Wogies

First off, Wogies is a Philly bar, so beware. Me and a couple of buddies were looking for a bar to watch some football (TEBOW!!), drink some beers, and eat some good food. Wogies was the spot and ended up three for three!

$3-4 draughts of Six Point can't be beat. Medium-sized TVs in every corner of the fairly-small bar was adequate enough to watch the game from any seat at our table. Plus, the wings, waffle fries, and cheesesteaks were delicious bar-style food.

Buffalo wings were some of the best I've had in NYC. Crispy on the outside, moist & tasty on the inside, with sauce that's loaded with flavor and the right amount of heat.

The bread and guts of the sandwiches we ordered (buffalo chicken cheesesteak, pizza steak, fat jimmy, cheesesteak) left us all quite satisfied. One of my friends went so far to say "the bread was definitely baked in Philly." Whatever that means. It wasn't. Waffle fries were awesome, taboot.

If you're looking for a sports bar with great food, cheap beers, and decent TV coverage, then Wogies is the spot for you. I'll definitely be back there.

Ditch Plains

After walking around the West Village on Sunday morning, we worked up an appetite for some brunch and decided to finally try Ditch Plains. We've heard great things about their Lobster Bake but figured we'd check out what else they had to offer.

Turns out they have a lot to offer...for starters, the bloody mary was absolutely tremendous. Strong, spicy, and loaded with flavor, this hit the spot. Jess ordered an omelet stuffed with swiss cheese & mushrooms served alongside a salad & toast. It was a large omelet that was properly & evenly stuffed with the aforementioned additions.

Eric got the chicken burger topped with swiss cheese. The burger did not suffer from a lack of taste as many turkey & chicken burgers have a history of doing. Helped out by a healthy layer of swiss cheese and a soft, flavorful bun, this burger was well seasoned. Served with a juicy tomato, delicious pickles as well as a side salad and fries, it's a complete meal that will leave you satisfied.

We both walked out saying that everything we ate or drink was right on point. Add that to the relaxed vibe, great service, and convenient location, and I have a feeling we'll be back real soon for some more brunch and to check out their lobster bake.

Quick hits: Quantum Leap, Corner Bistro, & Cowgirl

A few meals that may or may not deserve their own write-up will get the quick-hits treatment.

Quantum Leap

On a hot afternoon, we were looking for a hearty meal to satisfy our appetites, but nothing too heavy that would weigh us down for the rest of the day. Enter Quantum Leap. This vegetarian restaurant in the heart of Greenwich Village was hoppin' and delivered exactly what we wanted. We each got a salad that perfectly straddled the line between healthy & hearty. I think Jess would recommend the veggie & tofu combo salad, while I would direct you towards the cobb salad. This ain't an ordinary cobb salad.. it's topped with soy bacon & veggie chik'n. No meat, no problem.

Corner Bistro

Corner Bistro almost definitely deserves its own blog entry. It has been one of my favorite bars & burger joints for many, many years and a place I used to frequent often with my friends from home. On this night, I met a group of 5 friends here for some beers, burgers, and fries. For some in the gang, it was their first corner bistro experience, so I was trying not to raise expectations too high. The truth is that it probably didn't matter. Corner Bistro absolutely rocks and everyone loved it. From waiting in line with a McSorley's beer (ale or dark) in hand at an unassuming hole-in-the-wall, to the cramped quarters in the back "dining room" to the bartender we call "Smitty" that seems like he has worked there for 145 years, you can't help but fall in love with the bistro. It helps that the food is no slouch. The bistro burger comes with cheese & bacon and costs a mere $6.75. It's my favorite burger in the city... at almost a half pound of meat after cooking, it's loaded with flavor and always cooked to order. I could sing its praises for a few more paragraphs but there's no need.. it's exactly what you want in a bacon cheeseburger. Throw in an order of fries that I'm fairly confident are cooked in bacon fat and you are enjoying the finest bar food this city has to offer. If you haven't been yet, please do yourself a favor and go.

