Fat Black Pussycat

130 W 3rd St

Fat Black Pussycat seems to be a favorite among locals. I know this because I have been here several times with various friends and get random phone calls from them weeks later at 2 in the morning asking me for the exact address (W 3rd St & 6th Ave).

The bar/lounge features one pool table, booths, bar seating, and an adjoined lounge area with funky chairs that might have come out of the 18th Century.

Fat Black Pussycat is a very different experience during the week as opposed to weekends. Throughout the week, it is a nice relaxing spot to catch up with friends over a couple cocktails. On the weekends, it is standing room only as BTCers cross over and get trashed. It is extremely noisy and expect to get wacked by pool sticks as you cross the single pool table to get to the women’s restroom (directly behind it).

There is a huge black chandelier (close to the size of a midtown studio apartment) in the center of the main room. The adjacent lounge features a flat screen with creepy images playing throughout the evening, probably stolen from Tool music videos.

Downstairs is the Village Underground (and more bathrooms). During my last visit, friends and I started off in the basement nightclub, coughed up the $10 cover charge, and snagged a corner booth for the five of us (actually we reserved it; someone in our group celebrated a birthday that evening).

The house band onstage called Unionn was a mixture of reggae and funk, jazzing up familiar beats with their own unique style. The crowd was young, fun, and full of energy. Everyone in our group had a great time, both upstairs and down.

With cocktails at $7.50 and specialty drinks starting at $11 downstairs, Fat Black Pussycat is a spot not to be missed. There is no question it has the personality and energy of New York. Unfortunately, it gets too crowded for me on weekends.

DAMAGE ~ 8.50
VERDICT: Go… but only during the week

No. 28

28 Carmine St

Got pizza? West Village does.

It is not my intention to scope out every pizza eatery in the Village; it just works out that way.

Sir Fancy Pants recommended No. 28, aka 28 Carmine, on Saturday night after I mentioned 60sBumbleBee and I nearly braved the lines at Grimaldi’s (supposedly the best pizza in the city) but decided against it due to the cold weather. No. 28 was closer and the wait was only 10 minutes.

SFP, 60sBumbleBee, and I were seated in front of the brick pizza oven and its master, away from the overcrowded main dining area. We ordered two 18” pizzas from the 19 combinations. SFP and 60sBumbleBee shared the Pizza Marinara with garlic, red chili peppers, anchovies, oregano, and cappers; I had the Pizza alle Patate with ricotta, potatoes, walnuts, and rosemary, which I also shared with my dining companions.

My pizza came on white crust pizza bread without tomato sauce because (as told by the waitress) the acidity of the sauce ruins the pizza. Potato as a pizza topping was a first for me, an interesting combination with the ricotta cheese and walnuts. It was good, but I would have preferred the crust to be crispier. SFP and 60sBumbleBee enjoyed both pizza selections.

No. 28 is a true Italian pizzeria. From the Italian flag over the entrance to the Italian speaking staff, you feel as if you are getting the real deal without actually traveling to Naples.

My biggest gripe about the restaurant was the cleanliness factor; my silverware and the brim of my wine glass were dirty. Unfortunately for No. 28, spotless utensils and drinking ware is a must, especially if you expect me to refer your establishment to my friends.


DAMAGE ~60 (CASH ONLY)
VERDICT: PASS

One if by Land Two if by Sea

17 Barrow St

Restaurant Week stop #2. With friends in town for the week, Sir Fancy Pants and I invited them to join us for our second Restaurant Week destination. One if by Land Two if by Sea, located in Greenwich Village, is an upscale American restaurant perfect for a romantic evening out. Given the friends were in town to get married, we found the venue rather fitting.

The four of us arrived just in time for our 7:30 dinner reservations and after checking in coats, were led upstairs to a small seating area overlooking the chandelier laden dining room below. To get started we ordered a bottle of Forest Glen sauvignon blanc priced at $48. For my meal I ordered the following: Butternut Squash Soup as an appetizer; Saffron Orzo (sans duck confit) for my entrée; and the Key Lime Cheesecake for dessert.

