Vesta: The Neighborhood’s Besta

November 23, 2009 — wecouldeat

Vesta
21-02 30th Avenue, Astoria

Rarely does a new restaurant in my neighborhood of Astoria excite me as much as Vesta has. Italian restaurants, in particular, tend to be mediocre in quality, with the same standard, boring offerings. Maybe I’m jaded because I have a wife of Italian heritage who can seemingly throw together any five ingredients with some noodles and pop out an excellent dinner? Whatever the reason is, since my first bite of dinner at Vesta, I cannot stop thinking about this fantastic new trattoria, on a less than stellar thoroughfare in West Astoria. Situated on the corner of 21st Street, Vesta’s nearby competition is a sub-par Filipino place, a White Castle and a McDonald’s. But Vesta would be a star in any area. The owners are from the neighborhood and this is their baby. They provide the warm welcome, order the local ingredients, and find the local artwork that decorates their homey place.

They obviously take pride in their menu as well. They offer classics like lasagna and meatballs, which are slow cooked and delicious, as well as small plates of greenmarket vegetables, steaks and delicious thin-crust pizza. We had the roasted eggplant pizza with charred onions, tomato & ricotta salata. The eggplant was tender, the flavors melded well, and the crust was cracker-thin – and it was only $10. We also enjoyed the cavatappi with spicy roasted cauliflower, parmigiano, bread crumbs, which is basically a gourmet mac & cheese. The portions are big, the menu is creative, the ambiance is nice, the staff is warm, and the prices are reasonable. It’s no wonder I can’t stop thinking about returning to Vesta for their brunch pizza, which everyone is raving about.

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My Neighborhood Sushi Bar

November 20, 2009 — wecouldeat

Watawa
33-10 Ditmars Blvd, Astoria

I usually don’t do write-ups about neighborhood Chinese, Italian, Thai, or Sushi places because most people are satisfied with their local favs and aren’t switching their allegiance anytime soon. However, I need to make an exception for my neighborhood Japanese favorite, Watawa, because I recently had an outstanding meal there and think Watawa is quite good. We have been going there for years and generally just get sushi. They have an excellent $10 lunch deal that includes 3 rolls (and not just boring ones), miso soup and salad. But Watawa is really more of a full Japanese restaurant, than a sushi bar.

On a recent visit, we ordered the Miso Chilean Sea Bass as an app, and while not in the same league as Nobu’s famous Miso Black Cod, the fish was cooked perfectly and its flaky texture paired perfectly with the richness of the miso sauce. Plus, the presentation was beautiful. The seafood pancakes were quite tasty as well. Often this dish can be lost in grease, but these pancakes were light and flavorful, with plenty of seafood. We also ordered specialty rolls, like the Volcano and Dynamite, which had elegant presentations and lots of flavor. The new 2010 Zagat gives Watawa a 25 rating for food, which is slightly ridiculous, since it’s good, but certainly not better, or even in the same class as Le Cirque or Blue Ribbon which get 24’s. The outer boroughs tend to have a 2-3 point food rating bump over Manhattan. But a 22 rating is still great for this reasonably priced neighborhood gem.

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La Cabeza Roja

November 14, 2009 — wecouldeat

The Redhead
349 East 13th (1/2 ave), East Village
goldenbonzone
Solid down-home Southern classics in a funky East Village hood for reasonable prices is the hype surrounding The Redhead. Almost too good to be true, right? Well, sometimes ya gotta believe the hype. The Redhead is good. Their fried chicken is damn good. Their signature main is two mammoth pieces of amazing fried chicken along with cornbread and some simple spinach and apple salad, deliciously dressed. The chicken is so succulent and moist, it must have been brined for days, yet the coating was perfectly crisp. It’s rare to find excellent fried chicken, but this is the genuine article. We also dined on a bacon cheeseburger that was well dressed and well cooked, both bacon and beef, with a nice burger to bun ratio (quite essential). I had heard much about their bacon peanut brittle, which was a very good starter as well. It’s loose, coated peanuts with chunks of smokey bacon – which they also sell packaged to go. We actually visited on Halloween evening, which was fun and kind of chaotic, but I got the sense it normally gets pretty busy here, and there is a large bar which takes up about a third of the space. The servers are friendly East Village types. This place gets a Golden Bonzone for it’s down home cheap eats and I am looking forward to returning soon for their supposedly outstanding brunch. (Sorry, no Redhead pics)

Posted in GOLDEN BONZONE, american, down home, east village. Leave a Comment »

