Sebastian Saint - a NYC Eater / Taster

Quick Review: Baden Baden NYC

sebastiansaint — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 12:47:00 +0000

I often walk on 32nd street between Broadway and Fifth avenue on my way to work or on my way back home. I don’t think there is any other block in Midtown that will make your mouth water, this block is full of great restaurants; mainly Korean BBQ places but also some restaurants showing hints of flavors from Japan and China.

Last time when I was getting my yogurt from Red Mango, I overheard few people talking about this amazing chicken they had at the Baden Baden or BBNY for short. When I looked across the street I noticed a restaurant on the second floor with the BBNY writing. That was few months ago, somehow didn’t get the chance to go try this place up until this week. When you work late you really don’t want to deal with cooking, cleaning, etc. You just want to sit down with a cold beer and wait until your food is brought front of you, ready to enjoy. I thought why not try the BBNY.

BBNY is on the second floor of the 28 West 32nd street. You can see the BBNY writing on the face of the building when you look up. Take the stairs to the second floor and you’ll be welcomed into a decent size seating area and long bar. When we got there around 8 pm, most of the tables were already taken but there were still three tables available. Believe me if I tell you that the drink menu was way longer than the food menu. There are pages of pages of beer, wine, cocktails, martinis, soju, etc. We sat down, ordered two OB Lagers, a large Baden Baden Chicken which is their special ity and the Buffalo Hot Wings ( They are”Uber-Hot” so be warned!).

I think this write up from NYMag describes their chicken the best:

“Korean-style fried chicken is cooked in a rotisserie to an exquisite tenderness, let to cool slightly, and then deep-fried, giving it a perfect combination of yielding moistness and crisp, garlicky exterior. “

For two people large chicken was more than enough. It is served with option of fries or onion rings. We went with the fried but next time we’ll definitely try the onion rings. Also it comes with a small bowl of pickled daikon and a whole roasted garlic (watch out for this one…). We already decided what to order next; of course we would want that delicious BB chicken again but here are some other dishes worth a try: Spicy Octopus or Squid, Chopped Steak and Spicy Clams. There are also other tasty dishes on the menu so I suggest you should take a look at the menu and make up your mind.

Great place to enjoy a variety of domestic or import beer and an amazing chicken special.

Baden Baden NYC

Cuisine: Korean, Speciality: Chicken
Phone: (212) 714-2266

Address: 28 West 32nd St, 2nd Fl., New York, NY 10001 (Between Fifth Avenue and Broadway)

Website: http://www.badenbadenrestaurant.com

Menu: http://www.badenbadenrestaurant.com/menu.html

Travel: Trip to Cornwall, United Kingdom. First stop: Plymouth

sebastiansaint — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 19:35:00 +0000

Over the Easter weekend we decided to take a trip to United Kingdom to see some friends in Cornwall area who we have been able to visit for awhile. Easiest way to get to Cornwall area from NYC is by flying direct to Bristol. Continental Airlines has flights much better rates than flying to London.

After a seven hour flight we arrived to Bristol airport around 8:30 in the morning. Hertz and few other major can rental agencies have counters right across the terminal building. Make sure to specify your car to have an automatic or manual transmission because the standard rentals all come with manual / stick-shift transmission.

Our first stop was Plymouth which is about 120 miles from the airport give or take few miles. I highly recommend getting a rental car with a GPS or Sat Nav as they call it over the pond. Some roads are quiet confusing to a US driver like me. Also watch out for those speed and traffic light cameras. They are everywhere! Anyway, Plymouth is a small coastal town in Devon. “In 1620 the Pilgrim Fathers left Plymouth for the New World and established Plymouth Colony — the second English settlement in what is now the United States of America.” from Wiki.

Plymouth seems to get very busy during the summer specially over the weekends with tourist traffic. It took a while to get a parking spot and that’s thanks to the “Sat Nav”. The little town was simply packed because of the amazing weather. When you consider it mostly rains any bright day is a good enough excuse to go for an outing. The Barbican is the main street where all the shops, restaurants (plenty of good fish &chips shops) and cafes are located. There is also visitor center to help you with suggestions and maps, etc.

