06.08.09 My Top Ten RIGHT NOW

Top Ten Constant Favorites of NYC Eateries – because sometimes you just want what you know will be good

1.Westville
This is a classic west village eatery with only ten tables making it always a potential couple hour wait to sample the finest of clean simple American cooking.  I’m partial to the two “fearless franks” served on toasted buns, topped with grilled onions and a delectable market side.  The lemon herb chicken, the pork chop and the grilled mixed cheese on a Portuguese roll are all worthy of a taste, and nothing beats the spectacular burger.  But the real reason to wait those two hours for a seat is the market vegetable sides.  Fresh everyday and always delicious, there’s a list of some twenty delicacies, from grilled asparagus with Parmesan cheese to hearts of palm and even beets with crumbled feta (which as a hater of beets is surprisingly pleasant on the palate).  The best part, all these eats are offered at very respectable non-NYC prices.

2. Abboccato
Italian can be unbelievably boring and still tasty, but this place defies expectations on both fronts by creating classic Italitian dishes that make taste buds sing, all served in a modern grotto-like atmosphere, flag stone walls with snaking light fixtures dimly illuminating the attractive space.  It is an absolute must to start with the fresh buffalo mozzarella platter with four dipping sauces (EVOO, thick balsamic vinegar, apple puree and a seasonal citrus) from the best cheese shop in Queens of all places.  For a pasta course you can’t go wrong with the sweet potato ravioli in a brown butter sage sauce or the linguini “a la vongole” with manila clams, garlic and peperoncini.  But it’s the protein course that you really want to focus on.  The best of the fish is the artic char served over warm dandelion, oven-dried grapes and blood orange salad.  The best of the meat is mouth watering crispy veal sweetbreads with wild mushrooms, Sardinian pasta and vincotto.

3. August
I’ve recommended it before and I’ll recommend it every time after for any special occasion or any evening where you just want to be pleasantly full of succulent foods from the Mediterranean and Northern Europe.  The must starter here is the tarte flambé cooked to crispy gorgeousness in a brick oven with Alsatian onion, bacon and crème fraiche.  The main courses change with the seasons and the chef’s mood, but you’ll usually find the dynamic oven roasted whole orata with fresh herbs and olives and the slightly bloody (in a delectable way) grilled petite filet of beef served over puy lentils, watercress with a mustard béarnaise.  But the real reason to show up is the selection of fresh gelato.  No mater what flavors they have, even ones that sound disgusting, all are must tries.  My personal favorites over the years have been lavender chocolate, Mexican hot chocolate and the most surprisingly wonderful olive oil flavored.
4. Caracas Arepa Bar
Another tiny restaurant with epically long but worthwhile waits, this time on the east side of the island, serves up the absolute best of Venezuelan food.  Deep fried white cheese sticks known as tequeños and fried sweet plantain balls stuffed with the same white cheese called yoyos are basically the food that haunts my dreams.  And that’s just the appetizer choices.  From the arepas menu (think basically little sandwiches that taste better than any sandwich you’ve ever put past your lips) you really can’t go wrong, but the roasted pork with tomato and spicy mango sauce or the grilled chicken and chorizo with avocado slices and spicy chimi-churri sauce are the true delights.  For that extra bit of Venezuelan flavor, combine your meal with a cold Negra Modelo or a camburada, a banana milkshake with a touch of cinnamon.

5. Casa Havana
This fine establishment has graced this column before, but it always deserves another mention for it’s wonderfully inexpensive take on classic fresh Cuban food. Within this small Chelsea storefront, you cannot miss the mouthwatering sandwiches. My personal favorite is the tasty puerca masitas or pork sandwich covered in fried plantains, grilled onions embraced in toasted bread lightly covered in mayonnaise.  For something a little more dinner oriented, there’s ropa vieja or shredded beef with bay leaves served with beans and rice.  The portions are generous and I always walk out with tomorrow’s lunch, which makes the cheap prices even more impressive.  There’s also a great bucket of mini corona (or coronitas if you will) that makes you feel like you’re actually sitting in the warm and vibrant streets of Havana so colorfully depicted on the large canvases that cover the walls of the tiny establishment.

