of Bianca's cramped quarters but also indicative of the fact that the food there is awesome & everyone wants a piece.

When you're told that there's a wait, you can go to the bar next door and they'll come find you when your table is ready. Or you can just hang out on Bleecker Street. Either way, you're a winner when you get seated. Bianca feels very New York. You are practically seated on top of your dining neighbors and the pace of the wait staff can best be described as hustle & bustle. They start you off with some bread & fantastic olive oil. Rumor has it that the owners bring in their ingredients fresh from Italy.

They have a limited selection of vino by the glass but what they do have is good (and affordable). A pot of mussels to start was a great way to kick things off. In typical fashion, Eric was slurping down the leftover mussel broth at the bottom of the bowl. Jess is a HUGE fan of their balsamic chicken and she ordered that. It didn't disappoint. The balsamic sauce is thick and sweet with just enough acidity, and alongside a bed of mixed greens, this dish is filling and fantastic. Eric went with their lasagna bolognese. It was as good as the reviews made it out to be.

By the end of our entrees, we were stuffed & pleased to see a $50 bill... Two glasses of wine, a bowl of mussels, and two entrees. This place is a steal and we'll be back prior to 3-4 years down the road. In typical NYC fashion, by the time we were out of the restaurant, another couple was promptly seated at our table. The hustle & bustle never stops....

Friday night

April 8th... Eric's mom's birthday! We celebrated with a meal at The Palm West. We had previously eaten there for Eric's parents anniversary in December and his father liked it so much that he wanted us to go back. Sure thing! You can check out our initial review of The Palm here.

The only thing we would add is that the waiter we had was a bit sour and the steak was overcooked by one notch: medium rare was medium, medium was medium-medium well. While the steak was still delicious and we finished every last bite, we made a note of this to the manager and they brought out a tray of desserts for us on the house. A very nice gesture.

Saturday brunch

For brunch we headed over to Home, a cute spot in Greenwich Village. Our friends who live nearby steered us here and we were looking forward to some home cooking in a beautiful outdoor garden.

We were both slightly underwhelmed. The duck confit & butternut squash hash with sunny side up eggs was good, but it sounded better than it tasted. Jess' chopped salad was OK but nothing to rave about. I don't think we'll be back for brunch in the near future. Oh well.

Saturday night

That night, we met our friends at the Tap Room at Colicchio & Sons. This was preceded by Tom Colicchio (@tom_colicchio) tweeting us (@restohoppers) his recommendations on what to order. Unfortunately for us his 3 recos (pork belly, cod, & duck) were not on the Tap Room menu. The Tap Room is the dining area by the bar, and has a different menu than the dining room.

For starters, we got adventurous & shared the bone marrow, which was raved about by all the reviewers. It was spread on some toast with an onion relish. We all liked it but didn't love it. We tasted more of the onion relish than the marrow. We also shared the taleggio & sopressata pizza and the cavatelli...a great way to start the meal off.

For our main course, Eric got the burger and Jess went with the tilefish. The burger with onions & pecorino cheese was really juicy and flavorful and a hit at the table. Jess was so enthralled with Eric's burger that she came back for a 2nd bite! Eric was dubious at first, but the bbq potato chips served on the side were a great compliment.

We topped things off with a duo of desserts. The ice cream parfait outshined the cookie jar by a mile.

All in all, the food, the company, & the atmosphere were top notch! If you want to get a little bit of Tom Colicchio goodness without breaking the bank at Craft or the main dining room, then Tap Room is a great place for you.

So, there you have it... a helluva weekend for the resto hoppers!

Fall > Winter Round Up

The Resto Hoppers have been busy eating, but not very busy writing. That's about to change. Here's a rundown on some of the spots we've checked out as Fall turns to Winter in New York City:

Sarabeth's East - This UES establishment is better known for its brunch, but don't rule it out for dinner. Their bread basket is tremendous and the $30 3-course price fixe option is a steal. The portions here were surprisingly large and Jess & I really enjoyed our dishes - cod & steak. The only complaint was that the pumpkin tortelloni was overpowered by the balsamic sauce it was cooked in.

(Following Sarabeth's, Jess & I went to hear Matthew Weiner speak at the 92nd Street Y. He's the creator of Mad Men and it was an absolute treat getting to hear such a brilliant guy speak about the show. I would recommend everyone watch Mad Men & seek out interviews with Matthew Weiner.)

The Palm West - We came here with my family to celebrate my parents 36th wedding anniversary!! Despite getting seated a bit late because the other Farks were stuck in an elevator, we had a truly unbelievable meal. Now we know why this place is a classic NYC establishment. From the apple & pecan salad to the cream of broccoli soup to the tuna entree to the filet mignon to the half & half side to the cheesecake, EVERY BITE was amazing. I won't go into the nitty gritty details, but just know that if you are looking for a top notch steakhouse experience, look no further than The Palm. What a fantastic meal!

Flex Mussels - Our dear friend & avid reader, Jason Morman, recommended this spot to us after having one of the better meals of his life here. Couple this enthusiasm with a 30% off deal through Village Vines, and we had to check out what the hype was about. It's all about the thai mussels - they come in a huge pot with plenty of broth to slurp along with the mussels. We also got the pesto mussels, but they could not stand up to the thai goodness. If you're a mussels person, you need to check this spot out. Their donuts are supposed to be ridiculous as well.

These thai mussels taste much better than they look. Trust us.

Pizza Box - Their pizza is great. Their $6 chicken parm hero is not. After 3.5 years of eating Muzzarella's delicious, as-big-as-your-arm chicken parm, I was spoiled. This version doesn't come close Muzzarella's and I guess I was a bit greedy thinking that it would. I'll keep coming back for pizza and may even try a meatball or eggplant parm hero but no way will I be going back to the chicken parm hero. I'll have to head up to 14th St & Ave A for that.

MaMoun's - $5 falafel plate FTW! Plate is a salad with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, lemon juice (secret ingredient), 6 falafel balls, tahini sauce, and 2 warm pitas. It's phenomenal - tasty & filling and a quick pick-up for dinner.

Lines out the door are the norm at MaMoun's.

Grey Dog - Major bummer that they moved away from their old home fries (shredded potato sauteed with onions to crispy perfection) that we loved so much to a more traditional style of home fries (potato cubes sauteed with peppers & onions and then oversalted). I'm sure we'll be back here for brunch, but not as often as we would be if they hadn't messed with something that wasn't broken.

The old GD hash browns. We'll miss you.