Grom

233 Bleecker St (@ Carmine)

A recent excursion to Italy has left me with a poor beginner’s version to Italian, a couple pounds heavier, and a nasty addiction to gelato.

As such, when NYLawStudent suggested a trip to Grom, what kind of friend would I be to deny such a request? More importantly, immediate action was necessary to fend off cravings until I make my way back across the Atlantic.

The line that never ends, also known as the line at West Village’s Grom, gave us a chance to review the menu and discuss our preferences. I chose 1 scoop of Bacio (traditional Gianduja chocolate w/ hazelnut chips) and 1 scoop of Crema di Grom (w/ Battifolo biscuits & Columbian chocolate chips).

My partner in crime had 1 scoop of Stacciatella (w/ Columbian chocolate chips) & 1 scoop of Caffe espresso (w/ Guatemalan Genuina Antigua coffee).

Despite the snobbishness that results from having the real thing in Italy, I enjoyed my selections. The Bacio was amazing, but to a hazelnut freak such as myself, I expected it to be. Crema di Grom had a slightly odd dark chocolate taste but was good as well. NYLawStudent enjoyed his choices, but made the mistake of comparing Gelato to Blue Bell. At the sight of my oncoming breakdown, he took it back and apologized.

Overall, the gelato was smooth in texture and creamy in taste. Italians might scoff, until I remind them that Grom itself comes from Italy. Indeed, I spotted Grom while roaming the streets of Venice. It hails from the Province of Torino in Northern Italy.

When every other stand is a geletaria; when you wake up and shake because it is almost noon and you have not had your first scoop of gelato yet, relax—you're in Italy. To go from having gelato 4 times a day to once a week (if that) will be tough, but when the cravings get out of control, I take comfort knowing Grom is a short distance away.

DAMAGE ~$5/ small cup—2 scoops
VERDICT: Go

Smörgås Chef (Dinner)

283 W 12th St

I tried; I really did. I’m open minded. People and places deserve second chances, right?

Several weeks ago, I was contacted by the chef of the tiny Scandinavian restaurant, Smörgås Chef. He found my brunch review unfair and offered me a $50 gift card to try again.

Despite my reservations about revisiting the same place twice and my initial experience leading to the unfavorable review, I gave it another go. On a Friday evening, I invited DeeScreenWriter and a colleague to join me for dinner at the West Village eatery.

We were seated in a cozy booth shortly after we arrived. So far, so good. Then I glanced at the dinner menu and things started to get rough.

For the record, I don’t know the first thing about Scandinavian cuisine, nor have I visited the northern European region. However, I imagine there is more than rice and veggie burgers for vegetarians to eat.

Not at Smörgås Chef. Whereas, for brunch I had a plethora of options to choose from, for dinner I had 2; risotto with mushrooms, asparagus, and balsamic vinegar or a standard vegetarian burger. I chose the risotto.

There was nothing spectacular about my rice. I could easily have made it myself, which was disappointing considering the length the chef went to accommodate me. I do not recall what meat dishes my dinner companions ordered, but know they both enjoyed their entrees.

Pluses for the evening included the specialty cocktail I ordered (visually and tastefully stimulating) and the intimate atmosphere/décor, different from when I came during Sunday brunch.

For the three of us, the total bill came to around $80. After the gift card, we split the remaining $30 and paid separately. My colleague’s credit card was charged twice, but I later found out the server reversed the double charge. Apparently, he also believed in second chances.

I get that chefs take a lot of pride and enthusiasm in their restaurants; I take a lot of pride and enthusiasm in reviewing them. What I don’t get is why a chef would go thru the trouble to contact me and offer me to come back knowing I am vegetarian and expecting me to be thrilled the second time around. Oh, and the dust on the glass bottle décor I complained about in my initial review was still there.

Overall, Smörgås Chef is a cozy eatery, but the food leaves something to be desired.

In the meantime, I am re-examining my philosophy on second chances…

DAMAGE ~80
VERDICT: PASS

Smörgås Chef

283 W 12th St

Painted in yellow on a cute corner in West Village is a cute spot known as Smorgas Chef. Sir Fancy Pants chose the Scandinavian venue as it featured a reasonable pre-fixe Brunch menu.

