The Cellar at Beecher's Handmade Cheese

Cheese is delicious. It therefore stands that a place which makes its own delicious cheese is okay in my book. Pair that handmade cheese with a full dinner menu, a lounge atmosphere and booze, and well, that figurative book is a bestseller. [Note to any literary agents, editors, publishers and publicists out there - my sound logic regarding bestsellers indicates you should just go ahead and accept my manuscript when I one day (ahem, first write and then) submit it to you].

The main level of Beecher's Handmade Cheese is a factory/store/cafe like its original location in Seattle's Pike Place Market, but the 21-and-over section downstairs (The Cellar) is where the nighttime action goes down. This fairly industrial space of concrete, brick, stone and exposed pipes manages to feel cozy thanks to its dim lighting, quirky art and mix of furniture. Young professionals mingle at the bar, on leather armchairs, on banquettes upholstered with animal hair and on cushioned benches - the base of which are part of the building's foundation. From these several vantage points, one can see Beecher's Flatiron cheese aging behind a glass wall at the side of the room. One can also see intoxicated women flirting with the bartender, but that's not unique to The Cellar.

The menu unsurprisingly includes cheese and charcuterie plates, but an appetizer of fresh cheese curds and several mac and cheese entrees make the cut as well. One mac and cheese is touted as the "world's best," and when asked who made the claim, the waiter said, "The owner...and Oprah." Well then, it must be true.

If there are any lactose-intolerant readers who made it this far through the post, you'll be happy to know The Cellar offers cheese-free options as well. These include spicy rapini, gazpacho, beef short ribs and pate. Oh, it's just me and 86-year-old French men who like pate? That's cool.

The portion sizes are generous, and prices are moderate, but if you head over during the 5pm-7pm happy hour, a variety of full-size dishes are available at half the cost. There are also deals on wine and cocktails, but I just want to make sure my non-existent elderly French companions know where to score a decent early bird special.

So head over to The Cellar at Beecher's Handmade Cheese with the Brooklynite who only wants to meet near Union Square, with your girls who get a little too loud after several glasses of wine or with your boys who like girls who drink a little too much. Maybe they can score points by dropping that bit of Oprah knowledge. More effectively, they could just buy another round of drinks.

The Cellar at Beecher's Handmade Cheese - 900 Broadway, at East 20th Street

Brunch, Part 4 - Benny Edition

The weekend is fast approaching, and you've got a hankering for some early afternoon dining. You already know where to go for cheap booze, where to find the wildly popular spots, and where to order excessively for no good reason beyond, "But I WANT it!" If you now have a laser focus on one dish, and if that dish happens to be Eggs Benedict, I've got a little something just for you (and you and you and you). The subject of today's post is: where to find a delicious twist on the Benny - a twist so delicious, you'll pronounce it "daylishwoz."

1) Petite Abeille - 44 West 17th Street, between 5th & 6th Avenues

There are several locations for Petite Abeille throughout Manhattan, but the one on West 17th Street is Goldilocks (ie, not too big, not too small. Also not too hot/cold, hard/soft, or inhabited by bears for that matter). It is a Belgian restaurant that is narrow up front, informal in back, and equipped with an outdoor space. The main room is decorated with images of Tintin and luggage racks topped with...(dramatic pause)...luggage. The overall effect is cute without being cutesy.

In addition to burgers, omelettes, sandwiches, and salads, the menu touts Belgian classics like mussels and waffles. Fab, but we're not here to talk about any of that. Today's dish is Eggs Benedict and how the Little Bee (English for Petite Abeille, mon amour) does it so well. In this version, the usual English muffin is replaced with a thick cut of crunchy country bread, and thin slices of Black Forest ham do away with the expected Canadian bacon. Topped with perfectly poached eggs and creamy hollandaise sauce, this is a tasty way to kick off your day...or just soak up what's left of last night's drinking binge. I don't know your life. The bonus is the side of stoemp. The who what huh? Stoemp is a mash of potatoes and root vegetables (often carrot or leek at Petite Abeille) and not to be confused with Schtroumpfs - the original name of the Belgian-created Smurfs. I'm guessing a side of Smurf would be less tasty and more horrifying.

