Sushi Dojo

Sushi Dojo is the new sushi haven in the East Village run by chef David Bouhadana of Morimoto fame. If you are a purist sushi lover, I highly recommend it. It's not the kind of place you go if your sushi of choice is say, doused in spicy mayo or called something like the "New York Spectacular Roll". This place is legit. Pure. No wasabi. No soy. Just clean, fresh, delicious fish. You gotta love fish, and you have to be able to appreciate the simplicity of it.

Sushi Dojo is a small spot, decorated simply, giving it a clean and intimate feel. You're not coming here for the atmosphere. On a Saturday night, it was pretty quiet, though almost full. You can have a conversation without screaming, and it would probably work well as a date spot. There is also a nice size Sake list, which the sommelier Max is more than happy to help you out with. 
I started my meal with a bunch of appetizers including tempura battered Grilled Shisito Peppers, Nasu Nibitashi lightly fried eggplant marinated with dashi, and Ohitashi which is a mixture of mushrooms and spinach. I wouldn't order any of these again. Tiny portions and not even a little bit memorable. The Tuna Tartare was the best of the appetizers, but even that photographed better than it actually tasted. At this point I'm wondering what all the fuss is about here. 

Just stick with the sushi. This is where it is at. I went for the 10 piece Omakase Sushi Deluxe, which at $45 is a huge bargain. Out came 10 beautifully selected pieces of clean, unadorned and unembellished delicious fish. Highlights for me was the Tasmanian Trout, and Fatty Tuna. Each delectable morsel slid down my throat with not an ounce of fishiness and even my companion, not a huge raw fish guy at all, thouroughly enjoyed his meal.

We didn't leave overly stuffed, but it was sufficient. Nice waitstaff, friendly relaxed vibe, and simple fresh fish. And although I wouldn't call it cheap, Dojo definitely offers good value for the quality of fish you are being served.

Neighborhood: East Village 


Bite Mark: ***

Good For: Pure Sushi, Date Night, Solo Dining 

Sushi Dojo, 110 1st Ave between 6th & 7th Street www.sushidojonyc.com 

Supper

As New Yorkers we take it for granted that there are tons of fabulous restaurants close by, but the hard part is deciphering which of these transcend the "neighborhood gem" status and become truly a must hit spot. Supper falls into this later category. Why I never ate here until this week is still a mystery, but it's easy to see why Frank and crew seem to have such a cult following.

Supper is the 3rd restaurant of the Frank Prisinazo (@theunknownchef on instagram) mini empire, including Franks and Sauce. I have yet to try the others, but I can tell you that Supper lives up to the hype. I was recommended this place by some Brooklynite friends who frequent here often and promised it is their "go-to" girls night spot, and I must add to my list. I was not disappointed. It has all the trappings of a repeat place. Often times I love a restaurant, but after one seating I have had my fill and have no desire to return. Supper left me feeling like I could eat here once a week and be very happy and satisfied. 

Supper has a lot going for them. First off, it's a cozy, intimate space on a quiet East Village street. There's dim lighting and a slightly romantic feel making Supper a great option for a date night or the perfect neighborhood gem. The prices are not exorbitant. There's a tremendous Italian wine list. And probably most important, the food is clean, fresh, and flavorful. Let me put it another way. They have a punch card for their famous "spaghetti al limone". This fact alone should be enough to warrant a visit. 

Before I get to the food, a couple of quick tips. Supper is cash only. They are known to do a great job at delivery service (not often the case with good restaurants that offer take out/delivery). It is also vegetarian friendly. It's a good place to know. They don't take reservations and I'm told weekends can get hairy, but their wonderful homey wine bar next door called Sugo Bar, allows you to wait comfortably and have a glass of wine while you wait for your table.

The first sign of a good experience, is the bread. The homemade selection of breads with mouth watering White Bean Salsa here is enough to win me over. Don't fill up on this! I know you want to. We started with the Black Kale Panzanella with whole wheat bread, chopped ripe tomatoes, organic kale, pantelleria capers, basil, evoo, and coarse black sea salt. It's not a pretty salad, but it's tasty and very flavorful. My veggie loving friend ordered the Grilled Vegetable Plate for us to share as well, and as boring as that may sound, it was really just perfection. Beautifully grilled beets, tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, green beans and broccoli with extra virgin olive oil and a nice sprinkling of sea salt. Perfect. 

For our main course we got their famous Spaghetti al Limone which was simple and fantastic. Al dente pasta with parmiagiano cheese, lemon, butter, salt and pepper. Refreshing and not too heavy. We also got the Branzino grilled and filleted with a chunky mouth watering tomato sauce with capers and basil. To finish we had the Ice Cream Sundae, with chocolate sauce poured over right at the table. A good ending to a great meal. Supper, I approve. And I will surely be back soon.



