*** - Three Stars

 Address: 308-310 Bleecker St., at Grove St.

Phone: (212)675-2009 

Cuisine: Chesapeake seafood

Vibe: Refined neighborhood joint 

Occasion: Oyster binge; Casual date; Group dinner.

Hours: Seven days a week. Dinner, Sun-Wed, 5:30p.m.-12a.m., Thu-Sat, 5:30p.m.-2a.m.

Don't Miss Dish: Arctic Char; Fried chicken; Bay leaf sorbet. 

Average Price: Appetizers, $10 ; Entrees, $20; Dessert, $7.

Reservations: Reservations recommended.

Capsule: Fine fish shack fare & terrific fried chicken in the West Village  

You used to have to wait patiently for summer to arrive to get your  fix of crab chowder, peel 'n eat shrimp, and Old Bay seasoned fries.  Not anymore.   It may be February and freezing, but fish shack fare is in fashion right now.   Choptank, located in the West Village, is the latest in a string of newcomers.   If you wanted a lobster roll a few years ago, you had Pearl Oyster Bar, Grand Central, & Mary's Fish Camp.  That's it.  Now, there's plenty of respectable lobster rolls, including Ed's, Luke's, Mermaid Inn, & Ditch Plains. 

Choptank doesn't have a lobster roll on the menu.  It's New York's first Maryland fish shack.  That translates to crab chowder, crab claws, and Chesapeake Bay oysters.   The kitchen also turns out an excellent crab cake with lots of fresh crabmeat and and almost no breading.   Maryland is famous for its blue crab.  When blue crab season begins in June, Choptank will also have lots of blue crab and an outdoor patio to enjoy it on.  Choptank is a little less laidback, more of an urbane fish shack, minus the plastic bibs,  and handiwipes.  The dining room is outfitted with dark wood floors and tables, white marble bartops, and light fixtures cloaked in burlap fish netting.  There's a large oyster bar with plenty of seats if you want to spend the evening sampling oysters and tables in the main dining room.  There's a concise, but good selection of West and East coast oysters  (My favorites were the Chesapeake Bay variety.)

One of the best things on the menu is actually the fried chicken.   The first time I had the chef's fried chicken was at Bussaco in Park Slope, Brooklyn.   There, Matthew Schaefer served it with waffles and an apple-onion butter.   Here, he serves it alongside an intriguing black pepper honey and sauteed collard greens.  Schaefer, who trained at Le Bernardin, also brought over his fancy version of crab chowder, which tastes like a creamy crab consomme bacon and chives.   Other than that, this is a new menu for the chef and it isn't just seafood.   There's a house burger, bistro steak, Polish sausage and a pretzel, and bone marrow with winter lettuces and onion marmalade. 

My favorite dish is the braised octopus with paprika and potatoes.   It's not easy to make good octopus because you often have to make sacrifices.  You either take a crispy exterior for a dry interior or vice versa, but this one manages to crispy, yet moist, tossed with a pepper confit with a nice kick.   I like the roasted wild mushrooms glossed with a warm, egg yolk and an excellent arctic char, cooked medium rare, and poised over lentils with bacon.

Not everything is perfect.  I'd skip over a snooze of a salad tossed with a few pecans, apricots, and no detectable dressing.  The fish tacos were standard issue, but could've used more fried shrimp, and the brussel sprouts were undercooked and underseasoned.  But the pro's definitely outweigh the cons at Choptank.  If you order right, you can have a great meal and unique cocktails that go well with seafood, like the Tempest made with prosecco, vodka, and prosecco or their version of the classic British Shandy Das Shandy, made with German beer, bitter lemon soda, and a lemon peel.   The only worthwhile dessert was first for me -- an invigorating Bay Leaf sorbet that was like a fuller bodied palate cleanser.

*** - Three Stars

 Address: 247 South 1st., nr. Roebling St. (Williamsburg)

Phone: (718)218-8047

Cuisine: American

Vibe: Timeless neighborhood haunt

Occasion: Group dinner; Date; Bar bites.