2) Fred's at Barneys - 660 Madison Avenue, between East 60th & 61st Streets, 9th Floor

Next up is somewhere a little, shall we say, pricier. Located on the ninth floor of swanky department store Barneys New York, Fred's is a sprawling restaurant equipped with large windows and white linens. Waiters in aprons make sure your bottles of champagne stay chilled, and the bottles of champagne make sure you don't realize the heft of the bill at the end of the meal.

Menu items include enormous salads, French Toast, and several varieties of egg dishes, but it's that Eggs Benedict that keeps caaaaaallin' my name (much like Clarence Carter's "sassified" woman in his explicit hit song, "Strokin'"). What does Fred do to make his version so daylishwoz? He tops it with a spoonful of salty caviar. Simple, effective, genius - and at $24, more expensive than at most eateries around town. Then again, if you are one of the crowd already buying cashmere sunscreen and $145 ankle socks downstairs, this ain't no thang.

Sammy's Roumanian

Welcome, bubeleh. Come, sit your tuchas down next to me, so I can tell you about a restaurant. It's all the way downtown, but once you experience its spirited atmosphere and legitimately good food, you won't kvetch about the schlep. You have a good kepala on your shoulders, so you know I would never steer you wrong.

Annnd with the exception of a couple phrases, we have essentially exhausted my Yiddish. This somehow just didn't feel like the time for "The hat burns on the head of the thief," or "Go take a dump in the ocean."

Introducing Sammy's Roumanian. It bills itself as a steakhouse (and with options like Tenderloin, Prime Rib and Veal Chops, this makes sense), but it is so much more. Situated in a Lower East Side joint with merely a whiff of your Uncle Morty's basement, this Jewish-style eatery serves up Flanken, Kishka and Kreplach to people who grew up on the stuff and to shiksas who have never heard of it before. The restaurant is not Kosher, but the food has that old school, old world angle bubbies have been slinging for ages - schmaltz included (and yes, that would be chicken fat...available in diner-style maple syrup dispensers). Chopped Liver is prepared tableside, Stuffed Cabbage is a knock-out, and Potato Pancakes are a crowd-favorite whether you're inclined to call them "Latkes" or not.

The food, however, is only half the draw. Sammy's is a place for parties, and this is clearly indicated by the limp twists of crepe paper taped to the ceiling and the occasional balloon. Ok, so the decorations are a tad sad, but as illustrated in the many photographs plastered to the walls, patrons over the years (some famous, some not) are anything but. Large groups of friends and families can be found laughing and hollering at every meal.

Why? For starters, a keyboardist is spewing Borscht Belt schtick from the back of the room, asking girls to stand up and twirl while the rest of the guests clap. He's cracking jokes between "Hava Nagila" and "December 1963 (Oh What a Night)" and insisting you grab the hand of a stranger in order to do the hora around the tables. He's asking if anyone in the room is not Jewish and then following with, "Well, we can't all be perfect."

So round up the mishpocha for Cousin Ida's birthday, or gather your urban family for a raucous Friday night. Start the meal with a frozen bottle of vodka, try the Karnatzlach, and finish up with a chocolate egg cream. Sure, a milk-based beverage may sound like a terrible idea after garlicky beef, but everyone has to experience chocolate syrup pouring from the height of the ceiling and seltzer spraying from the classic dispenser. Miss this, and everyone will call you mashugana.

Sammy's Roumanian - 157 Chrystie Street, at Delancey Street

Hudson Clearwater

We all love a little mystery. It's why multiple volumes of Sherlock Holmes stories exist, people have been flocking to the shores of Loch Ness for decades, and Sarah McLachlan spent a good part of the 90s building one for broom skirt-wearing girls with choker necklaces and perfume oil from The Body Shop. However, the greatest mystery of the current New York restaurant scene might involve Hudson Clearwater - namely, where the balls is the door?

