Readers - the last quarter of 2011 was action-packed, and I apologize for the resulting shortage of new content on "She's Still Hungry." In the last week of September, we bought a country house in Dutchess County, where I have been almost every subsequent weekend. Then my previously very healthy mother-in-law had emergency open heart surgery in November, and we spent a very tense Thanksgiving with her in an ICU in Colorado Springs. Finally, in the end of December, I left my job of nearly four years as a state charities' regulator to join the legal department of a New York not-for-profit corporation. In any event, it seems as though the dust is finally starting to settle, and I am have some time to belatedly tell you about my favorite and least favorite places from 2011.
Places I recommend you try in 2012:
Spiga (200 West 84th Street): a cozy dining room overlooking a sleepy side Upper West Side street, with exposed brick and wooden beams -- the perfect setting for a rustic and reasonably-priced Italian meal. I particularly enjoyed the large selection of homemade pastas.
Madangsui (35 West 35th Street): my first foray into Korean barbeque and the bar was set high. Everything we had, from kimchi pancakes to marinated ribeye and short ribs, perfectly balanced grease and flavor. And they take reservations!
Peasant (194 Elizabeth Street): a satisfying Italian gem in NoLiTa that I finally tried for the first time last year (I think it opened in 2000). Only delicious things came out of their big open kitchen with its wood-burning brick oven and large rotisserie, including an enormous roasted leg of lamb, which could hardly be described as peasant fare.
Prime Meats (465 Court Street, Brooklyn): Frank Falcinelli and Frank Castronovo, of the eponymous Frankie's Spuntino chain, teamed up again for this Carroll Gardens new American tavern with a farm-to-table menu influenced by "Germanic alpine cuisine." I loved every decadent thing we ordered, including the pork schnitzel, herb and gruyere cheese spatzle, and house-made pretzels. But I could have passed on the hipster waiters in vests and suspenders.
Sad news: BLT Market (1430 Sixth Avenue in the Ritz Carlton), Laurent Tourondel's fancy country cookery which I planned to include on this list, has CLOSED as of January 1st!? Not a huge surprise since ownership of the entire BLT group has been the subject of dispute since Chef Tourdondel (the "LT" in the "BLT" brand) split from his business partner two years ago.
And places I suggest you skip in 2012 and beyond:
Paptzul (55 Grand Street) - displeasingly greasy and uninspired Mexican food in SoHo, in a dining room so loud I could barely think straight. No es bueno.
Thalassa (179 Franklin Street) - underwhelming and very pricey Greek food in TriBeCa. I really wanted to like this place, but it hurt to pay close to $20 for a greek salad (tomatoes, cucumbers, feta), and more than $30 for "Seafood Thalassina" - diver scallops, gulf shrimp, and PEI mussels steamed in white wine over orzo - all of which was flavorless and overcooked.
Frankie's Spuntino (17 Clinton Street on the Lower East Side and 570 Hudson Street in the West Village) - I realize this is a controversial addition to a list of stinker restaurants since everyone and their mother seems to be fawning over "the Franks" behind this chain of causual Italian eateries (and Prime Meats, see above). But I thought both Frankie's 17 and 570 were overpriced ($4 for one little crositini?), not very tasty, and, in the case of the LES outpost, uncomfortable - the tables are WAY too close together! I may or may not try the original Frankie's Sputino in Carroll Gardens, which I've heard is the best of the bunch, but the two Manhattan locations have done nothing to inspire me to spend 45 minutes on the subway.
Blue Ribbon Sushi (308 West 58th Street) - I was thrilled when I figured out there was a Blue Ribbon Sushi within walking distance of my house, in the little-known Columbus Hotel. However, my delight quickly turned to disappointment during an unnecessarily long (terrible service) and expensive ($6.50 for a cucumber roll!? is that a joke? do you know how many cucumbers you can buy for $6.50?) dinner.
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