One Weekend in New York: Crispy Heaven, Emilio's, Manhatta, PDT
Lately, I've been stuck on the idea that everything is about sex, God, or death. And if i'm no longer writing about dating, and you all know I pray on my knees every night, then I guess the only thing left to write about is corporeal stuff. Food, movement. "Lifestyle..."
After spending two months in London, I'm back in New York. I'll share my thoughts on London somewhere eventually, but I do already miss the karaoke there, it was incredible.
I fell in love with this one bar in Shoreditch where the owner apparently watches the security footage from her couch at home and texts the regulars when the party isn't raging enough. I went every weekend. I think the best singers in the world are regulars at karaoke bars, and none of them are famous. I think everything was a teeny less performative in London in a way I appreciated compared to New York. But that is possibly my own bias as someone who grew up in the midwest where people ask how you are and really stop to listen.
A quick note on the writing in this. I do not consider this writing to be "art" whatever "art" is. This is just me giving you something to do. A place to go, notes for improvement, some "criticism," if you will. To provide a lens to my "criticism," I think growing up doing classical ballet ingrained a deep perfectionism within me, but I'm also in the camp of "trying anything is brave" a la Addison Re. After each ballet performance, we would sit in the studio and our mistress would go through her notes from the performance, or what could have been better, for the sake of achieving perfection, which is of course impossible. But it's a noble aim.
I have never run a restaurant and I can only imagine that it's the most difficult thing in the world, but I also think care, small improvements, and criticism can be nice in the pursuit of something really good to share with someone. Obviously, I'm limited to my own perspective, taste, and opinion, so take everything with a grain of salt.
I am crazy about the cultivation of personal taste. In reading Douglas Hofstadter, I've grown super curious about neuroscience, specifically the brain around food and eating as I work on my memoir The American Princess Diet. He argues that your brain works in comparison or analogy, so to put it plainly, things remind you of other things, and senses like taste and smell are often the ones with strongest memories. After traveling a lot, eating a lot at many different places, and learning how to cook a little bit better myself, these are my opinions and thoughts.
Don't hold them against me, because my opinions, like me, like you, like the world around us are always changing. The beauty is in the contrast, growth, and exploration of the world and the people in it.
Raf's
Raf's is a French Italian restaurant off of Houston. I've been going on and off since I was twenty-two. I've had many dates, and many evenings there alone to write. I have cried in the bathroom and I've eaten every dessert. Last Thanksgiving, my best friend and I brought our own table in front of the SoHo Tiffany's to have dinner there. Raf's gave us a to-go roast chicken (they don't to to-go food).
While the space is definitely more lived in now, I still think it's a perfect neighborhood spot and I love it even more now that some of the "scene" has melted away. Or maybe I'm the one who's changed (growing up!). The croissants are great, though I still want to try the mushroom leek one. For breakfast, I'd get the breakfast sandwich, as it's on a great bun with broccoli rabe that adds a nice bitterness to an otherwise rich dish. The fruit salad is ok, I've had it during a meeting, but I was pleasantly surprised by the husk cherries which I myself had for the first time a month ago in Avignon from the market there. For dinner, the Tuna Crudo is great if you want something light. The half chicken is iconic, it takes time to roast, but the buttery bread underneath is worth it.
Surprisingly, you can work here on a laptop, though if too many of us did it, it would kill the vibe so go easy. But definitely a home-y place worth visiting. I want to bring my mother. But then again, I want to give my mother the entire world.
Hot Literati Rating
Quality/Craft ♡♡♡♡
Memorability ♡♡♡
Enjoyment ♡♡♡♡
Originality ♡♡♡
Overall: 3.5/5
Emilio Ballatto's
Love. Love. Love. Best Italian in New York. Worth the wait in line. The simple pastas are really nice. Even though I'm not much of a pasta person myself, I still enjoy them. I love the mushrooms, they're delicious and garlic-y. Out of the salads, I prefer the rucola, but I prefer the broccoli rabe to the salads. The soup is nice for a lunch. The chicken parm and chicken milanese are extremely thin, delicious and worth sharing alongside another dish. I love the espresso martinis here and I prefer mine with tequila. But the best part somehow, is still the complimentary bread and olive oil, large, pillowy slices, half plain and half covered in tomato sauce. A longstanding institution for a reason.