Hours: Seven days a week. Dinner, Sun-Thu, 6p.m.-11p.m., Fri & Sat, 6p.m.-12a.m.

Don't Miss Dish: House-smoked sturgeon; Duck confit; Meatloaf;

Average Price: Appetizers, $15 ; Entrees,$20 ;Dessert, $9.

Reservations: Reservations recommended.

 

Capsule: A neigborhood restaurant worth venturing out of your own for in Williamsburg.

Have you ever envied a neighborhood for their restaurants?  I have. There are so many great places to live in New York with so menu great restaurants.  But if I ever mustered up the courage to search for a new apartment and pack boxes, I'd head to Williamsburg.  That's where Brooklyn's dining scene really was born.  Places like Stone Rose, Peter Luger, and have been around forever, but places like Dumont & Dressler changed the Brooklyn dining landscape forever.  Chef Cal Elliot was instrumental at both spots.

Rye is Cal Elliot's first solo effort, but you can tell he's a veteran in the kitchen.  He's implemented a wonderful American menu with equal parts refined and retro touches. You'll order the chicken, but what you'll get is a deftly roasted chicken, or a finely charred, sliced steak flavored with red wine for two that fed four, crispy fries, and homemade cinnamon donuts for desserts.  

Rye is a real neighborhood restaurant, the kind every neighborhood should have.  It's one of those rare spots where you can't make up your mind because there's so many great dishes on the menu.  It;s the kind of place you could just order a great burger or an ambitious meal.  It's the kind of place where you hope your table's not quite ready, so you can linger at their handsome, oak bar for a little longer and order a proper Hemingway Daiquiri with just the right doses of bitters, orange and whiskey, or a classic Southside.  The dining room looks like something from the early 1900's -- a saloon of sorts with  dim bare bulb lighting, a tin ceiling,  and wood floors.  There's not a stich of artwork on the walls, no clever distractions -- a restaurant where blackberries on the table seem entirely out of place. 

Most of the food is excellent, but Cal Elliot is especially gifted with duck.  I recommend you try the entree-sized appetizer of sliced duck coupled with a unique roasted red pepper and chutney and couscous, or a sweet duck confit served on the bone with shards of pecorino, wild mushrooms, and precious nibbles of gnocchi.   I've never referred to a meatloaf as magnificent, but this one was -- a moist, sweet, unctuous mix of pork, veal, and short ribs, sided by a stack of  onion rings.   

The table favorite was pulled pork sandwich, piled with sweet shreds of meat, cole slaw, and pickles -- a salty, sweet, fatty, and crusty combination.  But my favorite is the house-smoked sturgeon poised over scalloped potatoes mingled with bacon and horseradish.   The only dishes that missed were a wild striped bass in a watery saffron broth with listless cockles and an artichoke fricassee that paled in comparison to the rest of the menu.

The dessert menu is concise, but just as outstanding as the rest of the menu.   I loved the steamed lemon cake with a fragrant Chantilly sauce and fresh mixed berries that didn't seem remotely out of place, even in the dead of winter.   There's also one of those old school, wonderfully moist, chocolate cakes paired with a light vanilla ice cream as well as warm, crusty cinnamon donuts. 

Cal Elliot has mastered the art of understated yet elegant retro cuisine.  We could all use a restaurant like Rye around the corner. 

**** -- Four Stars
Address: 156 Ninth Ave, at 20th St.
Phone: (212)620-4545
Cuisine: Southern-inspired comfort cuisine
Vibe: Charming brownstone
Occasion: Casual date; Group dinner; Bar dining.
Hours: Dinner, Mon-Thu, 5:30p.m.-11a.m., Fri & Sat, 5:30p.m.-12a.m., Sun, 5:30p.m.-11a.m; Brunch, Sat & Sun, 10a.m.-4p.m.
Don't Miss Dish: Hush puppies; Catfish; Brussel Sprouts ;Sweet potato pie; Tipsy Parson dessert.
Average Price: Appetizers, $12;  Entrees, $23; Dessert, $8.
Reservations: Recommended
Photo Credit: Jennifer Calais Smith

Capsule: Warm hospitality and wonderful cooking at Tipsy Parson in Chelsea. 

