‘Inoteca e Liquori Bar (3rd Avenue)

Like its sister locations, ‘Inoteca 3rd Avenue is a warm space with high ceilings and blonde wooden tables, churning out big Italian flavors on small plates. Even on a Monday night it was a boisterous scene, proving the decision to convert idle Bar Milano, was a good one. The wine list offers fewer by-the-glass selections than expected for a wine bar (12-14 red and white), though it is made up for in a vast cocktail menu. The wines offered are thoughtful, with unique selections like Aglianico, an Italian Syrah and the often under-appreciated, Dolcetto.

‘Inoteca is a fun place to go with a few people because you can order many small plates and sample a lot, which is exactly what we did! One of my favorites was an insalata di verdure di radice, a heaping pile of roasted root vegetables (brussel sprouts, squash, carrots) cooked in a grainy mustard with crisp carrot chips on top. Our waiter had dissuaded me from ordering it, but I typically go with my own instinct and it sounded great to me. I could have eaten two bowls of these awesome vegetables.

We also had an assortment of Italian cheese including Robiola, Taleggio, and a goat cheese that the waiter recommended (I took his advice on that one). A panini with layers of spinach, gooey fontina and truffle oil was another favorite. The whole restaurant smelled like truffle oil actually, which I warmly welcome. If you like bruschette, ‘Inoteca offers a variety of spreads in assortments of one, three, or five pieces and we had ricotta, tapenade, pesto and broccoli rabe, though their flavor was eclipsed by other dishes. Aside from salads and antipasto, ‘Inoteca also offers spiedini which are skewers of various meat or seafood. My cousin had huge, fresh scallop spiedini and my sister had some juicy quail spiedini served on a bed of barley.

Though the food was great I did have some issues with the service which felt rushed at times. At one point I had a bite of bread in my hand and my plate was removed from beneath my hand. The waiter disappeared and reemerged a few times throughout the meal and he forgot to bring (or write down?) a tagliatelle we had ordered, though we were amply satisfied without it.

In any case, ‘Inoteca is a great addition to a neighborhood which has been starving for a noteworthy opening.

‘Inoteca e Liquori Bar: 323 3rd Avenue
Cuisine: Italian, Small Plates, Wine Bar
Average Appetizer/Entree Price: $8/$15
Food: Very Good
Service: Poor
Value: Very Good
You Gonna Finish That? Every last bite.

Hill Country

I will be the first to admit that my BBQ knowledge is limited. I’ve only recently learned about all of the different styles i.e. Memphis, Texas and North Carolina. What I do know, is that I’ve yet to have REALLY good BBQ prior to my trip to Hill Country. Oddly enough, BBQ has been a bit of a NY trend lately, with old timers like Blue Smoke and Dinosaur BBQ continuing their popularity and new kids like Wildwood BBQ and Q in Westchester popping up. I’d tried a few of these places and for some reason, they fell flat. The meat wasn’t moist enough, the sides were bland. Hill Country was the first place I’d heard was actually fantastic, said to be authentic Texas style BBQ in Chelsea. I’m not sure what made it authentic but it was DAMN GOOD, that’s for sure.

Hill Country is a lively duplex with large communal tables filled with hungry carnivores who rub elbows while watching the football game, projected onto the big screen or listening to regular band performances on stage. Upstairs, patrons line up with trays and butcher paper (no plates) and approach the counter to make selections from the meat masters behind. You order brisket, ribs, and chicken by the pound and the guys will pile it onto your plate while checking off your personal ticket, which serves as a bill at the end (leaving you free for seconds if you dare).

I ordered the brisket moist (fattier than the brisket lean) which was my favorite part of the meal. It was definitely moist, smokey, and perfectly tender. With a dash of hot sauce it was sublime. The gigantic beef ribs had a nice sweet, smokiness though they were a bit dry, I’ve heard the pork ribs are better. The sides I had were phenomenal: creamy, sharp mac and cheese plus string beans with salty fried onions. I tasted a yummy bite of the corn pudding too. They also run a special on a bucket of Lone Star beer, 6 beers for $30 I believe. If you love BBQ, you can’t miss Hill Country.

Hill Country: 30 W 26th Street (betw Broadway and 6th ave)
Cuisine: Texas BBQ
Average Entree Price: Anywhere from $15 to $50 depending on your appetite!
Food: Very Good
Service: Good
Value: Very Good
You Gonna Finish That? Every last bite.

Macondo

This street-food, spot by the owners of upscale Rayuela, recently opened on a bustling corner of East Houston. The location fits the menu, a melange of borrowings from allover the Spanish speaking world featuring anything from Cuban plantain balls with pork to shrimp empanadas and Venezuelan arepas

It’s meant to be casual, with netting that separates tables, exposed brick, and a chalkboard walled bathroom with 100 Anos de Soledad (the book which inspired the name of the restaurant) etched on the walls. But despite its breezy state-of-mind, the flavors here are pretty serious.

