Grade A Restaurants are Back in the East Village

What a relief. 'A's are everywhere in the East Village.

It was a grade that was noticeably absent in many of the most popular neighborhood restaurants just a few months ago, prompting me to write about the disappointing news.

Not anymore. From Giano and La Lucha to Hasaki and Northern Spy Food Co., A, A, A, A. Ravi DeRossi, who owns eight local hot spots alone, confirmed that all of them, from Death & Co, The Bourgeois Pig, Mayahuel, Desnuda, Cienfuegos, El Cobre, Amor y Amargo and 124 Rabbit Club, now display straight 'A's. Good news we could all use to start the week off. Happy dining.

For a look at all how your favorite restaurant is performing, check out the official NYC Health Department site.

Momofuku's Duck Bar Extraordinaire

Duck perfection

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. This is especially true with David Chang's weekday lunch-only duck homage at Momofuku Ssam Bar. All of the action - from ordering to prep - takes place in the back room, the former Milk Bar (don't panic -Milk Bar has conveniently moved directly across the street).

No ordinary sandwich

Order at the counter. First timers, there is only one way to go: duck over rice ($14) with chive pancake ($2). It's a rich, sexy masterpiece.

If two are willing to share, also get the duck sandwich ($12) - a sort of 'Chang' mi, with layers of duck ham, mortadella and duck mousse.

Then sit back, facing the chef, and be seduced by the theatre on display.

The star attraction

It's all happening before wide eyes and drooling mouths. Worship the glistening stars, local Crescent Farms ducks slowly browning to perfection in the Rotisol rotisserie. A cage of fingerling potatoes is just underneath the breasts, basting in a steady, strategic stream of duck fat.

While you watch your meal artfully be prepared, nibble on crunchy pink pickled radishes ($6) and check out what others are eating. It's a communal pleasure. It's also dangerous.

My sister visiting from Chicago and I struck up a conversation with another solo diner, who was equally excited about trying the new menu. Once he saw our order of duck with rice, and how we gushed over each mouthful, he finished his sandwich and ordered a second lunch. I would have done the same.

The famous steamed pork buns ($10) are still on the short lunch menu, but seriously, go for the duck, even if you think you don't like duck. And experiment with the exceptional tableside condiments: addictive seasoned duck fat (go on, add more), chili sauces, hoisin and fried garlic.

Any questions? Ask the incredibly friendly and informed staff. It was obvious how excited they are about the new service. One of them quipped that the condiments alone are so good, you can make a meal out of them. Agreed.

Momofuku Ssam Bar
207 Second Ave at 13th St
Duck lunch served Mon - Fri, 11:30 am - 3:30 pm
Weekday lunch entrance on 13th St.
212 254 3500

Momofuku Milk Bar
251  E 13th St. (between First/Second Aves.)

Bowery Beef vs This Little Piggy



This Little Piggy's with homemade gravy...or Bowery Beef's with BBQ sauce

Tender roast beef. Makes my mouth waterrrrrrr. Since opening last year, the East Village's This Little Piggy Had Roast Beef has won raves and developed a cult following for it unforgettable roast beef sandwich (not to mention the best pastrami in town). Now newcomer Bowery Beef just entered the scene. Can someone say throwdown?  

THE LOWDOWN

                                      This Little Piggy                         Bowery Beef

Roast Beef                     homemade + hand cut                  homemade + hand cut

House Specialty             housemade gravy                         prepared bbq sauce

Cheese Options             cheez wiz or mozzarella                white American

Onions                           slow roasted au jus                       raw

Bun                                locally baked egg roll or hero          packaged soft roll

Other Sandwiches         outstanding homemade                  coming soon

                                      pastrami

Sides                             homemade macaroni and                no

                                      potato salads, hand cut fries,

                                      coleslaw

Eat-in Dining                  limited counter top                         yes

Delivery                         yes                                               no (but catering offered)

Inside charming Bowery Beef

While both shops offer first-rate roast beef and passion to match, the difference is in the detail. At Bowery Beef, located in the front of Bowery Poetry Club, the staff is certainly affable and energetic, and wants to make sure you’re happy too. Co-owner Ray Lemoine is the first to admit it’s still a work in progress: they ran out of plates on the first day and if you don’t eat roast beef, you're out of luck (although a vegetarian sandwich will soon be on the menu). However, there is no questioning the quality and taste of the hand cut, thinly sliced beef. Expert 'guerilla sandwich maker' Jonny Slice makes sure of it. Each bite melts in your mouth. Soft, squishy roll, piled high with house roasted beef, with or without American cheese and your choice of condiments: BBQ sauce, horseradish and mustard. And raw onions for the hard core.  

