A foodie walks into a bar... (Looking for great a la carte / small plate spots)

[askdrtodd]

So my wife and I love nothing more than the amazing food in your amazing city. We come out there at least twice a year for 3 or 4 days and usually do nothing except walk/exercise/explore/eat/drink. Last visit we hit around 35 restaurants between Saturday AM and Monday PM (the usual trip duration).

The new caveat- we ate at Alinea a few months ago (not NYC, I know) and it forever cured us of wanting to do tasting menus. No longer worth the emotional/monetary/time investment in our eyes. We realized our favorite thing to do is sit a the bar, have a drink, a couple small plates, and get back out and continue exploring. I've been doing some research and found a lot of great places you've all recommended, just would love your input on any I've missed, or at least any with good a la carte menus (like WD-50, we went there last time and instead of the tasting menu just got 6 small plates and got stuffed for less than the price of one tasting menu!)

So where south of 90th (we're staying right by Columbus Circle) are your faves right now? I absolutely love the Kaiseki at Kyo Ya, it was one of the best meals I've ever had, and am looking at Corton and Jung Sik, but am not sure either does a la carte.

My current interest list:
Hagi
Bourgeois Pig
Kyotofu
Gastroarte
Megu
Jung Sik
Corton
Minetta Tavern
Bistro Moderne (Thanksgiving at the bar, at an odd hour like 3pm)
Stantion Social

Thank you x 1,000,000 for your input!!!

[kathryn]

BTW, Momofuku Ssam has a bar room now where you can get some items from the Ssam menu (buns, hams, pickles, oysters, etc) while you drink, so you don't have to commit to a whole meal to eat only, say, the pork buns.

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Momofuku Ssam Bar
207 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10003

[askdrtodd]

BTW, you are FREAKING AWESOME AND I LOVE YOU!!!!

Thanks for the recos, I really appreciate it!!!

All Hail Kathryn, trip report to follow.

[orthorunner]

Not sure if you need any additional options, but here are a few more to consider:
Have not been to Jung Sik, but another Korean place to consider is Danji; they do have small plates a la carte. Fantastic options-out of 10 we ordered, only one did not hit the mark for me. Especially recommend the whelk salad, sablefish, and steak tartare.
Kin Shop-modern twist on Thai
Torrisi Italian Specialties
Saxon & Parole-new spot with small plates; the razor clams are one of their go-to dishes
You have a lot of great options, and I don't think you will go wrong with any of them! I am impressed by your itinerary your last big trip.

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Torrisi Italian Specialties
250 Mulberry St, New York, NY 10012

Kin Shop
469 6th Ave, New York, NY 10011

Danji
346 W 52nd St, New York, NY 10019

Jung Sik
2 Harrison St, New York, NY 10013

Saxon + Parole
316 Bowery, New York, NY 10012

[kathryn]

Speaking of Saxon and Parole, you can dine at the bar at the chef's other restaurant, Public. Also look into their "hidden" wine bar, the Monday Room. I recommend the seared foie gras with spicy French toast and bacon.

Torrisi is not small plates so much as a prix fixe (with multiple appetizers) or tasting menu. You can't just drop in, have a few items, and leave. You can reserve for the longer tasting but not the prix fixe (during dinner at least). For the prix fixe, your only choice is for the meat course. So you don't really get to try lots of different things off of a long menu.

http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.co...

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Public
210 Elizabeth Street, New York, NY 10012

The Monday Room
210 Elizabeth Street, New York, NY 10012

[orthorunner]

Ah, yes, since they have opened up Parm, that would be the OP's option for a la carte. Thanks for the clarification.

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Parm
248 Mulberry St, New York, NY 10012

[askdrtodd]

Added them all to my google map, appreciate it!! If you're going to be in the area next week and want to grab a bite with us, my email is just my username on here @ gmail, be great to break bread with ya.

Thanks again!

[uwsister]

I liked Danji - good place for ordering small plates and sharing. I also haven't been to

Think you can do better than Hagi - any particular reason?

I would skip Megu. Probably Stanton Social too. Unless you wanna throw in a scene-y place.

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Hagi
152 W 49th St, New York, NY 10019

Stanton Social
99 Stanton Street, New York, NY 10002

Megu
62 Thomas Street, New York, NY 10013

Danji
346 W 52nd St, New York, NY 10019

[askdrtodd]

O and should mention also did Spotted Pig last trip (which was less of a food-trip so no report followed), wasn't blown away. Had the eggs and the DoH, and pig ear, and a few others but overall wasn't what I'd hoped it would be. Especially not after the hour wait when we got there before they opened on a weekday.