You can crawl up to the airy bar from the street, where three stools are perched beneath the overhang. The aguacate + mescal is a signature drink featuring honey, avocado, agave nectar, midori, cointreau, lime juice, and scorpion mescal. The harmony of sweet and tangy flavors was a nice kickoff to the meal.

We went just a week after opening night, so my (few) criticisms will be reserved here. Some shining dishes were the chorishrimp with Columbian chorizo and chili sauce as well as an arepa Willianco served with oven roasted quail, spinach, figs and manchego cheese. Don’t miss savory flat breads like the setas with mushroom, caramelized onions, membrillo (quince paste), cabra cheese, and pistachio. Our waiter was just as excited to explain the dishes as we were to sample them.

After a meal like this I always proudly state how soon I’d like to rush back. But I know on my next visit, our brief 15-minute table wait will be a thing of the past. Check out Macondo on your next free Summer night in the city, before everybody else does!

Macondo: 157 East Houston Street between Allen and Eldridge
Cuisine: Latin Street Food, comida de la calle
Average App/Entree Price: $9-$13 for small plates
Food: Very Good
Service: Very Good
Value: Very Good
You Gonna Finish That? Every last bite.

Kuma Inn (BYOB Asian Tapas)

Hidden above a lower east side store front is Kuma Inn, an eatery serving up Asian tapas that deliver unique tastes well beyond their modest price tags. Though the relaxed decor makes it feel like a neighborhood joint, Kuma Inn commands long waits on weekend nights. I stopped in with a couple of friends on Thursday evening and was very pleased with what they have to offer.

The solo waitress greeted us at the door, asking if the third member of our party would be here shortly. We don’t typically seat parties until all of the guests have arrived. She said. I glanced around, puzzled at the host of empty tables in the restaurant. I understand this policy for a crowded restaurant, but it seemed silly for us to stand and wait knowing our third friend was in a cab on her way. Really? You can’t just seat us now? I mean…. I gestured around the empty restaurant. She acquiesced and let us sit. With cold Winter temperatures perhaps keeping people at home, Thursday night must have been an anomaly for Kuma. She was used to policing diners more aggressively. No matter, she agreed and we sat down.

Kuma Inn is BYOB, a great cost savings in itself. I brought a 2000 David Frost Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. It was showing beautifully after some age with a seductive velvety texture and a lingering length. The menu consists of a list of about thirty tapas, inspired by the chef’s Filipino mother and Thai Father. Some were real successful while others fell short but at $2-$8 a plate, you can’t lose. They also had some great specials that we tried as well. We started with steamed edamame with thai basil lime oil then moved to a host of small plates which arrived in rapid-fire, overwhelming our table. Wasabi pork shumai, sauteed Chinese sausage with thai chili lime sauce, stir fried noodles with pork, sausage, and bean sprouts as well as deeply aromatic garlic rice were the big hits in my book. Some skippable items were a crispy tilapia special, a grilled baby octopus with bamboo shoots and some Thai sticky rice. It seemed that meat dishes were more well executed than seafood, something to keep note of for future visits. Though not a perfect meal, it was a lot of fun sampling the menu items.

Kuma Inn: 113 Ludlow, 2^nd Floor, near Delancey
Cuisine: Asian, Tapas
Average App/Entree Price: $7-$11
Food: Good
Service: Good
Value: Excellent
You Gonna Finish That? Every last bite.
Word to the Wise: Order a few dishes at a time to pace the meal and prevent table crowding.

Pipa

Pipa is a tapas restaurant-come-ABC Carpet sales tool. It shares a space with the home decor store and is adorned with a sea of chandeliers and lamps, all with price tags hanging. It’s an odd concept but it works, creating a wildly colorful setting for tapas that are just as vibrant. The atmosphere felt nearly whimsical on a cold, rainy Friday evening.

Pipa seems to draw large parties, there to celebrate with pitchers of sangria and selections from the menu of small plates split into tapas, charcuterie, quesos, croquetas and cocas (open faced flat bread sandwiches). We were indeed there to celebrate as well, as a close friend had just run the marathon and I had taken my spirits exam. Being a big group, we sampled a bevy of dishes. A pulpo gallego, sauteed octopus with roasted potatoes and black olives was in dainty octopus rounds, bursting with earthy, spicy flavors as was a Gambas al ajillo, a shrimp with garlic and chiles. My two tortilla Espanola (Spanish omelette) critics both approved of a pure tortilla, served in a wedge, dotted with hearty potatoes. We sampled two cocas, both served on crisp bread with towering toppings of mushroom, caramelized onion, dried fig, Serrano ham and toasted almonds and another with sobrasada, artichoke, tomato, piquillo peppers and manchego cheese. I loved the interplay of sweet and savory with the crispness of the bread. We also ordered a peach cobbler, a chocolate flan, and a chocolate cake which were decent though wildly overshadowed by the tapas. Service was spot-on with tapas served in duets, rather than overloading the table at once.

