« September 2006 | Main | November 2006 »
(This venue is closed.) Endearing Indian takeout joint with a few seats for passers-by; when the food's this good, I could care less about plastic trays and disposable plates. Here, lamb saag ($8.95) was accompanied by pea-dotted basmati rice.
Khushie
139 Essex St. (Rivington-Prince Sts.)
212-477-4400
Best Farm boasts a very fine selection of produce, especially for its size. Here's a hachiya persimmon ($1.99) and its diminutive tannin-free cousin, the fuyu (79 cents).
Best Farm
In the Essex Market, 120 Essex St. (Delancey-Rivington Sts.)
Closed Sunday
Lower East Side outpost of a Cambridge, Massachusetts, stalwart. Hiding in the second row under a thin brown moldy rind, castelrosso ($15.95 per pound) was cream-colored and crumbly, nutty and earthy, and hinting of lemon.
Formaggio Essex
In the Essex Market, 120 Essex St. (Delancey-Rivington Sts.)
Closed Sunday
212-982-8200
You might begin Ouest's classy pre-6:30 prix fixe dinner ($34) with a salad; I've always been enthralled by the soup of the day.
(This venue is closed.) Minimalist setting for rugged Catalan cooking, including tomaquet ($3), toasted peasant bread with tomatoes, garlic, and olive oil; asparagus ($6) with romesco, a garlicky tomato sauce; and ouillade (shown; $12) a sausage stew with spinach, corn, and carrots.
Café Ametller
35 Christopher St. (at Waverly Pl.)
212-989-0701
At a post-Series sale, I picked up two vintage packs of Topps baseball cards (15 cards plus one stick of bubble gum; $1). The '88 lacks snap, I quickly found, as this downsized stick (roughly half as large as the great vintages of the early '70s) crumbled in my mouth; the '89 is also well past its prime. As for the players, at least one of them still has a little snap on his curveball.
This is a great place to poke around for a few minutes; Economy is stacked floor to ceiling with sweets you'd utterly forgotten. Near the front door you can mix and match a bagful of "old-time candy" ($1.49 per pound), in my case equal scoops of Mary Janes, Walnettos, Bit-O-Honeys, and root beer barrels. Candy fruit slices ($2.99 per pound) were less satisfying; the version here tastes too much of pectin.
Zotz (strip of four; 75 cents) were one of my childhood favorites. Each fruit-flavored hard candy surrounds flavored sodium bicarbonate that fizzes out in a slow leak — until you give in and bite through to the center.
Economy Candy
108 Rivington St. (Essex-Ludlow Sts.)
212-254-1531
The interior of this corner café is very, very white, almost austere, but focus on the food and you'll recognize top-notch ingredients that are sublimely comforting, in their own restrained manner. Shown: speck on black cabbage bread ($9.50).
Falai Panetteria
79 Clinton St. (at Rivington St.)
(one of two locations)
212-777-8956
(This post reflects a visit to the West 84th St. location, now closed.) Though somewhat more than weak and weary, a warm slice of apple-cranberry-walnut pie ($5.50) leaned too heavily on the apples.
Edgar's Cafe
650 Amsterdam Ave. (91st-92nd Sts.), Manhattan
212-595-6261
It may not offer the specialties you can find at some downtown Vietnamese restaurants, but what Saigon Grill does it generally does quite well. Three standards: goi du du (shredded green papaya salad; shown at top; $6.25), with grilled beef, shredded carrots, basil, and a slightly spicy dressing with crushed peanuts; bo luc lac (seared steak cubes; shown below; $12.95), with greens and those interesting sesame taro chips; and xuong nuong (grilled pork chops; $8.95) marinated in lemongrass.
Although Saigon Grill makes a solid canh chua (hot and sour soup; $6.50 for a large order of the fish and shrimp version), a more interesting and very sizable choice is the Vietnamese seafood bouillabaisse ($14.95) a hot and sour lemongrass and tamarind broth with shrimp, sea scallops, crabmeat, fish, mussels, squid, and vegetables.
At least at the West Side location, the Japanese menu extends well beyond sushi and sashimi. Though I tasted my way through the ceviche, tiradito, and usuzukuri, nothing caught my fancy quite like this tuna tartar ($7.75).
Saigon Grill
620 Amsterdam Ave. (at 90th St.)
(one of two locations)
212-875-9072
It's a landmark, sure, though sometimes the seafood tends to toughen up on their pies (large; $21.95). These clams were plentiful, but chewy.
Lombardi's
32 Spring St. (at Mott St.)
212-941-7994
Thank you!
