New York Restaurants by Area – Page 28 – Writing With My Mouth Full

Petite Abeille

466 Hudson Street
212/741.6479
about $45 for three dishes, with two beers, with tip
â™¥

With four locations in the city, my favorite is the one on Hudson Street in the West Village. Petite Abeille is known for their mussels. On Wednesday nights, you can eat all the mussels you want for about $20 with a Stella. But I really like their waffles with fresh strawberries, topped with whipped cream and sprinkled with confectionary sugar. I order it whenever I visit one of their locations no matter what time of the day it is.

When it’s warm out, it’s nice to sit by the sidewalk and watch the West Village crowd walk by. For lunch, there are several salads and sandwiches to choose from, but skip the spicy tuna sandwich and stick with the pot of mussels. Dip the crusty bread in the broth and you’re set. Make sure you order a Leffe with it.

Landmarc at the Time Warner Center

Third floor of the Time Warner Center, 10 Columbus Circle
212/823.6123
about $75 for brunch for two, with mimosas and coffee, with tip
â™¥

Baby strollers of different sizes and colors almost blocked the entrance. One of the babies being held by its father burped and threw up a gooey substance on the floor. Where were we? We were standing outside Landmarc in the Time Warner Center on a Sunday afternoon. Thankfully, we were seated immediately at the bar which kept us away from any more cranky babies and parents with their hands full. We both stayed out late the night before, so we needed to start our day right. Mimosas were in order–about three glasses apiece, in fact, until the small champagne bottles were empty. I ordered the smoked salmon peppered with capers. I was craving a toasted plain bagel and cream cheese, which I rarely eat, so I was more than happy to eat something unexciting. The salmon was tasty, though, and even the Philadelphia cream cheese was good.

Cameron chose the very filling eggs en meurette, poached eggs served with bacon, onions and mushrooms in reduced red wine sauce. The bacon was chunky and the crusty bread was softened by the sauce. It could have been a classic dinner option because it was so hearty. This stood out among the other breakfast selections. We also split the blueberry pancakes with warm maple syrup. I’ve had a lot of bad pancakes before and I have to say that the Landmarc pancakes were pretty good. Real blueberries peeked from the soft cakes at every slice with a fork. Even with our first two dishes, we didn’t have a problem doing damage to them.

We raved about the coffee. I had to call the restaurant two days later to ask for the source. The coffee is from La Colombe and roasted in Philadelphia. It is also served in restaurants like Daniel and Le Bernardin. It’s $15 for a pound in the Chelsea Market, so I’ll just visit this weekend for dinner and order it after my meal. Babies sleep early, right?

El Idolo

Corner of 14th Street and Eighth Avenue
no phone number
$10 for four tacos and a drink
â™¥

We had been drinking for several hours when the El Idolo truck caught my eye on the corner of 14th Street and Eighth Avenue. I convinced my tired and drunk friends to cross the street and eat one last meal before heading home. We ordered the chorizo, the el pastor and the chimichuria. I couldn’t really tell the difference between the el pastor and the chimichuria, but the chorizo tacos were deliciously salty. The green hot sauce I poured all over them added a nice spicy kick. A cup of cold horchata, a Mexican rice milk drink flavored with cinnamon, almonds and vanilla also hit the spot.

After spending a few dollars more than I can afford on drinks, the $2 tacos were bounty sent from Mexican heaven.

Dogmatic Gourmet Sausage System

In the park on Bleecker and Hudson
no phone number
$13 for two hotdogs, one asparagus and a drink
♥

Right behind the playground on Hudson and Bleecker and steps away from the long lines outside Magnolia Bakery is a small hotdog stand with an expensive flair called the Dogmatic Gourmet Sausage System. The flair during our visit was a thin turkey sausage for $5 a piece made by Sullivan County’s Violet Hills Farm. There are fancy sauces that you can add, from white truffle gruyere (yes, I know!) to dijon mustard and spicy ketchup. There is also grilled asparagus for the vegetarians. Everything comes in a toasted baguette. To push all the gourmet choices down, there are homemade ice-cold drinks like a really refreshing ginger with vanilla bean.

The owner, Jeremy Spector, is also the chef at nearby Employees Only. (He was wearing his Employees Only T-shirt and chef pants when we stopped by.) After we ordered, we sat on the park bench next to his stand to wait. He walked over to bring us the wrong orders: he put spicy ketchup on our asparagus instead of the hotdog and he slathered the melted gruyere on another hotdog instead of the asparagus. We joked at how confused he was–it must have been the summer heat. We ended up eating two hotdogs and one order of the asparagus because of his mistake. He let us have the other hotdog for free. And, well, we thought he was really cute for being all flustered.

Dogmatic Gourmet is a noble idea in the perfect neighborhood, but I’m not sure if I’m its customer. I found it hard spending $5 on a sausage.

Grimaldi’s Pizzeria

19 Old Fulton Street at Water, DUMBO, Brooklyn
718/858.4300
about $70 for two large pizzas for five, with drinks, with tip, cash only
♥

Still considered by a lot of people as one of the best places to eat pizza in New York, Grimaldi’s has been welcoming tourists and locals alike at its location by the Brooklyn Bridge even before real estate agents gave DUMBO its name. The line stretches outside the restaurant but moves quickly. The volume inside rises when everyone’s in a good mood, but you can still tell that Frank Sinatra’s playing in the background.

Grimaldi’s pizza crust is thin and crisp. There are a lot of toppings to choose from for $2 each like black olives, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted red bell peppers and, of course, pepperoni and sausages. I especially like mine with basil leaves and garlic. My only complaint is that everything gets cold too quickly. By the time I eat my third slice, it’s almost time to order another pie. Call ahead to pick up a whole pie–they don’t sell by the slice and it’s cash only–and sit by the pier while taking in the view of downtown Manhattan.