A final trip to Five Napkin Burger. I promise.

You ever have a place that you really really want to like? So much so that you keep coming back, even when it's clearly against any sense of reason to do so? Well, I realized I'm that way with Five Napkin Burger. I really want to like 5NB, even though I've been a number of times before and haven't really been impressed. Well, last Friday I took AV there-- he loves burgers, and there's been a vegetable roll on the menu I've wanted to try. So we showed up at 7 to a 30-minute wait; we crowed in the corner of the bar, shouting over the cacophony and nursing drinks for 30 minutes, then 40 minutes. I was starting to lose it. But suddenly our coaster buzzed and we were on!

We were squeezed into a two-person table on the end of a banquette, which meant we were basically right in the path of traffic. Runners and waiters and managers and hostesses all fled by, brandishing burgers, bumping into each other, and generally contributing to a pervasive, incredibly hectic atmosphere. Being in 5NB raised my blood pressure.

We sat for several minutes, heads turning back and forth, without anybody visiting. Finally, a harried server stopped by to greet us-- at this point, having had nearly an hour to look over the menu and decide what we want, we seized our chance to order. We also asked for bread to tide us over. The waitress looked sort of confused, and a few minutes later we understood why. Behold, the Saddest Bread Basket in the World. Four pieces of dry, nearly inedible bread, devoid of either butter or oil. Truly gross.

Ick.

Clearly unsatiated by the bread course, we hunkered down to wait for our food. And hunkered. Finally, as we teetered on the point of drunk and ravenous, it arrived. AV's bacon-cheddar burger, with onion rings instead of fries (for an extra charge), was gobbled down appreciatively. I'm happy to say he really, really liked it-- that was the point of us going to 5NB, after all-- and my few (okay, maybe more than a few) bites of the onion rings were swoon-worthy.

Superlative onion rings

My choice, the vegetable roll, was tasty but small and overpriced. Instead of seaweed, there was a soy wrapper, which was a curious choice as it really didn't add (or subtract) much. The roll was well-executed, but $10.95 you could get three times as much food at a sushi restaurant. When I finished, I was still hungry, which is a pretty impressive achievement when you're dealing with a stomach as small as mine. I would definitely not return for this dish.

Almost looks like salmon

After we finished, we fled to the Tasti D next door for dessert. My final verdict on 5NB? It's loud and pretty unpleasant to be in. The food is overpriced. But the burgers, alas, are great. So if you're in the mood for an expensive burger and don't care about a wait, frenzied service, and having to shout to your dining companion, by all means check it out. If any of those matter to you, steer clear of this two Offset Spatula place. You can get good burgers-- and good other food as well-- at a better price elsewhere.

Five Napkin Burger
630 Ninth Ave, between 44th and 45th Streets
212-757-2277

Round two at Brown Cafe: Still the best mac & cheese in town

On Saturday night, before the madness of halloween truly got rolling, AV and I met his friend PP for a pre-Yankees-game dinner at Brown Cafe on the LES. As you may recall, AV and I absolutely adored BC when we went last and vowed to return. Unfortunately, with the LES being so very far away from both Hell's Kitchen and the UES, we haven't made it back. Until now!

We entered the small, rustic wood-clad room and chose the same table in the window nook as last time. After regarding the tightly-edited menu, we made our decisions. PP ordered a beer; AV and I sipped water from the tiny water glasses until our genial server brought over a complimentary amuse-bouche: a simple salad of al dente chickpeas, roasted red peppers, and avocado. It was uncomplicated but pure of taste and consequently something to be savored.

Simple salad

At this point, Hannah, the manager, came over to say hello, and as we chatted she mentioned she had been trying out some recipes for mulled wine. A few seconds later, all three of us had tiny coffee mugs of steaming, fragrant beverage in front of us. I've never had good mulled wine before, but this was absolutely it: with a spiced fragrance and the complexity of wine underneath, all with a touch of sweetness, this beverage was warming through and through. It positively begged a wood-burning fireplace to curl up next to.

Deliciously warming to the core

We nursed our wine and waited patiently for our entrees, which emerged a short time later. AV, of course, had chosen an entree portion of the mac & cheese-- the piece de resistance of Brown Cafe. It was just as good as we remembered, with several kinds of gooey, meltey cheese enrobing firm pasta, all covered with the best kind of cheesey crust. PP had to try it as well, so he ordered a side portion, which came in the cutest little mini cast-iron skillet I've ever seen.

Mother mac and baby mac

PP's main entree was the leg of lamb with herbed asparagus, gruyere, smashed potatoes, and mustard aoili. This was an incredibly generous portion and was highly approved by PP and AV, who snuck a taste.

Meat & potatoes

My entree was the beet salad, which came with greens, walnuts, and mint. All the ingredients in this salad were top-notch, and the mint added an interesting touch to what could be a mundane combination. You can't go wrong with pretty much anything vegetable-based at Brown Cafe, since everything is so thoughtfully sourced, and that was certainly the case here as well.

