numero 28: the best lasagna in nyc?

after back-to-back flywheel rides yesterday (presidents day monday - no work!!), i was famished... then i remembered that i had a scoop st (nka buy with me/gilt city) certificate for numero 28... WIN.

we headed over around 330PM for a late lunch/early dinner, and the restaurant was relatively empty. we chose a seat close to the bar so i could take in the warm rustic decor (and the warmth from the pizza oven & kitchen).

let's just get to business & talk food...

APPETIZERS
-meatballs - first, the tomato sauce with the meatballs was fantastic. very fresh, clean, not too stewed. as for the meatballs, they were just ok. they tasted fine, but the texture was a bit on the rubbery side. texture is such a vital component of the meatball. (we took 1/2 home and i ate them for breakfast this morning, and one literally BOUNCED off my plate.)
-buffalo mozzarella & prosciutto di parma - a simple appetizer with very good tangy mozzarella and fresh prosciutto drizzled lightly with olive oil.

PIZZA
-18" bianca del diavolo - note, this is the pizza we ordered, but we received what basically amounted to a margherita with pepperoni. there was no ricotta. we didn't say anything bc we were hungry, but i was disappointed. that said, this pizza was a solid pizza - very thin crust, quality ingredients, nice meaty pepperoni and blotches of that delicious tomato sauce (same as the sauce with the meatballs).

PASTA
-lasagna - this might just be the best lasagna ive had in nyc. creamy meat sauce layered between thin sheets of fresh pasta. WOW. again WOW. i hate to write about this last for the savory courses, but it came out a good 5-10 minutes after our pizza even though we asked that they be served together.  on the bright side, we brought most of it home, so i got to eat it for breakfast this morning!

DESSERT
-tiramisu - this was just good. nothing special. there were some bites of ladyfinger that hadnt soaked in enough espresso and the cream was a tad thin, but it tasted fine.

numero 28 has a comfortable vibe, with wood tables a bit off balance, sunlight streaming in from the glass doors in front. a good place to go for brunch, and i could see it being annoyingly crowded for dinner, especially on weekends.  despite being "on the wagon" (sober february *sigh*), we noticed that they served lambrusco (a fave) and another table had a bottle of veuve (my least favorite every day champagne, but at least they have champers!). 

before using the scoop st certificate, the bill was $77 (including tax but not tip - remember, no booze, but we brought a lot of food home). oh, and they only take cash. that was a bummer. there's an ATM on-site but still... cash only is annoying.

my last word - and this is a good one: our waiter... the service was fine, he was friendly, a bit absent-minded (note service-related comments in pizza/pasta sections above). but he was HOT... in that euro-y hot way. i'd go back just to stare at him. yummy.

numero 28 pizzeria napoletana

176 2nd ave btwn 10/11th sts

new york, ny 10003

212/777.1555

(they also have west village & soho locations - i don't know if the menus are the same.)

review: the beagle - 1/16/2012

as a cocktail enthusiast, the beagle has been on my "must-try" list for a bit so it was the perfect go-to for an unplanned chilly saturday evening. the restaurant is small, but when we arrived at 8P (MLK wknd saturday), it was almost empty... however, by 830PM, all of the tables were full and the restaurant was loud but not annoyingly so. the tables are well-spaced/positioned, but close enough that you can see what's being served. there's a bar with about 7-8 seats and little standing room if the restaurant is full.

we started with cocktails (east side fix, heresy highball and liberal cocktail), each was well made, very balanced and most importantly, tasty!

onto the food - we decided to go family-style with the following:
pairing boards
-burrata & gin: i actually thought this was magical...burrata was delicious, and i adored the braised celery AND the perfect mini martini - which i continued to order (in full-size) for the rest of the evening.
-mackerel & aquavit: i am not a giant fan of aquavit, but it is the perfect match for the flavor combo of pickled mackerel with the creamy pickled onions on the cracker.

appetizers/salads
-frito pie: the chili on this is rather good, and altho it's small (for sharing), it's a tasty little first bite.
-golden beet salad: great mix of flavors with the greek yogurt, shaved fennel and marcona almonds.
-peekytoe crab salad: served abed leaves of radicchio w hazelnuts & a lemon cream vinaigrette, i liked this salad, but there was an overpowering taste/nose of tarragon, which i wish had been mentioned in the description as it is my least favorite herb
-housemade: a vague plate of what's "housemade" that night - we had cured scallops, a cured shrimp, cured sable, gravlax, pork rillettes, cured lamb belly, housemade sauerkraut and apple butter. some parts were REALLY salty, but the rillettes & lamb belly were awesome.

entrees
-salt-roasted pork belly: this had a whiff of korean bo ssam (boiled pork belly, kimchi, raw oysters) which made me very happy. the sauce was yummy - we asked for some bread to soak it up.
-half chicken: i mean, it's chicken (my least favorite meat), well made (flattened, under-the-brick style with crispy skin), but that chorizo bread pudding topped with a disc of foie butter - WOW, smooth creamy foie mousse and chunks of chorizo - happy day. the liver sauce was good, livery but yummy with the bread pudding and roasted chicken.

