New York minutes/Early April 2010
The half-good: Papatzul in SoHo, where my consort and I settled when I wanted Mexican after the too-small Saturday Greenmarket in Tribeca we detoured to rather than face the prides of designer dogs and bewildered tourists in Union Square. Our timing was perfect; Bob paid the check just before a baby shower hit high hysteria (margaritas and cute-gift overload are a dangerous combination). My $8 torta with chorizo and “Manchego” (really Oaxacan cheese) on a great roll had cascading flavors, with avocado, black beans and red onion. The $10.95 chilaquiles, unfortunately, played exactly one note. The tortilla chips were soggy, the sauce bland, the chicken for $2 extra insipid. But we couldn’t fault the service, and the room looks great at midday. WIGB? Sure — the brunch menu had too many enticing choices — but probably not at night. I imagine the crowd would put the din in dinner. 55 Grand Street near West Broadway, 212 274 8225.
The right place on the right night: Fairway’s cafe, yet again, where I headed with a friend who lives nearby for a cheeseburger and cheap wine after I came by to meet her new kitten, and where the only letdown was not getting table near the window. The fries were erratic (some wide, some thin), but the burger itself was fine, and the coleslaw with it tasted particularly lively. As always, $5 sauvignon blanc buys a lot of goodwill. I left not minding that Ruth Reichl, whom we’d spotted getting into a cab on WEA, undoubtedly went somewhere hipper, or that my consort had had happy meals last week at Cookshop and Recipe while I was left behind (V&T pizza, though, was apparently not so wonderful).