After a ten to fifteen minutes walk on the Barbican from the main harbor area the street becomes the Southside Street. This where our main target was; The Blackfriars Distillery, home of the Plymouth Gin. Recently they opened an pretty impressive brasserie inside the distillery called the Barbican Kitchen as well as cocktail lounge where you can try various types of Plymouth Gin (including the Navy Strength with 57.7% alcohol by volume) straight or your choice of mixers.

We enjoyed two servings of “gourmet” fish and chips with two bottles of ice-cold Peroni beer. We ordered from the lunch menu but they also serve dinner after 5 pm. Chris and James Tanner certainly put together an impressive menu of casual yet quality comfort food both for lunch and dinner. After our meal we took the behind the scenes tour of the Plymouth Gin to learn about the gin making as well as the history of this company established in 1793.

You have to turn off all electronics including camera, mobile phones, iPod, etc due to alcohol fumes in certain areas of the distillery. After our tour we picked our souvenir bottles of Plymouth Gin ( you do have a choice of turning your voucher for an actual drink if you are not about to drive) and left Plymouth on our way to St. Austells in Devon.

To be continued…

Black Friars Distillery

60 Southside St.

Plymouth PL1 2LQ

Tel: +44 (0) 1752 665 292

http://plymouthgin.com

Information about Plymouth, UK

Plymouth City Council Visitor Guide

Just Plymouth Guide

Plymouth in Devon

Quick Review: Golosi – Artisan Pizza & Gelato

sebastiansaint — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 20:04:00 +0000

I was on my way home from Grand Central Terminal and decided to walked down on Park avenue. Right off 42nd street where the airport buses pick up passengers I noticed the Golosi pizza and gelato. I was thinking about getting lunch anyway so I walked in to grab a quick bite.

Thin crust pizza with good sauce and cheese. Crispy on the edges. I picked the plain cheese but there was also a selection of other toppings available.

Overall it’s good place to pick up a slice or two for a quick lunch or get a pie delivered. Didn’t get a chance to try the gelato this time but gives me a reason to come back.

Golosi – Artisan Pizza & Gelato

Cuisine: Pizza & Gelato
Phone: (212) 922-1169

Address: 125 Park Ave., New York, NY 10017 (Between 42nd and 41st Street.)

Website: http://www.golosi.com

The Boathouse – Central Park: Express Cafe

sebastiansaint — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 18:33:00 +0000

One these past Saturday afternoons we ended up on the Upper West Side. It was about lunch time but the weather was so nice and we were right by the Central Park we decided to take a walk across the Park to the East Side. It seemed like every person with a child or a dog was out enjoying the spring weather in the Park. We continued our leisurely walk towards the Turtle Pond and the Belvedere Castle. Once we started to walk down the East drive we could already smelled that delicious aroma of the cheeseburgers and hot dogs so we didn’t think about it too long before we managed to get a table on the deck of the Boathouse. The outside grill hasn’t been opened yet for the season so we just went to the Express Cafe to get our food.

It seemed that a lot of Central Park volunteers and the bird-watchers were out that day so we had to wait quiet a bit on the line to order our food. The Boathouse itself and the bar area in the front area were both packed with tourists and New Yorker doing brunch with their mimosas in their hands. We managed to get our hot dogs, cheeseburger, fries and Stella Artois with about fifteen minute wait chatting with the volunteers. You learn so much when you just start talking to people around you…

While we enjoyed our meal there was a constant supply of tourist coming to the deck in search of waterside tables. Our meal was pretty good but we both had much better burgers, hot dogs or fries elsewhere. Then again you come to the Boathouse not just enjoy the meal but also take in the location and the surroundings. I don’t think there is any other restaurant in Manhattan can offer you a similar ambiance specially when you choose to eat burgers and friends out on the deck, what a value for $25 for two! The only minus was the group of obnoxious people at a near table playing around with their dogs and smoking like a chimney. I guess you can’t have it all but they didn’t bother us too much, right after we finished our meal we went to get our own paddleboat and sailed to the open waters to enjoy the view and quiet.

