JLOB

We have walked by Jack's Luxury Oyster Bar a million times - it's right around the corner on 2nd Ave at 6th Street - but for whatever reason have never gone in. We finally took the plunge last Wednesday, and it was worth the wait! Very similar in a way to Graffiti in that it was a tiny place with small plates, and yet so different. A seafood-oriented menu (oysters, obviously) with meat, veggies and fabulous desserts as well. We sat at the bar to start and liked it so much we stayed there the whole night to watch everything being made - the sous chef Betsy (who was so nice, and damn good as well) said that they change the menu every few weeks. We would definitely recommend it - we'll be back soon!

PS - did I mention that Jack was from Michigan? He and his wife have 2 other restaurants as well, all within a block of one another - Jewel Bako and Degustation. Has anyone been to any of them?

Oh, How the Mighty Have Fallen.........

I just want to say that, as much as I love talking about restaurants I love, I also get very frustrated when places seem to disappoint. I posted about our new favorite go-to place, The Smith, and I now have to sadly take it back. Now not only can I not get in as a walk-in (Friday night we were promised 40 minutes, then when that was up it was going to be ANOTHER 40 minutes, to which we went somewhere else), but this morning I waited 20 minutes for a brunch reservation while other people got seated ahead of us ("They have been waiting a long time" the hostess said. 80 minutes, I presume). I know these things happen, and I certainly have never run a restaurant to know how hard it is. And I will admit most of my frustrations stem more from the hostess' attitude (after I talked to the manager about the issues I felt better, but I am still unsure if and when we will return). Can anyone change my mind?

Graffiti

We had one of those only-in-New York dinners on Saturday, at Graffiti in the East Village. The restaurant is tiny (I estimated about 1/4 the size of our apartment, or maybe 8 feet wide - what you see here is about it). Dirk and I had dinner with Jeff, and we shared the back table with 6 other people, which is always good to see what they ordered and you didn't. Everything about it was special - the chef is also the host, the small menu is very thought out and easy to order from (everything is grouped by price, and all wine is $25 a bottle although we opted for the lychee prosecco martinis - yum!), and when the food is brought to the table it is carefully explained ingredient by ingredient. Everything tasted excellent - you can tell that this is a place that has had a lot of love put into it and it shows. Even though we tried most everything on the menu, I am looking forward to our next trip!

Restaurant Review, Part 2

Last Friday we went to a great little Italian restaurant on Avenue B called bår-bo-né. It was tiny, but the food was great - a little more creative than your basic Italian fare (I had the duck ravioli). The staff were also really nice, which is probably what I look for #1 in a restaurant (besides food, of course, but if the food is good but the staff isn't I probably won't go back). I would definitely recommend it if you are in the far East Villiage.

Restaurant Review, Part 1

When I first moved to New York, I felt like I was constantly discovering new and interesting places, but had no way of telling everyone - so this is a great forum to do so! Dirk and I love eating out, so I will try to start sharing some of our favorite places (great for you out-of-towners as well, to get ideas of where you want to go the next time you visit)

The Smith is our new favorite local - very brasserie-esque, a wide range of things to choose from for both brunch and dinner, friendly staff, complimentary still AND sparkling water and only about 3 blocks from the apartment! The only bad thing about it is that it's gotten so popular they quoted us an hour wait for a table last night (good thing they take reservations).