Shake Shack

Southeast corner of Madison Square Park
(212) 889-6600

The Shake Shack is a pretty polarizing place: People love the food, but hate the wait. And depending on your constitution as a human being, one necessarily trumps the other. For me, the food trumps the wait, and that's because it's a quality burger you're getting.

Let me explain. I am not a burger person. I don't like burgers for the sake of burgers, and I will turn up my nose at a mediocre burger in favor of a dirty-water dog any day of the week. For me to really enjoy a burger, it has to be nothing less than transcendent. Enter the Shake Shack. I had never once in my entire life craved a burger — until I had the Shack Burger.

Ode on a Shack Burger

Thou still unravish'd morsel of tastiness,
Thou meaty dream of Leanness and slow Cooking,
Exquisite taste experience, who canst thus express
Thine fresh deliciousness more sweetly than our rhyme:
What red-leaf-lettuce fringed legend haunts about thy shape
Of patty or fillet, or of both,
In Madison Square Park or the dales of Arcady?
What vine-ripened tomatoes are these? What delectable sauce?
What mad pursuit? What totally worthwhile wait?
What coffee* and black-and-white shakes? What wild ecstasy?

*Importantly, the Shake Shack serves coffee shakes. All the time.

My one niggling complaint is that you can no longer order a small shake — starting this season, it's large only. I can't make sense of this from an economy-of-scale point of view. Don't they make more money if we buy smaller, higher-priced-per-unit quantities? Why must the Shake Shack, purveyor of fresh, relatively healthy and fresh fast food, supersize its shakes and bombard me with calories I don't want? Perhaps I shall never understand.

But one thing you will understand, when you bite into a Shack Burger, is all the fuss about the place. Don't go during lunch, when the line is most ridiculous, and don't go when you're absolutely starving, since you will wait a little while whenever you go. I used to work near the Shake Shack, and a fellow Shack devotee and I discovered that right around 5 PM was a pretty good time, as were days of inclement weather. If you need a tipoff before you set out, check out the handy-dandy Live Shack Cam.

Read more about Shake Shack:

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New York Magazine
New York Times
Time Out New York
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Resto

111 East 29th Street
(212) 685-5585

Mmmmmmm, Belgian fries. Delicious. Mmmmmmmm....

Oh, hello. I didn't see you there. You're probably expecting a more, I don't know, eloquent or intelligible description of Resto than that. But really, there isn't much else to say. Except that their burger is damn tasty — I will even go so far as to say that it gives the Shake Shack a run for its money. (Yes, I understand the implications of these words, and yes, I stand by them.) Another incredibly tasty dish is the Beef Cheek Carbonnade.

Resto has limited menu items, and it isn't as cheap as it really should be. But damn, them vittles is tasty. So treat yourself to a helping of slightly overpriced but delicious saturated fat. Why? Because you're worth it.

Read more about Resto:

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New York Times
Time Out New York
Yelp

Turkish Kitchen

386 3rd Avenue
(212) 679-1810

A little birdie told me that that Turkish Kitchen has, hands down, the best Turkish food in New York. And considering that little birdie is an honest-to-goodness descendant of the Ottoman Empire, I take his word for it. You should, too.

I've been here a couple of times, and it's always been delicious. Last time Jason and I went, we split the Icli Kofte (bulghur patties, stuffed with ground lamb, pinenuts, black currants and walnuts) as an appetizer, and I had the Etli Yaprak Dolmasi (Grape leaves stuffed with ground beef, rice and herbs) as my entree. Jason got a lamb casserole special that was, well, pretty special. We finished it off with the Kunefe (shredded wheat with pistachio and cheese soaked in syrup and baked in oven), which was a little bit too good to really be happening. But it happened, and all rejoiced.

If you go, try to get a table upstairs, and be sure to try one of the fun cocktails. The blackcurrant martini may sound girly, but Mr. Ottoman Empire didn't sneeze at it. And if he doesn't, then a chump like me won't, either.