We ate at the Boathouse before and they always gave us a satisfying dining experience. Yes, the prices could sometime be high but then again you are paying for the whole package. I highly recommend taking a gondola ride under the starts after your dinner, specially if you never been on one. It’s not as good as riding one in Venice but so much better than the ones in Las Vegas. Night time rides are much better because you don’t have all the paddleboats around so you can really enjoy the serenade. Remember to kiss under the bridge. Ciao!

Pros: Location and the ambiance. Great food and wine selection. Excellent service.

Cons: Can Be Pricey. Hard to get reservations near the window.

The Boathouse – Central Park: Express Cafe

Cuisine: American
Phone: (212) 517-2233

Email: info@thecentralparkboathouse.com
Address: 111 East 29th St., New York, NY 10016 (Between Park Ave. South and Lexington Ave.)
Map: Google Maps

Menu: http://www.thecentralparkboathouse.com/sections/food/menus.htm
Wine: N / A – Stella Artois Lager

OpenTable: http://opentable.com/rest_profile.aspx?rid=20197

Website: http://www.thecentralparkboathouse.com/
Yelp: http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-boathouse-restaurant-new-york
Citysearch: http://newyork.citysearch.com/profile/7174667
NYMag: http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/central_park_boathouse01/

Resto

sebastiansaint — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 15:28:00 +0000

Last week I received an email from Resto about their two year anniversary celebration on Saturday, April 11th with a slow-roasted piggy in a La Caja China Box. Unfortunately we were out of town for Easter but we wanted to go congratulate Christian when we returned home.

First time we visited Resto was four days after they opened in April of 2007. We were lucky enough to be seated at the Chef’s Table ( no longer available) in the kitchen inches away from the chef’s prep area. Back then Chef Ryan Skeen from Portland, Oregon was in charge of the kitchen but about a year ago Chef Skeen left for Irving Mill and the new Chef Robert Hellen took over the helm at Resto.

We have been to Resto quiet often because it’s only few blocks from where we live. It’s always nice to have a place nearby to go grab a great burger and a beer. At our last visit we started our meal with the Moules Frites – ommegang witte, garlic, orange zest and with yogurt, cumin & roasted garlic sauce for frittes for $19. Owner Christian Pappanicholas has done a good job at selecting wines to complement the food. We ordered a bottle of the 2003 Fertuna Messiio for $50. It’s a all around great wine to match with your burger or muscles or chicken plus it is reasonable priced. It did need some airing but it’s common with mature Italian wines.

Main course was combination of two starters and a entree. Daily special was a mushroom mix dish with bacon bits, a bit on the salty side for my taste but it was a tasty seasonal dish. Besides the mushrooms we also ordered the ‘Four story hill farm’ lamb belly confit orval-braised beluga lentils, labne (Drained yogurt) for $15. Now this dish rocked our worlds, perfect combination of ingredients masterfully selected and combined to create a tasty treat, also an alternative to those who love the pork belly. For the entree we chose the ‘Four story hill farm’ roasted poularde (A young hen that has been spayed for fattening. Doesn’t sounds very humane but certainly delicious.) carrots, celeriac, bread, for $27. It was cooked to perfection with an amazing crispy skin. We skipped the dessert this time but from our previous visits I recommend the butterscotch parfait, liege waffle or the selection of belgian chocolates.

Service has always been extraordinary at the Resto. All our servers from various visits have been extremely courteous and helpful without being intrusive. Overall we had an amazing meal, supported our local restaurants and walked back home satisfied. We will surely return soon for the burgers, seasonal dishes or for the famous weekend brunch (fried chicken & waffles, belgian hangover pasta, grilled cheese , etc.).

Pros: Impressive Beer Selection. Well Chosen Wine List. Gourmet Burger and Moules Frites.

Cons: Certain dishes are pricey for this type of cuisine and setting.