Cowgirl

Come for the sweet potato fries, stay for the sighting of Elton from Clueless. Not to take anything away from Clueless, as it's one of the better movies of our generation, but it doesn't say much about Cowgirl when spotting Elton was the highlight of the meal. Personally, I really enjoyed my buffalo chicken sandwich (fried chicken smothered in buffalo sauce & topped with blue cheese) as well as the sweet potato fries served with maple pecan dipping sauce. However, Jess and our friend Craig, found the mahi mahi fish tacos to be rather awful. It was one of their August specials. Not that special. If you check out Cowgirl, make sure to get something off the regular menu as both my dish and the dishes of Jess & Lauren, our other friends, were much better than the fish tacos. We decided the place is very New Mexican -- half Texas and half Mexico. Check it out, but don't go in with any expectations.

Joseph Leonard

We went out to Joseph Leonard – a restaurant that has long been on our list, and should be on yours too - this past Friday night. Resting on the corner of Waverly & Grove in a converted one-bedroom apartment, Joseph Leonard has a great vibe. You walk in and are immediately greeted by an L-shaped bar and classic rock (Clapton, Talking Heads, etc) blasting from the speaker system.

With a bar on the ground floor and the kitchen "upstairs" (just a few of them), JL has very limited seating and one is expected to have to wait for a table on the weekend. We were shocked when we were brought right to a table on the upper level. SCORE!

It looked like everyone sitting at the bar was socializing and having a great time - it's definitely that kind of place. There are also seats right in front of the kitchen, which seemed fun since the chef was chatting with customers and it's always a plus to be able to see your food being cooked!

Instead of bread on the table, they have out a jar of mini pickles – double score! We started off with a couple of their cocktails & a handful of their daily selection of oysters. On this night they had some from two northeast states that we can't remember. No matter where they were from, they were damn tasty and went down very easy with our drinks...a great way to kick things off.

On to the main course & a couple more cocktails (they make a mean old fashioned)... Jess ordered the cod, which was crispy on the outside and served with confit red peppers, yukon potatoes and a salsa verde. All the flavors went well together and made for a filling and satisfying dish.

While Jess was the one tipped off to the treasure that is JL, Jess was Eric's tipster on what to order. The consensus of JL eaters is that the braised pork hock is the thing to get. Since Eric is a sucker for signature dishes, he signed up for some hock, despite not having a clue what he was getting himself into. The waitress explained that it’s brined and then braised overnight….and then deep fried. So, he knew that this couldn't end too poorly. Served alongside an arugula salad, this pork hock was down right filthy (in a good way). With a crispy exterior and meat on the interior that was falling off the bone, it was the right choice. Each bite was scrumptious & loaded with pork-y goodness. We quickly understood why NY Magazine put this on their "Best Of Pork" list.

We also got a side of the brussels sprouts that need to be mentioned because of the unique way they were prepared... shredded, roasted, & then topped with some sriracha (hot sauce). Delicious!

There was not enough room for dessert so we continued to sip our drinks as the meal came to a close. We loved our dinner at Joseph Leonard and will definitely be back when we want a tasty meal out with some cocktails.

Corsino and the story of the dish so nice, we ordered it twice!

Corsino has been on the top of our list for a while and on a snowy Friday evening last month, we finally busted our cherry. The restaurant has an Italian wine bar feel with it's dark interior, wooden tables and wine glasses everywhere. The menu options make it hard to choose between the shared plates, pastas and meats.

We started with a big ole caraff of red wine and that immediately warmed our souls & brought smiles to our faces. We ordered the following crostinis:

• sweet onion & walnut
• brussels sprouts & pecorino
• ricotta & orange honey
• radicchio & goat cheese
• basil pesto

Each was large enough for the two of us to split and have a few bites. Some were better than others, namely the ricotta and orange honey, which was so delectable that we got another order for DESSERT! The balance between the smooth and subtle saltiness of the ricotta was perfectly complemented by the sweet and tangy orange honey. A perfect bite.

