SoHo – Page 4 – Writing With My Mouth Full

Palacinka

28 Grand Street between Thompson and Sixth Avenue
212/625.0362
♥ ♥

I used to go to Palacinka way back when during the dot-com days. When my job moved offices back to the West Village, I was eager to visit again and eat one of their crepes. In Central Europe, a crepe is called palaÄinka and is filled with vegetables and meats. The savory kinds are reserved for desserts and are filled with fruits and cream.

At this spot near the Holland Tunnel, I love sitting at one of the long wooden tables and sharing a couple of crepes with friends. When the weather is nice, the glass doors are open. The laid-back attitude of the staff makes you forget that you’re inhaling the soot of New Jersey commuters. The salami, potato and cheese crepe is one of my favorites. When not in the mood for a crepe, I like the ham-gruyere salad with thinly sliced potatoes drizzled with a sweet chutney dressing. The pressed sandwiches are thin and crusty and are perfect with a glass of chilled Pinot Grigio.

Fr.Og (French Origine)

71 Spring Street between Crosby and Lafayette Streets
212/966.5050
$120 for two people, with four drinks at the bar, with tip
â™¥

I haven’t been to a nice bathroom with communal sinks since my clubbing days–and I mean, like a real club, not the ridiculous Sea in Williamsburg, Brooklyn–and I’ve never been to AIX Brasserie either, chef Didier Virot’s first venture with Philip Kirsh, so it was like a new experience walking into Fr.Og with pink leather seats and silver-beaded walls. What could possibly come out from the kitchen of a place looking like this in the middle of SoHo?

The menu is French with Vietnamese, African and Middle Eastern influences, but really sounds less confusing on a plate. Fried spring rolls, or Vietnamese nem ran, has the traditional pork and shrimp with cucumber, lettuce and carrot on the side dressed with mint and garlic dressing. They were perfectly dainty and crunchy; the mint starting a party in my mouth. The Lebanese tabbouleh was better than the seared lamb loin served on top of it with its texture giving life to the cold, almost-limp tongue slivers of lamb. I only wished there was more of the foie gras encrusted in ginger. I didn’t even need the mango coulis and the soy-balsamic sauce with it. The drinks were even better than the appetizers. A coconut-lemongrass infused martini was beautifully done and so was a request for a citrusy and fruity cocktail after our meal. The maitre d’ and the bartender were equally nice and accommodating, quite a pleasure from a restaurant that plays dance music in the background.

Chef Didier is known for the short-lived Virot at the Dylan Hotel (later taken over by none other than Britney Spears’s NYLA, also short-lived) but his partnership with Jean-Georges Vongerichten as executive chef at JoJo should be taken more into account. The guy can obviously cook and has a tremendous palate to be able to translate different cuisines on each dish, but at $120 for three small plates and four drinks, I don’t know if people are hurrying to flock the place. I would come back, though, to use that bathroom.

Salt

58 MacDougal Street between Prince and Houston
212/674.4968
$90 for two, with a bottle of red, without tip
â™¥ â™¥

I’ve walked by Salt many times and have always been curious. We stopped by on a Friday night without reservations. They were completely booked but the waitress invited us to sit down with a “We’ll figure it out when the couple with the table comes in.” As soon as we joined the other diners at one of the long tables, a whole bottle of red was in order–other couple be damned.

The rack of lamb was well-executed. The crust was crispy and the meat perfectly medium-rare. The Dr. opted for one of their Protein + 2 options: duck breast with sautÃ©ed eggplant and braised leeks. The meat was a little overdone but the vegetables were simple and undeniably hearty. Other safe choices included a grilled dorade, roasted chicken, Newport steak and a bowl of pasta. Fennel, asparagus, artichokes and Yukon gold potatoes were available as side dishes. The menu may be unexciting but our dessert spoke volumes: a plum tart frangipane topped with a delicious rosemary ice cream.

I’ve fallen in-love with a restaurant before because of the ambiance and upon entering Salt, my heart pitter-pattered. Wooden communal tables occupy most of its intimate space. The open kitchen behind the bar invites you to sit, eat, drink wine and enjoy a conversation. The dim, warm lights make you feel like you’re in someone’s gorgeous apartment with exposed bricks. As the night leisurely passed and the buzz around us became intoxicating, we just wanted to stay.

Related post/s:
Provence is only a few stores down

Provence

38 MacDougal Street off Prince
212/475.7500
$80 for two, with 3 drinks, without tip
â™¥ â™¥

Updated, 2008: Provence will reopen in May as Hundred Acres.

I was delighted when I walked by Provence several months ago and saw that it was reopening with help from the owners of Five Points and Cookshop. I’ve eaten at Five Points twice without reservations and both times I left impressed and satisfied. I’ve only stopped by Cookshop for a drink, but one of their bartenders made them so beautifully, I stayed for two more. I visited Provence during opening week and felt completely at home as soon as I sat at the bar. The interior is a great mix of femininity and masculinity without the frills. Victor Hugo has never looked so good in a bathroom! Who knew homey furniture could be so sexy? I can’t wait to return when the windows are open and the flower boxes are filled in the summer.

We started with the endive salad with treviso, arugula and parmesan, a salad that would have been boring if not for its spiky lemon-anchovy dressing. I love bitter greens flavored by a little tart but kept at bay by aged, hard cheese. The sardines were lightly coated in breadcrumbs and served with lemon and chili oil–the right combination of tanginess and spiciness. The ravioli was rich but daintily stuffed with finely chopped snails, wild nettles and walnuts. A garlic-parsley sauce brought its decadence down a notch.

The Australian bartender was so charming, he immediately made me forget that I was there with someone. The Provence team has wisely chosen a small selection of French wines and Belgian beers. The Delirium Nocturnum, a dark ale, was of a maroon-brown color which tasted sweet and cinnamony while the Chateau de Roquefort clairette light and plummy. Provence was already loved by the neighborhood before it closed, but this reincarnation surely puts it on the MacDougal map.

Ed’s Lobster Bar

222 Lafayette Street between Spring and Broome Streets
212/343.3236
$90 for three with Birch beer and two glasses of sparkling wine, without tip
â™¥ â™¥

Ed McFarland, another Pearl Oyster Bar graduate, has opened up his own seafood restaurant and rawbar. (Ex Pearl partner, Mary, left to open Mary’s Fish Camp.) The location is great because it’s quite hard to find a decent place to eat in SoHo without straying away from Broadway. Ed’s Lobster Bar is narrow in front and opens up in the back. There is wainscoting on the walls and bricks are painted white. The space and the menu reminded me of the many seafood places I’ve tried during drives around New England. Three of us were seated in the back during its opening weekend where it was busy and pretty tight. We were next to the bathroom and the kitchen but the collective buzz contributed to a happier ambiance than not.

Press writeups laud the lobster rolls and everyone around us ordered them, but I just couldn’t get into all that mayo even after picking the fresh lobster pieces in it. The fries were a bit soggy and I ended up pushing the boring greens that came with it. The best thing on the plate were the homemade pickles. They were perfectly salty and briny. I know I’ll be back for a jar of them and skip the $19 roll altogether. All those years visiting New England never taught me what proper clam chowder is. I liked Ed’s version because it was runnier, but my companion told me she would have prefered it chunkier, Brooklyn style. We also ordered three oysters from Blue Point and three from Pine Islands. They were fresh, sweet and salty just like the ocean. We would have appreciated the scallops better if we weren’t painfully full because they tasted like they were seared in glorious bacon fat. We had visited two other places beforehand, so we called it an early night as if we were actually in New England.