Resto

Cuisine: Belgian, French, Gastropub
Phone: (212) 685-5585

Email: info@restonyc.com
Address: 111 East 29th St., New York, NY 10016 (Between Park Ave. South and Lexington Ave.)
Map: Google Maps

Menu: http://www.restonyc.com/food.asp
Wine: 2003 Fertuna Messiio Maremma Toscana, $50

OpenTable: http://www.opentable.com/rest_profile.aspx?rid=20512

Website: http://www.restonyc.com/
Yelp: http://www.yelp.com/biz/resto-new-york
Citysearch: http://newyork.citysearch.com/profile/45094229
NYMag: http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/resto/

Mary’s Fish Camp

sebastiansaint — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 16:58:00 +0000

Every so often my wife and I go for a leisurely walk in the Village area. On an early Saturday evening we happened to pass by the Wilfie and Nell’s (review coming soon…) on West 4th which happens to be a great place for well made drinks and impressive food. After having couple of drinks we started to talk about how we haven’t had a decent lobster roll or fried oyster for a such a long time. We used to go to the Black Pearl until it closed down and we have been to Mermaid Inn too many times. I always heard about the Mary’s Fish Camp but somehow never made it there so I thought this was a good tim to walk over there to see the availability. Considering the time I knew we had a good chance of grabbing two seats at the bar.

Once we got there we were told that we can take the two last seats at the bar, right by the door. Mary’s Fish Camp features an open kitchen, wrap around bar and handful of small tables scattered around the small dining room. We were happy to take our bar seats without having to wait plus we always like to sit and watch the food being prepared. Seating is pretty tight even sitting at the bar you have to watch your elbows.

They had few daily specials like a whole Branzini, Dorade, etc. We opted for four starters and a lobster roll instead of two main courses. It’s always nice to order bunch of starters and share rather than getting two large portions. We ordered the Half Dozen Malpeque Oysters with Blush Mignonette for $12, Fried Oysters and Clams with Fish Camp Tartar Sauce for $11, Baked Italian Sardines with Gaeta Olives and Lemon Confit for $10, New Zealand Cockles with White Beans and Garlic for $12 and a Lobster Roll with French Fries for $28 . Menu states that the Lobster Roll is a limited availability so get there early and place your order right away if you want to try it. Besides the Lobster Roll my favorite dish was the Fried Oysters and Clams. My wife really liked the Sardines but it’s not one of my favorites dishes. Starting with the Malpeques was a really nice way to start the meal specially with a bottle of the South African LB Sauvignon Blanc. LB is named for Lance Bouma, son of Tymen Bouma, proprietor of Anura Vineyards. LB is also short for Leebee, Tymen’s nickname. LB sounds a lot like “Liebe,” the German word for love…and not much of a stretch from the Afrikaans word for love “liefde”. This vineyard is specialized in small batches of quality wine at amazing values. Hard to find it locally or online so enjoy it at the Mary’s Fish Camp with your meal.

We kindly declined the dessert offer of Hot Fudge Sundae or the Banana Pudding because we had already too much to eat so we paid our bill which came out to $150 including the tax and gratuity. Service was good for a busy place like this and we only had to wait few minutes between our dishes.

Instead of jumping in to a taxi, we decided to take advantage of the comfortable spring evening with a mild breeze and walked back home.

Pros: Fresh Seafood. Amazing Lobster Roll.
Cons: Tight Seating. No Reservations.

Mary’s Fish Camp

Cuisine: Seafood
Phone: (646) 486-2185

Email: N / A
Address: 64 Charles Street at the Corner of 4th Street, New York, NY 10014
Map: Google Maps

Menu: http://www.marysfishcamp.com/menu.html
Wine: LB Sauvignon Blanc 2007, South Africa $36

OpenTable: N/A

Website: http://www.marysfishcamp.com
Yelp: http://www.yelp.com/biz/marys-fish-camp-new-york
Citysearch: http://newyork.citysearch.com/profile/11447701
NYMag: http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/marys-fish-camp/

Keste Pizza & Vino

sebastiansaint — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 22:03:00 +0000

Who doesn’t love pizza? I think it’s the best comfort food anywhere in the world and any time of the day. Personally I really like the Neapolitan style pizza specially when it is made the traditional way, and of course wood-burning oven certainly helps to give that touch of smoke and the crispiness of the crust. Another note in the topic is that I almost always order myself a Margherita without any extra toppings. I believe you get to taste the real deal without any topping taking it away from the crust, cheese and the tomato sauce. Few leaves of basil seals the deal, for me at least. My wife loves her Prosciutto on top of her pizza specially if it is freshly sliced.