The restaurant's address is 447 Hudson Street, but this leads to an abandoned retail space with papered windows and notices from the NYC Building Department. So...not where we're dining? No. Instead, head around the corner to Morton Street, where there's still no indication you are anywhere near your ultimate destination. Do we just walk through this first door then? Of course not. You're going to want to try that next shady-looking one with all the graffiti; it's cut into the random wall seemingly beyond the building you originally intended to enter.

Everyone opens this door slowly, expecting to trespass into a sketchy back alley serving as home to Crackhead Larry, but once through, you'll find yourself in a quaint open courtyard occupied by no such fiend. Traversing this space leads to two outdoor staircases - one leading upwards to a second story and one leading downstairs to a basement level. It all feels very "Choose Your Own Adventure," but you'll want to head upstairs for the main restaurant. The second set of steps leads down to Hudson Clearwater's private dining room, which can accommodate up to twelve guests.

Once upstairs, you'll find yourself inside a dimly lit, wood-adorned room with a chef's counter and a sunken dining area. Girls in their twenties and couples on dates tend to fill the seats at the chef's counter. Much like at dell'anima, this is where all of the cooking action takes place, and if he's not insanely busy, you can chat up the very guy preparing your meal. Some tables are located in this entrance area, but the rest are down a few steps beyond the counter. The bar is situated in this second section too, and patrons may enjoy a full meal here in addition to cocktails.

Alright guys, we made it. We can put our compasses away and relax. It's 'bout time we get to eatin', and lucky for us, they're sending out an amuse bouche already (a breakfast radish and kale salad bite last time I was here, though I expect it changes often). Reading the menu shows the options are limited, but eating said options proves they. are. delicious. holla.

The essentially American selection includes the likes of butter clams with gnocchi, duck leg confit, black sea bass, and cured pork belly. Vegetarians may be satisfied with a hearty and flavorful root vegetable risotto, though salads and side dishes are not to be missed either [insert flirty wave at the potato-cauliflower gratin here]. You'll want to save room for dessert, as the likes of dark chocolate and cherry ganache as well as a bosc pear tarte tatin have been known to grace the menu.

Though the ambiance is refined casual, and the food is upscale, the prices are thankfully moderate. Appetizers can get into the teens, but every entree is under $20. At least that's how the restaurant has been operating thus far, and it would be a damn dirty shame if those responsible for pricing made a liar out of me.

So head to Hudson Clearwater with that friend who doesn't like to leave the West Village, for that blind date your co-worker has been pressuring you to go on, or for Aunt Nellie's birthday with eleven family members curious to check out that private room. Just draw everyone a map before you go and hope for the best.

Hudson Clearwater - 447 Hudson Street (though entrance is on Morton Street between Hudson and Greenwich Streets)

Traveling Fresh Pepper: Miami and Key West, Florida

Fresh Pepper is first and foremost about New York, but sometimes homegirl hits the road. There are gems everywhere, so I'm including this departure from the norm after a recent trip to Miami and Key West, Florida. Considering some of you lovelies don't live in New York and others travel as well, a few tid bits from beyond the usual borders shouldn't be half bad.

First up, Miami. There are tons of worthwhile places to visit - from the famous (Joe's Stone Crab) to the outrageous (Barton G.) to the smaller yet equally impressive (Michy's). There are also eateries off Lincoln Road (the retail and restaurant laden pedestrian street in South Beach) and busy Alton Road, which we have here in New York - stop in Sushi Samba, Shake Shack, or the newest Rosa Mexicano if you're craving a bite of the Big Apple. However, there are lesser-known spots tucked around the city worth a look as well.

