THE BEST (OR WORST) BLOG
People are always asking us for bar/restaurant recommendations and about our favorite places in the city—especially when we go other places! So I tried to come up with a sampling of a few of my current best/worst spots in the city to eat and/or drink. This commentary is obviously sooooo subjective and completely prisoner to how I’m feeling right now at this exact moment, lolling on my couch in my pj’s, about to watch Grey’s Anatomy. Tomorrow this list could be totally different, and in fact probably will, mainly because a new bar or restaurant opens in New York approximately every thirty seconds.
FIVE BEST
The Hog Pit: When I first moved to New York almost seven years ago, the meatpacking district housed exactly three watering holes: Pastis (love that too—absolutely favorite standby for breakfast, lunch, dinner and/or brunch), Lotus and my beloved Hog Pit. The fact that the PBR’s were once $2 and now cost a whopping $4 is a testament to the encroachment of about a thousand new restaurants, clubs and B&T-ers that swarm the area every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night like cockroaches. But I stand true to the Hog Pit, where the BBQ is authentic and the bartenders always piss drunk (if now only on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday nights).
Waverly Inn (formerly Ye Old Waverly Inn): Just because my dream of dreams is to write for Vanity Fair doesn’t mean I frequent this place just because Graydon Carter (re)opened it. It’s a small “hot spot” restaurant that’s been open for months but only "soft," or unofficially. The food is amazing and so is the wine and so is the crowd. Dale and I went there for dinner one night and were thrilled to get the mac-n-cheese we’d been hearing so much about…until we realized it cost $55 because it was made from truffles, which, according to the very solemn bartender, “are very rare.” Aside from that and the $100 rack of lamb, it’s stellar!
Spotted Pig: There was an article in the Sunday Styles section of the Times recently that talked about how passé it was to go out on a Saturday night in New York, especially to places like the Spotted Pig because they’re overrun, by…whom, I don’t know. Well, I don’t care what the haters say—they can stay home! I love this little neighborhood joint: the bartenders tend to skew toward butch, mean women, and I inexplicably enjoy flirting with them. I always meet great people here, and I love the burgers and pumpkin app. The wine is okay, but if you drink enough of it, it tastes divine! Though come to think of it, I suppose avoiding the whole weekend thing is not the worst idea in the world. It’s not that the crowd is bad, it’s just that it does get PACKED.
I Tre Merli/Diablo Royale: I would be remiss in choosing one over the other. They are equidistant from my apartment (I step down my stoop and walk five feet to either the right or left) and are, as the bar term goes, my “locals.” They are both really the best. I Tre Merli is Italian and Diablo is Mexican, so whichever way the wind blows on my food preference (if I am in fact planning to dine at one of them) is in the direction I walk. A general rule of thumb is Diablo BEFORE I go out (although I have been known to make an appearance late night especially if a particular bartender is working) and I Tre Merli AFTER a night of heavy boozing. But these are only guidelines, one can never go wrong with my locals.
Stanton Social: Mini Kobe burgers, French Onion soup dumplings, the raw bar, and the fact that for some reason every single time Tracey and I go there, some group of guys or another buys us dinner.
Shopsin’s: but it closed a few weeks ago! Ugh. Best breakfast ever!
Re-reading this list, I realize I am a total cliché, so I will indeed make every effort to change it up tomorrow. A new Tapas place called Tasca just opened on W. 10th and 7th Avenue so maybe I will make it beyond I Tre Merli for once and check it out.
THE WORST
Generally, anything associated with a midtown happy hour crowd. Playwright Tavern comes to mind.
Most places in the Meatpacking district (they closed Mark’t because they could no longer afford the ridiculous rent—tragedy!), especially, as previously mentioned, on the weekends.
I am kind of over Marquee, mainly because I am over the club scene, but in all truthfulness, it can still be fun there. Oh and also, I like the music they play at Stereo and Retox Rock Bar.
