Out on the Town: August

Friday afternoon I had the special treat of having lunch with my mother. Being unemployed, I was downtown getting my haircut. My mother was supposed to be working in Albany but came home to escape the ice storms that are affecting the Northeast. We went to August, on Bleeker Street between Charles and West Tenth. We had been there once before for dinner, and this was my second time there for lunch. I have yet to be disappointed.

The front of August is deceivingly small and dark. If you continue walking through the restaurant, past the kitchen and wood-burning stove, you come to a sunlight-filled enclosed garden seating area that is lovely any time of year. Particularly during lunch in the wintertime, a view of the bright sky is more than welcome. Being a random weekday, we had our choice of seats and opted for a cozy corner table. The waitress was attentive and accommodating.

I had the Grilled Chorizo with fried egg, manchego cheese, coriander pesto, and country bread. As Bon Appetit recently pointed out, putting an egg on top of dishes was one of the top culinary trends of the year - and with good reason. The chorizo, which was split and grilled, was seasoned more like merguez than your standard Spanish sausage. The fried egg could easily make this a brunch dish, and the thick country bread was spread with coriander pesto and razer thin manchego, two of my favorite foods. In fact, when we were last here for dinner we had the mussels, which came with toast with coriander pesto, and it was love at first taste. It prompted me to make my own cilantro pesto, now one of my standards.

Prompted by a discussion on our love of French Fries, we asked the waitress if we might have a side of them. She said that although that usually was not offered (even though they come with the burger...) since it was not busy she could probably make that happen. And she did. And it was worth it. The fries are seasoned and perfectly crisp, and come with homemade mayonnaise, a little on the vinegary side and delicious.

My mother had the soup and sandwich. The sandwich was a Salumi Panini, and it came with curried Pumpkin Soup. The soup, which was beautifully presented (sorry I didn't get a close-up) had a kick that offset the sweetness of the pumpkin.

August has their own pastry chef who prepares desserts on site daily. To satisfy our sweet tooth we split the Chocolate Pot de Crème. This is a super thick, rich, luxurious mousse topped with an equally decadent whipped cream. We could barely finish it between the two of us.

Out on the Town: I Tre Merli

The night before Thanksgiving Evan and I decided to go out to dinner. It was my last day of work as a social studies teacher (I resigned, a story that could be a blog in and of itself), it was our four month anniversary (who's counting?) and on Friday I would be going away for a week to visit relatives in Canada. We decided to try I Tre Merli, a restaurant on West 10th Street in the West Village, near our parents' houses and somewhere we had never tried before.


They gave us some nice bread to start. We were less than impressed with the $7 glasses of chianti though. Not that we know anything about wine.


We had the sea scallops with avocado and tomato to start. They were good, but I wasn't particularly fond of the fried scallops. It made them taste like any other fried fish. It was good, but nothing special.


The mains were really yummy. Evan had Tagliolini Neri Ai Frutti Di Mare - Black Tagliolini with Shrimp and Calamari in a Lightly Spiced Tomato Sauce. I had Ravioli Di Cinghiale Al Porto - Boar Ravioli with Porto Wine Reduction Sauce. I loved the port reduction sauce and the boar meat.

Out on the Town: Gottino Gastroteca

Last night, after I ate Thai food in Astoria with Kira, and Evan and Peter had burgers at the Stoned Crow in the village (now serving burgers a la Corner Bistro), I met up with Evan and Peter. What was supposed to be a quick drink ended up being a whole evening spent at Gottino on Greenwhich Avenue between Charles and Perry, in the West Village. We had been here once before and enjoyed the experience. To begin with, the small "gastroteca," as they like to call it, is beautifully designed and laid out. From the marble countertops to the stunning red meat slicer, not a single detail was overlooked.


You can stand at the bar, or if you are patient as we were (or lucky), you can get a seat. They only have four tables, none of which has room for more than five people. This is not a place to go with a large group. A few friends or a date would be ideal. The wine list offers many choices, although not so many that it is overwhelming. There are a range of prices, but I did not see any for below $35. This works out fine when you are splitting a bottle, but prohibits Gottino from being a regular hang out spot.


There is also a whole menu of delicious-sounding food. When we have been there we have ordered cheese and been very happy. I want more of the sharp fontina I had last night! Next time, we will try out the other side of the menu.

All in all, a nice place to go. Wonderful atmosphere, good wine, good cheese. What more could you want?

A google search on Gottino yields many hits. Here are two reviews that might be of interest. I disagree with the ratings in the Village Voice - I have found the service to be very good. The wait staff is knowledgeable and willing to spend time talking to you about your selections.

New York Magazine
Village Voice

Out on the Town: Ronnybrook Farms and Chelsea Market

I grew up in the West Village. When I was in middle school, Chelsea Market opened on 9th Avenue and 17th Street, just a block from my school. My friends and I would go there for lunch and eat cheesecake, soup, and drink chocolate milk. It was great because there was variety and it was surprisingly reasonable. It's main downside at the time was that it was on 9th Avenue, which was still pretty sketchy. What I love about Chelsea Market is that even though the neighborhood around it has changed dramatically in the past ten years, this market has not. Although there are some newer, fancier establishments, many of the places that were there when it first opened - Ronnybrook Farms, Ruthie's, Amy's Breads, and even Hale and Hearty Soups - are still there. The Italian market is the best place to go for fresh Italian sausage (made right there), french spicy mustard, and spices.

Since Ronnybrook Farms had left the farmer's market before I got there on Saturday, we needed milk. What better excuse to go to the Ronnybrook Farm's Milk Bar in Chelsea Market? In addition to their awesome selection of milks, ice cream, and yogurt, they also have an unbelievably delicious menu. We got the "egg-in-a-hole" - a fried egg in a piece of rye bread with cheddar cheese and potatoes.


They also make unbelievable beverages. Evan got the choco-latte, which is steamed chocolate milk with espresso. Mmmm.

http://www.chelseamarket.com/

http://www.chelseamarket.com/pages/stores/ronnybrookdairy.html

http://menupages.com/restaurantdetails.asp?areaid=0&restaurantid=49580&neighborhoodid=0&cuisineid=0