New York minutes/Early June 2010
The sorta good: Tarallucci et Vino near Union Square, where a friend and I on our once-a-year coffee date retreated after getting a good look at the pastries on display at Joe the Art of Cart. We sat in the din outside, where it was apparently too easy for the staff to forget all about us; we saw the waiter twice in nearly two hours. (Which comes first? The crappy tip or the crappy treatment of women?) And while my cappuccino was Italy-class, the cornetto was mostly gloppy “cream.” WIGB? Probably. There really aren’t many great alternatives around there. 15 East 18th Street, 212 228 5400.
The excellent: Recipe, where I wound up with my consort just back from the Ukraine when neither of us could face either a long subway ride to Vinegar Hill House or $40 entrees on our own island. As before, the food, service, place outperformed, and not just for the neighborhood. The heirloom tomato salad was the weakest link, but we knew that on ordering it as a special because it’s too early even for regular tomatoes from close by. But my wintry-sounding, spring-tasting duck breast with wild rice, turnips and baby corn combined quality meat with precision cooking and a sublime sauce, while Bob’s sea bass special may have been better than anything we’ve eaten at Bouley Upstairs (it came with white and green asparagus, fingerling potatoes and a corn emulsion). We also split a chocolate-caramel tart topped with pine nuts and sea salt, plus a bottle of decent French chardonnay and got away for $112 before the tip. WIGB? Early and often. 452 Amsterdam Avenue near 82d Street, 212 501 7755.