After the crostinis, we debated back and forth about what to share next and came up with the fusilli with lemon, scallions, chili & pecorino romano as well as the heritage brisket meatballs.

The pasta was recommended by our server and I don't think it would normally be a dish that would catch our eye, but it was simple and very flavorful. The chili and scallions really added a nice element to the dish. And the brisket meatballs? Well, how can you go wrong when you've got a meatball made with brisket? They came in a delicious tomato sauce and felt just downright old school Italian.

The vibe at Corsino paired with that heavenly ricotta honey crostini will definitely lure us back. A great "go-to" restaurant. Get involved.

L'Artusi is for Lovers

This past weekend, Eric and I hit up L'Artusi, which I had been wanting to try for a while now. We were lucky enough to get a 9 pm reservation, because it's definitely one of those places that's always packed. For a quieter, more intimate meal, try to be seated upstairs, where they have a wine room and less going on. We sat on the first floor in the back by the kitchen, where it was loud and crowded. However, even though I felt like I was in the middle of our neighbors' conversation, they couldn't distract me from the fact that their food rules.

We started out with the mushroom appetizer with fried egg, pancetta and ricotta salata. Each bite was full of flavor - maybe a little salty - but definitely one of the best mushroom dishes I've tasted. Complete flavortown. 

Mushrooms covered with a fried egg

Next up was the butter lettuce with lemon crema, gorgonzola, hazelnuts and olives. We both agreed that in our meal's setlist, this was the slow song that you need to catch a breather in between non-stop rock and roll jamming. Not a bad slow song - this dish was great. The lettuce was soft, the cheese was creamy and the hazelnuts added a nice crunch. This dish completely did it's part and did us well.


A heaping pile of butter lettuce

The ricotta ravioli with pecorino and black pepper came next and was recommended by our waitress because they make their ricotta in house. Perhaps aided by the buttery sauce, this pasta was deliciously rich and savory. I'm happy we decided to split everything because each dish was rich enough that you were fine having just half....well, maybe we could have each had a serving of this ravioli.

Our entree was the chicken, which was another recommendation by the waitress, after acknowledging, "I know it's chicken, but it's delicious." She was correct - they serve it in their own type of marsala sauce and every bit was tasty and savory - not dry and plain like chicken can be. This was the rocking set closer of our meal.

Encore: enter olive oil cake with a side of cappuccino gelato. This satisfied our sweet tooth and was a great capper to the evening.

We'll definitely be back here - it's a great place to go with a group and share plates. Or you may just want to go and get the ricotta ravioli for yourself. I know Eric does. http://lartusi.com/index.html

Bobo

Labor Day weekend was our staycation and on Saturday evening, we headed west to Bobo with our pals Ilana and Max. These two get special mention for being cool and for knowing the head chef, which entitled us to some nice add-ons along the way. So, ALERT: some items that we received were not on the menu...please don't be too jealous.

Let me start off by saying Bobo definitely wins you over with its atmosphere right away. It's housed in a West Village townhouse and has two floors, oozing with soft lighting and eclectic decorations. It's a great spot to have a cocktail and some appetizers at the bar, and evokes the feeling that you may see Ernest Hemingway knocking a few back two stools away from you. Why? It just does.

We started out with the Ahi Tuna with avocado and cilantro, which was by far the most scrumptious bite of the evening. The dish seems simple but the tuna is fresh, thick and bursting with flavor - this appetizer is a must. We also got some fried oysters and turnip scallops - both which were delicious. Some add-ons that came out were savory pancakes with a tomatillo salsa for on top along with a beet salad. We were stuffed and hadn't even received the entrees yet!...but everything was top notch.