How great would it be if you could go out for dinner in your pajamas?  Unless you're going to a local diner, eating out requires a certain amount of sacrifice.  You have to jump on the subway, walk in the rain, hail a cab, and  look slightly presentable.  Or, you could just sit on the couch and eat mediocre take-out.  As much as I wanted to stay home a few weeks ago, I had plans to go to Tipsy Parson, a new restaurant located in Chelsea, and it was too late to cancel.   

A piping hot, buttermilk-chive biscuit with honey butter is so much better than staying home.  So is a fluffy bowl of gratineed grits laced with lots of cheese butter and hush puppies with a old bay aioli that could hold their own against the versions being served down south.  Every table is welcomed with a homemade herb parkerhouse roll that's to die for.    The setting is just as wonderful, designed entirely by the owners themselves.  Upfront, there's a casual seating area with cozy couches and an old trunk that functions as a table.  There's a long marble bar adorned with flea market knick knacks  -- a riding hat, books, and vintage elixir bottles with one that reads "Worm Expeller."   In the back of the restaurant, there's an even cozier dining room with French doors that look out onto a backyard, wood floors, brown leather banquettes, and plates hanging along the walls.   

Dinner at Tipsy Parson feels a lot like you're eating at someone's house.  And in a way, you are.  Partners Julie Taras Wallach & Tasha Garcia Gibson first debuted on the New York dining scene a few years ago at Little Giant  on the Lower East Side.  I always liked Little Giant for its thoughtful cooking, windowed facade, and especially the grasshopper dessert - a bright green mint mousse with chocolate streusel and whipped cream. 

But Tipsy Parson further affirms that these are two women to watch.  This isn't just Southern comfort food.  Dinner begins with a doughy chive-specked parkerhouse roll.  There's a terrific warm spinach & kale salad that's got everything going for it in the way of texture and flavor -- crunchy corn bread croutons, dried cherries, button mushrooms and an acidic shallot-sherry vinaigrette that ties the dish together.   You rarely see catfish on a menu in Manhattan and the one served here is excellent.   Two generous catfish, lightly dusted in celery seed, smoked paprika, coriander, and pepper, are placed above a memorable potato salad.  I don't remember the last time potato salad was memorable, but this one's spiced with horseradish and mustard..  My favorite dish on the menu is listed under snacks -- the  fig rumaki, which apparently means figs wrapped in sorghum-glazed bacon and stuffed with water chestnuts.  

Unfortunately, the celeriac salad -- a mix of celery leaves, fennel, and slivers of Asian pear and apples -- is solely an exercise in texture not flavor.  I'd skip the broiled oysters as well, which are overshadowed by much too peppery bacon.  No matter.  There's too many other terrific dishes, like a velvety parsnip soup garnished with pickled grapes and parsnip chips and a side of sweet, baby brussel sprouts tossed with pecans.   I'm a pickle plate person and this one is a first-rate assortment of beets okra, baby carrots, peppers, and onions.    

Do stay for dessert as it's chef Julie Taras Wallach's forte.   Both the "Tipsy Parson" and the sweet potato pie are two of the best desserts I've tasted in a long time.  The restaurant's namesake dessert is a little like an elegant parfait layered with brandy-soaked almond cake, vanilla custard, cranberries, apricots, and toasted almonds.  But the sweet potato pie is unforgettable and perfect for the type that doesn't like dessert or opts for the cheese plate.  I'm not sure which is better: the sweet potato & greek yogurt filling, the ginger sable crust, or the tangy dollop of sweet sour cream on top. 