Our favorite Neapolitan pizzeria in Manhattan is a very close call between La Pizza Fresca and Ottimo. I think the La Pizza Fresca is a little ahead in the race just because of their impressive Italian fine wine selection but the points for the ambiance and service go to Ottimo. When I heard about Keste, the new kid on the block, I was excited to try a new pizzeria to compare it to our favorites. Plus all the hype prior to the opening and also the delay in the opening just added to the excitement.

We decided to go over an early afternoon on a Saturday hoping that we didn’t have to wait for too long. When we got there about 1:00 p.m. there were three couples ahead of us waiting for a table in the front of the restaurant. Because it is very tight in there, you can’t really wait inside. After waiting for about fifteen minutes Rosario ( I believe Roberto’s partner called us in and showed us our table. We had a good view of the prep counter and the famous wood-burning oven.

There are about twenty to twenty five tables squeezed in to a fairly small dining room with the oven located in the back of the room. Until the weather warms up I wouldn’t suggest to sit by the entrance because the door kept getting stuck so diners had to keep getting up to close it. They were still waiting for their wine & beer permit so customers were being encouraged to bring their own…(this may change very quickly so check before bringing your own…)

We started with a Caprese with red and yellow tomatoes, decent fresh mozzarella toped with fresh basil, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I would have also like to try the daily special which was rectangular dough topped with some type of a paste and cheese. It did look very good but decided to save it for the next trip. We ordered our Margherita and Prosciutto with arugula pizza and enjoyed them to the last bite. My wife did mention that she thought there were too much fresh arugula and overpowered the taste but I guess that’s a personal preference. It took about ten minutes to get the Margherita and another five to ten for the Prosciutto to arrive.

To finish our meal with ordered the Strawbery Tiramisu and it did taste as good as it sounded. I noticed few tables ordered the Chocolate Pizza which is a pizza dough topped with Nutella and chocolate powder. That’s another thing we will need to try next time.

Pros: Authentic Neapolitan style pizza made in wood-burning brick oven.
Cons: Tight seating.

Keste Pizza & Vino

Cuisine: Pizza
Phone: (212) 243-1500

Email: info@kestepizzeria.com
Address: 271 Bleecker St., New York, NY 10014 (Between Morton St. & Jones St.)
Map: Google Maps

Menu: http://www.kestepizzeria.com/menu.html
Wine: N / A

OpenTable: N/A

Website: http://www.kestepizzeria.com/
Yelp: http://www.yelp.com/biz/keste-pizza-and-vino-new-york
Citysearch: N / A
NYMag: http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/keste-pizza-vino/

Ten Degrees

sebastiansaint — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 21:43:00 +0000

Ten Degrees wasn’t part of our Saturday evening going out plans but because we walked way quicker than we thought we would, by the time we got to our target location we were forty five minutes ahead of our dinner reservations. We walked around St. Marks Place to find a good spot for a glass of wine or a pre-dinner cocktail. Ten Degrees seemed to be the right place we were looking for. When we walked in the front seating area of few chairs and a couch was already occupied and the bar stools were all takes so we decided to sit at the side bar with mini chairs. They kind of reminded me of my pre-school coloring days…But still comfortable enough to have a drink or two and close enough to the bartender to take our orders.

First round we ordered ourselves a Vodka Gimlet and a La Habana Martini ( martini with apricot brandy) from the cocktail menu. They were both well made with fresh lime juice and top-shelf liquor without having to ask for an upgrade ( I am simply against any house or other bottom shelf alcohol. If I am going to kill few million brain cells they are going to die in luxury.) After our cocktails we ordered two glasses of wine with a selection of two cheeses and Jamon Serrano. The cost of combination of three is $21 but there is an additional cost for Beeler Gruyer and Monte Nebro cheeses which we ordered the second.