The ladies got the trout, which came with a lovely meyer lemon sauce and fresh vegetables. The men opted for meat. Eric got the cheeseburger, which was fat, juicy, and topped with fried leeks. Not what he was expecting, but a flavorful surprise nonetheless.

Alongside our entrees came some pequillo peppers stuffed with lamb sausage - if that doesn't get your mouth watering, you probably should stop reading our blog. Flavor, freshness, creativity...boom! Great dish.

On the side came a summer succotash, which was heavenly: fresh corn, butter and tomatoes, which melted together in your mouth. We also received some sautéed green onions, which were tasty. This place knows how to do its vegetables.

Dessert? ....Nah! We were way too full. But the bruleed cheesecake sounds rather gluttonous, so we'll have to come back and indulge further.

Bobo is a great spot for some dank eats and fresh veggies! http://www.bobonyc.com/#MENUS

Monte's Trattoria

My parent's best friends were in from the west coast, so we were going to do a family dinner with them on Friday night. While trying to brainstorm a great place to take them that would represent New York properly, I quickly suggested that we head to one of my family's favorite Italian restaurants... Monte's Trattoria in the heart of Greenwich Village. Monte's has an old school Italian restaurant feel with a wait staff that has been there since my parents started going there many, many years ago.

For the table, we shared their baked artichoke dish as well as their mussels in white wine sauce. There were also a couple of salads going around but Jess & I didn't partake. The baked artichoke was stuffed with a tasty breadcrumb-based mixture, some olive oil, garlic and cheese - delicious but a little oily.

The mussels were very good and the white wine sauce they were soaked in had chunks of garlic and was good enough that my dad & I did a little bread-soaking. There was also some bread-soaking in the remaining juices of the baked artichoke app. We do a lot of bread-soaking in this family.

For our main course, I got the Shrimps Monte's. My dad turned me on to this dish a few years back and every time we go there, we always get the same thing... it's that good! You get 5-7 large shrimp that are breaded with garlic, parsley, olive oil, & goodness. Served with a side of linguine in garlic & oil sauce (you can also get veggies), the perfect bite consists of a fork-full of linguine, a half of a shrimp, and a splash of parmesan cheese. Close your eyes, chew, and enjoy! Love this dish!

Jess got the Chicken Cacciatore, which was also a big hit. The chicken is in pieces (both white and dark meat) in a thick, savory, brown sauce with mushrooms and red peppers. The sauce is definitely bread-dunk-worthy and the chicken was delicious and tender.

It's worth noting that my mother's dish, the Veal Chop Milanese, was melt-in-your-mouth good! If I were to ever veer away from the Shrimps Monte's, it would be for this dish.

For dessert, the table split a canoli, tiramisu, & zabaglione. Depending on what tickles your fancy, everything was good, but nothing was you-have-to-get-this great. Nonetheless, a nice way to satisfy ones sweet tooth.

Looking for a great Italian restaurant with a New York feel in the village? Check out Monte's on MacDougal... hopefully you enjoy it as much as my family does.

For more information: http://www.montestrattorianyc.com/

Yerba Buena Perry (Brunch)

After running the Brooklyn Half-Marathon, Jess & I headed to Yerba Buena Perry for a hearty, celebratory meal with our parents. The outside of YBP is very unassuming, and before entering, we were unsure if the place was even open. This would be OK if the restaurant was packed, but it was at best 1/3 full. Makes us think that the look of the exterior is doing the restaurant a disservice. Many passerby's wouldn't even know that inside is a Latin restaurant with great food & tasty cocktails.

The "good bartender" was behind the bar so we all indulged in a celebratory drink - bloody mary's, blueberry gimlets, & a mojito. Everyone enjoyed their respective drinks & every last drop was devoured by the meal's end ;-)

The guacamole to start was smoky, chunky, & topped with queso fresco. I'm not the biggest fan of smoky guac, but this worked well with the layer of cheese on top balancing it out. The chips were a bit salty and served already dipped into the guac. Interesting presentation.