At some restaurants, homey seems like a theme.  At Tipsy Parson, it feels like a genuine sentiment. 

*** -- Three Stars

Address: 79 MacDougal St., nr. Houston

Phone: (212)260-0100

Cuisine: Seafood

Vibe: White-washed fish shack

Occasion: Oyster cravings, casual date,  group dinner.

Hours: Dinner, Mon-Thu 5:30p.m.-11p.m, Fri & Sat, 5:30-11:30p.m. Closed Sundays.

Don't Miss Dish: Mermaid Mary cocktail; Sauteed calamari with feta & frisee; Fried clam strips; Roasted mussels.

Average Price: Cocktails, $11Appetizers, $9; Entrees, $20; Complimentary Dessert.

Reservations: Reservations recommended.

Capsule: Back to the beach for dinner.

It's rare to find fried clam strips in Manhattan and even rarer to find some that aren't overly chewy.   So when I spotted them on the menu at the new Mermaid Oyster Bar, I ordered them and hoped for the best.  They were even better than that: Tender clam strips enrobed in a perfectly light & crispy batter.  Even the aioli that came alongside it was remarkable.

I was sad to hear that owner Danny Abrams had decided to close Smith's in the West Village and transform it into another Mermaid Inn restaurant.   Normally, I'm not one to put decor before food, but Smith's was stunning.  There was a mirrored ceiling, black leather booths, chandelier sconces, and a gorgeous back bar with gray velvet walls.   Most of the food was inconsistent and the kitchen went through a string of chefs before calling it quits.

This was quite a transformation.  Walk inside and you'll find yourself in a understated dining room with white-washed wood walls, two tops with elevated metal stools , and anchor light fixtures hanging over the bar.  This isn't really just another The Mermaid Inn.  This one offers twelve different kinds of oysters -- six from the east coast and six from the west coast.   There's a classic fish shack menu with dashes of creativity here and there: Saltine-crusted oysters on a bed of garlicky spinach, roasted mussels with harissa and aioli, and snapper ceviche.   The cocktail list has some excellent offerings, like one called the Hot & Dirty, a better man's martini spiced with tobasco sauce.  The Mermaid Mary --  tomato juice, fresh horseradish, and old bay topped off with a shrimp & cornichon stirrer -- is just as solid and perfect for when they decide to open for brunch.  I prefer the East Coast oysters to the West Coast, especially the super smooth Mermaid Straits and the salty Mystic oysters. 

As for the rest of the menu, I much prefer the appetizers to the entrees.  In fact, most of the starter dishes are great.  My favorite is the sauteed calamari creatively paired with a tangle of frisee, feta, and mushrooms.  The roasted mussels were simmering in a garlicky aioli with escarole and harissa.  I only wish they served bread to sponge up all of the aioli sauce at the bottom of the bowl. 

There were a few weak points: The snapper  ceviche was watery and the lobster bisque muddy and lacking in the lobster department.  Skip the overly dense hush puppies in favor of the old bay fries or a generous side of bright green spinach.  All of the Mermaid outposts have the same, standout lobster roll served on a bun with old bay fries.  The best entree I tried was first-rate flounder. 

There's no dessert menu, but guests all cap off the evening with a complimentary cup filled with rich, dark chocolate pudding and one of those fortune-telling fish.   I miss the mirrored ceilings, but I love the extensive oyster selection, the cocktails, and the newly minted laidback setting.   Seeing as I put food before decor, I also like the Mermaid Oyster Bar's menu much better.

**Two Stars

Address: 409 West 14th St., btwn. Ninth & Tenth Aves.

Phone: (646)289-3930

Occasion: Group Dinner: Night out

Hours: Dinner, mon-Wed, 6p.m.-11:30 p.m., Thu-Sat, 6p.m.-1:30a.m., Sun, 6p.m.-11p.m.

