Nolita House

Hi, Evan here.  This post does not reflect a terribly recent eating adventure, but, still within our six-month trial of this whole thing.

Nolita House is a restaurant in, of course, NoLIta (North of Little Italy).  It's a small-ish place on Houston, with a lot of soul.  I feel compelled to write about this place, because it was one of the first places Spring and I went to together.  It was actually only our second real date, and I was super classy and spilled her sangria all over the table, and my shoes.  Yes, even back then I was amazingly smooth.  Anyway, we have been back there periodically, and went most recently about a month or so ago.

We've actually only had the brunch there, so we can't vouch for the lunch/dinner menu, but let me tell you - for what you pay, it's a great place.  They have your standard brunch dishes; eggs, french toast, eggs benedict, etc (you can look at their menu, here).  One of my favorite things about this place, is that during brunch hours, there's a bluegrass band playing -- you know, upright bass, some guitars and a banjo, singing songs about love and crocodiles and such.  Also, you get a free drink with your brunch order!

Up until our past visit to Nolita House, we've never had to wait.  Even this past time, they said twenty minutes, and we were called in under ten.  It's a tight fit, and sometimes the wait staff takes a bit of time bringing water and such, but in my opinion, the atmosphere and food make it easy to overlook any of its shortcomings.  I'd probably say it's one of my favorite egg dishes in nyc (I get the Florentine).

Not much to say about this one, except I think it's a gem.  I'd give it a 4 out of 5 (partially for sentimental reasons, but still the food is worth it).  Have a visit, listen to the music, enjoy some eggs and a free drink, and enjoy.

Nolita House

47 E Houston Street

New York, NY 10012

212-625-1712

Review: Peanut Butter & Co., NYC

Hi all, it's Evan.  I haven't actually contributed to this thing yet, other than accompanying Spring to the meals.  Anyone who knows me, knows it doesn't matter where we go, because I'll pretty much eat anything you put in front of me.  However, I've been able to try some really fun places through this adventure.  So, without further ado, Peanut Butter & Co.

I actually read about this place in one of Spring's magazines (Newsweek, New York, or something like that).  The article described a two-sided peanut butter jar, which makes it impossible to waste peanut butter, because you could open it from the other side and scoop it out (genius, in my eyes)!  The article also mentions that the company has a storefront that sells PBJ sandwiches.  Spring and I decide we would go when we got back from vacation, but, we made it happen tonight.  Like we have in the past, we dragged Whitney along with us (Hi, Whitney).

I'll start by saying that this is a restaurant that really makes you go nomnomnom (literally).  Peanut butter by itself is a food that crowds your mouth with sticky goodness, but add honey, bananas, and whole wheat bread, and it's even more so.  Spring and I ordered the Elvis and Cinnamon Raisin Swirl sandwiches, and split them.  The girl behind the counter who took our order seemed to have a PhD in peanut butter, so we took her advice in ordering these.  Whitney got something else, but I forget what at this point.

Spring and my sandwiches came out pretty quickly; 10 minutes later or so.  Whitney's... not so much.  Her's arrived only after she approached someone behind the counter, who apparently admitted to them forgetting about it.  I believe Spring said the guy was "too busy being fabulous" to make the sandwich.  He was something, that guy, but I don't know about fabulous.

Once we all had our sandwiches, we started eating.  I don't think either one of us finished the whole sandwich, though.  Not because they weren't good (they were!) but because it was just too much peanut buttery essence - although, it is a peanut butter shop, so that's assumed.

I had planned to give Peanut Butter & Co. 3 out of 4 stars, but Spring and I compromised to 2.75 stars out of 4.  The sandwiches were good (really good, in my opinion) but, if you screw up a PBJ, you should reconsider life.  The place was also pretty cheap, about $5 or $6 per sandwich.  That's pretty cheap for eating out in NYC, but again, for $5 you could buy an entire loaf of bread and multiple bottles of peanut butter.  Last, they forgot about Whitney's sandwich.  That would have been my sole reason for knocking the place down a star, but I can agree to the .25 knock further down.