1) La Sandwicherie - Essentially an outdoor counter with stools at which you order your sandwiches, salads and smoothies through an opening cut in the side of the building, La Sandwicherie is as no-frills as they come. Customers flock to this literal hole-in-the-wall for French twists on American basics and sit under a lightly spraying mist of water on particularly hot days. This joint has my all-time favorite shake made with strawberries, apricot, and vanilla yogurt, and the fact that I'm not drinking one right now while wearing a sundress and SPF 100 is making me a little sad.

2) The Tuesday food trucks on Biscayne Boulevard in North Miami - That about sums it up, though it must be noted these are not your standard hot dog carts and ice cream slingers. Basically anything you can imagine is available, and if it's not on offer this week, it probably will be next Tuesday when new options rotate in. Three of us on a recent jaunt managed to put down pulled pork with coleslaw and melted cheese on Texas toast, fish tacos, ginger-marinated string beans, fried plantains, pork buns, French macarons, deep fried chocolate cheesecake, a fruity sno-cone, a Coke...and some Skittles. Ok, just kidding about the Skittles, but at least the reference was Miami appropriate.

3) El Rinconcito El Chele - This corner diner is one of the best deals in town for breakfast. Two eggs, creamy grits (or fries, which they misleadingly call "tater tots"), Cuban toast, sausage (or bacon or ham), cafe con leche, tax, and a 25% tip will set you back all of $5. Oh, you want to go every morning? Great, see you there.

Next, let's head to Key West.

1) Knaus Berry Farm - If you ever find yourself driving from Miami to Key West, you are going to want to stop off in Homestead, Florida at Knaus Berry Farm. They sell everything from vegetables to honey, but the top draws are the fresh strawberry milkshakes and cinnamon buns. The strawberry fields are located out back, and you may pick the berries yourself at certain times of the year. As for the cinnamon buns, they are always soft, sticky, and warm, annnd yep, I want one right now.

2) Pepe's Cafe & Steakhouse - Known as the "eldest eating house in the Florida Keys," Pepe's has lasted so long for good reason; the food is delicious, the people are friendly, and the ambiance is classic laid-back Key West. Whether you sit inside, outdoors, or at the covered bar, by yourself, next to tourists, or with locals, you'll likely have a great meal. My favorite time to go is for breakfast (served 7:30am until noon every day), though you can still get your eggs, homemade bread of the day, or creamed chipped beef later as long as your name made the waiting list before the noon cut-off.

3) Blue Heaven - This is the place where you can eat a Breakfast Tortilla, Jamaican Jerk Chicken, Goombay Gumbo Soup, and Key Lime Pie outside as roosters run around your feet by day and cats saunter about by night. Every single thing on the menu is made from scratch, the drinks are strong, and the vibe is at once casual and refined - or maybe for the prices, you'd just like to think it's refined. End your meal with a cup of Baby's Coffee, and then pick up a couple pounds of it at their store back out on US1.

Obviously this post did not cover every worthwhile spot Southern Florida has to offer, but the idea was to provide you with a lil taste - as it were. I may sneak in discussion of more restaurants from other cities, states, and countries over time, but the next post will likely return to our regularly scheduled programming. Unless it doesn't, sucka! Just kidding, let's stay friends.

Eisenberg's Sandwich Shop

If you heart New York, I've got a restaurant for you. It's not fancy, trendy, or swank, but it has that classic New York swagger only a joint that has been around since the Great Depression can pull off. In fact, its menu (and t-shirts) claim it has been "Raising New York's Cholesterol Since 1929." The place is Eisenberg's Sandwich Shop, and it is a diner in the Flatiron District with a chalkboard out front that reads, "You either get it, or you don't." Ain't it the troof.

A long, slim space, Eisenberg's is dominated by the counter before opening into a small dining area at the back. Two-tops line the wall opposite the counter, and patrons must be careful not to brush a diner's egg cream onto the floor as they make their way to their own table. The counter stools of course face the open grills, so if you order "The Eisen-Burger," you may watch the half-pound of freshly ground sirloin cook to perfection right before thine eyes.