Neighborhood: East Village

Bite Mark: ***and a half 

Good For: Date Night, Girl's Night, Romantic, Small Parties (there's a private room that holds 12-15), Veggie Friendly 

Supper, 156 East 2nd Street  212-477-7600 www.supperrestaurant.com 

Calliope

After reading some stellar reviews about Calliope, the newish French bistro from Eric Korsh (Waverly Inn) and his wife Ginerva Iverson (Prune), I stopped in for a solo lunch date. Located on the busy corner of 2nd Ave and 4th Street, the restaurant was relatively quiet for a weekday afternoon. I'm generally not a huge fan of French food (small portions, snotty attitude, and veggie unfriendly), so even though many adored it, my expectation were not set too high.  

I am surprisingly pleased to report that in my subjective dining experience, Calliope was a delight. The place has that old world bistro feel in such a nice way. There was smoky mirrors on the wall, specials scribbled in fancy cursive, a beautiful zinc bar along the back, and these amazing wood and wrought iron doors to the restroom. Although I found the room cozy, I could see how it might be a little crowded had every table been packed. At the time that I was there the room was quiet but not empty, and I was able to just sit and relax. 

bathroom door

Order the Traditional Eggs Mayonnaise. If you know anything about me or my blog you should know by now I have an egg obsession. Breakfast, lunch, or dinner, a nicely cooked egg makes everything better. These were 3 soft boiled eggs generously smothered with homemade mayonnaise and celery salt. I licked the plate clean. I also got the Spicy Marinated Mackerel with avocado, chili oil and black sesame seeds. I'm not a huge mackerel fan but it was good, nice spicy flavor, and the avocado was delicious. I ended the meal with a Homemade Brown Sugar Coffeecake with delicious creme fraiche. It came out warm and fragrant and it tasted even better than it looked. WOW. I thought I would just have one bite of the dessert to change my palate but next thing I knew I was starring at an empty plate.

What a nice surprise. I would definitely return and try some different items, maybe for dinner or brunch next time. If you do go for dinner, don't miss the "baba au rhum brioche" which comes sliced, and doused with rum and whipped cream. 

Calliope is a great cozy not too fancy but not to casual spot, with homey delicious fare. The atmosphere is charming and chic, the food rustic and beautifully plated, and the service quick and spot on. Maybe I do like French food after all...

Neighborhood: East Village

Bite Mark: ***

Good For: Date Spot, Neighborhood Gem

Calliope, 84 East 4th Street @ 2nd Ave 212-260-8484  www.calliopenyc.com

Empellon Cocina

Empellon Cucino is Alex Stupak's trendy new(ish) spot on 1st Ave in the East Village. Like his Taqueria in the West Village, it is also Mexican food, this time with a more modern, fushion-y twist. The room is sexy and dark, the decor modern and fun, and the drinks spicy and strong. There was a "cool vibe" there on Wednesday night when I met my friend for a girl's night, and the place was filled with young trendy people that looked like they were having a good time.

Empellon has been written up about by so many blogs and magazines as one of the best new spots of 2012, so even though I didn't love my experience at Taqueria, I figured I'd give it a shot. 
Overall I was underwhelmed. I didn't find it to be anything spectacular, and didn't try anything that I liked enough to warrant another trip here. This is where I should probably add the disclaimer that without sampling any meat or shellfish, you are about to read a pretty subjective review. To the restaurant's credit, Empellon was accommodating to our special food restrictions, but we just were not blown away by any of it.


We started with Margaritas and Guacamole, which comes with sliced pistachios, thinly sliced japalepenos and crispy masa crisps. I've heard people rave about the guac here, but I'm not sure why. I would have preferred it a little spicier (they didn't ask how we like it), and the chips were on the greasy side.
We also had the Roasted Carrots with mole poblano, yogurt, and watercress salad. It was okay. It didn't have enough flavor, and just seemed a little weird. Go to ABC Kitchen for sick roasted carrots. Next we got Melted Tetilla Cheese with wild mushrooms. The cheese was flavorful but the dish was really heavy. After a few bites each, we'd had enough.

The Red Snapper tacos were also underwhelming. It comes with 2 tiny tacos that had a nice kick to them, but you could barely taste the fish. Lastly, the chef made us a Mushroom Risotto that I was pretty psyched for, but fell short in my book. It was really smoky, but not in a good way. Again we each took a few bites and had enough.
We ended the meal with 2 desserts as we were still kinda hungry at this point, and I had just finished telling my friend about the amazing dessert tasting I once had at WD-50. We got a chocolate cake with globs of peanut butter (?), and a fruity tasting flan. They were both just okay. 