In any case, check it out, it's a tasty place.

Peanut Butter & Co.

240 Sullivan Street

New York, NY 10012

(212) 677-3995

Review: Lookout Hill Smokehouse

Frequent NomNomNomNYC diner Whitney had seen reviews for a barbecue place in Park Slope that she was dying to check out. Ever since Evan started frequenting Hill Country, our safe restaurant, he is apparently a connoisseur on all things grilled, so he was up for this. And since it meant that I didn't have to scrounge up a meal in the kitchen, I was definitely game.

Ok, first off, this place needs to figure out what it wants to be. You walk in, and it looks like some crazy futuristic spa from Sweden or something. Very sleek, very modern, kind of luxe. And then taped to wall are some pieces of butcher paper with the market prices of meat handwritten on them. It just didn't match. And that bothered Evan a lot.

Secondly, we asked to sit outside. WTF is up with the outside seating? It's basically a long porch on the side of the building, with a single sided bench and table that looks out to people walking by, and you all have to sit side by side. You feel like sitting ducks, all in a row, totally on display for people smart enough to not eat here. Not good.

Thirdly.....this place only has barbecue if you don't know what good barbecue is. My brisket, while not the lean variety, was about a 1/3 fat, which is NOT the way it should be. It was also really soggy and made my stomach hurt. The sausage was not sausage. It was kielbasa....which is fine if you're dining at some fine Polish establishment, but not a barbecue place. The sides were all pretty eh and uninspiring, except for the halfway decent mashed yams and the deviled eggs.

Guys, I don't even know what else to say here. This place is just not good. If you want good barbecue, and for a much cheaper price!, go to Hill Country in Manhattan. Don't eat this garbage.

This place with the long ass name gets 1 out of 4 stars. It only gets that one star for a waitress who was fairly knowledgeable and the half decent sides. It also loses a half star for it's lame website, which is basically just a front for you to send them an email. If you go to it, write them and tell them they suck.

Lookout Hill Smokehouse
230 5th Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11215
718.399.2161

www.lookouthillsmokehouse.com

Review: Patois, Brooklyn

A couple of weekends ago, Evan, Suzannah, and I decide to make brunch plans. Suz is a die-hard Manhattanite, but every once in a while she can be convinced to take that smelly old public transportation out to visit us peasants in Brooklyn. I'd bookmarked a snazzy sounding place on Yelp that sounded promising for brunch. I polled the others and they said, sure, so Patois it was.

First off, the people at this place are the most forgiving EVER when it comes to reservations. Here's what happened:

Phone Call #1: In which I discovered that reservations can only be made for parties of four and above, but am helpfully told that if we come early, we'll be fine.

Email #1: In which I tell this to Evan and Suz, and Suz says she'll rope her roommate and another friend into coming.

Phone Call #2: In which I call Patois and make a reservation for five.

Email #2: In which Suz says no-go on party members 4 and 5, so we're back to 3.

Phone Call #3: In which I call and explain this to Patois, and the lovely lady on the other end says, don't worry about! They'll hold our reservation anyways.

Phone Call #4: In which Suz calls me five minutes before our reservation and says she's running late....30 minutes late.

So when Suz got there, they were quite lovely and sat us pretty quickly anyhow. So this place definitely gets points for being accommodating, even with difficult people like us. On to the food!

I am a sucker for freebies, and this place had a couple that were particularly noteworthy. Free unlimited Mimosas, and a free basket of breads and pastries that were to die for. The Mimosas were good, when we were able to flag the waitress down to refill our glasses. The bread basket never showed up! So I can't comment on that.

We all ordered typical brunch fare that was eh so-so. Not bad, not WOW GOOD, but passable. And that's all there really was to say. The menu for dinner looked VERY appealing there, so I'm sure we'll eventually go back and try that.

The place itself was very cute and homey-looking, and they seemed to have a nice garden in the back.

