Saintes

The goal of making it to Brittany before extreme drowsiness set in was looking increasingly dim. Getting stuck in traffic behind dour eyed tourists hoping to catch a glimpse of Johnny Depp and driving impaired sun-starved Franchopiles going through Île de Ré didn’t help. Driving through France is like being on the road surrounded by driver’s-ed students.

We decided the make a stop in the charming town of Saintes where there are quite a few surprises in store if you venture onto the side streets. Unbeknownst to me, Saintes has a surprisingly rich history, at least for a town its size.

Baohaus

I dropped into Eddie Huang’s sparsely decorated basement to see what all the kids are raving about. The menu consists of succulent steak and pork baos (vegetarian too, but why bother) in addition to sides like salt and vinegar boiled peanuts and fried baos in sweet sesame sauce.

I prefer the steak over the pork baos. The pork is good in its own right but it’s a bit too fatty without providing the proper texture that a bao needs. Both buns are composed with ground peanuts, sesame, Taiwanese red sugar, cilantro, and house made relish. Pretty standard stuff.

The salt and vinegar boiled peanuts are surprisingly addictive. Get it included as part the Straight Frush where for $13 your choice of 3 baos and the salt and vinegar boiled peanuts.

Baohaus | 137 Rivington St. | New York, NY | link | map

2 Little Red Hens

Many people schlep all the way up to Yorkville on the Upper East Side to get the Red Velvet Cupcake, and there is no question, it is excellent but to me the real star of the show is the NY Cheesecake. Their various bars are also excellent yet often overlooked.

Yorkville is the new stomping ground for restaurants looking for new demand. Quite a few places are have opened recently or will be opening soon. Look for the next expansion of various niche establishments to be opening up here.

2 Little Red Hens | 1652 2nd Ave nr. 86th St. | New York, NY | link | map

2 Bros Pizza

No, it’s not Di Fara or Keste. Yeah, they started a pizza price war. We got it. I’m not writing anything else about this.

2 Bros Pizza | St. Marks Pl. | New York, NY | map

Burger at the Spotted Pig

I had to write this because I have no disrespect toward the Spotted Pig. April Bloomfield’s cool. For a time the talk going around the New York gastro-burger community focused solely on this burger. And it was all unwarranted.

The Burger with Roquefort cheese is mediocre on the scale of this carnivorous now burger obsessed town. It was cooked a nice medium-rare, but the meat was lacking flavor due to under-seasoning. And the Shoestring fries absolutely suck.

The Spotted Pig | 314 W. 11th St | New York, NY | link | map

Rockaway Taco

Main lesson to be learned from my multiple experiences with Rockaway Taco. Never let hipsters run a business. I never even bother going there when I know there’s going to be large line so fortunately I don’t have to worry about that. Even with no line everytime I’ve waited about 20 minutes for a minimum of 3 fish tacos.

The tacos. Quite good. Decor is spot-on surfer chill, even though the place has became a hipster/Lonely Planet wielding magnet. Italian ices next door are fantastic and made from actual fruit. Not cool with charging .25 for tap water, that’s messed up, dude. It’s a worthy addition to the beach front, and more importantly, a fantastic business model.

Rockaway Taco | 96th St. off Rockaway Beach Blvd | Queens, NY | link

Big Gay Ice Cream Truck

Am I the only person in this city that doesn’t give a damn about this truck? The ice cream is atrocious. Its Mistee Softee made worse by the fact the toppings are good so once that’s gone you have a pile of shit. It might as well be. At least with regular Mistee Softee whipped ice mush they aren’t trying to pull of magical trickery. The most important thing in an ice cream cone is not surprisingly, the ice cream.

Frankie’s Spuntino

Tags

frankie's 17, italian, lower east side

Small, personable, and packing some delicious dishes. Simple menu with some apps, soups, “specials” (the pastas and entrees) and various sandwiches. You can hear other conversations but the 2 rooms aren’t so big so noise isn’t prevalent.

Frankie’s 17 | 17 Clinton St. New York, NY | link | map

Caracas Arepa Bar

I’m apologizing to everyone in advance and plan on getting out my riot shield to block the incoming bullets that are going to come my way when I say this but Arepas suck. The shell has a weird texture and taste which reminds me of a hard taco and English muffin hybrid. It has the crunch of the former and the texture of the latter.

Caracas Arepa Bar | 91 E. 7th St. New York, NY | link | map

Shorty’s .32

The roast chicken was crispy, juicy and substantial. Creamy mashed potatoes speak for itself. Even the chilled green bean salad had plenty of flavor, with kicks of garlic and salt. It wasn’t anything revolutionary like some of the vegetables Spice Market. It doesn’t matter. This place is about excellent, superbly prepared comfort food, with a few twists.

The macaroni and cheese was cheesy and rich with a hint of crunch from the toasted breadcrumbs, without any off-putting oiliness. The burger, made with short rib and sirloin, is juicy and delicious.

Desserts are fairly limited, but the fried waffle with strawberries, sweet cream ice cream, and sugary molasses was better than I expected; reminding me a bit of fried ice cream.

Overall it’s a great new restaurant, and a nice addition to SoHo with a intimate atmosphere (32 seats), neighborhood vibe, and delicious comfort food great for a late night meal.

Shorty’s .32 | 199 Prince St. New York, NY | link | map