Just Like Mama Never Made

November 10, 2009 — wecouldeat

B & H Dairy
127 2nd Ave (St. Marks / E 7th)

It’s easy to miss B & H Dairy as it occupies a narrow storefront in one of the best cheap eats stretches of NYC. This isn’t a trendy flavor-of-the-month, B & H has been around for a long, long time and has the authentic lunch counter decor to prove it. The waitstaff is equally no-frills, but the food is quality stick-to-your-ribs fare that Jewish grandmas have been turning out for centuries. Spud and I both ordered big bowls of mushroom barley soup ($4), which comes with a half loaf of delicious challah and a heaping order of sauerkraut-mushroom pierogies ($6), each the size of a chicken breast. The menu is mostly classic hearty dishes: over-stuffed sandwiches, potato pancakes, blintzes, etc. While they call themselves vegetarian, it’s really only in the Kosher sense, as they do have tuna fish, whitefish and smoked salmon. Another great rec from Time Out’s Cheap Eats.

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Posted in east village, jewish, vegetarian. Leave a Comment »

A Voyage to a New Cuisine in a New World

November 3, 2009 — wecouldeat

So maybe it’s an overly dramatic title for taking the Staten Island Ferry to a Sri Lankan hole-in-the-wall, but for me it was a day of firsts. I had never been on the ferry before, and while it isn’t exactly a Caribbean cruise, it is a free ride with the lower Manhattan skyline as a backdrop. Again, this is a FREE boat ride off of Manhattan – that’s pretty amazing in the land of $8 bridge tolls and $65 parking tickets. Plus you can enjoy a Corona on the ride, which we did, with our friends Pam & Melissa. The mile walk from the ferry terminal to the restaurant wasn’t so scenic, but it was well worth it. Since this was my first visit to Staten Island in 20 years, it was interesting to see a slice of a borough that is all residential.

New Asha Sri Lankan Restaurant
322 Victory Blvd, Staten Island

When we reached New Asha Sri Lakan Restaurant we were greeted by a really friendly woman behind the counter. “Restaurant” may be too generous of a word for this little place with 3 tables and all the atmosphere of a pizza joint. The adjoining Sri Lankan grocery/video store is worth a gander. Like any authentic eatery, it’s all about the food here. We were all pretty hungry and ordered 2 delicious starters: these little fried lentil cakes and long, skinny burrito-type things, which were doughy and delicious. All 4 of us got vegetarian plates of a mash-up of 5 dishes and rice. I could try to identify the ingredients, but I’d fail miserably. All I know is that it was a cross between Indian and Thai flavors, and it was delicious. All the 5 tastes (yes, even umami), jumped off the plate. Plus, it was only $11, including drinks, and we all had enough leftovers for a whole other meal! Beat that Manhattan!

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Posted in indian/bangladeshi/pakistani, staten island. Leave a Comment »

The UWS’s Modern Classic Jewish Deli

October 22, 2009 — wecouldeat

Lansky’s Deli
235 Columbus Ave (70/71)

Their tagline says it all. The place is a modern/classic oxymoron, that somehow works quite well. Lansky’s has only been open for about a year, but somehow seems classic. I’m not talking Katz’s classic, but it has done a nice job of making a cozy pub-like decor, while still offering a flat-screen tv and good soundtrack – we heard some Bowie tunes. They serve the requisite garlicky pickles and creamy coleslaw as complimentary starters. We split the “Coney Island Knishwich”, and along with our Dr. Brown’s, it was a tasty, filling lunch. This dastardly creation is a large potato knish cut in half with one side corned beef, the other pastrami, both topped with muenster cheese, coleslaw and Russian dressing. It is genius really. At a Jewish deli, I always want a knish and a sandwich – now I have both and the whole thing just melts in your mouth. They have a wide variety of soups, sandwiches, special “Devil Dogs”, and everything else one desires from solid Jewish fare. Check it out, it’s a lot tastier than temple!

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Posted in deli, jewish, uws. 2 Comments »

And we’re baaaaaccckkk!!

October 19, 2009 — wecouldeat

We had a fantastic summer traveling all over Europe and sampling many delicious cheap eats from Spain to Croatia. While we are no experts on European grub, and were merely tourists, we quickly came to the conclusion that NYC is our world capital on reliable diverse foods under $10. As we sorted through the piles of junk mail and bills on our return home, one magazine stood out from the pack like a glistening glazed donut: Time Out New York’s 35 Best New Cheap Eats Issue! It could be the best one to date. And what great timing. Just as we were getting bored of our same old favs, here comes a fresh new list of great grub that wecouldeat!

