I’ve recently been separated from my city and its culinary delights by a sidetrack to graduate school out in St. Louis, which can explain my long absence from eating and judging. However, Winter Break has just passed, and with it, a new slew of food and restaurants to check out and report back on, because believe it or not, I’m still bargain hunting and splurging at the same rate I was in college.
Being home for only a month meant lots of catching up with lots of different friends in different places, and I found that the best way to do this was to grab meals that consisted of lots of little things we could split, share, pick at and gnaw on as we caught up. This week’s richNY/poorNY features two downtown casual joints where small plates are fun to share.
poorNY
Dilemma: it’s early evening, maybe a little too early to get a drink and a little too late to get a coffee but you need somewhere to whet your whistle and catch up with a friend, so what do you grab? Delicious tea and some Asian cuisine at Noodle Bar, with convenient locations in the West Village and on the Lower East Side. I met up with two friends at the LES Noodle Bar where we split a few pots of tea; one black with vanilla and another jasmine with hints of orange. At $4.50 a pot, it was the perfect pick-me-up and excuse to hang out inside on a chilly day.
Noodle Bar isn’t named for their tea, of course; they have yummy food, too. I ordered the kimchee pancakes, which, at a mere $5, were deliciously hot from the fryer and just spicy enough. The thick pancakes came with a sweet hoison and chive sauce, perfect for sharing around the table. My friend S ordered fried dumplings, another delicious staple, and courageous N went for a noodle dish: Mee Sian wok noodles with chicken. Delicious, cheap, easy.
Noodle Bar
172 Orchard Street
or
26 Carmine Street
$
richNY
It’s just as easy to have a catching-up meal with friends and spend a few more dollars for a little more food. Let’s say you’re looking for a slightly trendier location or perhaps a little more exotic cuisine: well then there’s Moustache Pitza, a delicious Middle Eastern joint also with a few locations, one in the West Village and another on the Lower East Side, and an additional one in East Harlem. I met up with a few friends at the West Village location, which is a little off the beaten track but all the nicer for it. The baskets of fresh puffy pita are to die for, but watch out: they charge for them, which was somewhat unexpected, although not a huge financial hit. The three of us split a hummus and a babaganough, both delicious, and then we ordered a chicken kebab plate, a garden salad smothered in feta with grilled chicken, and a tasty chicken pitza with lemon marinated chicken with garlic, red bell pepper, scallion and parsley. Yum. Top it all off with some hot mint tea and you’ve got a reunion of friends with scrumptious accoutrement.
Moustache’s ambiance is super cozy, too, but be warned: the service can be slow, so this isn’t a meal to rush through. Order wisely and definitely share.
Moustache Pitza
90 Bedford St.,
265 East 10th St.,
or
1621 Lexington Ave
$$$
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