Read more about Turkish Kitchen:

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Yelp

The Bourgeois Pig

122 East 7th Street
(212) 475-2246

Bourgeois Pig West
124 Macdougal Street
(212) 254-0575

I like this place so much that I debated whether to write about it. I've been to both branches several times and mysteriously, they aren't as crowded as they should be for how good and cheap they are. I call this mysterious because as we know, this is New York, and as soon as something comes along that is truly, sincerely good on many levels, word will get out and it will soon be choked with throngs of people (Exhibit Z: The Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden in Astoria) and no longer be accessible or good. I don't want this to happen to the Bourgeois Pig. Ever. It would break my prole little heart.

After giving the matter some thought, however, it occurred to me that my blog, with its casual readership of four, is unlikely to bring about this turn of events. So sing the Pig's praises I will, and loudly.

The first thing you need to know is that there are five kinds of fondue, and all of them are delicious, particularly the blue cheese and the raclette. And the the dippables — which include not only the standard bread and potatoes but also cauliflower, apples, roasted peppers, and cornichons (emphasis added to indicate superiority of taste experience) — are served on a wooden slab shaped like a pig. Awesome. (Some of the appetizers, in particular the strawberry bruschetta, are really tasty, too.)

The next thing you need to know is that they have reasonably priced bottles of wine. And all night on Mondays and Tuesdays, before 7PM on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and before 6 PM on Fridays, these already-reasonable bottles of wine are half-price. I've gone there with a group, split a few bottles of wine and two orders of fondue, and walked out only $25 more proletariat (and that includes tip). You can't beat that. You just can't.

To sum: Run, don't walk, to the Bourgeois Pig. Just don't beat me to a table.

Read more about the Bourgeois Pig:

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Risotteria

270 Bleecker Street
(212) 924-6664

This tiny West Village restaurant is always busy but always worth the wait. The risotto is yummy and served in pretty substantial portions (unless you're a linebacker, I guess). I've enjoyed the Asparagus & Saffron, the Parma Ham, Fontina & Arugula, and the Feta, Spinach & Roasted Red Peppers. Most of the items on the menu are gluten free — even the pizza, which has been really exciting for a friend of mine who can't tolerate gluten. The same goes for the tasty breadsticks they serve and, I believe, several of the beers.

Read more about Risotteria:

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Yelp

Gonzo

140 West 13th Street
(212) 645-4606

If you're in the Union Square area and want Italian that won't change your life but is definitely in a high tastiness percentile, then go here. Jason and I tried it out a couple of weeks ago with some friends. We started with a cheese and meat plate (mmmm) and some fried olives. Yes, you heard me. Fried olives. I'm a little sad to report that this concept is a little better on paper than in practice — but they're still definitely worth trying.

For mains, Jason and I split a pizza and a pasta dish. (Forgive me, for I don't remember which ones. It seems to be a place that changes up the menu and does a lot of specials. Good for the diner, bad for the blogger who doesn't take notes and depends on Menupages to remind her what she ate.) Gonzo's thing is super thin crusts on their pizzas, and they are indeed thin, crispy, and tasty. But as Jason pointed out, it's tough to go too far wrong with pizza. The wine selection is good, though, and overall it's a pleasant experience (no snobby waiters a la A Voce). So go, and mange!

Read more about Gonzo:

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Sripraphai

64-13 39th Avenue
(718) 899-9599

This one's a total no brainer. Sripraphai has the best, most authentic Thai food in New York (so they tell me, anyway; I've never been to Thailand to experience the real deal firsthand). It's tasty as hell, it's cheap, and the surroundings are devoid of hipness and pretension. Word to the wise: Don't try to be macho about your spice tolerance. Sripraphai will win this ego battle, and you will cry through your meal and for several hours afterward. The lowest levels of spiciness are totally adequate to the non-Thai palate.

Be sure to try one or more of the desserts in the refrigerator case by the counter. The milkier and more gelatinous, the yummier.

Read more about Sripraphai:

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Time Out New York
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Joya

215 Court Street
(718) 222-3484

I went to Joya the other night with the ladies from work, and we had a tasty, so-cheap-you're-not-sure-if-they-messed-up-the-bill meal. Most of the dishes were around $7. I'm not sure whether it's just a cheap place or whether such deals are totally commonplace in Brooklyn; if the latter, I am beginning to think Brooklyn is a magical place that, however far from Inwood, deserves to be further explored.