We were seated immediately at a table for two near a brick wall separator. I got started with a café au lait and SFP, a Bloody Mary. For our meals, I ordered the Eggs Florentine with salad, and SFP had baked eggs with their version of hash browns.

Because I was not in the best of spirits when we visited, I barely touched my coffee and ate half of my meal. The entrée came with a mimosa, which I took a couple sips of before passing it over to SFP. Luckily, my stomach came around later in the afternoon and was pleased with the leftovers. SFP enjoyed his baked eggs, and his potatoes were very good from what I tried.

Despite the delicious food and the cute décor featuring funky light fixtures made of glass bottles, I cannot recommend Smorgas Chef. The brick wall separator to the left of me had literally an inch of caked on dust. As any true restaurateur can vouch, the little things matter just as much, if not more, than the big. The glass bottles scattered as artwork around the room looked as if they had not been cleaned in years. It frightens me to think of what the kitchen looked like.

The eatery has four locations around Manhattan, so no doubt you might stumble upon one someday. Enter at your own risk…


DAMAGE ~32
VERDICT: PASS

Diablo Royale

189 W 10th St
Picture this: me walking through West Village craving a Bloody Mary and Sir Fancy Pants, a Mimosa. Add a gorgeous Sunday afternoon, a Mexican eatery called Diablo Royale, no line, and you have my brunch experience last weekend.

Given that Mexican is my favorite cuisine ever, I could not resist stopping in for a quick bite and dragged SFP with me. We sat at the bar, ordered drinks, and decided to share one brunch entrée of my choosing.

I ordered the Huevos Rancheros—scrambled eggs with ranchero sauce, black beans, and sliced avocado over a crispy tortilla. I also asked for a side of chips and salsa and SFP ordered a side of bacon. Everything was good, but not spectacular.

It’s hard to go wrong with such a staple dish as huevos rancheros. What did stand out about the meal was the drinks. You know you’ve had a good Bloody Mary when your lips are on fire and your throat burns, yet still you continue to drink the spicy beverage because it is that good.

This was not the case at Diablo Royale. The Bloody Mary was good but nothing worth going back for. However, the Mexican hot chocolate I had at the end of the meal was noteworthy, something definitely worth having again. It was thick and had a slight kick to it. The tortilla chips were also very good but on the salty side.

The spot is cute and relaxed, but there is better Mexican to be had in the area.


DAMAGE ~36
VERDICT: PASS

Extra Virgin

259 W 4th St

Saturday for brunch, Sir Fancy Pants, 60sBumbleBee, and I sat down in a West Village eatery called Extra Virgin. I picked the restaurant based on the location and several reviews I read on yelp.com claiming Extra Virgin as the best Brunch ever.

To get started, SFP and I ordered a Mimosa and a Bloody Mary respectively; 60sBumbleBee stuck with tea. For our main courses, SFP ordered baked eggs with a side of bacon; 60sBumbleBee ordered the omelet of the day, and I ordered the Virgin Frittata with goat cheese, tomato, arugula, and basil pesto.

The Virgin Frittata can best be described as a Greek style omelet. It was twice the size of a regular omelet and the texture reminded me of a quiche. I also ordered a side of Fries with Gorgonzola Fondue for the table.

I recently developed an addiction to blue cheese, and the fries with the gorgonzola dip were nothing short of amazing. Besides the Gorgonzola Fondue, nothing blew me away about Extra Virgin. My Bloody Mary was watery and weak; my Virgin Frittata was somewhat dry (I nearly asked for a side of Hollandaise sauce); and my café au lait was too watered down to be considered coffee. I was more excited about eating my meal for lunch the following day with my own olive oil and vinegar than I was while at Extra Virgin.

On the other hand, SFP and 60sBumbleBee loved their dishes. SFP was thrilled at the many strips of bacon that came on the side for only $5.00. Each plate ranged in price from $9-13, relatively cheap by West Village standards, and the portion sizes were quite big, almost to the point of overwhelming.

Although I was impressed by the Mediterranean influenced varied selection of Brunch dishes, the hype surrounding Extra Virgin combined with my unsatisfactory drinks and meal ruined it for me. I would go back for that blue cheese fondue…

As we were leaving around noon, I noticed there was a wait to get a table. I suppose the place is more popular than I originally thought.


