East Village/ Lower East Side Rec
SF Hound coming to NYC for a ladies weekend in late May. Looking for a celebratory yet mid priced dinner on Saturday and prefer this hood for proximity to continued revelry later in the evening. Would like a cocktail menu, food in the innovative realm though specific cuisine not important, cost around $60 pp (including a drink or 2 but light appetites; the 4 of will likely share a number of dishes), nice design and fun atmosphere a plus.
On the short list:
Prune
Vandaag
WD50 would be perfect except for the price and lack of available reservations...
SF restaurants I would consider for this occasion:
Bar Agricole
Range
RN74
NY restaurants we have enjoyed in the past:
Momofuku (the more casual location)
Public
Balthazar
Hearth
Any thoughts on these choices or other recommendations would be much appreciated!
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sfeater
May 10, 2011 10:49 AM
OK so have a res at Prune, Vandaag and Aldea. Yes I realize that Aldea is the wrong hood, but I just liked the look of the place. Any final votes for the winner? I'll be sure to report back..
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Aldea
31 West 17th Street, New York, NY 10011Vandaag
103 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10003›3 Replies-
re: sfeater
sgordon
May 10, 2011 12:19 PM
I'm not personally the biggest fan of Aldea, but I also acknowledge I'm in the minority on that.
Of the remaining ones - hard to say. See which menu appeals to you more. Prune is a bit more esoteric, while Vandaag is a style of cuisine you don't see terribly often, so it could be interesting. If cocktails are important, though, I'd go with Vandaag - their cocktail program is one of the best restaurant ones in the city right now, and certainly the best of the three.
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Aldea
31 West 17th Street, New York, NY 10011Vandaag
103 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10003-
re: sgordon
If great wine is interchangable for great cocktails then how about Terrior?
And if appitites are truely light, how about the follow AMAZING cocktail bars?
- PDT
- Cienfuegos
- Mayahuel
- Death & Co.I agree with whoever said that Vandaag's cocktails are great, but the food is truely mediocre.
Aldea is wonderful, but not really a "fun" atmosphere...-----
Death & Co.
433 E 6th St, New York, NY 10009Mayahuel
304 E 6th St, New York, NY 10003Aldea
31 West 17th Street, New York, NY 10011Cienfuegos
95 Avenue A, New York, NY 10009Vandaag
103 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10003
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Just piping in, I also loved Vandaag. Thoughtful, well prepared food and excellent service. The bread basket was especially to die for - strange but true! http://fritosandfoiegras.blogspot.com...
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Vandaag
103 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10003 -
sfeater
May 3, 2011 12:17 PM
Thank you for the input so far. I have a res at Prune but still would like to explore some other options. I have looked into these suggestions and while they look like great places I would def check out with some more time in the city, I'm not sure any of them fit all 3 requirements of celebratory, innovative, has cocktails. Except maybe DCGB but there website really turns me off... I know I'm asking a lot at my price range, but any other thoughts would be much appreciated!
›1 Reply-
re: sfeater
There's only a handful of restaurants in town with truly excellent cocktail programs. The sheer number of cocktail bars/lounges probably has something to do with that. Many more people are getting a drink before or after dinner elsewhere. Also overall the trend has been to open restaurants that are more about comfort food than innovation (blame the recession). Our "molecular" (or whatever) scene just doesn't match up to other cities like Chicago especially after p*ong, Varietal, Room 4 Dessert, and Tailor all opened and quickly closed.
Vandaag is an excellent choice for your dinner. The cocktails are great (I just had some this weekend).
Prune and DBGB's cocktails just aren't up to the same level as Vandaag's (and DBGB is more about beer anyway). My favorite items at DBGB all have to do with charcuterie -- probably the opposite of innovation.
If you really are the light eaters you say you are, you might be better off going to a cocktail bar and noshing with a most-liquid dinner (Pegu Club's creative small plates? PDT's creative hot dogs?). Pegu Club doesn't take reservations for that small a group so I'd get there around 6pm. PDT only takes reservations day of via phone, so you'd need a backup plan. Both of these might be good pre-dinner spots to hit up, though (they'll be hard to get into post-dinner on a Saturday night).
Otherwise, your price range is limiting your options. $60 pp including 1-2 cocktails isn't much when those cocktails cost $13. If you're really the light eaters you say you are, you might be able to get by at the Bar Room at the Modern. Alsatian small plates, buzzy atmosphere, gorgeous interior design, good drinks (not the best but solid).