The food is not at the Sripraphai level, but it's totally decent and respectable Thai. We shared several appetizers, including the vegetable dumplings, the salmon and mango spring roll, and the fried calamari. I am a recent convert to calamari and as such am quite sensitive to rubberiness; this calamari was decidedly unrubbery and good. I got the Spicy Noodles with chicken as my entree, which was quite delicious but not spicy in the least. Perhaps you have to ask for spicy, or perhaps the waitstaff simply saw that I am the whitest person alive and spared me. Hmm.

One word of caution, however: Do not order a mojito. Under any circumstances. They don't know how to make them, and as one of my colleagues astutely observed the product tastes something like a glass of seltzer in which someone has just swizzled a toothbrush. Skip it and get a bottle of wine instead; they're all reasonably priced.

Read more about Joya:

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'inoteca

98 Rivington Street
(212) 614-0473

It's been a while since I ventured to the Lower East Side to check out this super-hip establishment, so I'm a little fuzzy on some of the details. But here's what you need to know about the food: it's essentially Italian tapas.* YUM.

It's kind of trendy and crowded, so expect to hear your neighbor's conversation about the booties he knitted for his dog or the new loft she she just closed on in DUMBO — and expect to wait for a table. My advice is to go when you are not all that hungry yet and have a glass of wine at the bar first. I don't know Thing One about Italian wines, but I know the barman picked for my friend and me a light, spicy red that quite pleased us.

Being also unfamiliar with the actual Italian names for Italian ingredients, we depended heavily on the explications and expertise of our server, who didn't steer us wrong. I can't remember the specific dishes we got, but I remember that much bresaola and polenta were involved.

Read more about 'inoteca:

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Yelp

*I know that if any actual food snobs start reading this blog, I will get skewered for calling food "tapas" when it is not indeed Spanish. Whatever. You say "Italian small plates" and let's call the whole thing delicious.

A Voce

41 Madison Avenue
(212) 545-8555

The week before I took Jason to A Voce for his belated birthday meal, Time Out published the results of their Eat Out Awards 2007, in which this upscale Italian eatery was named New Restaurant of the Year. "I only take you to the best places," I told Jason, and he did not remind me that he's the one who picked it out in the first place. That's the kind of guy he is.

We were seated at a table for two near the bar. The space was large and sported a sleek, dark, modern design that didn't strike me as particularly coherent or remarkable. The tables were close enough together that the waitstaff had to pull each one out to let the booth-sitters in and that other people could easily view and chat with you about what you've ordered. My first impression of the service, sadly, was affected by a repellent maitre d'/manager type who, on seating a couple next to us, asked me to move my "duffel bag" (he was referring to my messenger bag, which travels everywhere with me on workdays and which was on the floor by my feet) so that "the lady" could sit. His clipped, bitchy tone — and the suggestion that the guest he was trying to accommodate deserved to be called a lady whereas frumpy, reptilian, messenger-bag-carrying me did not — made me feel about two inches tall for a few minutes. But luckily, this person did not intervene in our dining experience for the rest of the evening, so I was free to get over myself and enjoy the delicious food.

We started with a fried artichoke appetizer and the duck meatballs. Now, just about every reviewer and commenter says that these meatballs are to die for, and I can tell you that they are not kidding. They are seriously yum. For entrees, I ordered a gnocchi dish with ground lamb and Jason got a tasty rabbit dish. The portions weren't overwhelming, so we had room for dessert; I got the gelati (one of the flavors was salted caramel — sweet and salty Jesus, that's good stuff) and Jason got an olive oil cake, which was much tastier than it may sound to those uninitiated to the land of olive oil desserts (the olive oil gelato at Otto was my introduction). They put a candle in Jason's dessert on account of his birthday (reader, those special request forms in the Open Table reservation form really work!), which fully restored my opinion of the service.

In short, dinner at A Voce did not change my life, but the food was quite tasty. And no snobby maitre d' who's clearly having his man period can change that.

Read more about A Voce:

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Menupages
New York Magazine
Time Out New York
Yelp