Patois gets 3 stars out of 4 stars. Mainly because they were so gosh-darn nice about all the confusion, and because it's fun to say the name. PAH-TWA! VOILA! PAMPLEMOUSSE!

Patois
255 Smith St
(between Degraw St & Douglass St)
Brooklyn, NY 11231
718.855.1535

Review: Risotteria, Manhattan

Fellow NomNomNomNYC reader, Eddie (hi Eddie!) invited Evan and I out for grub on Friday night. The only catch is, Eddie is allergic to everything. She's probably even allergic to you. But anyhow, she's got a favorite place that she goes to that serves up a gluten-free menu and since Evan and I are much more flexible in our dining habits, we went where she wanted. And this ended up being a good thing!

We went to Risotteria in the West Village, and man, it was pretty awesome. I had no clue was risotta was (soupy rice with stuff in it, like a savory rice pudding), and was honestly a bit skeptical as I eyed our neighbor's oatmeal-looking plate of it. But then the delicious breadsticks arrived and I was a-ok. We decided to go family-style and get three dishes and then just share them all, which I recommend. I got some sort of risotto with calmari in it, Evan's had green beans in it, and Eddie got a pizza with ham on it.

Readers, we couldn't finish our food. It was so good and so filling that there was enough of it left for Eddie to pack it up as leftovers and take home. There was tons of flavor in the food without being overwhelming, and it was easy to share. I imagine that this place is comfort food to the gluten-afflicted. The place has a fabulous selection of gluten-free wines and beers, and the Coca Cola comes in a little vintage glass bottle. We didn't try the desserts, but I'm sure that they're great as well.

The place was priced reasonably enough that you could come back as often as you'd like, and the staff working at the time was very sweet and helpful. They even pull the table out for you to sit down, which is nice because then you don't have to do that whole awkward squeezing-yourself-through-the-crack-in-the-tables things.

So Risotteria, you get 4 out of 4 stars, just because you were yummy. Good job!

Risotteria
270 Bleecker St
between Cornelia St & Morton St)
New York, NY 10014
212.924.6664

www.risotteria.com

Review: DuMont Burger, Brooklyn

Last Thursday (I KNOW, I KNOW, I'm so behind on this), Evan and I jointly came to the opinion that it would be a good night to eat out. Evan had to move his car anyhow, due to the lovely alternate-side parking in the neighborhood, so we decided to pick a locale elsewhere. Not really feeling like investigating a band spankin new restaurant, we went to an old fave, DuMont Burger in Williamsburg.

DuMont is this fancy French bistro sort of place right off the L Lorimer stop who apparently had these awesome burgers on their menu next to the duck confit. People kept coming in just for the burgers, so the fine people at DuMont opened a location just for them on Bedford Avenue. It's a teeny-tiny little place that they somehow manage to pack the people in by eliminating tables and chairs, and instead using small bartops and stools. The place is very warm and cozy and dimly lit. Sometimes you have to wait a long time for a table, but this time it was only about five minutes.

Everytime we go, we get the same thing. The mini burger (not so mini!), fries or a salad, and a beer. I was on that same train this time around, but Evan got the skirt steak sandwich. This place is like a fancier, more refined Shake Shack. The burgers and fries are equally delicious, but they have a more gourmet taste to them. The pickles are especially nice, with a very sweet yet tangy taste. I seem to remember the bartender telling us one time that they make the pickles themselves. I could be imagining that conversation, or I'm just super gullible, but there you have it.

So anyhow, the burger: Great. Evan's skirt steak: Pretty good as well. Whatever house dressing that comes on the salad: Light and very yummy. The beers: Always nice.

Short and sweet, the DuMont Burger is a consistently great place to go eat. 4 out of 4 stars, just because.

DuMont Burger
314 Bedford Ave
(Cross Street: Between S 1st Street and S 2nd Street)
Brooklyn, NY 11211
718.384.6128

http://dumontrestaurant.com/dburger.html

Top 5 Chain Places You Can't Find in NYC

All of this reviewing of NYC food makes me miss all those wonderfully crappy chain places down south that haven't quite made it north yet. Here's my Top 5.

