Spigolo

One of our favorite neighborhood restaurants on the Upper East Side is Spigolo, on the corner of E. 81st and Second Avenue. The menu offers four courses and never fails to disappoint; we've never had a bad meal there since it opened in 2005. Getting a reservation is not always easy, but twice we have called on Saturday morning and were accomodated for a 6pm slot.
There are daily specials, and a wonderful menu that draws Italian and Mediterranean influences. Last night we had fettucini with wild boar ragu and a prosciutto Atlantic cod. The wine list is reasoanble, and great surprise was a $32 Taymante Malbec - served slightly chilled (perfect) and very, very smooth - which confirmed my current thinking that Malbec is the go-to wine for dining out. Versatile, affordable, and dependable.

Tartine: BYOB in the City

One of the best BYOB restaurants in the city is Tartine, the tiny French bistro in the West Village at the corner of W. 11th and 4th street. Yes, it can be a bit cramped and is often overflowing with crowds, but hey, they are happy to open (with no corkage fee) whatever you bring and they will never rush you out the door. So bring good stuff, and enjoy the delicious steak au poivre, or beef mignonette (hanger steak), or bouchée a la Reine (chicken pot pie), or even a strange spicy chicken with guacomole dish. The french fries come hot, crisp, and salty. We also recommend the herbed goat cheese salad and the grilled saucisson (garlic sausage) served on warm potatoes. The service is efficient, especially considering the way the waiters have to squeeze between tables to get around the room. Tartine is also a full service bakery, and the fruit tarts are excellent. They've been serving weekend brunch forever, but it is usually mobbed, so we just stick to dinner during the week, when the restaurant is less packed with maddening crowds. (No reservations, cash only - it's only fair with prices like these!). Great spot for Greenwich Village people-watching, and in the "cheap and cheerful" category - this place is tough to beat. Three stars.

Mickey John's on Skillman Avenue

On the Skillman strip near Sunnyside Gardens, Mickey John's is the quintessential Irish-American neighborhood dive bar. A recent visit found the place particularly sad, with the counter full of drunken old-timers sipping light beer, staring at the television. At one point three of four of them loudly sang a chorus or two of the theme to the "Green Acres" television show, which prompted the bartender to lean over and place a piece of masking tape over of the guy's mouth! A previous visit was much the same with a very chatty woman playing the jukebox and tossing out questions of music trivia. Decided to leave when Sammy Davis Jr.'s "Candy Man" was blasted at full volume.

There is back patio area which is nice for the summer, and for smokers, but being February, it is now closed for the winter. Inside the place was full of discarded stuff: unused kitchen appliances, a broken jukebox, etc. etc. Maybe the owner needs space to store junk. Bad lighting, dirty shelves, and the most atrocious looking mural of Irish caricatures on the wall constitute the decor. The bar stocks the usual domestic beer and standard liquor. No one drinking Guinness. The bartender was nice enough (although she seemed to be conducting a conversation aimed at no one in particular) and other times we have been in, the Irish bar staff was capable, pleasant, and always bought the fourth drink. Mickey John's is probably not the worst pub in the neighborhood, but best to wait until spring when the back patio is open. One sad, lonely, and drunken star.

Convivio: Real Italian in Tudor City

Had a pretty fantastic dinner last week at Convivio, an Italian restaurant in Tudor City at the far east side of 42nd Street. In the former space of L'Impero, Convivo retains the essential decor of its previous inhabitant, but the menu is revamped to focus on Southern Italian. The tiny (but cool) bar was full when we arrived, so we sat down in the small lounge area for a pre-dinner cocktail. Shortly after ordering our drinks, the waiter returned to tell me that they had to go downstairs to get a martini glass for my drink and it would be just a few minutes. After ten minutes I complained, and another 5 minutes passed before I got my a drink (variant of a lemon martini). The waiter was very apologetic, and ended up comping the drink. Once we got inside the restaurant, things got better. The menu was exciting and extensive. The $59 prix fixe was well worth it, and highlights included a fantastic gamberini (small fried shrimp), frutti de mara, maccheroni alla carbonara, brasato al pomodoro (braised short ribs in tomato sauce), and a marvelous budino (warm dark chocolate, hazelnut). For wine we had a Cerasuolo di Vittoria Gulfi 2007, Frappato/Nero d'Avola from Sicily ($45) that was excellent. Service was attentive and overall very good. I'm giving this joint three stars, and hope to be back real soon.

Puck Fair

We love Puck Fair, the sprawling Irish pub on Lafayette Street in SoHo. A fine selection of spirits, including Irish whiskey, single malt scotch, small batch bourbon, and specialty microbrews. The Guinness is superb, one of the best places in NYC for a good pint, and we often recommend Puck Fair to Irish tourists looking for a proper pour. The bartenders are welcoming and friendly, especially Ryan and Aisling, who never shy away from conversation and comment. There are a couple of television screens but they are positioned high above and generally out of sight. Highly recommended for late afternoons and early evenings before the crowds pour in and the noise gets out of hand. And stick to drinks, the food is pretty terrible.

On the Sunnyside of the Street

Welcome to a new place for some random thoughts . . .