Table d'Hote

So you know how Le Grainne Cafe was this casual French bistro? Well Table d'Hote...isn't. Yes, it is French, and no, they will not turn you away in jeans and sneakers, but it is less "Let's grab a crepe," and more, "I'll have the seared salmon with accompanying roasted shallot risotto and greens."

Thankfully, the ambiance is not pretentious. On account of the small size of the room, the hutches that serve double duty as decoration and wine storage, the framed drawings of fruit and women lining the walls, the wood chairs with straw seats, the half curtains covering the bottoms of the windows, and the restaurant's location on a quiet side street on the Upper East Side, Table d'Hote is neither bustling like Paris nor decadent like the Riviera. Instead, it feels more like the countryside - cozy, inviting, and informally elegant.

The menu is divided into firsts and mains, but the mains are further categorized into tasting and entree portions. Although smaller than the entree sizes, the tasting portions are not exactly small. On a recent visit, I ordered a bowl of cauliflower and blue cheese soup (a special appetizer that day) and the tasting size of the quail. The plate was loaded with rosemary and ginger stuffing, swiss chard, and a well seasoned bird. The waiter explained the entree size would have come with the same amount of stuffing and greens but with two birds instead of the one. My order was the appropriate size for my appetite, but perhaps it would not have been sufficient for someone who had skipped the appetizer - for someone who had sadly worked through lunch that afternoon - for someone who had not just consumed the beer I had just consumed at the Central Park Boathouse.

As is fitting of a delightful restaurant on the Upper East Side with quality food, a suitable wine selection, and attentive service, the prices are moderately expensive. However, price-fixed menus are available at brunch, lunch, and dinner, so it is certainly possible to enjoy a reasonably priced meal - rendered all the more enjoyable and somehow more scrumptious by the reasonable price.

So head over with that out-of-towner who asked to visit the Guggenheim, that couple you and your wife met while wine tasting in the Hamptons, or your partner of 35 years. If you are gamblers by nature, you can go to the fewer-than-30-seats restaurant without a reservation. Though a craps shooter in casinos, I am less of a risk taker when it comes to dinnertime and suggest calling ahead.

Table d'Hote - 44 East 92nd Street, between Madison & Park Avenues

Bubby's (aka Bubby's Pie Co.)

A few years ago, I had jury duty in the triangle below Canal - more or less cryptically known as Tribeca. When we broke for lunch on the first day, I hoped to find a spot more casual and less expensive than those in the area with which I was already familiar (such as Thalassa, Nobu, and the now closed Chanterelle). I found Bubby's.

As the name implies, Bubby's serves the kind of food grandmothers across the nation may be proud to claim as their own. The website labels the cuisine "American cookery," so a breakfast dish like Gina's Huevos Rancheros may resemble your abuela's in San Diego, the matzo ball soup at lunch may remind you of your nana's in Brooklyn, and the authentic pit barbecue at dinner might compare to your grandmama's in Austin. The menu also includes salads, sandwiches, burgers, pancakes, mac & cheese, and side dishes like hush puppies, collared greens, onion straws, baked beans, and mashed potatoes with chicken gravy.

Bubby's is located on the southeast corner of Hudson and N. Moore Streets. Its floor to ceiling windows allow for a sun-filled room during the day and prime pedestrian watching during the night, as Bubby's is open 24 hours, 6 days a week, and until midnight on Mondays. The main room is spacious with caddies of condiments on wood tables by wood chairs and banquettes across the wood floor. This room is adjacent to Bubby's bakery where all of the restaurant's desserts are homemade and have been since its opening in 1990, when a pizza oven was used to bake pies (noooooow "Bubby's Pie Co." is starting to make sense, huh?).

Lines may be long at weekend brunch, and dishes may cost more than expected overall. Some will declare it is worth it - some will kvetch it is not. Wherever you fall on the spectrum, you have the option of loving/hating/remaining indifferent at the Tribeca location or at the one down under the Manhattan Bridge overpass - more or less cryptically known as DUMBO.

So treat that director whose work wasn't particularly well received at the latest Tribeca Film Festival, that cute potential juror who spent the past two days dreading being called into that side room, or your kids who hate grandma's meatloaf but are willing to eat Bubby's bacon-wrapped variety.

Bubby's - 120 Hudson Street, at the corner of N. Moore Street

Mishima

I have three basic tests for sushi restaurants:

1. Is the california roll more than $5.00?
2. Is raw scallop on the menu?
3. Would I eat said scallop here?

Here is the reasoning:

1. Although I do not often order california rolls, they are a solid standard by which to measure overall price reasonableness of a restaurant. If a fluff item of vegetables and imitation crab costs more than $5.00, the legitimate fish will probably hit the wallet harder than necessary.
2. Scallops are not offered everywhere, and they do not need to be. However, when I am looking for something more than a spicy tuna roll, it is lovely to know the establishment provides interesting options. "Interesting" is subjective, and I would agree there are more off-the-beaten-path choices than this particular one; however, this is a basic test, and something as extreme as poisonous blowfish is not required to pique my interest. Also, I think scallops are tasty, so lay off me, bub.
   
3. The availability of raw shellfish does not automatically mean I will eat it. The combination of the restaurant's cleanliness and reputation for quality goes quite far in this regard.