dessert
-bonito cheesecake: obviously we were intrigued by this, i mean fish flakes in cheesecake?  by process of elimination (the cranachan had a peety scotch flavor - i dislike, and we're not chocolate fans), we went with the cheesecake because we obviously needed dessert. plus the weird factor...we were in. and i'm glad we did. not too sweet, with a hint of fishiness here & there, but not in a bad way...love the ginger powder sprinkled all over and the nilla wafer crust. it was a good finish.

service was great... very attentive, but not annoying. cocktails were a little slow, which was understandable considering the great attention they take to making them. wines were priced in a good affordable range with a nice selection. overall, i think a worthwhile place to eat and definitely for cocktails, and while i would return for drinks and perhaps nibbles, i probably wouldn't go back until they updated their menu with new items.

one thing of note: reservations are taken on their website, but i had technical difficulties with the site. and when i called, it was a message that reservations by phone were only allowed for groups of 6 or more.

the beagle

162 avenue a btwn 10th/11th sts

new york, ny 10009

212/228.6900

an average burger

after 2+ weeks in china for work, i come home with hankerings. i always want artisanal for a cheese-filled meal (no one eats cheese in china), amazing new york-style pizza and a delicious juicy burger.

so when a friend returned from his three-week jaunt through tokyo, hong kong, beijing and shanghai, i asked him what he craved while he was gone. maybe he's not as food-driven as i am because he didn't seem to crave anything, but when i mentioned my usual cravings, he seemed quite keen for a burger.

we headed to black iron burger shop, a new-ish (august 2008) bare-bones burger spot that he frequents. they griddle-fry their burgers rather than flame-grill, and although it doesn't look green, they minimize waste, only serve keg beer and even their griddle is energy-efficient. decor is minimal - wooden tables/floor, many ketchup bottles surrounding you and a mirrored board with beer specials. acoustics might be less than stellar; it was loud for a wednesday night, but it wasn't busy.

the burgers are thin patties, not like my favorite shake shack juicy hockey puck, and it didn't ooze with flavor. i had mine with horseradish cheddar, and it was fine, but it didn't burst with horseradish, cheddary, meaty goodness.

the onion rings were a little sad as well, limp and less than crispy. there was more fried batter on the dish than on the onions. and i don't really drink beer, so mine, the house brew, tasted like miller lite, which was fine by me. my friend's smelled yummy and tasted nice, but i couldn't drink an entire glass... it was a board special, i wish i could remember the name.

really their biggest problem was the service: the waitress just couldn't get it right. first she forgot the lettuce, tomato and onion. then she completely ordered the wrong burger for my friend. she cleared his dish but not mine. she was just off. i still tipped her 20% ($41 total including tip); it is a recession.


black iron burger shop
540 east 5th street btwn aves a/b
new york, ny 10009
212/677.6067

now i know why it's called death & co.

i planned to share my first experience at death & co. yesterday, but i spent the better part of my day recovering from the delicious concoctions that i imbibed tuesday evening.

since i'm still celebrating the return of brown booze, i began my tuesday night cocktail evening with the manhattan transfer. this alcohol-forward cocktail is made with rittenhouse rye, dry vermouth, rarnazzotti and orange bitters. it's normally served up, but i had it on the rocks (generally my preference)... and in this case, on the rock would be more appropriate - this one was served over one giant ice cube. it might compete for best manhattan ever.

joaquim was our barman for the night, and he was really in tune with what we needed. my tequila cocktails - the oaxaca old fashioned and the spicy yet-to-be-named one - were both complex and delicious. the spicy one had fresh pepper puree, and every time he opened the bottle of puree, the aroma of pepper oil struck me and had me craving food with peppers.

my gin cocktail - the joy division - was good, but it left the strong unmistakable flavor of absinthe in my mouth... even the next day.

i'm sure i had others, but the reason why i woke up wednesday morning feeling like death & co. is that i overconsumed. which i can imagine is quite simple when you have a talented barman making creative and tasty delights full of booze.

i tried to buffer the booze with some nibbles - the maple pork belly (tasty, but a little stringy) and the oysters rock a fella (delish, but the creamed spinach was too rich, even for me) - but they were no match for my love of cocktails.

death & co. has a great vibe, speakeasy-like... dark, comfortable yet sexy. it would be great for a date, but there are no reservations. there's no standing at the bar. it's built on the milk & honey model, but less strict. and with food.

yes, we should return soon.


death & co.
433 east 6th street btwn Ave A/1st
new york, ny 10009
212/388.0882

a benefit and woe of the recession

thursday night was the american museum of natural history's annual museum dance, and 2009's theme was GREEN. it was a beautiful, well-attended event with well-groomed couples and throngs of singles (men & women) dressed in typical NYC-style: individually fashionable yet sometimes strange. i'm marking my calendar for 2010's AMNH event.

i love benefits. i love the dresses (i wore green!), i love the energy, and i particularly love the silent auctions! but this year, benefits haven't been the same. and i'm sure it's because of the recession. but i dislike that word immensely... recession. so i'll be referring to the current times as a down-market.