The soup was amazing. I was very impressed with One if by Land’s version topped with fennel foam. The addition of huckleberries provided a nice, semi-sweet touch to the classic soup as well. For the main dish, the saffron orzo mixed with peas and pea shoot salad was very good, cooked just right to allow the texture of the rice to perform the way it should, soft without being mushy. The key lime cheesecake was very good but on the tangy side. The honey tuile tropical sorbet it came with balanced out the tartness.

The Milk Chocolate Fondant, a salty sweet chocolate cake served with maple ice cream which Sir Fancy Pants ordered for dessert, was pretty amazing. Had I not wanted to order something different from him, I would have ordered it myself.

While I liked my entrée very much, I could not help feeling cheated at the dish and portion size compared to that of my companions. Given that it was Restaurant Week, I literally had one option to choose from; whereas, my carnivorous friends had three. Of course, I could have ordered off the main menu anyway and paid more, but that would defeat the purpose of the visit. I specifically made reservations to One If By Land because it was Restaurant Week.

HERE IS A SUGGESTION FOR RESTAURANTS WANTING TO CATER TO VEGETARIANS DURING RESTAURANT WEEK: LET US ORDER OUR MAIN DISH OFF THE REGULAR MENU, INSTEAD OF CREATING A LESS THAN AVERAGE DISH AND THINKING IT WILL SUFFICE. Vegetarians get this crap nearly everywhere we go. Steakhouses and chain restaurants are the worst. When you cut out our options down to one meager meal that you normally wouldn’t serve anyway, it is even more insulting and leaves a bad taste in our mouth. It would not be the first time I have been to a restaurant and had only one option to choose from, and unfortunately, I doubt it will be the last.

I will give the restaurant credit for the atmosphere; it was incredible and a live piano player located at the entrance of the restaurant played music throughout the evening. The manager gave us $60 worth of gift cards before we left, which could be customary at the establishment to draw in business.

OVERALL:
Décor: ++
Ambiance: +++
Service: ++
Menu: FAIL

DAMAGE ~ $240, or $60/pp
VERDICT: Go

Two Boots

201 W 11th St

Say hello to the Hollywood version of yet another pizza joint located in West Village. Two Boots centers itself around pies named after pop culture icons, including Larry Tate, Cleopatra Jones, and “The Dude” aka the Lebowski from The Big Lebowski.

I stopped by on a cold but lovely Saturday afternoon and ordered a slice of The Mel Cooley: sun-dried tomatoes, basil pesto, and roasted peppers on a white pie. The place was small but uncrowded and I managed to nab a seat inside the New Orleans Mardi Gras themed interior.

The pizza was average and definitely not worth bragging about. The crust was crispy, but I would have preferred it slightly crispier; the slice did strike me as particularly fresh. The names of the pies were a bigger deal than the actual pies themselves, as many names are in New York City.

Although I might be back to try their garden slice, which looks like—you guessed it—a garden, I cannot recommend Two Boots. There is much better pizza to be had in the area.

DAMAGE ~ $4
VERDICT: Pass

Beard Papa’s

5 Carmine St.

Oh...my…Cream Puff! What a lovely little delight you are! The tiny Japanese Bakery called Beard Papa’s, located in the heart of Greenwich Village, specializes in cream puffs and also features a couple other delicious goodies, including a Fondant Au Chocolate, which you heat in the oven until the chocolate in the center is melted. I ordered one of these and one original vanilla custard filled cream puff. Both lived up to my expectations. The chocolate fondant was amazing, especially for the cheap price, and the cream puff was light with a flaky outside and a creamy center.

Beard Papa’s features a different cream puff flavor each week, ranging from Earl Grey Tea to Strawberry. Their website cites them as the “World’s Best Cream Puffs.” I cannot testify the truth of this statement (as I am not well versed in cream puffery), but they were damn good. My mouth is watering just thinking about them.

DAMAGE ~ $4.75
VERDICT: GO NOW!

Bleeker Street Pizza

69 7th Ave South Sigh. How I longed for Bleeker Street Pizza to be more than what it was. The tiny pizza parlor on the corner of Bleeker Street and 7th Avenue was cramped, dirty, and left much to be desired.

I ventured out to Bleeker Street Pizza on a snowy evening after learning the Food Network chose them as the "Best Pizza in New York." I ordered a slice of the Grandma (cheese pizza on a Sicilian crust) and was told to come back in 20 minutes when it was ready. 30 minutes later, I returned and was met by hostility by one of the workers behind the counter; he practically threw my slice at me. I brushed it off, figuring he was having a bad day.