We ordered the sausage chorizo side dish as an appetizer & it comes with one sweet sausage & one spicy chorizo. Both were stellar and some people liked the sweet better, while others preferred the spicy... all about what tickles your taste buds.

Jess got the tilapia fish tacos, which were quite good but a little weak on the portion size. We both felt that for $13 they should serve you 3 tacos, rather than 2 small tacos. The dish did come with a healthy portion of rice & beans, but that's not why anyone orders that dish & YBP should know that.

There was no complaining about the portion of my dish, the Cubano Sandwich:

In between two pieces of freshly toasted baguette was serrano ham, BBQ suckling pig, brie cheese, chipotle mustard, & pickles. This sandwich was hearty & delicious... exactly what I was looking for! The crunchy bread was perfect, the brie cheese was strong enough to cut through the layers of pork, & both the ham & pig were uber-tasty. Served alongside Papas Provenzal - long, thin potato chips - and a side salad, this dish was a big winner in my book!!

To satisfy our sweet tooth, the table split the churros - served with mexican hot chocolate, that's so sweet it should be illegal. One mini churro per person with a follow-up sip of hot chocolate hit the spot!

Worth mentioning was that the french toast was out-of-this-world amazing.

We'll definitely be back to YBP to sample this savory dish for brunch & see what they can offer to a couple of restaurant hoppers for dinner.

The Spotted Pig

We headed down to The Spotted Pig at 6:30 on a Saturday evening expecting to get seated between 7:30 & 8. The host gave us a 1-hour wait time, so we strolled upstairs to the bar for a cocktail or two before getting seated. Before the Devils on Horseback were even delivered to us, we were seated! Turns out 1 hour was only 15 minutes.. score!

Their martini was served purple w/ kalamata olives, and the Old Speckled Hen beer (an amber) was roughly 20-24 ounces... a great deal (or at least as good of a deal as you can expect from The Spotted Pig).
The Devils on Horseback was mentioned on Food Network's "Best Thing I Ever Ate" and it's certainly the best bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with almonds that I've ever had the luxury of eating ;-) While it might be tough to screw this up, it's also not easy to blow away all previous renditions of this dish. They did! The bacon was cooked perfectly with no chewy fat, and the rest of it just melted in your mouth. It didn't hurt that I'm a date-lover. Five of these for $7 is a great way to start you off.
Next came the ricotta gnudi, which our helpful waiter told us was their specialty. He wasn't lying. It's 8 balls of ricotta cheese served in a brown butter & sage mixture... Once again, it's hard to mess this combo up. Nonetheless, it was nailed, and is a great appetizer for a table of 4, or in this case a table of 2. What can we say? We felt like splurging!

I read a bunch of reviews raving about the chicken liver toast, so I figured that would be a harmless "bar snack" to throw on the table... We were expecting a few crackers with a modest helping of liver... WRONG! It's a very healthy heaping of chicken liver piled on top of a large, crunchy piece of bread. It was quite good, but a bit over the top after already having two apps. Plus, we wanted to save some room for the stars of the show... the entrees: After the older woman next to us described the above pork dish as "orgasmic," I couldn't not order it. And, as the saying goes, "When in Rome..." Turns out, she was spot on! It was a large portion of super flavorful, tender, lean pork under some roasted shallots & scallions. I'm not a pork guy at all, but this dish might have converted me. An intense amount of flavor filled my mouth with every bite & I never wanted the dish to end. I was a happy camper:
Jess agreed with my assessment as she never turned down an offer to have a bite.

Jess went a bit lighter with her entree & ordered the sea bass with fennel & salsa verde. The bass was cooked perfectly as the crispy skin had a great crunch to it, and the rest of the fish was nice & flakey. This dish also had tons of flavor from the salsa verde. It came with a salad on the side in a lemon-y vinaigrette.
The side dish of roasted onions & sage pesto looked too good on paper not to order... I'm glad we did cause it looked good on the plate, and tasted even better in our mouths! A must-get if you like roasted onions & pesto.

