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By Brittany Ho, August 13, 2012 10:48 pm

Proprietors/Executive Chef: Gabriel Stulman/Michael Toscano

Greenwich Village – 24 Minetta Lane, New York, NY

perla means pearl…not very original in Manhattan….and also not to be confused with lingerie ok? How many pearl something restaurants do you know in the city?

Newly restaurant that has opened in Greenwich Village, by none other than Michael Toscano (former Chef at Babbo & Manzo)… makes his debut as head chef at Perla.  Warmly welcomed, this restaurant offers bar seating, chef’s table seating in the back by the kitchen and regular tables, with large comfortable and luscious cognac leather seats/booth in the bigger tables meant for parties of 4 or more.  We had the luxury to choose bar seats or chef’s table seats…and we immediately grabbed chef’s table seats.  Not for a tasting menu, but bar seats adjacent by the kitchen and wood fire oven… The kitchen was in our adjacent line of view and a prep chef was preparing fresh fish at the bar in front of us.  It was exciting to get them to prepare all the food in front of you and after he prepared most of the fish and the meats in the wood fire oven….

Don’t miss out on the foie gras trezzamine…. it’s not on the menu, but on their chalk board along with other specials of the day.  Foie gras terrine spread on white toast with rasberry jam and pistachio butter… ultimate heaven.  Thought it would be rich, but the foie gras was thinly layered and sitting next to the pistachio butter & jam… sweet and delicate.  My only criticism was that I wish the bread was toasted… I hate un-toasted bread…. so it tasted a bit on the drier side.  But considering how wonderful all the other ingredients are, this is easily forgivable and I am able to overlook this.  The menu is broken out by appetizers, pastas (primis), main entrees (secondis) and items from the wood burning oven (mainly sharable by two people).

For starters we had the appetizer, one pasta to share & the 24 hour steak, cheek & tongue to share between two people.  More than enough food…with dessert to top it all off.. Nothing tasted too heavy, portions are moderate.  Execution was just about flawless… nothing was too salty or empowering… all in all, one of those almost perfect meals I had in a long time, where I go a little fun taste of everything.  (foie gras steak & pasta).  Will want to try the seafood next time for sure and the duck everybody keeps raving about.  So far, this Italian restaurant sits pretty high up on my list…next to Scarpetta.

Foies Gras trezzamine w/ cherry jam & pistachio butter.  this was gold.  i wished the butter was toasted…but we don’t always get what we want.

Garganelli pasta w/ tripe, guanciale, tomato & chile.  Tripe is not empowering at all, but you can faintly taste it.  The tomato, chile & guanciale blend beautifully, for a faint, smokey, tasty sauce.  Loved this dish.

24 hour steak.. tender, buttery pieces of filet that just melt…barely had to chew.  the beef tongue was interesting… definitely was marinaded and mixed in with something else, because it tasted like spam (in an unusual, good way…)both in taste & texture.  Definitely wasn’t expecting that.  The best was the beef cheek… it flaked with a touch of the fork.  Everything was seasoned pretty well, minus the mushrooms…. The hand was a bit heavy with the salt..but luckily the meat offsets and balances the flavors quite well.  I loved this dish. I am usually not a filet person, but that night, I sure was.

key lime pudding with blackberries & polenta cake.  I really wanted chocolate…but my counterpart wanted panna cotta.  Happy Medium?  This delectable dessert that was worth all the calories.  The proportion of polenta to key lime pudding was not nearly enough.  Pudding was tart & light, while the polenta was savory and thick and helped to offset the textures…and the blackberries was the happy bridge b/t both parts.  It was truly an amazing dessert… and glad we opted for something new for a change.  Perfect for summer.

Beautiful restaurant…. would make a great first date impression without being so grandeur in gesture.  And the food is just outstanding.  I am also a sucker for any restaurant that has an open kitchen and a chef’s table.  I love casual eats at the bar…whether the ambiance is fine dining or not.

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By Brittany Ho, June 10, 2012 8:31 pm

Proprietors/Executive Chef: Alicia Nosenzo & Harold Dieterle

Greenwich Village – 469 6th Ave, New York, NY

love Harold’s (Season One Top Chef Winner) first restaurant…perilla. So when I heard he opened up kin shop (2010) I was curious yet skeptical.  i knew it would be his take on contemporary Thai cuisine, which I was by no means…an expert of.  but I also knew it would be anything but traditional.  Still… I’ve got to try… the press/blogs/practically everything raves about this ‘must try’ restaurant. It’s been on my bucket list for some time, now I can check that baby off and call it a day.

so is it Thai food or not? no… it’s not Thai food… not in the traditional sense anyway… pretty modern, highly elevated American/Asian Fusion cuisine, with lots of prominent Thai ingredients/flavors….but I would not deem it Thai.  You wouldn’t find the dishes here (in its presentational format) anywhere in Thailand….Overall, i thought it was a good take…but i was rather disappointed that it didn’t completely blow me away.  But glad that I had set up realistic expectations.

