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

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

Brunch, Part 3 - Splurge Edition

It is time once again to talk about that cherished New York past time - brunch. (Click here for brunch post numero uno and here for la deuxieme. Also, feel free to be impressed by my foreign language skills in that last sentence). Today's theme is splurging. Now, you can certainly leave the following two restaurants having paid a reasonable amount, but you will most likely walk away thinking, "What did I just do?" The sizable entrees are sufficient to get you through the day, but odds are you won't stop there. Hey, when brunch sirens call, (snacks, baked goods, sides, desserts, and cocktails), nobody blames you for giving in to temptation. Well, maybe some people do, but I would never. [Insert high-five here].

1) Cookshop - 156 10th Avenue, at the corner of West 20th Street

Cookshop feels both industrial and warm. What appears to be a polished cement floor is topped with wood tables sporting white surfaces and straight-backed chairs. This, along with a metal encased light hanging over the bar area, gives the room a modern edge. The cranberry banquettes, wall-mounted chalkboard, and potted plants (not to mention the tree in the center of the room) soften that edge. Then there are the impressive floor-to-ceiling windows that serve as the barrier to both 10th Avenue and West 20th Street - if the coffee doesn't wake you up, all that natural light certainly will.

So what do we have here? Pancakes and egg dishes (Cookshop Scramble, I adore your over sized biscuit, your silken eggs with creme fraiche and caramelized onions, and the option of smoked salmon) will run you $12-$15. However, you might want to start your meal with a snack ($5-$11). Say, deviled eggs or sunchoke soup? But you also like the sound of those baked goods - pecan sticky buns, banana bread, a currant scone. Mayhaps a bakery basket for $12? How about sides ($3-$6)? The white cheddar grits are too good to pass up. Will you have room for dessert ($7-$9)? For a coffee cream donut, you make room. You haven't forgotten about cocktails though, and at this point, what's another $12? After a potent strawberry caipirinha, you probably won't mind at all.

When can you indulge? According to the restaurant's website, brunch is available Saturday and Sunday from 11am until 3pm. Walk-ins are welcome, but you'll be better off making a reservation beforehand. Here's a helpful hint, friends - if you have an opentable account, you can make a reservation mere minutes before heading over (provided they still have room). When you arrive, you'll find patrons waiting for a table at which they could have already been sitting if they had just gone online first. Suckers.

2) Freemans - End of Freeman Alley off Rivington Street, between Bowery & Chrystie Street

First off, Freemans is in a unique location on the Lower East Side. With no real address, you find it by first going to Rivington Street between Bowery and Chrystie Street. When you come to an alley about halfway down the block, turn into it and walk to the end. This will lead you to a country style, wood-and-glass door beneath a web of strung-up lightbulbs. It's hard not to feel like you're in on a secret here, and depending on your mood, it can all feel a little magical. Once inside, however, it's all hipsters and taxidermy - but in a good way.

Sitting next to plaid button-downs and Keds while under stuffed geese and antlers, it's time to get down to business. Main dishes include frittatas and sandwiches, pancakes and waffles, which come in at a reasonable $10-$14. You know you're not going to stop there, though. First off, there are Devils on Horseback ($6) and salad options ($10-11), but I'm personally going to order the hot artichoke dip with crisp bread ($10). It is so good that if it wasn't such a waste, I'd want to rub it all over myself - especially after it cools down. (Awkward pause). Brunch may not be complete without a side of thick-cut bacon ($4) or stone-ground cheddar cheese grits ($5), but what about dessert? Don't mind if I do. I'll order the hot chocolate brownie, while you get the bananas foster with rum butterscotch sauce (both $9). We'll wash it all down with Stumptown coffee, and, sure, let's get finely crafted cocktails. They're $12 unless you go for something straight up off the extensive liquor list. I like to mask my mid-day booze with juice and various accoutrements, but to each his own (and other cliches).