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Spotted Pig
314 W 11th St, New York, NY 10014

[bronwen]

Casa Mono would be what you're looking for

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Casa Mono
52 Irving Place, New York, NY 10003

[kathryn]

Here is askdrtodd's previous trip report where they weren't thrilled by Casa Mono:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/7521...

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Casa Mono
52 Irving Place, New York, NY 10003

[kathryn]

Based upon your previous trip report here:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/7521...

I would say you need to hit up:
Laduree for macarons -- better than Bouchon
Bar Boulud -- charcuterie
Kuma Inn -- Thai-Filipino tapas
Bar Room at the Modern -- one of the best bets in town for small plates
Employees Only -- bone marrow poppers, get two orders!
The Dutch -- lots of bar snacks on the menu
Locanda Verde -- get a drink and some sheep's milk ricotta at the bar
Tertulia -- chef is ex-Boqueria, I think it's better than Boqueria
Txikito -- Basque small plates/tapas/pintxos
Sorella -- Piedmontese small plates
ABC Kitchen -- Jean George's farm to table place, great appetizers like crab toast with lemon aioli
Prune -- excellent bar snacks if you can get in
Blue Smoke -- great chips with dip, deviled eggs, etc
Pegu Club or Death & Co -- great cocktails and bar snacks
Spotted Pig -- deviled eggs, chicken liver toast, devils on horseback
Fatty Cue -- get some seats at the bar, have a drink, get the deep fried bacon

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Jean Georges
1 Central Park W, New York, NY 10023

Spotted Pig
314 W 11th St, New York, NY 10014

Kuma Inn
113 Ludlow St, New York, NY 10002

The Modern
9 West 53rd Street, New York, NY 10019

Blue Smoke
116 East 27th Street, New York, NY 10016

Boqueria
53 W 19th St, New York, NY 10011

Employees Only
510 Hudson St, New York, NY 10014

Prune
54 E 1st St, New York, NY 10003

Pegu Club
77 W Houston St, New York, NY 10012

Bar Boulud
1900 Broadway, New York, NY 10023

Death & Co.
433 E 6th St, New York, NY 10009

Txikito
240 9th Ave, New York, NY 10001

Sorella
95 Allen St, New York, NY 10002

Locanda Verde
377 Greenwich St, New York, NY 10013

ABC Kitchen
35 E 18th St, New York, NY 10003

The Dutch
131 Sullivan St, New York, NY 10012

Tertulia
359 6th Ave, New York, NY 10011

Laduree
864 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10021

Fatty 'Cue
50 Carmine St, New York, NY 10014

[askdrtodd]

We have Wednesday AM to Saturday PM this time. Bistro Moderne has a bar menu day of, with many of it's thanksgiving dishes on it, I'd planned to go at an odd/less busy hour and try to nab a seat at the bar.

I guess I can scratch Corton off, maybe still do Jungsik. We had an excellent and really fun brunch at Stantion last time we were in the city, but I've not dined there other than brunch. Is it not as good/fun?

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Corton
239 West Broadway, New York, NY 10013

[Cheeryvisage]

I encourage you to do Jungsik nevertheless. It's quite special, unique, and worthy of a full dinner in my opinion. I raved all about my experience here: http://www.chow.com/topics/815513

I see you also have Kyotofu on your list. While it serves food, I think people generally prefer the desserts since that's what they're known for, so let Kyotofu be your dessert stop. The nice thing is that the menu has 3-item and 5-item tastings in which you can sample a bunch of mini desserts on one plate. It should be fun.

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Kyotofu
705 9th Ave, New York, NY 10019

[Cheeryvisage]

Corton does not do a la carte. It only offers two tasting menus.

Jungsik has a shorter 3-course prix fixe, in addition to the 5-course tasting menu.

Neither is a la carte, unfortunately. But Jungsik should be a shorter meal at least if you choose the 3-course prix fixe. I actually prefer Jungsik's cuisine over Corton's.

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Corton
239 West Broadway, New York, NY 10013

Jung Sik
2 Harrison St, New York, NY 10013

[kathryn]

When is your trip? Given that you mention Thanksgiving it sounds like you want to dine out on Thanksgiving Day, when some of your choices may have different hours, prix fixe menus, or be closed entirely?

I'm not sure that Stanton Social and Bourgeois Pig are up to the same level of cooking as some others you list, and that geographically/timing-wise your list is going to work... Are you going to do this all in one day? Two days? How many spots do you want to narrow it down to?

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Stanton Social
99 Stanton Street, New York, NY 10002

Bourgeois Pig
111 E 7th St, New York, NY 10009