Hot Literati Rating
Quality/Craft ♡♡♡♡♡
Memorability ♡♡♡♡♡
Enjoyment ♡♡♡♡♡
Originality ♡♡♡♡♡
Overall: 5/5 I f*cking love this place
Crispy Heaven
We were seated really quickly, which was great. The inside was a bit more crowded than I like, particularly for a space that open, and the Instagram follower counter in the corner by the bar felt a bit out of place. We ordered the grassfed short rib with fries, the Cesar salad with chicken, and a side of bacon. Bread also came with all of this, and we asked for jam. The short rib was surprisingly large and came with a consume for dipping.
It lacked a bit of flavor on it's own imo (but to be fair, again, i've never made a short rib) but the consume added to it overall. The fries were possibly the best fries I've had in New York. Incredible. Crispy, firm, then soft, and cooked in tallow. Yum. The salad was great, but my favorite Cesar in New York is still Fossetta's in LES. The bread, which is what the place is known for, was good, but I'd just prefer it to be sliced thinner. That maybe just be me though.
Overall, it was good, I'd come back with family for brunch or lunch.
Hot Literati Rating
Quality/Craft ♡♡
Memorability ♡♡♡
Enjoyment ♡♡♡
Originality ♡♡
Overall: 2.5/5
Manhatta
This was my first time at Manhatta. We headed this way when the wait at Overstory was long and little bit chaotic, and even though there was an entire bridal party in the lobby at Manhatta, the staff was really kind and got us upstairs quickly.
I started with the Ricotta Negroni (Tarragon Truman Vodka, Bols Genever, Suze, Dolin Blanc, St. Germain Champaign Reduction Ricotta Foam), while my best friend ordered an espresso martini. I love Tarragon, which caught my eye, and the foam was light and really interesting. It didn't stir into the drink well, so it had to just stay on top as foam.
Then, we ordered the Garlic Knot with Labneh and Chili Oil. The knot was muffin shaped and really tomato and basil forward. Dense, but not heavy. I'm not the biggest fan of labneh (or yogurt in general), but it was nice! We befriended the cutest German man to our right before ordering a second round with our bartender "Dan the Man," who was really charming and fun. He made "his take on a Vesper," (my drink of choice, for better or worse), which was better than the one I've had at The Mulberry, and second only to the one at Gage & Tollner.
I would go again. I probably will, eventually.
Hot Literati Rating
Quality/Craft ♡♡♡♡
Memorability ♡♡
Enjoyment ♡♡♡
Originality ♡♡
Overall: 2.8/5
PDT
PDT (Please Don't Tell) is a little speakeasy in the back of Crif Dogs on St. Marks. I believe it's on Resy, which I get is necessary, but officiates a speakeasy in a way that a speakeasy shouldn't be officiated.
The space is fun and eclectic. I'm remembering taxidermy on the wall. I ordered something I can't remember and the menu is not online (love that). We weren't allowed to take photos with flash, but I feel like bumping it up a notch and enforcing a no phone or no screens rule would be really cool. The music was great--2010s throwbacks, but overall I found myself craving more space and a little more light. But maybe that's just me, as I grow up a bit and consider moving somewhere with cheaper real estate (even though I probably won't... but I can't stop thinking about that karaoke bar in London.)
What do you do. You eat. You walk around. You hang out. You host, in this economy (host a book club!).
Hot Literati Rating
Quality/Craft ♡♡
Memorability ♡♡♡
Enjoyment ♡♡
Originality ♡♡.5
Overall: 2.4/5
A note on fine dining
I find that there are really fair criticisms of fine dining, especially in today's world, but I also believe in radical empathy from all sides. To the chefs and the people running a restaurant, dining is sort of an art form to them in the most beautiful way. But I also think tech companies in the dining space would be much better suited to supporting local restaurants and focusing on education and public good as well.
For example, a couple of months ago I spent a bit of time volunteering at a middle school in the Bronx to teach children about writing. One week I brought persimmons for them to try, which they had never seen. Their excitement was pure and sweet and tender, realizing that sweetness can come from something so natural and whole, a lesson I learned later in life as my palette developed and I dined in more places.
Food desserts are not fictional, they exist, and creating healthy habits and optimism about food and fresh produce often starts with exposure. I'm a firm believer that investment in children is the future and should never be wasted and food is a gorgeous sort of universal language. Don't get so stuck in your iron cage that you forget that there are people who are different from you who still need their basic needs to be met. Time spent in service is never time wasted.
ok that's all
Thank you for reading.
xx