According to their website, Freemans is open for brunch on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays from 10am until 4pm. They only accept reservations for parties of six or more, so if you can't wrangle that many reliable dining partners, your best bet is to walk in with a small group and be prepared to wait. Parties will not be seated until all are present, so tell that one friend who's always late an earlier time than need be, or just cut him out of the equation altogether. Sounds harsh, but there's excessive dining to be done, and that artichoke dip waits for no man.

Brunch, Part 2 - Wait-Your-Face-Off Edition

Heading into the weekend, it is time for the next installation of noteworthy brunch spots (click here for Part 1). Because some restaurants are wildly popular and therefore draw large crowds willing to stand outside for upwards of an hour, today's theme is the waiting game (bonus points to anyone who busts out those dance moves in line). Some people say good things come to those who wait - others will argue, "I can't stand around in the rain for an eternity watching other people through the window enjoy their meals. I'm cold, hungry, tired, and my feet hurt from these stupid shoes. In the time I stood here starving, I could have made coffee and eggs at home, and it would have cost me less money than the taxi ride down here." Or, you know, less specific rants. For those who are willing to stick it out, here is what you can expect once inside these brunch hot spots.

1) Prune - 54 East 1st Street, between 1st & 2nd Avenues

Prune is a small restaurant with limited seating on the Lower East Side. Tables are crammed next to one another, and it takes careful maneuvering not to knock over your neighbor's water glass as you shimmy through to your seat. Well, "careful maneuvering" or "a smaller ass than mine." The western wall's weathered wood framed mirrors, the small tiles of the floor, and the front windows' capacity to open to the sidewalk create a charming, homey atmosphere in this otherwise bustling restaurant.

However, patrons are not here to admire the long bar leading to the open kitchen or to decide if the hanging light fixtures would look appropriate in their own apartment. They are ready to eat unique dishes and make a selection from the pleasantly varied bloody mary list. Now, there are options on the menu that may be found most anywhere else (I'm looking at you, eggs benedict and huevos rancheros), but Prune is the place to try coddled eggs with chicken, grilled handmade lamb sausage with oysters, or butter-crumbed eggs with spicy stewed chickpeas and flatbread. Oh, you wanted a large dutch style pancake cooked in the oven with blueberries that essentially amounts to your own personal cake? Prune has that too. It is also the restaurant for at least ten different bloody marys incorporating ingredients ranging from fresh fennel to beef bouillon to smoked chipotle peppers to baby white turnips to clam juice to beef jerky (used as a swizzle stick). The bloodies are additionally served with a beer chaser.

According to the restaurant's website, brunch is available both Saturday and Sunday from 10:00am until 3:30pm. Considering reservations are not an option, your best bet to be seated sorta-kinda-almost-reasonably-promptly is to go with only one other person. Tables of three are hard to come by, and any party over four might as well bring snacks for the wait, since you won't be eating inside any time soon.

2) Clinton St. Baking Company - 4 Clinton Street, between Houston & Stanton Streets

The popularity of this once-bakery has led to its expansion into a full on restaurant serving breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner. The room has a coffee shop feel given the banquette seating, dessert display, and sundae glasses lining shelves by the coffee pots. Swinging double doors leading to the semi-visible kitchen recall suburban diners, while sections of exposed brick wall are reminders you are in downtown Manhattan.

Brunch menu items include a buttermilk biscuit egg sandwich with tomato jam and cheddar, brioche french toast with caramelized bananas and roasted pecans, and potato pancakes with smoked salmon, lemon creme fraiche, chopped egg, and dill. The real draw, however, is apparently the wild Maine blueberry pancakes (though banana walnut are available too) with warm maple butter. They have been revered across the internet and by my buddies alike, and they were even a subject of one of Bobby Flay's Throwdowns on the Food Network. I would personally rather satisfy a sweet craving with Clinton St. Baking Company's strawberry layer cake or blondie sundae (with salted caramel sauce? oh hellzzz yeah), but to each his own (and other cliches).

According to the restaurant's website, brunch hours are Saturday from 9:00am until 4:00pm and Sunday from 9:00am until 6:00pm. The restaurant will not deliver during this time, but it accommodates take-out orders. As expected, Clinton St. Baking Company does not take reservations for brunch, and expected or not, they only accept credit cards at dinner. Thankfully, if you want to try those pancakes but do not want to pay for them with cash, they are available all day everyday and not solely at brunch.