People are always asking us for bar/restaurant recommendations and about our favorite places in the city—especially when we go other places! So I tried to come up with a sampling of a few of my current best/worst spots in the city to eat and/or drink. This commentary is obviously sooooo subjective and completely prisoner to how I’m feeling right now at this exact moment, lolling on my couch in my pj’s, about to watch Grey’s Anatomy. Tomorrow this list could be totally different, and in fact probably will, mainly because a new bar or restaurant opens in New York approximately every thirty seconds.
FIVE BEST
The Hog Pit: When I first moved to New York almost seven years ago, the meatpacking district housed exactly three watering holes: Pastis (love that too—absolutely favorite standby for breakfast, lunch, dinner and/or brunch), Lotus and my beloved Hog Pit. The fact that the PBR’s were once $2 and now cost a whopping $4 is a testament to the encroachment of about a thousand new restaurants, clubs and B&T-ers that swarm the area every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night like cockroaches. But I stand true to the Hog Pit, where the BBQ is authentic and the bartenders always piss drunk (if now only on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday nights).
Waverly Inn (formerly Ye Old Waverly Inn): Just because my dream of dreams is to write for Vanity Fair doesn’t mean I frequent this place just because Graydon Carter (re)opened it. It’s a small “hot spot” restaurant that’s been open for months but only "soft," or unofficially. The food is amazing and so is the wine and so is the crowd. Dale and I went there for dinner one night and were thrilled to get the mac-n-cheese we’d been hearing so much about…until we realized it cost $55 because it was made from truffles, which, according to the very solemn bartender, “are very rare.” Aside from that and the $100 rack of lamb, it’s stellar!
Spotted Pig: There was an article in the Sunday Styles section of the Times recently that talked about how passé it was to go out on a Saturday night in New York, especially to places like the Spotted Pig because they’re overrun, by…whom, I don’t know. Well, I don’t care what the haters say—they can stay home! I love this little neighborhood joint: the bartenders tend to skew toward butch, mean women, and I inexplicably enjoy flirting with them. I always meet great people here, and I love the burgers and pumpkin app. The wine is okay, but if you drink enough of it, it tastes divine! Though come to think of it, I suppose avoiding the whole weekend thing is not the worst idea in the world. It’s not that the crowd is bad, it’s just that it does get PACKED.
I Tre Merli/Diablo Royale: I would be remiss in choosing one over the other. They are equidistant from my apartment (I step down my stoop and walk five feet to either the right or left) and are, as the bar term goes, my “locals.” They are both really the best. I Tre Merli is Italian and Diablo is Mexican, so whichever way the wind blows on my food preference (if I am in fact planning to dine at one of them) is in the direction I walk. A general rule of thumb is Diablo BEFORE I go out (although I have been known to make an appearance late night especially if a particular bartender is working) and I Tre Merli AFTER a night of heavy boozing. But these are only guidelines, one can never go wrong with my locals.
Stanton Social: Mini Kobe burgers, French Onion soup dumplings, the raw bar, and the fact that for some reason every single time Tracey and I go there, some group of guys or another buys us dinner.
Shopsin’s: but it closed a few weeks ago! Ugh. Best breakfast ever!
Re-reading this list, I realize I am a total cliché, so I will indeed make every effort to change it up tomorrow. A new Tapas place called Tasca just opened on W. 10th and 7th Avenue so maybe I will make it beyond I Tre Merli for once and check it out.
THE WORST
Generally, anything associated with a midtown happy hour crowd. Playwright Tavern comes to mind.
Most places in the Meatpacking district (they closed Mark’t because they could no longer afford the ridiculous rent—tragedy!), especially, as previously mentioned, on the weekends.
I am kind of over Marquee, mainly because I am over the club scene, but in all truthfulness, it can still be fun there. Oh and also, I like the music they play at Stereo and Retox Rock Bar.
posted by WhiskyChicks at 11:13 AM
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