Comfort Food

The cold New York weather combined with our short stint without power last week has me craving comfort food. My coworkers and I ordered Hampton Chutney for lunch today. Justin and I will probably order greasy Chinese food from Charlie Mom tonight. And in-between meals I’m reminiscing about Justin’s birthday dinner a couple of weeks ago at Minetta Tavern…

[Minetta Tavern Interior]

Minetta Tavern takes reservations up to 30 days in advance. I didn’t book quite that far ahead of time, so Justin and I went late on a Wednesday night. The place was still packed, and for good reason. The ambiance was enjoyable albeit high-energy and the food was amazing. Given the restaurant’s NYU campus location, the interior was surprisingly mature - think Pastis meets Peter Luger. And even though it had a slightly rowdy feel, it was romantic. It's a great destination for anything from a date to a group dinner. Minetta is famous for its Black Label Burger, and it doesn't disappoint. It comes with fries, which are perfectly crispy but not burnt. Justin and I shared the burger and a sea bass special – which was also delectable. Justin got the bone marrow to start. It was piled high on his plate, accompanied by toasted bread. He highly recommends it. (Bone marrow isn’t for me.) I instead started with a special prawn salad with Bibb lettuce. It was the best salad I’ve had, ever. And to top it all off, we got a chocolate caramel tart with sea salt – also a special, and also ridiculously good. The consistency was ideal: there was considerably more chocolate than caramel. And the service? Excellent. I can’t wait to go back.

A

[image via http://www.minettatavernny.com/]