As you can tell, we would whole-heartedly recommend The Spotted Pig to anyone looking for an over-the-top delicious meal. Don't expect to go there and leave feeling healthy about what you ate, but if you can forget about that for one night you'd be hard-pressed to find a better meal.

Gonzo

Last weekend, we went out to dinner with our parents to Gonzo (13th St btwn 6th & 7th). We had heard good things and it was on our mental list of "places to try." Gonzo is sneakily big as you walk down a few stairs to get in and are greeted by a bar area with a bunch of tables. However, if you keep heading towards the back, you walk into a large dining room with an open, yet rustic, feel.. With the large, open room, Gonzo got loud by 9-10 PM when it really started to fill up. They seated us at a circular table, which is always nice when you are dining with 6 or more people. Plus, by going with a group of 6 people we were able to sample a bunch of the different dishes offered:

Appys: We'll start off with what Eric felt was the best thing that he tasted all night... Wild mushroom pizza! We ordered a pizza - half mushroom, half margherita - for the table and everyone was able to eat 2 slices (1 of each).

The sauteed mushroms & onions were carmelized to perfection and together with the muzzarella cheese and "tortilla-thin" pizza crust, it was a pizza party for your taste buds! Everyone who tried this slice was a fan! The margherita was fairly average, so we would say that if you go, try something a bit more exotic - they had lots of pizza options with a variety of toppings.

We also shared the grilled onion salad with aged balsamic vinegar and the arugula salad:


Both salads were a success and the same could be said for each: if you like onions/arugula then you'll be sure to enjoy this salad. For an additional $4, you got some aged balsamic vinegar on top of the grilled onion salad. We read before that this was worth trying so we indulged. No doubt, it was tasty & a great way to give the dish a little more life, but if you're not a big balsamic fan or don't want to spend $17 on a salad appetizer, don't feel bad for not getting it as it doesn't make or break the dish. The arugula salad comes with a tasty surprise underneath the bed of greens, but we wouldn't want to ruin that for you so you'll have to go to Gonzo to see for yourself!

On to the entrees: I (Eric) got the braised shortribs since it came highly recommend by our server (very sweet woman, although on this Saturday night, she was a bit all over the place). I normally don't order shortribs but I figured what the heck!


The shortribs were very tender, and were falling off the bone. The meat had tons of flavor and the fat was marbled right in there so very few bites were too chewy or fatty. The portion size was HUGE and could easily be split into two meals. Especially since we got a handful of sides for the table.

The creamy polenta was super rich and had mascarpone cheese mixed in to give it its creaminess. It paired perfectly with the hearty shortribs. The balsamic roasted brussels sprouts & roasted asparagus were both above average sides that paired better with some of the lighter dishes on the table.

Would I get the shortribs again? Probably not. Even though they were cooked very well, it was still a bit too fatty for me, and just not my thing. Next time around I want to see what their pasta dishes have to offer..

I (Jess) went a little lighter and ordered the grilled scallops:


There was an arugala pesto on top and it was a lovely flavor match for the scallops. Since it's been almost a week, I don't remember what went along with them, but it was a delicious dish that I would order again if I went there.

For dessert, the table shared two dishes: a brown sugar cheesecake & a pecan praline ice cream sandwich. The latter was held together by two pecan meringue cookies and filled with vanilla ice cream. The former was a slice of cheesecake heaven to top off an already rich meal. This was one of the stronger pieces of cheesecake we've had in some time with a great, crumbly crust and sweet, creamy filling. Won the award for the dessert MVP! Please make sure you save some room for it!

Also worth mentioning was that Gonzo had a great wine list, with lots of good reds & whites to choose from. All in all, Gonzo is a solid spot worth venturing to for a quality Italian meal. We hope to return soon to sample some more of their menu.