Ouest

2315 Broadway (b/w 83rd St & 84th St)

Ouest (pronounced West) on the Upper West Side is a 2 story French eatery catering to those who appreciate the finer things in life—namely great extra virgin olive oil and more extra virgin olive oil.

A number of various cuisines were discussed for dinner one Saturday evening, including Italian (proposed by InterSportsWriter) and Mexican (proposed by myself). Ouest was chosen due to its relative proximity (less than 10 blocks away) and a particular food item to be discussed shortly. Immediately after being seated, we were given a bread basket served with a special almond paste mixed with olive oil.

I ordered the Earl Grey Martini to drink, which is essentially grey tea infused with gin. I’m a huge tea person. With gin being my liquor of choice, I thought my drink amazing. It had a refreshingly light taste and crisp feel.

As a starter, my dining companion raved about the Truffled Omelet Soufflé with Mousseline Sauce. We ordered 2.

For the main course, we were crippled in vegetarian entrée choices (there were none). Thus, we opted for dinner size portions of the following appetizers:

Goat Cheese Ravioli w/ Tomato, Pancetta and Basil

Chickpea Pancakes w/ Green Beans

The key ingredient at Ouest is extra virgin olive oil; I nearly asked for a glass of it. From the initial almond paste served with the bread basket to the omelet soufflé, my taste buds remained on cloud 9 throughout the evening.

The omelet was light, fluffy, and fantastic. It falls into the top 3 things I have tried this year and might just be one of the best things I’ve had in my entire life. Like certain bars that have a 2 drink minimum, I would suggest Ouest have a 1 plate minimum and that plate be the omelet soufflé. It was this particular dish InterSportsWriter used as leverage to convince me of Ouest in the first place.

The goat cheese ravioli and the chickpea pancakes were quite good, but as stated before, the soufflé and the bread basket almond paste trumped the meal.

My only complaint was the utter disregard for vegetarians, at least according to the dinner menu entrée list.


DAMAGE ~ $120
VERDICT: GO NOW!

Mole

205 Allen St

Craving Mexican food one Sunday night, a friend suggested dinner at Vamos!, a Mexican eatery in Stuyvesant Town. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived at the late afternoon/early evening hour of 10p.m., the restaurant had closed; my cravings had not. So I interjected with a tiny eatery I spotted off the Lower East Side called Mole.

As soon as we arrived, we started off with tableside guacamole and “Crepas con Huitlacoche,” 2 homemade crepes with black corn mushroom in creamy poblano sauce.

For the main course, I ordered the “Chiles Rellenos,” 2 fire roasted poblano peppers stuffed with queso fresco and served in fire roasted tomato sauce.

I blocked out what my dining companion had because it contained meat.

The mushroom crepes appetizer was by far the tastiest plate. I was impressed, but then again, how often does an appetizer trump the main course? Is that even allowed? The guacamole dip was not bad, although mine is better.

I found the main dish slightly overkill—my peppers were literally swimming in tomato sauce. Maybe I ordered soup. It’s been a few weeks since I visited.

We also had a side of nopales asadas, or grilled cactus, which turned out to be the most disappointing item of the evening; dry and bland. We barely managed a couple bites between us, but only out of obligation to our wallets rather than our tongues.

What I remember most about the evening was biting into my poblano peppers to find a toothpick. The server explained the toothpick was inserted to hold the peppers in place during the preparation of the dish. Unfortunately, it was too late; my taste buds felt jaded and my stomach remained uneasy throughout the remainder of the meal.

Looking back, I’ve had dishes where toothpicks are added to hold everything together, but this particular one caught me off guard. I apologized to the server for assuming the worst, but it was still hard to convince myself the toothpick was intentional and necessary.

Although the service was good, I can’t say I’ll be back. The menu was not impressive enough to warrant a return; and the complimentary salsa was weak, somewhat of a deal breaker in the land of Mexican restaurants.


DAMAGE ~$80 (CASH ONLY)
VERDICT: Go

Sarabeth's

423 Amsterdam Ave (b/w 80th St & 81st St)

I would bet the average New Yorker dines out significantly more often than most people in the rest of the country. Being no exception, if I were to blog every last place visited, I would have little time to do much else.

Whether or not I review a restaurant depends largely on the food and the service. Sometimes I write to warn others; sometimes I write to urge others. The Lemon Ricotta Pancakes at Sarabeth’s on the Upper West Side fall into the urge category.

InterSportsWriter and I made plans for Brunch one Sunday morning and nearly abandoned our idea at the sight of the large crowd waiting for a table to open up inside. I insisted we check the wait time anyway, and as fate would have it, they had a table for 2 available. Seconds later, we were seated ordering beverages.

My Brunch companion had been to Sarabeth’s many times and, knowing my appreciation for foods of a lemony sort, urged me to try the Lemon and Ricotta Pancakes w/ Fresh Berries. ISW also said the Spinach & Goat Cheese Omelet was worth trying, so we ordered that as well.

Looking back, my taste buds shake in anticipation at the thought of those pancakes. I'm not a pancake person, yet Sarabeth’s has caused me to reevaluate my feelings about flat cakes. They were the best I ever had in my life and easily fall into the top 5 things I have eaten this year. The omelet was the perfect fluffy balance of goat cheese to egg and spinach.

I was highly impressed with the meal and the service. There are several other Sarabeth's around the city, including one on the Upper East Side and one in Chelsea Market. There is no doubt I will be back, the question is how soon.


DAMAGE ~$50
VERDICT: GO NOW!

Pukk

71 1st Ave (b/w 4th St & 5th St)

Note: When looking for a cheap reasonable place to dine, avoid Nolita.

A friend and I wandered aimlessly for 2 hours around the area looking for something good yet reasonably priced. Along the way, we stopped for cupcakes and cheesecake but soon found ourselves craving something more substantial.

She was visiting from out of town, so I knew it was up to me to find something. I suggested heading east and bingo—staring at us from neon green lighting was Pukk, a vegetarian Thai eatery off 1st Avenue.

The place was slightly more than half full on a late Friday evening, so we had no trouble getting a table.

We started with an appetizer called Spinach Toast, crispy fritters with spinach and lime sweet chili. The fritters were delish and the lime sweet chili was a nice compliment to the spinach.

The plethora of mock meats on the menu had my dining companion fooled. She didn’t realize Pukk was completely vegetarian until placing her order, Pad Thai w/ chicken. At this point, I informed her everything was soy based. Thankfully, she is an experimental eater, so I knew she would appreciate the change (at least that’s what I told myself before stepping through the door).

Meanwhile, I ordered the Massaman Curry w/ vegetarian duck (curry w/ sweet potato, onion, and peanut).

I really loved my dish; the curry could have been a tad spicier but nothing a little hot sauce didn’t fix. My companion enjoyed hers as well, but pad thai is pad thai. It’s hard to go wrong with such a staple dish unless you really try.

As pleased as I was with the meal, I was even more pleased with the bill. Under $20 (before tip) for what we ordered seemed like a crime. I have not had a full meal for 2 people this cheaply since The Ed Sullivan Show was the thing to do on Sunday night.

Pukk is the perfect place for those looking to eat a decent meal without having to take out a small loan to do so. The cocktail menu is quite impressive, and there are several desserts I look forward to on a return visit, probably with a vegetarian friend or another unsuspecting omnivore…


DAMAGE ~$23
VERDICT: Go