Fried Dumpling

On a street in Chinatown you have probably never walked sits a wee eatery unremarkable for its ambiance, service, and selection. The square footage is minimal, the counter staff is brusque, and the menu is seven items long - a generous tally considering three items are beverages, and one is just a frozen version of another. Yet, you still need to know about this place. With the location comes charm, with the experience comes laughter, and above all else, Fried Dumpling might be the greatest value in Manhattan.

The menu is displayed on the glass window facing the street, and it reads like so:

Fried Dumpling - 5 pieces - $1.00
Fried Pork Bun - 4 pieces - $1.00
Soy Bean Juice - Small $0.75 - Large $1.50
Hot & Sour Soup - Small $1.00 - Large $2.00
Frozen Dumpling - 30 pieces - $5.00
Coffee - 1 cup - $0.50
Tea & Milk - 1 cup - $0.50

I mean...what? If you were to order everything, and large sizes at that, it would only cost $11.50, and you would burst from overindulgence - not to mention indigestion, as those thirty frozen dumplings probably wouldn't go down so easily. It is therefore possible to have a satisfying meal at Fried Dumpling for under $3.00, beverage included.

Now to be honest, the dumplings are not the best I have ever had given my preference for a thinner dough. However, they are by no means the worst, as that title has been reserved for a certain joint (that shall remain nameless) out on Long Island. Also, it turns out I hate warm soy bean juice, but for $0.75, it was worth trying. It was not, however, worth carrying around all day and trying again later after refrigeration...and then for a third time after adding a sweet green tea powdered mix...but we'll chalk that up to determination...and stupidity.

So next time you are in Chinatown, stroll south on Mott from Canal, and turn right when you reach Mosco Street. You will find Fried Dumpling situated on this narrow street that slopes gently west toward Columbus Park. Given the limited counter seating, you might opt to eat your purchase in the park, hustle it back to your office, or devour it on your way to tell your friends about the great deal you just found. Those who used to enjoy Fried Dumpling's now-closed location on Allen Street should be happy to learn their dream of tasty, cheap-ass, greasy food lives on.

Fried Dumpling - 106 Mosco Street, between Mott & Mulberry Streets

wd~50

It sounds like a cleaning agent, looks like art, feels like a science experiment, smells like food, and tastes...well, some say exhilarating, and others...don't. Simply put, wd~50 is a restaurant on the Lower East Side with inventive dishes. You may have seen chef/owner Wylie Dufresne demonstrating his molecular gastronomy on Bravo's "Top Chef," The Food Network's "Iron Chef America," or in other televised appearances. At his restaurant, you can experience the madness firsthand.

Chef Dufresne has an impressive culinary background and a noteworthy co-owner in Jean-Georges Vongerichten (chef/owner of high end establishments in and beyond NYC, including but not limited to Perry St, Jo Jo, Jean Georges, Nougatine, Spice Market, Matsugen, and Dune). He's therefore not just some dude with chemicals and toys. He's a knowledgeable dude with chemicals and toys.

Whether or not you enjoy what he and his kitchen cohorts produce, however, is a matter of preference. The menu changes fairly regularly, but the inventiveness remains constant. So do the relatively high prices, for that matter. Therefore, knowing it won't be a cheap meal regardless of what you order, I would suggest indulging in the nine-course tasting menu ($140) with or without the wine pairing ($75). This way, you get the full impact of what makes this restaurant special, for better or worse.

What kind of special am I talking about? Well, basically every dish plays with texture, flavor, color, and temperature in unexpected ways. On a visit a few years back, the menu included a "sunny side up egg," which looked like what it sounds like but tasted like carrot (the runny "yolk"), coconut and cardamom (the firm "white"). A deconstructed deli sandwich included thin strips of beef tongue, a smear of tomato molasses, and cubes of fried mayonnaise. Yes, cubes. Yes, fried mayonnaise. You read that correctly. Other dishes involve aerated mousses, foamed liquids, chewy gels, and "soils" (dehydrated and crumbled solids).