How Mishima measures up:

1. The california roll was $5.00 at last check. I would forgive an increase to $5.50 considering how well the staff has treated me in years past (a free dish of edamame here, rushed delivery there), but I am not trying to give the management any silly ideas.
   
2. Scallops? Got 'em! Other menu items include both lobster miso soup and clam miso soup in addition to the standard tofu miso soup. Appetizers cover basics like shumai, gyoza, and negimaki while also including nasu-shigiyaki (eggplant with miso paste and ground chicken) and goma ae (spinach with sesame sauce). As for entrees, yes, there's sushi and udon noodles, teriyaki and tempura, but there's also una don (boiled eel on rice) and, at times, hamachi kama (which is Japanese for "yellowtail collar" and probably also for "crazy delicious").
3. Not only do I feel comfortable eating the scallops here, I am compelled to order at least one spicy scallop roll upon every visit. This may have something to do with the spicy mayo sauce, which is preferable in my opinion to the chili flakes/paste/oil used elsewhere, and which is all shades of yum. Now, I am not going to say Mishima is the absolute best Japanese restaurant in Murray Hill, but I am going to note several others have come and gone from this neighborhood over the years while Mishima has remained a constant. Take from that information what you will.

Mishima is noticeable on Lexington Avenue thanks to its three black awnings with simple white lettering. One spans the ground floor picture window and door, while the other two are anchored above the restaurant's second story windows. After stepping down from the sidewalk to the entrance, you have the option of sitting in the narrow downstairs area at one of the tables along the mirrored wall or at the sushi bar. Otherwise, you may choose to sit at the second sushi bar upstairs or at one of the tables in this brighter, larger space. The food and sake taste the same in either location, so don't agonize over the decision. Chances are you will be seated wherever there is room, as the restaurant is typically busy during peak lunch and dinner hours.

So go with that Long Islander who drove in via the Midtown Tunnel and doesn't want to sit in any more traffic, that coworker who spills the best gossip about your other coworkers, or that recent graduate who is living out College 2.0 in one of those Murray Hill "dorms." Run it by your own checklist, and let me know what you think.

Mishima - 164 Lexington Avenue, between East 30th & East 31st Streets

Le Grainne Cafe

Bonjour mes amis! Aujourd'hui nous parlerons d'un restaurant francais. Pamplemousse ananas framboise. Which translates to: Hello friends! Today we're going to talk about a French restaurant. Grapefruit pineapple raspberry. (Sure, those last three words are nonsensical here, but they were fun to say).

Said restaurant, Le Grainne Cafe, is a casual, bustling spot on the northwest corner of 21st and 9th. It is one open room filled with tables, tables, an open kitchen, and tables. Upon entering through the glass and nicked wood door, one has the inclination to maneuver past the table in the doorway, over to the right, where there's enough room by the hostess stand to get in every waiter/waitress' path and accidentally bump the diner's chair at that corner table in the window. Thankfully, the hostess hustles you to a seat promptly, so the next party can squeeze in and jostle each other in their attempt to get out of everyone's way.

In true Manhattan and Parisian form, the tables are close to one another so as to fit as many patrons as possible. This means sitting close to strangers on the wood banquette near the window to the left or on wood and plastic woven chairs at paper-covered tables stretching down the center of the room to the back wall.

Yeah, it's a tight fit, but that does not mean Le Grainne Cafe is without its charms. For starters, little chalkboards advertising sweets lean against the painted pressed-tin walls. Decorative roosters (a symbol of France - check out the crest on the National Team soccer kit) perch in windowsills. Old school posters are classic nods to a land where museums line the Seine, the Cote d'Azur sparkles at sunrise, coffee is strong, swimsuits are small, and most sandwiches are smeared with butter. France. I'm talking about France.

Some sandwiches get the butter treatment here as well (saucisson beurre and jambon beurre to name two). Other French dishes include the croque monsieur (toasted ham and cheese), moules (various preparations of mussels), crepes (both savory and sweet), escargots (in their shells, Pretty Woman style), and onion soup, bien sur. A variety of salads, sandwiches on toasted baguettes speared by a sprig of rosemary, quiches, and side dishes (ratatouille, anyone?) are offered, as are some entrees that stray from the expected options - fettucini carbonara, various risotto dishes, and linguini with spicy shrimp to name a few. Classic desserts (including tarte tatin, mousse au chocolat, and creme brulee) are to be enjoyed as you linger over your cafe au lait, cintron chaud (fresh squeezed lemon, honey and hot water), or rhum lait chaud (spiced rum, milk and honey). Le Grainne Cafe also provides a full wine list, fruit juices, sodas, and label-free bottles of tap water.

Le Grainne Cafe is one of those great neighborhood spots, where you know you'll be satisfied for breakfast (when croissants and egg options are available), lunch, or dinner when you just can't think of anywhere else you would rather go that day. Proximate to Chelsea Piers, the Highline, and the art galleries tucked all around the area, it draws those from beyond the Chelsea borders as well. Need a quick bite after success at the driving range? Want an espresso to energize you for that elevated park stroll? Feel you deserve a nutella crepe after staring at who-knows-what by who-knows-who to express are-you-kidding? C'est le cafe pour vous! Pomme de terre bibliotheque singe. (This is the cafe for you! Potato library monkey).

Le Grainne Cafe - 183 9th Avenue, at the corner of West 21st Street