Greens with beet jewels

With our entrees successfully packed away, we moved on to the dessert course. Our server brought over a trio of example desserts: an apple turnover, a dense brownie duo, and a mixed-berry crumble. PP and AV ordered the brownies to share, and we sat back to digest. In the meantime, Hannah came over with her second cocktail project, a pinot-grigio-based wine cocktail with a thyme accent. I'm usually not a huge fan of herbs in my cocktails, but gosh darn this was surprisingly good-- a subtle sweetness with only a whisper of thyme at the end. Well done.

Even with a greenery garnish, you've got yourself a good cocktail

Soon our desserts emerged, and the house had graciously supplemented the brownie order with an extra mixed-berry crumble. The brownies were incredibly dense and fudgy and came with chestnut ice cream; our server had described the ice cream as "distinct," and I truly agree-- it was very heavily chestnut-flavored. While I really liked the brownie, which was as true an expression of chocolate as you'll find, being a non-fan of chestnuts I had to pass on the ice cream.

Chocoholic

The crumble was also both simple and tasty. A layer of tender warm strawberries and blueberries lay under an oatmeal strudel, all topped with a scoop of green tea ice cream. Once again, the green tea flavor here was powerful (and being a not-huge-fan of green tea flavor I had to pass once again), but the crumble itself was delicious.

Incongruously green, with cute mini-skillet

At that point we were stuffed-- but as we got the check, of course there was one last surprise, tiny mini-bites of the house bread pudding. Positively delicious, especially the creme anglaise on top.

The final bite

Having such a delightful experience at Brown Cafe is bittersweet. The food is so simple, thoughtful, and well-executed, and the price-points are lower than you'll find for comparable food most anywhere else. If BC were located any closer to either AV or me, we'd go on a weekly basis. But it's just so far away from both of us, we have to reserve it for special occasions. However, dear readers, if you live any further downtown than we, please do yourself a favor and visit the four-Offset Spatula Brown Cafe. And get the mac & cheese. You won't regret it.

Brown Cafe
61 Hester Street (at Ludlow)
212-477-2427

Gossip with the girls at Aroma

This past Saturday night, AC was in town from India, so the five of us girls finally reconvened for a catch-up dinner. Realizing I had't been to Aroma, one of my favorite wine bar/restaurants, in a while, I booked us a 7:30 reservation there.

We were squeezed into the large table by the door, which had been spruced up since the last time I'd been with back and butt pads on the bench. Well played. The ladies chose a bottle of red wine (I abstained) and we snacked on the delicious chewy bread and succulent olives while we waited for the appetizers.

Glistening olives

Scrumptious bread

Since my salad was coming with the entrees, the other ladies dove in to the two apps. One was a baby octopus salad; the other, meatballs stuffed with cheese. Both were enjoyed heartily, so I was told.

Octopus 'n' potatos 'n' celery 'n' stuff

Mmmm, balls

Before our entrees arrived, Vito, one of the owners, stopped by with two plates of complimentary bruschetta. One was a chopped tomato bruschetta; one was a hearty melange of fall vegetables. Both were incredibly delicious... if they were on the menu, I would definitely have ordered them.

Summer tomatoes and basil

Fall veggies

And on to the entrees. KS got the gnocchi with rock shrimp, English peas, fava bean jus, and pancetta. She noted that the gnocchi were lighter than gnocchi usually are-- nice!

Pillows of potato

SY got one of the specials, an order of polenta with sausage. It looked creamy and warm, and she enjoyed it.

Polenta with interest

SL and AC shared two pastas: one special pasta & ragu, which they raved about, and one orecchiette with fennel, sausage, pesto, broccoli rabe, and pecorino. Each of the other ladies took a bite of the orecchiette and came to a consensus that the dish was just weird, and not in a good way. When it came time to clear, the manager inquired about the nearly-untouched dish, and when SL and AC reluctantly revealed that it wasn't their favorite, she quickly and graciously offered to remove it from the bill (which she did).

Pasta: devoured

The rejected orecchiette

My choice was delicious: an arugula salad in a light vinaigrette with walnuts, grana padano, and large thin slices of green apple. It was filling and tasty and full of goodness, especially with lots of walnuts, which I appreciated.

My salad. So delish.

On to the desserts! AC, SL, and KS decided to split the molten chocolate cake. SY went for the affogato (with whipped cream on the side so I could eat it....). I chose the gelato and sorbet sampler, which involved a peach and melon sorbet, a fig & something gelato, and a mascarpone & something gelato. My memory is a bit foggy... but it was all quite good. They also brought us a complimentary gianduja panna cotta for the table, which we devoured eagerly.

Molten choc with vanilla gelato!