Empellon is a cool sexy place to grab some margaritas 
and guacamole if you are in the East Village, but it certainly was not one of my favorites of the year. Maybe the meat dishes would have blown us away, who knows?
The service was friendly if not particularly helpful, and I did like the space better than Taqueria,  it just did not live up to the hype. 

Neighborhood: East Village

Bite Mark: **

Good For: Drinks, Date Spot

Empellon Cocina, 105 1st Ave between 6th and 7th 212-80-0999 www.empellon.com/cocina

L'Apicio

Last night The Brooklyn Bite was off to Manhattan (via the bridge  and tons of traffic) to a family birthday dinner at the new East Village hot spot, L'apicio. L'apicio is an Italian themed restaurant from Executive Chef Gabe Thompson and beverage director Joe Campanale both of L'artusi (one of my favs!), dell'anima, and Anfora fame. In addition to the great modern Italian fare, there is also an extensive wine list, and a deep cocktail menu. The space is modern and slick, and larger than I would have guessed. There is a comfy looking lounge area in the front, and a main room with a mixture of stand alone tables and cushioned booths.                  
                                  

We sat by the bar where the friendly and helpful bartender attended to us until our party arrived. I had the delicious Spicy Dirty Martini, with celery bitters and b & g peppers and juice. 
Spicy & strong, just my style.

We were 6 people which definitely has its benefits (now I can order the whole menu without anyone giving me dirty looks!), and order WE DID!          


Check out the full menu here. L'apicio menu

We started with the Grilled Endive salad with pecorino; Romaine salad with anchovy croutons, Escarole with pecorino-buttermilk dressing, and the Bosc Pear with blue cheese and hazelnuts. All were decent salads, though maybe a little cheesy and slightly redundant. Next we ordered the bruschetta with fried egg, and tuna carpaccio with olives and artichokes. Both were excellent. I'm a sucker for anything with a fried egg on it, and fresh tuna carpaccio is always a good thing.

The pasta course was by far our favorite. The best was the Mezzalune with cauliflower, capers and pine nuts, it had great texture and delicious flavors. The Spaghetti with spicy tomato sauce, was simple and excellent. The Orecchiette with ribollita ragu, and the pasta special with porcini mushrooms, were also both delightful additions. Each pasta tasted unique and exquisite in its own way. 

Next came the roasted mushrooms, chillies, and ricotta salata
from the "polenta alla spianatora" section. Another winner. 

The main course. By this point we were all pretty full, but the fish was fresh and all the flavors worked well. The Red Snapper was prepared with black lentils, sofritoo crudo, and frisee, and the Branzino was grilled with chickpeas, chilis, and olives. Maybe not the most memorable part of the night, but solid fish. The creamed kale was the only thing we had all night that was a flop. The roasted brussels sprouts on the other hand, were great and went well with the fish. 

The night ended with dessert including a banana chocolate torta,  chocolate cake, and some gelato. The chocolate cake was better than the banana torte, though honestly none of the desserts were exceptional. Coconut gelato was pretty good, pass on the rosemary gelato.

All in all, I would definitely recommend L'apicio. The place was cool and trendy, the food was excellent, and we had a beautiful birthday dinner. 

Neighborhood: East Village, Bowery 
Good For: Drinks, Date spot, Birthday, Large groups

Bite Mark: *** & a half

L'Apicio; 13 East 1st Street bet. Bowery & 2nd Ave 212-533-7400 www.l'apicio.com

Il Buco Alimentari & Vineria

I love this place. It has all the making of a perfect, great for so many reasons spot. It's located on Great Jones Street, off Bowery, right around the corner from the original (and still great) Il Buco. There's a ton of excellent bars and restaurants in this area, and tons of nightlife for afterwards if that's what you are into.
I've been here twice now, once for dinner at the bar, and again yesterday with a friend for lunch. The food is delicious, the service excellent, and I love the vibe. The chef, Justin Smile does an amazing job. It's casual, but still really nice. 
When we came for dinner we had the padron peppers with preserved lemon and sea salt(I love these and order them any time I am able to), the gnudi with ricotta, cherry tomatoes, anchovy and brown butter which was insane, and the branzino which comes salt baked with caramelized lemon. Yesterday for lunch we had crispy artichokes with fresh lemon, perfectly crispy but not oily. The ricotta with grapefruit, extra virgin olive oil and pistachios, also delicious. And the panini with grilled kale, strachiotello cheese and anchovy was gooey greatness. 

Do not leave without get the salted caramel gelato, you will not regret it!

Go here. Then come back again. And again. And again. It's a winner. 

Neighborhood: Noho, Bowery 

Good For: Lunch, Dinner, Drinks, Date spot (though you may get communal table)

Bite Mark: ****

Il Buco Alimentari; 53 Great Jones Street bet. Lafayette & Bowery 212-837-2622