Sammy's Soup: my favorite chill-chaser

453 Sixth Ave. at 11th St., Greenwich Village
(212) 924-6688

By now, most New Yorkers have had it with the cold, wind and rain. We are all ready to get some spring on, but April has been especially slow in delivering this year with it’s mere four dry days to date, only two of which included sunshine. However, I am told that the weekend will give us reason to give our rain boots a rest.  Amen to that!

In the meantime, this long patch of cold, soggy weather has inspired me to rediscover the joys of Asian soup. Sammy’s Noodle Shop of Greenwich Village is among the first places I think of when I need to fulfill the urge for something warm, nutritious, filling and won’t leave you feeling like you should walk past three subway stops in order to digest it.

Sammy's Noodle Shop's Vegetable Tofu Soup

Sammy's Noodle Shop's Vegetable Tofu Soup

I’m especially fond of their tofu vegetable soup. It comes in a huge bowl and it’s made from a chicken stock base. It’s ingredients are spinach, chopped green onion, generous amounts of smooth silken tofu and tomatoes. [Read more...]

Co.

230 9th Ave., Chelsea
212-243-1105

Jim Lahey is so preoccupied with dough that he can’t even bring himself to serve his patrons some bread. Although that would seem like a paradoxical statement given that Lahey is the celebrated baker of the renowned Sullivan Bakery, a visit to Co. would prove that his primary obsession with dough is limited to the kind that fills his pockets and in a manner that could be no more blatant and shameless.

Pizza Amalfi

Pizza Amalfi

At Co., there’s no such thing as a complimentary bread basket, or butter or even condiment for that matter. [Read more...]

Second Avenue -the strip for cheap eats on the go or sitting down

Walking home from Second Avenue in the East Village one night
late last week, bargain meal offers kept popping onto my path from all sides.

Image from 8coupons.com

Image from 8coupons.com

Spice, a food and popular Thai Restaurant chain on 104 2nd Ave. and corner of E. 6th St.  is offering a $6 dinner special between the hours of 4 and 6 PM. Pretty amazing.

Nori, 129 Second Ave. at St. Mark’s Pl. was offering $1 sushi.

Cinderella Snackalicious Falafel, right next door to Nori is offering $1 falafel sandwiches. How cheap is that! You can even eat it sitting down — limited table seating available.

The best part is that all three places are within a two block radius!

I’ve not yet checked out all three of these places to be able to report on the food quality, but it’s in the works…in the meantime: yay for the options!

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La Lanterna di Vittorio: delicious, affordable and a great Valentine’s Day destination

Click on the pizza below to read why I think La Lanterna di Vittorio makes a great Valentine’s Day destination.
Pizza Prosciutto Arrostito

Pizza Prosciutto Arrostito

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La Lanterna di Vittorio: delicious, affordable and a great Valentine's Day destination

Click on the pizza below to read why I think La Lanterna di Vittorio makes a great Valentine’s Day destination.
Pizza Prosciutto Arrostito

Pizza Prosciutto Arrostito

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The Emerald Inn Stays

Manager Charles Campbell Tending Bar at the Emerald Inn

Manager Charles Campbell Tending Bar at the Emerald Inn

The slumped economy has given us one for the team. The rent increases that were slated for The Emerald Inn, a beloved West Side watering hole, located on 205 Columbus Ave at 69th St., have been deferred.

Today’s NY Times reported that the Emerald Inn, an institution on Manhattan’s Upper West side since the forties, was expected to join the long list of places scheduled to shut its doors due to rent increases. In Emerald’s case, it had been set to double. The bar was expected to close in April. Thanks to the economic slowdown, the landlord offered it a lease renewal with a reduced increase in the range of a couple of thousands allowing the Emerald to hang around for two more years. Hurrah for the team!

Nice to see that there is a flip-side to this recession: namely some sorely-needed human-scale conditions in this town.

To read the full story in the New York Times, click on the image above.

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The Last Thing Greenwich Village Needed…

West 3rd St. btwn. Thompson St. and Laguardia Place

West 3rd St. btwn. Thompson St. and Laguardia Pl

…besides the closing of yet another privately-owned cafe’.

[Read more...]

Wine Pouring Etiquette

 

If there’s one thing that should disturb both the discerning oenophile and the House Merlot drinker, it’s poor pouring etiquette. This is not a rant about some minute subtlety that would only be noticed by master sommeliers, “Sideways-type” wine fanatics, and others schooled in wine esoterica, this is about the basic right that consumers have to get what get what they pay for. [Read more...]