I took the slice back to my apartment in order to “enjoy” it away from the hostile workers or the disgusting restaurant (there were crumbs everywhere). Unfortunately, there was no enjoyment to be had. My fresh-from-the-oven pizza was soggy and cold; I had to reheat it. The tomato sauce was sweet, and I would not be surprised if it was canned. The only thing making my slice bearable was the Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar I added.

I have had better pizza in the city, and I have had a better Sicilian slice in the city. Bleeker Street Pizza is NOT the best pizza in Manhattan, and the attitudes of the workers were a major deal breaker.

DAMAGE ~ $3
VERDICT: Pass

Café Asean

117 W 10th St. (b/w 6th Ave. and Greenwich Ave.)

Café Asean in Greenwich Village was suggested for dinner on Wednesday evening. Sir Fancy Pants and I arrived at the Southeast Asian restaurant to a packed dining room seating maybe 30 people. We were shown to the back patio, also seating for about 30 and covered in glass due to winter (apparently the back patio requires reservations during the summer). After a couple minutes, the server informed us space opened up inside, so we moved indoors.

To get started, I ordered hot sake and Sir Fancy Pants, a Japanese beer. For my meal, I had egg noodles with vegetables and tofu covered in peanut lime sauce; Sir Fancy Pants had a pork dish. The name of the plates escapes me as they were highly unusual.

Overall, the food was ok. My meal arrived in a big, white bowl. It featured two huge chunks of fried tofu with mixed vegetables, including two half slices of tomato, green beans, and carrots laid atop egg noodles. The peanut lime sauce was good, but I could not taste the lime and the server did not offer any. The tofu was great, oversized, and fluffy. Prices were cheap for the Village; my meal was only S10.50.

Space was cozy and the ceiling was littered with different colored Chinese lanterns. I doubt I will be back despite some of the appetizers looking very tasty. Although the restaurant was cute, the food was decent, and the server was attentive, nothing was noteworthy enough to warrant my return.


DAMAGE ~ $40 (before tip) CASH ONLY
VERDICT: PASS

Galanga

149 W 4th St.

Saturday night dinner was set in a normal only in Manhattan size Thai restaurant called Galanga, located in Greenwich Village. The place was about half full, and we were seated next to the brick wall, rather than the booth on the opposite side or the long table in the center. I wish I had requested the booth because I felt a draft each time the door opened.

Sir Fancy Pants started off with a glass of red wine and I with the Galanga Ice Tea, sake with lime juice and mint leaves. Next came the appetizers. We ordered the Corn Fritters. 5 corn fritters arrived on a small plate with a purple flower in the corner. The taste was similar to a corn empanada; fried on the outside with a sweet doughy mixture of corn on the inside, very good. For dinner, Sir Fancy Pants ordered the Drunken Noodles with beef asking the server to make it as spicy as possible, and I had the Pad Thai with Vegetarian Duck. I might have ventured outside my Thai food staple but did not due to a sense of urgency on the part of the server.

The food was your typical Thai food. Vegetarian Duck tends to be hit or miss, but I enjoyed it at Galanga. The rest of the pad thai was average. With the exception of the Vegetarian Duck, the rest of the dish was lacking in flavor. I ended up adding too much chili sauce and burnt off half my taste buds in the process. In addition, each time I took a bite, I felt something crunchy. This is highly unusual for a platter of pad thai. Sir Fancy Pants said his Drunken Noodles were not as spicy as he wanted, but overall very good.

The entire meal felt rushed. I did not have time to delve into the menu and see what else was available because the server kept bothering us. We got there late in the evening, so I am not sure if the restaurant was near closing time, despite several other people arriving after us. The prices are reasonable (on average about $10 per plate and $8 per drink). There is one bathroom located in the basement. The restaurant has your dimly lit, slightly romantic vibe to it. Unfortunately, I was too irritated by the draft coming from the door, the urgency of the server, and my roasting taste buds to notice.

I have enjoyed much better Thai food in the city without feeling rushed at about the same price. Save your money on this one.

DAMAGE ~ $43 (before tip) CASH ONLY
VERDICT: PASS