Don't Miss Dish: Tuna tacos; Strip steak, Apple cobbler

Average Price: Appetizers, $ Entrees, $ Dessert, $12.

Reservations: Highly Recommended.

Capsule: Carnivores in Clubland.

Maybe I'm getting old, but I like a little separate between church and state at dinner.  I don't care less about who's sitting at the next table than what they're eating for dinner.  I was definitely in the minority on the nights I dined at Abe & Arthurs, a new restaurant that opened over a month ago in the old Lotus space. 

The Meatpacking District is much better known for its nightlife than its dining scene, but there are a number of wonderful exceptions, like Scarpetta, Bill's Bar & Burger, and The Standard Grill.   In fact, The Standard Grill is a perfect example of a restaurant that's mastered the art of being everything to everyone.  There's a distinct separation between church & state --  an upfront bar with trendy cocktails & charcuterie, a bistro, civilized dining room, beer garden, and swanky new lounge currently called the Boom Boom Room. 

The propietors of Abe & Arthur's own nightclubs, like Tenjune and nightclubs that also play restaurants like STK.   Their newest venture aims to be an American grill that also serves as a hot late-night lounge.  Abe & Arthur's is named for the owners' grandparents and so is the Symone Lounge just below the dining room.   The chef is Franklin Becker, a veteran of the NYC dining scene, who's worked everywhere from Brasserie to Capitale.   He's a good chef with a string of bad luck over the past year, including Sheridan Square and Delicatessen. 

His latest menu features standard American dishes with an emphasis on steakhouse classics.  There's a raw bar with oysters, clams, shrimp, lobster, and one of those seafood tower.  Guests can choose from an array of salads, roasted chicken, seafood, three different cuts of steak with four homemade steak sauces.  As for sides, there's some creative riffs on traditional sides, like sweet-garlic mashed potatoes,  corn succotash with bacon, and a delicious version of mac & cheese crowned with brown butter and breadcrumbs.  

It's impossible to hear a word anyone says in the dining room.  Our server had to shout descriptions of dishes at us one at a time.  Apparently, the steaks our "soaked in butter."  Now, I love Peter Luger and I'm not naive about what goes on behind kitchen doors, but "soaked" is not really what I'm looking for in a steak.  I ordered it anyway.

 

Have you ever had that delivery experience where you're too lazy to go out or cook, so you order take-out and it's at your order in five minutes.  Most of us have.   It's one of those
don't ask, don't tell" phenomenons.  You're hungry and it gets the job done.  But I'd never had that experience in a restaurant, nevermind a fashionable new eatery.  No more than four minutes had passed when out from the kitchen came our appetizers.  We all looked at each other in disbelief.  The crab cakes were cold and soggy and so were the supposedly "exploding" blue cheese croutons on a salad of field greens.  (But who sends back a salad?) 

Of course, I had to investigate further.  Our server swore the kitchen had just made our crab cakes.  "In three minutes?"  I asked.  She insisted they did and we insisted on new ones.  Second time round, they were terrific.  There was hardly any breading, just blue crab meat held together by curried mayonnaise and with roasted corn and a tangy red pepper sauce.   The tuna tartare in the tacos were impeccably fresh, dabbed with avocado and a red chili aioli, but the taco shells just detracted from the dish.  

On two occasions, the strip steak was well-charred and cooked to order.  But I wasn't a fan of a tough pork chop or a seriously overcooked entree of Chatham cod on a muck of cabbage with puffed rice.  I did love the spiced sweet potato fries and the mac & cheese.  

Desserts were too gimmicky to take seriously, especially the "Carnival for Two" -- a ferris wheel of lukewarm donuts that came with plastic bottles to "inject" a strawberry-raspberry sauce and a funky lemon curd into the center of each.  There is a good wine by the glass selection and cocktail list.  If I were you, I'd give up on surrender to the noise level and people-watch.  I just hope Franklin Becker finds the right stage for his cooking because no one's paying any attention at Abe & Arthur's, including the staff.