Aamchi Pao
194 Bleecker St (MacDougal St / 6th Ave)

We might as well start with the A’s for our first fall Gotham eating adventure. Aamchi Pao is a great little storefront on Bleecker offering Indian street foods. There are 3 distinct offerings on the menu that each come with various fillings and flavors. The Pao Sliders are similar to burger sliders, but offer flavors like Chicken Tikka, Tandori and Spinach Lentil. The Kathi Roll is like a small version of a burrito. The Stuffed Paratha is a stuffed flatbread, we had the aloo, which has potatoes. All 3 types come in meat or veg options and like most good Indian food, the flavors are so robust, that you won’t miss the meat. Like any smart small eatery, the are a limited number of ingredients that show in the 3 major food forms. It’s a good place for something cheap and different. With cans of soda, and 3 dishes, Spud and I ate for $20. It’s very clean and the staff is surprisingly nice to boot.

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Posted in east village, indian/bangladeshi/pakistani. Leave a Comment »

Happy Summer Eating!

July 7, 2009 — wecouldeat

out to lunch

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Admit it, Danny is a Golden God!

July 5, 2009 — wecouldeat

Shake Shack
Madison Square Park, NYC
goldenbonzone
I am not sure that there is a point in reviewing the Shake Shack now. It has become such an NYC culinary landmark that everyone already has a firm opinion on it, ranging from legendary to ridiculously overrated. I definitely fall into the former category, although I love it slightly more in concept than reality. Having a high quality “fast food” burger place in the middle of a formerly shitty park is pure genius. Danny Meyer is a god compared to other restaurant tycoons such as Jean George and Joe Bastainich. He’ll give you a Union Sqaure and Eleven Madison, BUT will also elevate burgers and shakes to an extraordinary level for the everyday $10 lunch. I can’t get into a Babbo or Jean George, even if I wanted to spend $120 on my dinner. But I can grab a gourmet sausage or Shack Burger at the Shake Shack in CitiField or a gourmet lite bite at the new stand by the Delicourt Theater in Central Park. Yes, it is not the authentic hole-in-the-wall that has survived for 75 years making Grandma’s original recipe, but it does not discriminate either. Plus the frozen custards and shakes are undeniably great. People can debate the merits of the burger size and taste all day, but this golden shack has done quite a bit to open up NYC’s cheap eats landscape and has transformed a prime piece of green space, that I used to refer to as “toilet park”, into a destination that contains 90 minute lines. The absurdity of waiting 90 minutes for a burger and shake is another issue, but so is the same wait time for a $200 meal of minuscule portions in an overstuffed and overly stuffy box. Face it, Danny Meyer is The Man. End of discussion.
Note: I won’t support the UWS location. While I am sure the food is just as good, the Shack is an open air only experience for me.

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Posted in GOLDEN BONZONE, american, burger, gramercy, union sq/flatiron. 1 Comment »

Lunch at Munch

July 5, 2009 — wecouldeat

Munch
24-01 29th Street, Astoria

This new storefront sandwich shop/cafe is a welcome addition to the 24th Avenue area, across from the Beer Garden. Even though Munch is brand new, it already has achieved an informal neighborhood feel. The employees and patrons seem to know everyone in the hood. While there is only a handful of seats inside, there is an outside table and bench, that they will happily add a table to for your convenience. The staff in general could not be any sweeter or more accommodating. While I agree with the Foodista’s review that the name is dirty sounding, at least they did not call it The Munch Box or something worse. Anyway, the food is quite good. On my first visit I enjoyed an iced coffee and the Elvis, which is PB & J, bananas and walnuts on grilled white bread, which tasted exactly like the bread in a perfect grilled cheese sandwich. There was also a bacon option that I declined. The Elvis was simultaneously warm and cool, sweet, soft and crunchy. It’s a bargain at $4. In fact the whole menu, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, is amazingly priced at $5.50 or less! That includes eggs, salads, sandwiches, sliders, quesidillas, and much more. On my second visit I ordered a sandwich and salad to go. The sandwich was grilled chicken, avocado and cheese all melty on a long roll. It was simple and satisfying. The salad was mixed greens, walnuts, chicken, good cheddar cheese and balsamic dressing. A $12 salad in Manhattan, but only about $4-$5 at Munch. While there are many delis and cafes in the neighborhood, for price, quality, and friendliness, I will keep Munch in heavy rotation.

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