Another option is Yerba Buena which has Latin roots but the menu isn't really that strict/traditional. The great thing about them is that their cocktails are $12 and (somehow!) they do a larger cocktail than most everybody else.
But if you really must have great cocktails, you'll have to be more lenient on your request for innovative food. Here's a list of places with serious cocktail programs, you'll see that most of them are NOT very experimental when it comes to cuisine (Gramercy Tavern, Peels, Locanda Verde, etc):
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/7614...When you say you've been to Momofuku (the more casual one), did you mean Momofuku Noodle Bar? Or Momofuku Ssam Bar (who has a cocktail program run by PDT bartenders)? Or Ma Peche? Only the latter two have a liquor license. Ko and Noodle Bar serve only beer and wine.
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Gramercy Tavern
42 E 20th St, New York, NY 10003Momofuku Ssam Bar
207 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10003The Modern
9 West 53rd Street, New York, NY 10019Momofuku Noodle Bar
171 1st Ave, New York, NY 10003Please Don't Tell
113 St Marks Pl, New York, NY 10009Pegu Club
77 W Houston St, New York, NY 10012Yerba Buena
23 Avenue A, New York, NY 10009Locanda Verde
377 Greenwich St, New York, NY 10013DBGB
299 Bowery, New York, NY 10003Ma Peche
15 W 56th St, New York, NY 10019Vandaag
103 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10003Peels
325 Bowery, New York, NY 10003
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sgordon
Apr 28, 2011 12:29 PM
I actually love Vandaag and will gladly steer you back. Great food, of a cuisine we don't see too much of here in NYC. Every meal I've had there has been the equal of (at half the price) any meal I've had at Aquavit. The menu changes often, too, so whatever didn't please the other poster may be long gone. Also the cocktails are fantastic, and the beer list is very creative and well-curated.
Prune and WD-50 you'll get no argument from me on. Great places, both. Only question is that WD will be hard to get out of for under $60/pp, to really experience the place. Generally an entree + app + dessert there will be around $75, before you even get to drinks. (The cocktails are some of the best in the city, though, it should be noted)
Only addition I'd add is Falai, what I consider an underrated gem. Very innovative Northern Italian cuisine. They were just okay back in the day when the Times reviewed them some years ago, but Chef Falai has gotten so much better in the years between - partly due to the influence of Wylie Dufresne at WD, just up the street. His food is playful like Wylie's but more hearty and a bit more lush, doesn't lose touch with his rustic Florentine roots. He does a $65 prix fixe for four courses - a really good deal, full Italian meal (antipasti, pasta, entree, dessert) - split a bottle of wine or two and you'll get a good selection of food without going too far over your limit. Going a la carte you could easily stay under, if you're light eaters like you say.
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WD-50
50 Clinton Street, New York, NY 10002Aquavit
65 E 55th St, New York, NY 10022Falai
68 Clinton St, New York, NY 10002Vandaag
103 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10003 -
Frankies spuntino for Red Sauce Italian on clinton st., DBGB is in that general area too. Porsena for pasta and Edi and the Wolf is pretty good as well they are all in the East Village. I would also throw Back Forty in that mix.
From the restaurants you listed that you have been to before, might i suggest Maialino which is right around Union Square and not too far off from the area.
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Frankies 17 Spuntino
17 Clinton St, New York, NY 10002Back Forty
190 Avenue B, New York, NY 10009DBGB
299 Bowery, New York, NY 10003Maialino
2 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10010Porsena
21 E 7th St, New York, NY 10003Edi & the Wolf
102 Avenue C, New York, NY 10009 -
May want to consider Brindle Room or Northern Spy, not too far from Hearth if you need some idea of the pre/post neighborhood options.
Prune should remain a possibility.
Just an idea about the feel of the above mentioned places, they are more upscale neighborhood places, versus the somewhat corporate feel of the other NY places you mentioned. I'd say slightly more rustic than polished elegance the way Balthazar/Hearth/Public are.
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Northern Spy Food Co.
511 E 12th St, New York, NY 10009Brindle Room
277 E 10th St, New York, NY 10009 -
i have to steer you away from vandaag. nice space and fine for a drink but the food is mediocre and the service was completely all over the place.
im a big fan of prune. my only concern for you is that it's small and while lively, its more of a refined place for a great meal.
prune is a great option considering your SF favorites.
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Prune
54 E 1st St, New York, NY 10003Vandaag
103 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10003