5) Cracker Barrel. This one is really for Evan, who really really loves the place. These Southern cooking/general store hybrids can be found along major highways and interstates, ready to serve you up some fresh chicken fried steak, grits, and baked cinammon apples. While you wait for your food, you can play with the little pegboard games. After you're done eating, stop in the general store and buy yourself some religious paraphernalia and 10 cent candy sticks. The closest one we've found is in New Jersey, which we once went out of our way to visit on a road trip to Baltimore.

www.crackerbarrel.com

4) Chick-Fil-A. The creator of the chicken sandwich. I think that the pieces of chicken at this place are actually fried in crack, which is why they are so addictive. It's kind of cheating to put it on this list as a NYC location actually DOES exisit....but it's in an NYU dorm. To get to it, you must breeze in past the security guard and walk with a purpose into the dining hall, but only after you've glued a look of moneyed contempt on your place that says "My parents might pay for my tuition, apartment, and cocaine habit, but I can buy my own Chick-Fil-A, thankyouverymuch." The NYU place does in a pinch, but nothing beats a real brick and mortar freestanding location. Oh, and they're all closed on Sundays for religious reasons, so plan accordingly.

www.chick-fil-a.com

3) Whataburger. When Evan and I took an impromptu trip down to Texas last fall, I forced my vegetarian sister to drive us to the nearest Whataburger on the way home from the airport. Upon getting his burger and unwrapping it from the pleasant goldenrod colored paper, Evan exclaimed "THIS is a REGULAR SIZED burger?!" You see, the regular sized burger at Whataburger (which is pronounced "waterburger", by the way) is the size of a newborn child's head. It's the best fastfood hamburger known to man. Whataburger is also the home of the world's best breakfast food, the so-hot-you'll-blister-your-lip fried apple pie. This heavenly chain with the distinctive triangle-shaped building began in Corpus Christi and is open 24-hours, a fact that I frequently abused in college.

www.whataburger.com

2) Casa Ole. Say what you want, but the tex-mex at this delightfully crappy chain is better than ANY tex-mex that i've had in NYC. So what if it all tastes a bit microwaved? The mysterious green sauce that you get with the chips and salsa for free is the one thing that I MUST eat whenever I'm home, and where else can you get 99 cent margaritas every Tuesday? You could plausibly get a full dinner with two margaritas and still leave a nice tip for $10 at this place. It's also always either attached to a mall, or kind of hovering in the parking lot, so it's a nice break from shopping. I ate many a meal at Casa Ole in college and can still sing the theme song when prompted. In high school, my hooligan friends and I went at least once a month and lied and said it was someone's birthday, so that we could hear the birthday song about chimichangas and get the free trans fat cinammon and sugar chimichanga creation. I'm pretty sure they were on to us, but we never got turned down.

www.casaole.com

1) Sonic. Oh Sonic. You continue to tease me by running your advertisements nationally, despite the fact that you are nowhere near NYC. The burgers and fries at this drive-up establishment are quite tasty, but here are the three real reasons that people go to Sonic: Cheese-tots, Ched-R-Peppers, and the drinks. You could probably come up with a million different drink combos at this place, but I always order a cherry limeade slush. When we went on that trip to Texas, we were there for about three days, and visited Sonic twice. My small hometown had THREE Sonics, but the one by the mall was the best because the waitresses wore rollerskates to take your order, and then deliver it to your car. I really love this place.

www.sonicdrivein.com

Runner Ups:

Taco Bueno. Kind of like Taco Bell, but a bit fresher. The Mexi-Dips, oh my god.

Taco Cabana. Mexican fastfood, really only noteworthy because they sold booze and were open 24-hours.

Wienerschnitzel. Really cheap fantastic hot dog place. My dad and I like to go and get kraut dogs here.