Pipa started off on a bad foot having lost my reservation after failing to confirm with me in advance. But they recovered gracefully, wooing us with free sangria and scrounging up a table within twenty minutes or so. From then on, it was a fully enjoyable meal. I’d return to Pipa anytime to sample more of the menu.

Pipa- 38 E 19^th Street Between Broadway and Park Ave South
Cuisine- Tapas
Food: Very Good
Service: Very Good
Value: Very Good
You Gonna Finish That? Every last bite.
Word to the Wise- Provide the restaurant with a number where you can be reached for confirmation.

Stanton Social

So I must admit, I ate pretty well last week. In addition to my great experience at Thalassa, I also made it to Stanton Social on Friday night, which has been on my list for awhile. I had heard mainly great reviews though some people complain about the noise volume. These people must have come to Stanton Social with different expectations. Stanton Social is a boisterous, fun, trendy yet classy environment where you go with friends to taste a multitude of unique dishes. You don’t plan a marriage proposal at Stanton Social. As long as this isn’t in the cards for your evening, I highly recommend a visit.

The menu consists of two long columns of small plates designed for sharing. Dishes range from $7-$18. Everything on the list sounds delicious so the task of picking just a few (since I was only with one person) was a lofty one. Here is a sampling of the roster: French onion soup dumplings, duck confit empanadas, lobster/chorizo/artichoke paella cakes, wild plum and brie quesadillas, a selection of pizzettes, squid lettuce wraps, wasabi pea crusted wild salmon, braised short rib tacos etc. etc. etc. Hungry yet? Luckily my dining buddy had been to SS a few times so she knew what some of the best choices were.

I perused the wine list with trepidation. Whatever we were about to order was going to be incredibly diverse. It was likely we’d have some seafood, some beef, some veggies, some rich sauces and some not. What wine could not only satisfy all of this, but do it without breaking the bank? I went with a Mezze Valpolicella (don’t remember the vintage). I wanted a light bodied red wine and searched for a great Pinot from Oregon or Washington State but found nothing. Valpolicella is rather light bodied and I thought it would sit quietly next to our food without loudly overpowering anything. I was correct :)

The waiter was perfectly capable, friendly, and familiar with the menu. I have no complaints on the service. After agonizing over the menu we finally decided on five dishes: the red snapper tacos, French onion soup dumplings, shrimp mooshoo, pizzette with blue cheese and turkey sausage and kobe beef sliders. Quite a spread!

Red snapper tacos- these were a great way to kick off the meal. The red snapper filling was sumptuous with fresh fish, hints of cilantro, and a nice heat that I tasted with each bite.

French onion soup dumplings- quite possibly the most delicious single bite of food I have ever had. If you go to Stanton Social YOU MUST ORDER THESE. The dumplings are served in an escargot palette. Each dumpling is served on a skewer and is filled with gruyere cheese, caramelized onions and a small amount of onion soup. More gruyere is melted on top of the outside of each and a crouton sits on each skewer. It really is an exact replica of onion soup and each dumpling is packed with flavor.

Shrimp mooshoo- good but not great. The shrimp filling for the mooshoo pancakes was a bit bland and I found myself dunking each in soy sauce to garner some additional flavor.

Pizzette- a perfectly thin crust and loaded with toppings. The turkey sausage was spicy and rich and the gorgonzola imparted a buttery, salty contrast to the pizza.

Kobe Beef sliders- another DO NOT MISS selection. These tiny burgers blew me away. The kobe beef was unbelievably tender and juicy. The burgers are topped off with sharp cheddar cheese, diced onions and a special sauce.
After this crazy explosion of flavors we opted for a peanut butter sundae to round out the meal. As my Father helped us secure a reservation at the last minute, the chef comped us another dessert. (as if we hadn’t eaten enough already) In addition to the sundae we had these hot sugar coated doughnut poppers which came with raspberry, chocolate, and caramel dipping sauces. Oddly enough when we were ordering dessert I exclaimed “Probably the one thing I’d say doesn’t appeal to me is that doughnut thing.” Sure enough, I was happily dipping away in no time.

When I go back to Stanton Social (and I definitely WILL be back), I’d love to go with a large group so we can really taste through the menu. I recommend the same to you. Care to join me?

Stanton Social: 99 Stanton Street (between Orchard and Ludlow)
Cuisine: Eclectic and International, small plates/tapas
Average App/Entree Price: $6-$19 per plate
Food: Very Good
Service: Very Good
Value: Very Good
You Gonna Finish That? Every last bite.