in this down-market, no one bids on silent auction items! thursday's event had, in addition to amazing other prizes, an entire judith ripka jewelry bar, full of gorgeous baubles, and close to nothing had received bids. if you're unaware, starting bids at silent auctions are usually well under actual retail value. in this down-market, wouldn't people be vying for deals?! but the looming fear makes no one want to buy - even at 1/2 price (except me, i "won" a stunning, 18k-gold, diamond-crusted bracelet... i'm serious when i say i LOVE silent auctions).

in juxtaposition, last night, we went to dinner at marfa, this new-ish inexpensive texas/mexican-themed restaurant. originally, i had a reservation at l'atelier de joel robuchon (talk about juxtaposition), but i was rebuked by my dining companions for not being "recession-friendly" (can you see why i dislike this word?).

marfa was not busy for a friday night. decor-wise, it's very bare: white adobe walls, wooden tables, votive candles in paper bags - no frills. we were seated promptly, and i immediately requested their signature "marfarita" to begin; for a cocktail spiked with serrano chile, i was very underwhelmed - it was overly sweet and had zero tequila punch. please go to bobo and try the "stealth margarita" - it blows this cocktail away.

i'm a piglet, and i can factually say that my dining companions last night are actual pigs. for 5 of us, we ordered the largest marfa APPETIZER platter: the big texan platter for 3 (dry-rub baby back ribs, chipotle chicken wings, red chile, veggie chile, corn dogs, guacamole, BBQ shrimp, and pulled pork tostadas). the menu also says it includes a shot of house-infused flavored tequila, but we never received this (strike 1). in addition, from the marfa BITES, we ordered the fish tacos and the nogales steak tacos, which covered the entire marfa BITES category besides the salads (and who really needs salad?). for our main course, we chose 2 orders of chicken-fried steak, fried catfish and fried chicken plus a double-order of mac & cheese and a basket of biscuits & cornbread.

here's how it went. we received the basket of cornbread (they were out of biscuits). the cornbread was terrible: dry, flavorless, crumbly and COLD. the accompanying honey chipotle butter couldn't resuscitate this bread. (i would HIGHLY advise they remove the cornbread from the menu, or improve the recipe).

but then the confusing part: we received EVERYTHING ELSE ALL AT ONCE (strike 2). our waitress must be the most daft, retarded server on the planet. we received platters upon platters of food on a relatively small table. you'd think someone would help consolidate the food or at least be vigilant about removing plates as i consolidated the food (which was so copious, it had to spill onto ANOTHER table). no... nothing.

i stacked empty plates under full plates; i left large empty platters at the edge of the table; i threw soiled and practically shredded paper napkins and rib/chicken bones onto plates that needed to be removed... not an iota of attention from the waitstaff.

i also ordered another bad "marfarita" - i was hoping for an improved version. i waited. and waited. and waited. i saw it already made sitting at the bar for 10 minutes or so; the ice was melting. i also saw the waitress chatting merrily with someone at the bar, with no intention of bringing my drink over. i marched over to the bar and grabbed it. it was already self-bussing; now it had become SELF-SERVE (strike 3).

finally, after we'd finished, requested the check, etc., i made it quite obvious our meal was complete (again, used napkins thrown atop dishes, completely licked-clean plates, etc.). our friend was telling a story of his recent spain adventures. the busboy finally appears, but instead of just taking the debris from our table, he interrupts for EVERY PLATE and asks, "are you finished with this, are you finished with this?" i couldn't take it anymore; i turned to him and said, "we are finished with EVERYTHING, and we've already asked for the check. in case this isn't clear enough, please take all of the plates."

sadly, the food was quite good (best chicken-fried steak i've had in NYC - but not nearly as good as the one i had in dallas, tx (see photo); good mac & cheese; really delicious fried catfish; yummy corn dogs); i'd consider take-out when my blood stops boiling at the thought of marfa. but i'll never return again. i was appalled that during this DOWN-MARKET, when restaurants are clamoring for paying customers, this restaurant could be so inattentive to its service. i abhor bad service.

and we only ate here because of the recession. i hate that word.


marfa
101 east 2nd street near 1st ave
new york, ny 10009
212/673.8908
reservations available on opentable

the band of now

i checked out this band last night at this little club in the east village, club midway, and to my surprise, they'd lost their beverage license -- all they served was soda & juice!


but it was cool, because the band RRRROCKED (you have to watch the keyboardist eric gonzalez -- he jams and throws down)! they're called RED DATSUN, and they just released their first album, self-titled. i'm probably not the best judge of music (i generally like top 40-style pop, hip-hop and rap), but you can decide for yourself: a few songs are on their myspace page, and the album is available on iTunes. i already have a couple on my ipod -- i dig "freakscene" and "gorgeous day" as workout songs!

in an effort towards full disclosure, i must note that 3/5 of the band went to college with me, and that my sister and i set the drummer up with his current fiancee. but they really are awesome, and it's not just because all of my girlfriends thought the lead singer was hot when i was a freshman.

their next show is at otto's shrunken head (538 e 14th st btwn A/B) on fri, 11/2. check them out!! and best of luck to club midway in getting their liquor license back!

club midway
25 ave b btwn 2nd/3rd sts
new york, ny 10009
212-253-2595