6. Cookshop
Maybe it’s just because it’s close to my apartment, and good brunch should always be close to your apartment to avoid travel time, or maybe because the breakfast foods are heavenly.  The egg scramble flecked with smoked bacon on a buttery biscuit induces pure happiness.  Match that with a tall Bloody Mary, celery stick and ginger salted rim with a side of coffee, and that’s what I call a Sunday morning brunch.  Huevos rancheros are never my go to, but at this fine establishment, I’m willing to make the exception.  And the lunch foods, the standard burger and such, are equally worthy.  Make a reservation if you want to eat brunch during brunch hours.  And if you enjoy people watching as much as I do, sit outside.

7. Ms. Mamie’s Spoonbread Too
This was my go-to place back when I lived way up on the upper west side when I was just craving that home cooked meal that wasn’t being served in the dining hall.  The BBQ chicken and especially the southern fried chicken are the to die for entrees, although I’ve always been partial to the Louisiana catfish with the tangy tartar sauce on the side.  And as is true with all down home cooking, it’s all about the sides, the collard greens, candied yams, cornbread and especially the mashed potatoes and the mac and cheese.  Pair the whole meal with a lemonade served in a mason jar and finish off your meal with any of the fresh homemade cakes and you might as well have left the upper west side for a meal cooked with the true heart of the deep south.

8. Markt
While I have never been thrilled with the move of this Belgian beer and mussels brasserie to Sixth Avenue from the wide open expanse that it had in the Meatpacking District (now an Apple store) I cannot deny that it’s still a must eat for me.  Start off with a tall glass of cool Hoegaarden beer to get your taste buds prepared.  Then choose from any of the mussels offered, because you can’t go wrong.  My personal picks are the mussels with tomato, fresh basil, peppers and onion or the thicker broth mussels with cilantro, curry and a dash of cream.  From the kitchen will come a steaming pot of mussels swimming in sauce, the lid to the pot becoming your shell discard bowl.  Placed on the side of this steaming deliciousness is small cut fries and a container of mayo.  Take this whole experience outside (this is where the new location fails the most) and you have yourself the perfect excuse to not work for an entire summer afternoon as you slowly make your way through that pot and a couple more beers.  Now that’s most excellent.

9. Becco
Bottomless anything when it comes to food is a fantastic idea, but it’s an even more incredible idea when the bottomless item is three types of fresh homemade pasta served piping hot directly out of the kitchen.  It is this bottomless skillet of pasta that keeps me coming back (the types of pasta generally rotate everyday to ensure the freshest of ingredients available).  If you want something other than pasta (why you would, I have no clue) go with the ossobuco alla Becco, braised veal shank with farrotto tossed fresh peas and favas.  The vitello alla parmigiana is also good, fried nicely and topped with tomato, fresh mozzarella and Grana Padano.  And leave room for some classic Italian desserts, Italian cheesecake, apple strudel, pannacotta and the delicious chocolate mousse cake.

10. Dallas BBQ
The beauty of the DBBQ is the combination of delicious cheap eats and oversized alcoholic beverages.  For my money, and it really doesn’t take much out of the pocket, I have a BBQ basted quarter chicken, served with cornbread and French fried Idaho potatoes.  Pair that with a Texas size margarita, mango flavored is the least suspicious, and as always, get an extra shot of whatever that magic alcohol is they use.  The whole thing comes out in a goblet filled with slushy style alcohol, the extra shot lodged into the goo in a plastic test tube.  Drop it in, swirl it around and devour your food, you’ll definitely have trouble walking when it’s all said and done equally do to being stuffed as being drunk.
Close seconds:
Cornelia Street Café
The Red Cat
Lever House
Trattoria del Arte
Mercer Kitchen