The Meatball Shop

REVIEW

November 11, 2010


CUISINE: American (New), American (Traditional), Italian
NEIGHBORHOOD: Lower East Side

Photo Courtesy of The Meatball Shop

84 Stanton St.
(p) 212-982-8895

A menu honoring the meatball where nothing exceeds $9? Yes and yes. It took us a while to brave the lines at Meatball Shop; the average wait is two hours and an inside source confirmed that two hours is actually the maximum time sentence the hosts are allowed to assign, meaning its often longer than that. Wowza. CONT'D

 


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Posted in FOOD on November 11, 2010 8:55am by Jena Steinbach | 10 comments





congee

REVIEW

June 2, 2010


CUISINE: Chinese
NEIGHBORHOOD: Chinatown, Lower East Side

Photo sourced from NYmag

98 Bowery

t. 212-965-5028

Congee Chinese Restaurant on Urbanspoon

 

I went to Congee by accident.  I had aimed to go to its elaborately decorated and flashing-neon-lights-wearing brethren, Congee House, or Congee Village, but instead found myself at 98 bowery, peering into a room of Chinatown locals.  My father has always told me that the best restaurant is where the locals go, so I went in anyhow. CONT'D

 


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Posted in FOOD on June 2, 2010 3:51pm by Rachel Hochhauser | 5 comments





Pulinos

REVIEW

May 26, 2010


CUISINE: Italian, Pizza
NEIGHBORHOOD: Lower East Side

photo: Eater.com

282 Bowery at Houston

(p) 212-226-2966

 

I'm not sure if it's fair to judge Pulino's on one pizza at midnight, but I'm going to do it anyway.  Background info: Pulino's is the newest establishment by downtown restaurateur Keith McNally. Working the kitchen is Nate Appleman, who moved from San Francisco just for the job. I actually ate at his former restaurant, A16, when I was in SF two summers ago and it was fantastic. I love McNally's other restaurants –Schillers, Minetta, Balthazar, to name a few — so I was confident this new one was going to impress me.  CONT'D

 

 


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Posted in FOOD on May 26, 2010 12:03pm by Jena Steinbach | 9 comments





Les Enfants Terrible

REVIEW

February 22, 2010


CUISINE: African, Brazilian, French, Moroccan
NEIGHBORHOOD: Lower East Side

Photo:Time Out NY

37 Canal St. at Ludlow St.

(p)212-777-7518

 

Walk in and prepare to get a serious once over from everyone in the place — bartenders and bus-boys included. If you return the favor, you'll see that mostly all of the gawkers are good-looking. 

 

Without a reservation, chances are you'll have to wait at the bar for a while, which isn't such a punishment considering the hot crowd.  However, space is tight. In fact, my only complaint about the restaurant is the extreme number of people they seat during peak periods. CONT'D

 

 

 


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Posted in FOOD on February 22, 2010 10:59am by Jena Steinbach | 14 comments





Mole

REVIEW

February 12, 2010


CUISINE: Mexican
NEIGHBORHOOD: Lower East Side

Photo: Nymag

205 Allen St. Near Houston St.

(p)-212-777-3200

 

Nothing says “party” like tableside guacamole.  The performance appeal has a few key elements: bravado, novelty, a bit of indulgence, and the final tasty result.  The Lower East Side’s Móle is a hole-in-the-wall that features the elusive art, where the waiters dutifully mash avocados for the sake of people who like margaritas. 

 

The restaurant is too small to compare to a cantina or any of the larger aggressive Mexican restaurants that dot the U.S., but it certainly captures the celebratory spirit that goes hand-in-hand with tacos and beer.  I wouldn’t venture to say the food is authentic, but the intimate restaurant is festive and cozy —as long as you are at home around the lewd ceramic figurines that pop up here and there.  CONT'D

 


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Posted in FOOD on February 12, 2010 8:44am by Rachel Hochhauser | 8 comments