Affogatto in action

Lots of creamy and somewhat indeterminate ice cream

Comped panna cotta! Tastes like nutella

Overall, it was a delightful night, filled with great company and good food and wine. I have a soft spot for Aroma, which is equally great for a date or a girls' night. Though not everything was a hit this time around, the management's responses to any missteps more than made up for any problems. Aroma keeps both its four Offset Spatula designation and my unequivocal recommendation.

Aroma
36 East 4th Street (Between Bowery and Lafayette)
212-375-0100

Another trip to New Amsterdam via cheese, bread, and cider

This past Sunday was the second of this cycle's New Amsterdam Markets. AV and I braved a recalcitrant subway that seemed hell-bent on denying us access to the South Street Seaport and ultimately emerged into the beautiful fall sunshine down near the East River. Once again, a pictorial journey below... along with a strong encouragement to stop by when the market comes back next month! Check out their website here.

Before we made it to the market, we stopped by the Cupcake Express booth outside the Seaport. Looked okay, but $4 a pop!! Geez!

Delicious raw milk cheeses from Birchrun Hills Farm

More tasty sparkling cider from Bellweather! We bought another bottle. Oops?

Yogurt from Maple Hill Creamery. We tried the blueberry and the lemon... both like delicious melted ice cream.

"Renaissance ricotta" from Narragansett Creamery. Increadibly creamy and delicious, especially topped with the berry-cranberry compote. Mmmm.

Sausage from Dickson's Farmstand Meats. AV's verdict: Meh.

Bagels from Fairway. Apparently Bloomberg thinks they're the best in the city? Sure.

Olive and raisin bread from Sullivan Street Bakery. I love olive bread.

Cheddar cheese samples from Organic Valley.

Incredible-looking cheese from Brooklyn Larder. The crowd was too thick around this one for us to get a taste...

A seasoned tofu sample from Basis Farm to Chef. Surprisingly tasty!

And there you have it! Several pounds of cheese samples later, we emerged with full bellies and one bottle of bubbly. A successful day indeed!

Ardesia: I don't really know.

Last Friday night, AV and I decided to check out Ardesia, the brand-new wine bar in my neighborhood. The place was absolutely hopping when we got there at 8:30 or 9 or so; it was so busy that we had to squeeze behind the door to wait while a table opened up. But finally we settled into a corner in the lounge area, which was rimmed with plush, low-backed sofas. Our table was a tiny, moveable TV-dinner-style table that we could swing over our laps. We tried to get comfortable as the enormous and loud group next to us kept growing, encroaching into our already awkward space corner.

The bar itself is really pretty-- chic and modern with blackboards lining one wall and a see-through rack of wine bottles stretching from floor to double-height ceiling behind the bar. But it was loud and crowded. Much more bar-bar than wine-bar-- i.e., if you're looking for a dark, sexy, and romantic nook, Ardesia is not your place.

Our incredibly friendly but aw-shucks awkward waiter finally brought us menus. I wasn't drinking, but there did seem to be a number of nice-looking wines by the glass. AV ordered a beer, and we contemplated our food choices. I asked whether any of the cheeses were brie-like; when I was told honestly no, we decided to share an order of the manchego ($6), which AV supplemented with their house-made cocktail sausages ($5). What arrived shortly thereafter was as follows:

Dollhouse food?

Oh, and bread

Um, wow. In case you're counting, that's $1.66 per sausage, and approximately $1 per small bite of cheese. Was the food decent? Sure. Was it a total rip-off? Absolutely. Contrast this $6 cheese "plate" (that tiny pile of debris is about a tablespoonful of crushed hazelnuts in honey) with what you get for around $8 at Riposo 46, our usual neighborhood wine bar:

Just for the record, that's half a loaf of bread, two garlic crostini, stewed dried fruit, walnuts, a large bunch of grapes, and two huge, thick hunks of manchego

No contest. But I feel bad writing off Ardesia entirely; inexplicably, I actually really wanted to like the place. For one, everyone was so friendly, especially our waiter, who at one point actually used the phrase "Hidey-ho." Plus, it was the first week of the bar's opening... and I do want to encourage more restaurants and nightlife hot spots to explore the currently uncharted territory west of Ninth Avenue in Hell's Kitchen. But if Ardesia is going to survive, it has to either knock down its prices significantly or increase the value (i.e., food, beer) it provides for the money. Till then, you can find us a few blocks away at Riposo 46.

Ardesia
510 W. 52nd Street, between 10th and 11th Avenues
212-247-9191

Happy (almost) Halloween!

Last weekend AV and I carved a pumpkin. And we saved the pumpkin seeds, tossed them with a bit of olive oil and salt, and baked them in the oven for an hour or so until they became a delectable tasty snack. For $3 at the Union Square Greenmarket, this pumpkin was several hours' (and afternoon snacks') worth of delight. Happy Halloween!

Boo!