Sandwiches are unsurprisingly available at the aptly named sandwich shop, and they include all the classics from peanut butter and jelly to liverwurst to a corned beef or pastrami Reuben. Soup, omelets, and platters are options as well and span Manhattan clam chowder (Friday only) to cold borscht, "The LEO" (lox, eggs, and onions) to "The Shmoopie" (egg whites, tomato, onion, and cream cheese), and chicken salad to hot brisket with gravy, mashed potatoes, and vegetables. There really aren't many shockers at this old school establishment, unless the idea of pairing tuna fish with egg salad blows your mind - and if that's the case, honeyboodle, it's time to set down the saltines and live a little.

Go to Eisenberg's Sandwich Shop with that friend who works across the street at the Flatiron Building, your neighbor who once mentioned liking fried salami, or your Nana who grew up in Brooklyn and remembers when this $2.50 knish used to cost five cents. She'll wear a fur turban throughout the meal, and you'll squabble over who gets to pay the bill - it'll be fun!

Eisenberg's Sandwich Shop - 174 Fifth Avenue, between West 22nd & 23rd Streets

Elias Corner

Remember when I told you about Estiatorio Milos? The upscale Greek seafood restaurant in Manhattan that serves quality fish in a beautiful space at redonk prices? Well, swap "upscale" for "casual," "Manhattan" for "Astoria," "beautiful" for "basic," and "redonk" for "not all that redonk," and now you have Elias Corner. Ta da!

Located at the corner of 31st Street and 24th Avenue, the restaurant's address might sound familiar to anyone who has been to Astoria's Bohemian Hall & Beer Garden across the street - a great spot for entirely different, boozey, sloppy reasons. What makes Elias Corner worth the trip is the fantastic food, sure, but also the experience.

For starters, the restaurant is only open for dinner, and it does not accept reservations. Diners therefore start lining up early (the restaurant opens at 3:30pm on Sunday and 4:00pm Monday through Saturday), and they check out the fresh selections of the day in the glass display case up front. This is a most crucial step, because once seated at the table, there are no menus to peruse. The gruff waitstaff will rattle off options if you're completely clueless, but dishes to know before you go include the green salad (chopped romaine, feta, dill, scallions, and olive oil), Greek salad (large segments of tomato, feta, and cucumber), char grilled octopus, lobster, grilled zucchini, fried potatoes, and fish fish fish from red snapper to sea bass to St Peter's, served simply grilled with olive oil, herbs, and a squeeze of lemon if desired. Wine and beer are available, though hard liquor is not, and it is questionable as to whether or not they even serve dessert, as I have always been too full to care.

Chattering families and small groups treating dinner as the night's main event enjoy their meals either indoors or on the back deck when the weather is warm. An additional side room is also on the premises, but it is often closed and most likely used for private events. The tables in use are therefore turned rather quickly, but this thankfully means your meal is served without delay once you've finally been rewarded a seat for your patience. The energy of the space is frenetic, what with harried waitresses running platters to closely situated tables and the staff's tendency to bang through the door separating the indoor section from the back, but that's all part of the charm. If, however, this reads like a headache to you, it is best you stay home, Sir Grouch of Curmudgeon Estates.

One last noteworthy point: Elias Corner is a cash-only establishment. I know, I know, but are you really surprised? No menus and no credit cards but a lively and delicious meal. Doesn't sound like a bad trade off to me...and everyone else clamoring for a table.

Elias Corner - 24-02 31st Street at the corner of 24th Avenue in Astoria, Queens

Baoguette/Pho Sure

There is a Vietnamese restaurant in the West Village that makes me laugh. I'm not entirely sure if it's the menu items named "Pho Real" and "Pho Sure," or if it's the wall of painted ladies flashing side boob, but I'm amused whenever I'm there. It is casual, it is cheap, and most importantly, I enjoy my meal every time. Fo'real.