Spicy Duck Laab Salad w/toasted rice, romaine hearts & ground chili

Pretty spicy– not impossible to eat, but then again, I can handle some heat. I liked it… good flavors… maybe a little strong with the fish sauce, or whatever dressing was marinaded over the ground duck.

Massaman Braised Goat Stews w/ fried shallots, purple yams, mustard greens & toasted coconut

this was an interesting dish….the goat was braised very tender…so the meat fell beautifully off the bone.  As you can see from the picture, I wish there was more of the curry.. we ordered sticky rice & roti because we thought we had something to dip with…It’s a pretty heavy dish, so highly recommend that you share it…unless you are a curry lover… go nuts.

Stir Fried Dungeness Crab Noodles

my favorite dish..but again, the cellophane noodles are drenched in sauce… so it made it a bit salty.  It had a nice satay peanut finishing to it…  since the sauce was so thick, I was surprised that cellophane noodles were used…. nonetheless, i love dungeness crabs and wish there was more of it.  it’s quite lost in that sea of sauce & noodles.

Crispy Roti

Steamed Sticky Rice

Great experience, now it’s been checked off my bucket list… not likely I will come back anytime soon, unless the menu changes with some new specials (which it looks like it did).  I still love Perilla though, though one has nothing to do with the other…

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By Brittany Ho, August 30, 2011 4:25 pm

www.ottopizzeria.com

Proprietors/Chef: Mario Batali & Joe Bastianich/ Dan Drohan

Category: Pizza/Italian

Neighborhood: Greenwich Village
1Fifth Ave, New York, NY 10003
(212) 995-9559

Mood: Happy Hour…or Italian classics… stick to staples

Tastes Like: great pizza, pasta and small plate options, paired with an extensive beer and wine list.  Daily specials to spice things up a bit.  it doesn’t get any better than this.  Highly impressed with their pizza.  Pepperoni was smoked to perfection and the crust was not too crispy, chewy and very inviting.  The prosciutto was not too salty, which made for an absolute ideal slice of pizza with some greens on top.  Semi-healthy.  Everything was so good, I seriously couldn’t stop grabbing another slice.  Luckily, the pizzas are individual sized, so the portions are fitting and you won’t have a problem eating 5 slices (which equates to 1-2 slices by NYC standards).  

Must Haves: Prosciutto & Arugula pizza & Pepperoni pizza

Stay Away: mmm… wasn’t so in love with the fig appetizers.  It was pickled…and I imagined it to be something completely different.  If you like pickled food and figs, hey, give it a shot.

Ambiance: happy, loud, casual joint.  You might lose your voice at the end of the night, but guaranteed to be a bustling night.

Service: very swift and knowledgeable of daily specials.  not as attentive, but i was wrapped up in heavy conversations with a friend so the non-interruption was much appreciated.

Rating: 4 stars

Caveat: Always jam packed.  Highly recommend making reservations ahead to score seats…or if you are content at the bar tables and standing… knock yourselves out.

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By Brittany Ho, May 6, 2010 11:15 pm

www.bltburger.com

Proprietor/Chef: Laurent Tourendel

Category: Burgers

Neighborhood: Greenwich Village
470 6^th Ave New York, NY 10010
(212) 243-8226

Great Blue Hill

Great Blue Hill - medium

BLT burger

waffle fries

Mood: Self-explanatory… burgers & fries…and maybe a milk shake too.  My least favorite BLT restaurant, but if you’re looking for a restaurant without a wait, safe bet here.

Tastes Like: ironically non-greasy, average tasting burger..with my pick of blue cheese & mushrooms.  It’s nothing spectacular and nowhere near great.  I don’t understand… BLT steak is supreme and those damned popovers are amazing.  Even the seafood was excellent. What the hell went wrong with their burgers?  I still ate it, because I was hungry.  And I was mildly satisfied.  Would I go back?  Sure…but I’d be running to shake shack first. My first love & craving in NYC.

Must Haves: sweet potato fries

Stay Away: the regular fries are OK

Ambiance: Typical burger joint with a slight edge on class.  What can I say, but fun?

Service: Great.

Rating: 3 stars

Caveat: None