Catch-up

I've finished classes for the spring, and though summer classes are imminent, I'm working on catching up on 3 months worth of restaurant reviews. Just 23 to go! We are finding lots of new places in our new neighborhood, but we're also working to keep a budget and eat healthy - ideally, from now on two restaurants a week and sharing an appetizer and main dish to keep a healthy portion. So look forward to more posts to come! There's just a few thousand more restaurants in the city to try, and it seems like about 75 percent of them are at our doorstep.

99 Miles to Philly

99 Miles to Philly is a cheese steak place a few blocks from our new apartment. Occasionally I get a deep urge for a good cheese steak, which is exactly what happened today. So I walked over and ordered a steak with provolone and onions. The special includes waffle fries and a can of soda for $10, which wasn't a bad deal. My sandwich wasn't as gooey as I would have liked: I guess I should have gone with the more "authentic" Philly steak, that comes with cheese whiz. It took at least 5 minutes to get my order, which I suppose means it was fresh made, but the wait was definitely a complaint, when I've been to places like Pat's and Gino's in Philadelphia where you can get your sandwich in as much time as it takes to order a "whiz with." I took V back a few hours later, because she was jealous I went without her. Her steak had American cheese, which was definitely more the style I was hoping for. 99 miles to Philly is good, but I think I've had better.

The Crooked Tree

The Crooked Tree is a creperie a few blocks from our new apartment on St. Marks Place between First Ave and Ave A. Since we've moved, we've been looking for a place to replace one of our Astoria favorites, Euro Delights, where we regularly went for crepes.

We each ordered a crepe, me the sopressatta and mozzarella, with red onions, and V the mushroom and goat cheese. Both were (in our opinion) more authentically French - thin and modestly filled. The flavors were unique, I liked the mushroom crepe better, but the salami in mine was good and the cheese was fresh. Were were also served a little salad on the side which was nice.

The restaurant is small (like pretty much everything in the East Village) with a casual and comfortable decor. There are bottles of wine decorating one wall, and random things from a Spider-Man figurine to a giant jar of Nutella decorating the other. You can see the kitchen in back and an angled mirror on the wall enables you to see each crepe being prepared. Really the best thing about the atmosphere is the smell: butter. I don't think The crooked Tree quite matched Euro delights, but it certainly deserves a place on my culinary radar.

Cafe Deville

Cafe Deville is a great looking French bistro on 3rd Avenue. I've walked by it a number of times coming home from work. The street-side tables and the bar seemed rather enticing. Unfortunately it didn't meet our expectations.

V and I dropped in to try it out on a cool Saturday afternoon. Maybe it was the wrong time of day or something because the service was spotty and slow, but the place was fairly crowded, at least around the front windows. Our server honestly could have been high on something; he was twitching and skittery, and only came to our table twice; once to take the drink order and once to take the food order. At the end of the meal we had to flag him down after waiting for quite a while to get our check. We spent that time debating how low to tip.

The food was good, but not great. I ordered the hangar steak, which came with onions (they seemed like they came straight out of a pot of French onion soup) and mashed potatoes. The steak was fairly tender but its flavor was a little off. V had a cheeseburger which was very thick though a little over cooked, it also came with fries. Sadly, perhaps, the best deal of the meal was the $1 oysters we started with. That's one thing I'd go back for. Otherwise, it wasn't that good, and as I mentioned, the service was poor. I think the only other thing I'd attempt if we went back is brunch, which I've read pretty good reviews of.

Cafe Mogador

A good friend introduced us to Cafe Mogador, "Considered a pioneer of Moroccan restaurants in NYC." It's location on St. Mark's adds it to a growing list of restaurants on this street that we have really enjoyed.

The atmosphere was friendly and cozy, and wasn't overdone in Moroccan themes. We began with a bottle of wine recommended by the server, as well as roasted eggplant and tahini with pita bread. The flavor of the eggplant stood out and reminded us of our time spent in China, where eggplant was served more frequently than in the U.S. I also tried the tomato ginger soup, which was creamy and flavorful.

For dinner, I couldn't resist the whole wheat goat cheese ravioli, with butternut squash and sage cream sauce. I had never thought of pasta as Moroccan, but they do it very well! Clark had the bastilla, best described as a dinner pastry. It included filo dough, chicken, almonds, and herbs and spices. It was a unique dish, but could have benefited from some kind of a sauce. Maybe that's the worst thing to be said about a prominent Moroccan dish - what does he know?!

We probably should have followed suit when our friend, who had been there numerous times, ordered the chicken grill, which included skewered chicken with grilled vegetables and basmati rice. It looked and smelled delicious.

We truly enjoyed our entire meal here and will be sure to go back when we are looking for a Moroccan flare!

Written by V!

Goodburger

At goodburger freshness is everything. That’s why in a world where food is often chemically processed, prepackaged and frozen, each and every goodburger is made the old fashioned way.

There are so many different hamburger places in the city, each trying to come at this simple food from a different angle. goodburger's attempt is, in my opinion, high class McDonald's. And I really don't think that even with the hand-made burgers and all-natural ingredients, that it is quite worth the price.

V and I paid about $30 for two burgers with fries and milkshakes. The burgers were good, but I've definitely had better. Same goes for the rest of the food. They also offer beer and wine, which we passed on. The atmosphere is rather fast-food like and there are a few flat-panel TVs showing sports, with music blaring through the restaurant a notch too loud. I'm not sure what else I missed, but it just didn't seem worth it to me. I don't think we'll go back.

Pommes Frites

Upon moving to the East Village, we have noticed a number of restaurants that are able to specialize in one particular item. Pommes Frites is probably the most addicting of these places. I guess it sounds better to call french fries pommes frites, because the line is always out the door at this small restaurant. Even better than the fries are the variety of sauces that they serve to go along with the fries. You can choose from about 20 different flavors to enhance the taste of the already delicious, big, salty fries. We prefer to order our standard sweet mango chutney mayo (sweet AND spicy!), in addition to trying a new sauce. Some other favorites include: parmesan peppercorn, pomegranate teriyaki mayo, peanut satay. Anyone who visits us should be prepared to stop by here at least once.