According to their website, Baoguette is a chain of Vietnamese sandwich shops (though I'm under the impression some of their locations have closed). The location we are discussing today, Baoguette/Pho Sure, is a sit-down restaurant with a take-out counter and a couple two-tops up front. You may therefore sit in a banquette under draped fabric hiding the air duct by the kitchen, or you may check yourself out in the mirrored wall as you wait for your order by the door. Either way, you'll end up with some flavorful food. Fo'sure.

Menu items include a green papaya salad ($6), sticky rice (with barbecue chicken, chinese sausage, scallion and peanuts, $8), various noodle dishes ($8-$13), and of course, the aforementioned Pho Real and Pho Sure (beef soups, $8). The expected spring and summer rolls are also available ($6-$8), as are multiple sandwich options (like spicy catfish, sloppy bao, and a couple vegetarian choices, $6-$8). My personal favorite is the "Baoguette Classic Banh Mi Sandwich," which is pate, pork, pickled daikon, carrots, cucumber, and cilantro on a warm homemade baguette, though I ask that the cilantro be omitted. (Hey, the Food Network's Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten, would do the same...because she doesn't like cilantro...or so she mentioned once...I think). You have the option of mild, medium, or spicy, and your answer determines how much Sriracha hot sauce is added. I implore you not to do what my sister did, cherished reader, which was douse her appetizer in Sriracha and then order her sandwich "spicy." That proved to be a sweaty mishap after which she never tasted anything again. Ok, not fo'real, but it was an intense lunch she will likely never repeat.

While you are dining, you might satisfy your thirst with grass jelly soy milk or young coconut juice. I tend to prefer Vietnamese iced coffee with its sweetened condensed milk, but you do you.

Go to Baoguette/Pho Sure when you want an inexpensive dinner in a relatively quiet space, as you rarely have to wait for a table. Otherwise, head over for take-out at lunch when the restaurant tends to be busier. As you wait for your meal, try guessing the age of the older woman who sometimes makes the sandwiches behind the front counter - I think she's 106. Fo'sure.

Baoguette/Pho Sure - 120 Christopher Street, between Bedford & Bleecker Streets

The Meatball Shop

As in fashion and finance, food has its trends. Remember when "small plates" and "snacks" popped up on every menu, even when you weren't in a tapas restaurant? It also wasn't long ago that cupcakes were everyone's favorite dessert - at least until the French macaron came on the scene. So what are we all excited about now? That's right, perceptive reader who checked out the title of this post - meatballs. Varied, tailored-to-your-liking meatballs...and ice cream sandwiches, but we'll get to that later, sweet cheeks.

The Meatball Shop opened in the first half of 2010, and the crowds are as amped as ever, packing into the Lower East Side joint* to get their meaty saucy fix. Be not offended, vegetarians, there are options for you too.

Here's how it works: 5 varieties of ball are available (classic beef, spicy pork, chicken, vegetable, and "special," which of course changes from day to day). These may be paired with any of 6 sauces (classic tomato, spicy meat, mushroom gravy, parmesan cream, pesto, and "special"). The options may be combined in a bowl (4 balls and sauce with a piece of focaccia, $7), as a slider (1 ball with sauce on a mini bun, $3), as a smash (2 balls, sauce, and mozzarella or provolone cheese on a brioche bun, $8), or as a hero (3 balls, sauce, and mozzarella or provolone cheese on a white or whole wheat Il Forno baguette, $9). You can also order side dishes (white beans, risotto, polenta, mashed potatoes, spaghetti, rigatoni, sauteed broccoli, steamed spinach, or roasted daily vegetables, $4), where said sides may be served in a separate dish or under the meatballs themselves on the same plate. Other options include "everything but the kitchen sink salad," which is basically what it sounds like for $8, and "family jewels," which means adding a fried egg to your selection for $1. The mixing and matching adds up to plenty of delicious results designed to your taste for reasonable prices, and that may or may not be what everyone is excited about most of all.