DAMAGE ~84
VERDICT: PASS

Little Branch

22 7th Ave S
Milk & Honey is one of the most popular bar establishments in New York City due to their unique drink concoctions, their highly skilled bartenders, and the satisfaction once you finally obtain entry. The only way to get into Milk & Honey is to call during the day and make reservations for the same night. There is one problem; the phone number is unlisted and nearly impossible to find. Add to this they change their number every few months. Even if you do manage to score the number, chances are it will be different by the time you call.

So I did what any other suave New Yorker would do. I visited its’ sister bar Little Branch and asked the hostess. Not only did she give me the wrong number, she claimed she had to research it first and to check back with her before I left. Had I not been so focused on obtaining that damn number, my experience at Little Branch might have been more relaxed and merry.

Several times, Sir Fancy Pants and I made plans, but for one reason or another (e.g. long lines in the rain, time constraints, etc.), they fell through.

We finally made it in around 8:30 on a Wednesday evening. Upon entering the front door, we walked down a tiny flight of stairs to the underground bar. The hostess took down my name and said it would be a 45 minute wait to get a table. Because we had dinner plans after, we left after one drink.

I went for the bartender’s choice and told him I would like a semi-sweet drink with gin and honey. He replied, “Say no more.” I was served a concoction called Bees’ Knees consisting of gin, lemon, and honey. It was delicious but definitely meant for sipping. Sir Fancy Pants had another bartender’s choice concoction with grapefruit juice, which he liked very much.

Little Branch, what a little place you are. The outside exterior is completely unassuming; I would never have known there was a bar down below had Sir Fancy Pants not pointed it out. The place is made to represent a speakeasy with live jazz on the weekends. Inside, the space is cozy with only 5 or 6 tables for seating plus standing room around the bar. Cocktails are $13 a pop, but the interesting concoctions make up for the steep price.

The bathroom was nice and clean with individual hand towels for drying your hands. The entire visit was pleasant, but I could not help feeling discomfort over the Milk & Honey number.


DAMAGE ~ 29 (CASH ONLY)
VERDICT: Go

Centro Vinoteca

74 7th Ave S Do you want to know one reason I love New York City? Plans that fall through.

Sir Fancy Pants and I had no intention Wednesday evening to visit Centro Vinoteca. We made plans to check out a tapas place in West Village. Tapas place was closed due to construction, so we stumbled upon the Italian gem off 7th Avenue. Well, not so much stumbled…we both walked by the place numerous times. Finally, we stopped to check out the menu. Five minutes later we were seated drinking water.

The hostess initially sat us near the window, but the table behind us was too loud, so I asked to be moved. Surprise! They have an upstairs; we were reseated at a corner booth on the second floor. Surprise #2: Restaurant Week! I had no idea Centro Vinoteca was even on the list, but since Restaurant Week has been extended through the end of February, we lucked out.

The waitress started us off with a bread basket filled with focaccia and European crusty loaf. Sir Fancy Pants and I ordered the following from the Restaurant Week menu:

SFP:
Appetizer: trio of piccolini shrimp & chickpea fritter with lemon aioli & truffled deviled egg
Main: grilled rack of lamb w/ black mission figs
Dessert: sweet tarallucci w/ salty caramel
ME:
Appetizer: sunchoke soup w/ hazelnuts, chanterelle mushrooms & hazelnut oil
Main: kabocha squash ravioli w/ walnuts, brown butter & vin cotto
Dessert: chocolate cake filled w/ chocolate mousse coated with dark chocolate ganache
Perhaps it would be easier to start out with what I did not like about my meal... the soup was on the salty side and the ravioli dish portion size was small (there were maybe 5 or 6 raviolis).

Other than that, everything was fantastic! The focaccia bread from the bread basket was literally the best focaccia I have ever tried. The soup was delicious, and the squash ravioli ranks in the top five Italian dishes I’ve had in my life (and no, I have not been to Italy…yet). Sir Fancy Pants has and nearly passed out when he tried my dish; it was that amazing. The chocolate cake was good as well, although it was not quite as impressive as the focaccia bread or my previous two dishes.

I also had a bite of the deviled egg that came with SFP’s appetizer and ate nearly half his dessert, both very good.

I am so happy we ended up here. The food was great; the service was great; and I will never look at focaccia bread the same. The only downside was the pricey regular menu.

DAMAGE ~ 120
VERDICT: Go