This Little Piggy owner Will Gallagher explained that in the six weeks before his shop opened to the public, he and his team were testing and perfecting every menu item. It's clearly paid off. The menu, while small, is well thought out, the seasonings pretty perfect, even the locally made rolls were chosen to have enough heft to hold the gravy. Order your generous, mouth watering sandwich with onions and you get a delicious dollop caramelized in pan juices. Basic sides, including homemade macaroni and potato salads, are nothing but basic. Hand cut fries smothered in homemade, silky gravy are addictive. 

I say go do your own taste test. 

This Little Piggy Had Roast Beef                                     Bowery Beef
149 1st Ave.                                                                  308 Bowery
212 253 1500                                                                 212 260 3300
sandwiches $5.50 - $12.50                                              sandwiches $5-$6

NYC Health Dept Grades Popular East Village Restaurants

This is not an appetizing post to read or write. But as an avid restaurant goer, I feel we all take accountability for what we eat. And knowledge is power, so here goes. Hope you’ve already eaten before reading further.

The NYC Health Department has just launched its new restaurant inspection website. Grades range from A (0-13 points), to B (14-27 points), to C (28+ points). A quick review of the East Village 10009 zip code found both reassuring and upsetting results of many longtime favorites. Below is just a sampling. A full report can be found at: http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/rii/index.shtml

The teacher’s pet list includes many of my regular go-to spots (phew): Luke’s Lobster, Caracas Arepa Bar, Café Cortadito, La Lucha, Butter Lane, Rue B and Giano. But guess which establishments were among the list of perfect scorers…McDonald's and Dunkin’ Donuts. Hmmm. Fortunately, Cafetasia and the adorable little Vietnamese shop Bahn Mi Zon also scored a perfect A with zero violations.

On the solid B list we find Il Bagatto, Mogador, Humus Place, Two Boots, Westville, Terroir, V Bar, Back Forty, Pylos, Minca, Northern Spy Food Co., Flea Market Café, Mama’s Food Shop, Sigmund Pretzel Shop, Black Iron Burger, Hearth, Porchetta, Buenos Aires, Lavagna, and Esperantos.

And waaaayyyyy down in third place with 30+ violation points are Desnuda, Bourgeois Pig (sob), In Vino, Nicky’s Vietnamese Sandwiches and Cien Fuegos.

I can’t help thinking if McDonald's and Dunkin’ Donuts can get it right, surely it’s possible.

My (Current) Fave Cheap Eat in the EV

After having just inhaled my first bowl of savory cumin lamb hand-pulled noodles ($6) at the newly opened East Village branch of Xi’an (pron “she-an”) Famous Foods, I am now dreaming about how long it will take to eat my way through the heavenly menu. Come to me Liang Pi "cold skin" noodles ($6), savory cumin lamb burger ($2.50), and tiger vegetable salad ($4.50). And with prices so good, there’s nothing getting in the way.

The savory cumin lamb noodle dish is such a winner – spicy lamb in a rich cumin chili sauce. The dish is big enough for two meals, but I polished it off in one sitting. The noodles are incredibly delicious – chewy, homey comfort. Service is clean, friendly and speedy. And two monitors cleverly play a looped video of Anthony Bourdain raving about the noodles in a "No Reservations" episode. So your mouth is watering before you even order.

This week's New York Mag named the lamb noodle dish a top cheap eat, so go now. Right now. I'm not kidding.

Happy Birthday, S'MAC

There is nothing cheesy about this offer. S’MAC, the EV’s beloved mac-n-cheese joint, is celebrating its 4th anniversary with an amazing deal. On Tuesday, July 27th, 2010, the All-American nosh (gooey classic American + Cheddar blend) will cost $1.00. That’s one of the best foodie deals I’ve seen in a long time. And I will be more than happy to help super friendly owners Sarita + Caesar Ekya celebrate.