When determining which entree selection is best for your appetite, keep in mind the meatballs themselves are approximately the size of golf balls. No matter how much you eat, though, be sure to save room for dessert - or, don't save room, eat dessert anyway, and regret it later. Like everything else at this establishment, this too is your choice.

Dessert options include ice cream (ok, fine), ice cream floats with your choice of soda (better), and ice cream sandwiches (we haaaaave a winner!) You select which freshly baked cookie sounds best with which homemade ice cream, and allow me to blow your mind by mentioning you may choose two different cookies for each side of the sandwich. I must say, you really can't go wrong, but caramel on brownie and macaroon (the coconutty kind) is so so right.

So sit at the communal table with your roommate when neither one of you feels like cooking, at a two-top with your besty when comfort food is necessary to discuss the uncomfortable topic of how terrible her new boyfriend is, or at the bar with your wife who only knows how to cook ground meat one way (as meatloaf in red sauce, and you're gonna like it). If all seats are occupied when you arrive, the hostess will take your phone number and call when some are finally open. Rumor has it additional seats will be available in Williamsburg and the West Village when The Meatball Shop ultimately expands within the year*. Three places to enjoy the same goodness? They sure do love an option.

*UPDATE - They done did it. The Meatball Shop is now located on the Lower East Side, in Williamsburg and in the West Village.

The Meatball Shop - 84 Stanton Street, between Allen & Orchard Streets
The Meatball Shop - 170 Bedford Avenue, between N 7th & N 8th Streets, Brooklyn
The Meatball Shop - 64 Greenwich Avenue, between 7th Avenue S & Perry Street

Las Ramblas

Just as New York City is itself a relatively small space packed with a staggering amount of activity, so too are some of its great restaurant finds. A handful of these wee joints have been discussed here before (ohwhassup, Against the Grain? Check you out, Prune), and now you can add the tapas spot, Las Ramblas, to the list. Ok, so each part of your body is basically touching someone at every other table in the room, but you will ultimately savor authentic Spanish dishes, grow giddy from a variety of sangrias, and become somewhat mesmerized by the mini water feature streaming down one wall. All in all, not too bad. It's like the tourist who rides the subway for the first time - she finds she is pressed against the man who smells too much of human, but she gets to buy a purse off Canal Street downtown, catch a Broadway matinee in midtown, and cap off the evening with a drink uptown at the Met. If the hassle in either case sounds like too much for the reward, go back to Kansas, Shirleen!

So...Las Ramblas? It is named for the popular pedestrian street in Barcelona, which has more performance artists and less NYU students than the Greenwich Village street on which it is located here in New York. A small faux-street sign displaying the restaurant's name indicates you have arrived at the right spot wedged between noticeably larger venues on the nightlife-laden block. Once inside, the friendly staff will figure out where you too shall be wedged.

The menu boasts such classics as patatas bravas and croquetas de jamon, but the more adventurous eater might be delighted to find chanquetes fritos (fried smelts with a garlic, olive oil, lemon drizzle) or banderillas con chorizo de pato (mini skewers of duck sausage, quail eggs, and pearl onion). Nothing is particularly bizarre, so picky eaters need not fear. The options are enjoyably authentic, and perhaps more importantly, they are prepared well with quality ingredients. For instance, the chicken empanadas are straightforward and satisfying. Additionally, there's not much to a dish of boquerones (white marinated anchovies), but fresh and served over fried leeks, they're fantastic...that is, if you like white marinated anchovies...which I happen to do...though I recognize quite a few of you just dry-heaved a little.

Considering Las Ramblas does not take reservations, your best bet to promptly snag a tall stool at one of the raised tables is to head over for a late lunch, say, when your dad's in the city, and he found a parking spot across the street from the restaurant anyway. Otherwise, swing by for dinner on that "date" with your flirty but slightly crazy coworker who should certainly never ever be your girlfriend ever...probably. Or stop in with Shirleen from Kansas - she had a rough day on the subway and would appreciate a good meal.

Las Ramblas - 170 West 4th Street, between Jones & Cornelia Streets