Tuesday, June 15, 2010

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

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