Jake's Map of Restaurants in New York

My colleague and good friend Jake Hofman is a one helluva programmer and a pretty darn organized guy.  When he hears about an interesting restaurant, whether it was recommended by a friend or reviewed on nytimes.com or whatever, he puts that restaurant on an online map that he maintains.  He was kind enough to share his handiwork with me and our readers. Follow this link to take a look.  Thanks Jake!

Devin Tavern in Greenwich Village

A week ago I went to Devin with four friends. It was about 8pm on Friday night. There wasn't much going in the neighborhood near the place, but the place itself is very nice. It feels like a colonial time tavern redone in a modern way. There is lot's of exposed brick and soft lighting. I was expecting it to be jam packed, being a bar in the village on Friday night, but this wasn't the case at all. There was space at the tables near the bar for me to wait for my friends. (I later found out there is a large bar downstairs as well.) Once they all arrived, we got seated without a reservation immediately. That's pretty amazing for 5 people on a Friday night. The host, bartender, waitstaff and wine guy were all very polite and accommodating.

On to the food. We ordered the House Made Bacons for the table. This consisted of veal, duck, and mushroom bacons. The mushroom bacon tasted like meatloaf and was a bit of a miss for me, although others at the table liked it. The Veal and Duck bacon were awesome! Everyone at the table was clamoring for that stuff. I could have easily eaten all that they served us myself. I ordered the steak frites as an entree. The steak was well executed with a crispy exterior and a red, melt-in-your-mouth middle. It was not quite as hot as I would have liked it - maybe it sat in the kitchen for a few minutes before being served. That was a bit odd because, as I said, the place wasn't all that crowded. The frites were good, not great, but good. The wine list was extensive with many choices, both affordable and high end.

In a nutshell, if you're in the village and need a decent spot for good sized group with no reservations this is your place. Don't miss out on the duck and veal bacon. As I said in a previous post, a good restaurant needs to be able to allow you to have a good time with your friends. This place certainly does that since there is no waiting and no pretense. The food was good, but not great.

Le Petit Marche & Friends

A few weeks back my wife and I took the Ferris' out for dinner at Le Petit Marche to thank them for the wonderful job they did with the flowers at our wedding. It's a traditional French Bistro in Brooklyn Heights. The place is small, maybe 20 tables and about 2-3 waiters and waitresses. The decor is very French with a pink Fleur-de-lis pattern and many of those vintage french posters on the walls (I usually find those cliche, but in this case they were very appropriate). The lighting is dark and the mood is very quaint and neighborhoody. It's the kind of place where you can have a comfortable conversation with your guests and not feel like you're disturbing half the patrons.

The food was incredible. The mussels cooked in beer were so fresh they didn't taste the least bit briney or fishy. The broth was so good everyone at the table was scrambling to sop it up with bread. The lamb chops melt in your mouth. They came with a creamy potatoes au gratin with a hint of jalapeno. Here the chef is putting his touch on a classic side dish. 9 times out of 10 this type of attempt falls flat on its face. This time the innovation was inspired. For dessert there was a pear tarte which I loved (then again I alway love fruit tartes). More impressively there was passion fruit, rasberry and chocolate sorbet. I usually don't like sorbet at all. In fact, I usually can't stand it. These however, I simply could not stop eating. At the end we met the chef. He's a nice guy who warmly accepeted all of our compliments.

All in all, this is one of my favorite types of restaurants to go to. The food and service are excellent. The ambiance is one where you are in a nice place, but you can be comfortable, talk at a normal volume and act like yourself. The restaurant becomes part of a wonderful experience with friends, a backdrop for a night of telling stories and having a good time. In my opinion, the cameraderie the place inspires is the best part of going to a restaurant.

Applewood and their Excellent Service

Restaurant Name: Applewood
Location: Brooklyn, New York

As a farewell dinner for my in-laws we all went to Applewood in Brooklyn. It's a lovely little restaurant in Park Slope. We've been there a few times now and the food is always good and the service is always excellent. This time was no different, although there was a slight hiccup that the waitstaff recovered from brilliantly.

I ordered the veal canneloni as an appetizer. It came out delayed, so the kitchen sent us a cheese plate to tide us over. I'm not a fussy diner so when these types of delays happen and a restaurant tries to make amends, I immediately forgive and forget. When the canneloni did come out, it was cold. Again, I'm not a real fussy diner so I ate about half of it. It was alright, but would have been better if it was warm. When the waiter cleared the dish he noticed I didn't have all that much. He asked if it was alright, I told him it was a bit cold. They immediately took the dish off my bill. Again, these things happen in busy restaurants. It's a fact of life. All you can judge on, is how they recover, and they did so beautifully.

The goat entree was absolutely delicious. It was easy to tell that the goat was very fresh. It wasn't gamey at all. Applewood's commitment to local, organic food paid off in this entree. It's been a while since I've had goat and it was a pleasant reminder. The almond cake for desert was a pleasant surprise. We'll be going to back to Applewood for many dinners to come.

Guinea Hen at Gramercy Tavern

Restaurant: Gramercy Tavern
Location: New York City

Yesterday the in-laws and I had lunch at Gramercy Tavern. As an entree I had the Guinea Hen which was available off the tasting menu as a regular entree. There was a breast as well as a leg/thigh served over corn. As a lover of all dark meat, I naturally enjoyed the leg. The big surprise, came in the breast. The outer skin as crispy and a bit carmelized. The flesh was tender and melted in your mouth. I usually don't go for white meat. It often turns out bland and tasteless. The texture and juiciness of this piece made this dish very enjoyable. I strongly recommend this entree.

Thomas Keller is a genius.

Restaurant Name: Per Se
Location: New York City

Some chefs cook, others produce edible art. TK does the latter.

But that's the end, let me start at the beginning. My wife has been cooking out of the Bouchon and French Laundry cookbooks for years. Her copy of these cookbooks are stained and battered through repeated use in the kitchen. You can tell our favorite recipes because the books automatically fall open to them. We talk about his work and his techniques so much, in our house we don't call him Thomas Keller. We call him TK.

So, when we had reservations at TK's Per Se my expectations were sky high. The experience went way past the clouds and landed somewhere near Mars. The art (food) was phenomenal. The service was exemplary. The experience was unforgettable. I'll leave it to my co-bloggers to give you the play by play of each course. I'll only add that the oysters & pearls, and sable fish with bacon were utterly inspired. Instead, I'll focus on the execution.

It is clear that every flavor in every dish has a distinct purpose. They meld and dance in your mouth like you're eating a poem. Each bite reveals something new as if you're staring at a classic painting that constantly has more to offer the longer you look. At several points in the meal I tuned out of the conversation because the food was so complex and interesting it demanded my full attention. TK is talking to me with what he's done on this plate. It's all I can do just to sit there and enjoy the conversation.

Some chefs cook, others produce edible art. TK does the latter.