We enjoyed our wine with the cheese and meat selection. Monte Nebro goes very well with a piece of fig bread and touch of mustard.

There is a private room in the back which seemed like it becomes a bottle service VIP area once the whole place transforms itself from a quiet wine bar to a full speed night club. Overall we would visit the Ten Degrees again possibly on a lazy Sunday afternoon to have few glasses of wine and nibble on some artisanal cheese.

Pros: Good selection of wines by the glass. Impressive selection of cheese and charcuterie.
Cons: Gets pretty wild at night with a loud DJ soundtrack.

Ten Degrees

Cuisine: Wine Bar
Phone: (212) 358-8600

Email: Tendegreesnyc@gmail.com
Address: 121 St. Marks Place, New York, NY 10009 (Between First Ave & Ave A)
Map: Google Maps

Menu: http://www.10degreesbar.com/menu.html
Wine: Malbec – Ben Marco 2006 / Shiraz – Juno 2006

OpenTable: N/A

Website: http://www.10degreesbar.com
Yelp: http://www.yelp.com/biz/ten-degrees-new-york
Citysearch: http://newyork.citysearch.com/profile/41931673/
NYMag: http://nymag.com/listings/bar/Ten-Degrees/

The Treats Truck

sebastiansaint — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 19:40:00 +0000

I overheard the legend of The Treats Truck from friends a while back; a gray truck that travels around Manhattan and parks at different locations, depending on the day of the week or time of the day. Afterwards every time I decided to look up the location of the truck on the web I completely forgot about it. Then few months ago when I joined the Twitter I bumped in to The Treats Truck ‘s tweets. I knew then that this was a sign to make a run for the truck. Luckily my office is only a ten minutes walk from their Midtown location so it wasn’t long I was on the line waiting to get my share of the treats.

The Treats Truck has few different locations where they park. The two most recent locations have been the South East corner of 38th street and Fifth avenue and the Sixth avenue and 45th street. They also go over to the Upper West Side but you will need to stay tuned for their updates for the exact location. You can either signup for their updates on the web site or just like I did, follow them on Twitter.

Kim Ima, owner / baker / driver with her truck rightfully called the Sugar travels around Manhattan like some kind of a super hero comes to the aid of those who crave something sweet during their hectic work day. Ms. Ima and The Treats Truck team of bakers spend their time preparing these amazing treats in Red Hook, Brooklyn . Besides the truck service they also take special orders and do catering. What other way to cheer up an office full of stressed out New Yorkers than few dozens of cupcakes or brownies…

The Treats Truck’s menu is so full of choices that once you step up the counter you simply can’t make up your mind on which one of these delicious treats to choose from. Some of the popular items are Chocolate Chipper, Peanut Butter Sandwich, Classic Crispy, Chocolate Chip Brownie, Caramel Creme Sandwich and Pecan Butterscotch Bar. Of course to make your decision making process even harder there is even a selection of Daily Specials.

At my last visit I bought the Chocolate Chipper, Caramel Creme Sandwich, Classic Crispy and the Peanut Butter Sandwich. Take a look at menu on their web site to see whole bunch of other options. The prices are between $1 to $3 and they are all well worth it.

Make sure to say thanks to Kim for making this possible for all of us to enjoy her irresistible baking and grab your ten-for-one card to get your free treat after your tenth purchase.

Pros: Fresh baked goods. Reasonable prices. Delicious sweets.
Cons: Occasional line.