The art of the dishes carries over to the room itself. Light fixtures are boldly colored and varied in shape, walls are painted in rich hues, and a mosaic graces the space above the bathroom sinks. The floors are both stone and wood, and seats include a combination of wood, cushioned banquettes, and metal stools (seven at the bar, where the full menu is available).

There is also a private dining room, which can seat up to fourteen people, in the restaurant's wine cellar. Though the main dining room and bathrooms are wheelchair accessible, this private room is not. For dining options and minimum price requirements in the wine cellar, information is displayed on their website.

I would say wd~50 is worth checking out at least once. If you like it, feel free to check it out more than once - I'm ok with that. In order to potentially like it though, you have to be willing to give it a chance. If you're just in the mood for a skirt steak with mashed potatoes, come back another night. If you want to impress that suit who fancies himself a "foodie," go ahead and make a reservation - I'm ok with that too.

wd~50 - 50 Clinton Street, between Stanton & Rivington Streets

Brunch, Part 1 - Crunked Edition

As we head into the weekend, I thought now would be a good time to share a couple noteworthy brunch spots. There will be more in the future, so this is just Part 1. Today's theme is "Urrbody in the brunch gettin' tipsy." You see, brunch in NYC is a great time to catch up with old acquaintances, spend time with the in-laws, and recap last night with your best friends. It's also the perfect opportunity to get moderately intoxicated or flat out sloppy in the middle of the day with no one judging you. Here are two places where that can happen inexpensively.

1) Essex - 120 Essex Street, at the corner of Rivington Street

For $18*, you get an entree and three cocktails. The selection of entrees is extensive, ranging from multiple egg incarnations (benedict, baked over ham with vegetables and cheese, scrambled with chorizo and onions, matzo brei, etc) to pancakes to mac & cheese with chicken apple sausage to french toast with fruit to house-cured gravlax and beyond. The choices are many, and the portions are large.

As for the booze, you have a selection of bloody marys, screwdrivers, or mimosas. The first three are included in the price of brunch, and any additional ones you may choose to knock back after that are $3*. Then again, I once had a frazzled waitress who just left the pitcher of mimosas on the table for us to handle - and handle it we did.

So here are the particulars: brunch is served Saturday from 11:00am until 4:30pm and until 8:00pm on Sunday. Alcohol is not served on Sunday until noon, so coffee (iced or hot), tea (iced or hot), espresso, cappuccino, and soda are complimentary until then. You'll want to make a reservation ahead of time (via phone or opentable.com), as the room fills up with a quickness, and you'll want to bring cash, as that is the only payment Essex accepts during brunch.

2) Fiddlesticks - 56 Greenwich Avenue, between Perry & Charles Streets

For $10, you get an entree and two cocktails. Ten dollars?! Ten dollars. The entree selection is rather basic - omelets, eggs benedict, french toast or pancakes with fresh fruit, burger with various toppings, fish and chips (this is a pub, after all) - but you get a decent portion for the money. The egg dishes come with hearty homestyle potatoes, and when you ask for ketchup, it comes in a squeezey bottle shaped like a fat tomato. Charming!

As for the drinks, you have a choice of bloody marys, screwdrivers, mimosas, kir royales, Bud draught, or wine (red or white). The menu states the brunch drinks are complimentary, and Fiddlesticks will not substitute. Between vodka, champagne, beer, and wine, I don't know what else you're trying to drink, but I guess they've been asked enough times to warrant the disclaimer.

The particulars: brunch is served both Saturday and Sunday from 11:30am until 4:00pm. When the weather is nice, outdoor dining is available on the sidewalk out front. If you would rather sit at one of these tables than inside, get here early, as they tend to fill up quickly. Hey, if you're tired, you can always catch a drunken nap when you're done.

*UPDATE: The prices have increased. I repeat. The prices have increased. Brunch at Essex is now $20 for the entree and three cocktails, and any additional cocktail you may wish to purchase beyond the first three is now $4. (sigh) and so it goes...and other Billy Joel lyrics.