The Treats Truck
Cuisine: Desserts, Bakeries
Phone: 212-691-5226
Address: Various Locations

Map: Various Locations – Check Schedule

Menu: http://www.treatstruck.com/?page_id=2
Wine: N / A

OpenTable: N/A

Website: http://www.treatstruck.com/
Yelp: http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-treats-truck-new-york
Citysearch: N/A
NYMag: N/A

Double Crown

sebastiansaint — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 18:34:00 +0000

I believe when you go to a new restaurant for the first time, you should go with as many people as possible in your party so you can order a nice selection from the menu for everyone to share and try. Last week we took a friend of ours to the Double Crown. This was my wife and I’s second visit but we were happy to go to see the changes, if any. Our first visit was two weeks in to the opening of the restaurant last year and this time first off we noticed that the Double Crown became quiet popular with hip and the trendy. For a week night around 7:00Pm restaurant was completely full. I guess it’s a good thing considering the shape of the economy.

Before our meal we started at the Madam Geneva for few cocktails. Madam is located in the back of the Double Crown with its own entrance on Bleecker Street. The ambiance is quiet different than the Double Crown, there is a long bar by the entrance and low table with comfortable chairs scattered around the space. It seems like they stripped place to its raw brick walls then painted over it preserving some of the character. Madam and Double Crown share the extensive Cocktail list along with”Hawker-Style” Snacks and Starters.

Our first round of drinks included Cucumber, Apple and Elderflower Tall (Zubrowka Bison Grass Vodka, apple, elderflower, wild honey, cucumber), The Perfect Gimlet (The Perfect Gimlet) and Kumquat, Red Chili and Elderflower Smash (Belvedere Pure, kumquats, lemon, elderflower foam) all around $10 to $12 each. I like my single malt, vodka martini or g&t but sometimes I just go for the exotics, specially if the ingredients are fresh made. I would be inclined to try some others that sounded really good at our next visit, we had to save room for the wine with our meal. Cocktails are well made but there is a bit of a delay even before 7:00 p.m. so I would be prepared to wait if you are planning a visit after 8:00 p.m.

The front dining room at the Double Crown was almost full with the exception of four tables at 7:15 p.m. There were also few chair available at the bar. If you don’t have a reservation I suggest to sit at the bar or try to get a table at the Madam Geneva. We were seated promptly after checking our coats. According to the assistant manager they have a custom-mixed soundtrack playing anything from the 80s British hits to Middle Eastern lounge tunes.

Our waitress greeted us with menus and asked our water preference. At the Double Crown they serve the British bottled water Hildon from South of England. We ordered a bottle of Sancerre which was good but thought a bit overpriced. While we were deciding on the food we wanted to try some of the “Hawker-Style” Snacks so we ordered the Braised Pork Belly, Salt & Pepper Sepia and the Duck Steam Bun. Again all very good and tasty but the special mention goes to the Pork Belly.

Once we made up our minds with the starters, mains and the sides we ordered the Smoked Mackerel Salad and Seared Yellowtail as starters. Twice-Cooked Chicken, Bangers & Mash and Elk Wellington as mains. Pickled Cucumber, Crispy Brussels Sprouts and Garam Masala Potatoes for our sides. After a wonderful meal we didn’t have much room left for dessert but we ordered the Bitter Chocolate Trifle and the Burnt Citrus Tart to share.

In conclusion, everything came to our liking and we enjoyed them thoroughly. The food was excellent and the service was even better. We did feel a little squashed with a very little elbow room but I guess that is to be expected from a popular village restaurant. We will return but most likely on an early, off night like a Sunday or a Monday. We looked at their brunch menu and it looks as good as the main menu so a return visit for a brunch will be planned as well.

Pros: Global menu to try various cuisines prepared masterfully. Great cocktail menu.
Cons: Seats are very close to each-other. Gets loud. Limited wine selection.

Double Crown
Cuisine: English, Indian, Asian, Fusion, Global
Phone: (212) 254-0350
Address: 316 Bowery, New York 10012 (At Bleecker Street)
Map: Google Maps

Menu: Menupages
Wine: Lucien Crochet, Le Chêne, Sancerre, 2006, Loire, France $64

OpenTable: http://www.opentable.com/rest_profile.aspx?rid=24571

Website: http://www.doublecrown-nyc.com/
Yelp: http://www.yelp.com/biz/double-crown-new-york
Citysearch: http://newyork.citysearch.com/profile/47286907/
NYMag: http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/double-crown/