A Very Loyal Customer

There are plenty of "regulars" -- people who dine at the same restaurant on a regular basis. But this story from the New York Times takes the notion of regular to a whole new level. Referring to Sardi's, a restaurant in the city's Theater District, the Times' Manny Fernandez writes:

Eating lunch at Sardi's last Tuesday, William Herz did not have to order coffee. It was brought to him, right when he wanted it (in the middle of his meal, not after) by a waiter who served it in a white mug that no one but Mr. Herz drinks from.

Mr. Herz is the only patron of one of the best-known restaurants in the world who gets his own cup: He is 93 years old, and he prefers using a mug with an easy-to-hold handle. After lunch on Tuesday, the mug was washed and returned to its usual place, on the shelf of a cabinet in the coat room because the management and staff at Sardi's know Mr. Herz will be back.

He always comes back.

For 77 of his 93 years, Mr. Herz has eaten at Sardi's.

Herz, who has a show-biz past, apparently started dining there in 1933. The whole article is worth reading.

NYC's Brunch Trainwrecks

Finding a good brunch or breakfast in New York City (at a reasonable price) remains a daunting challenge. This past weekend provided another example of a trainwreck eatery for brunch: Sarabeth's.

Several reviewers heap praise on Sarahbeth's. I had eaten there once before and felt the food was fine -- not bad, not great. But this past Sunday's visit was horrific. Waiting for a table is something you expect at many restaurants in NYC, but this wait was outrageous. I put in my name for a party of 2 and was told that the wait was 30 to 40 minutes. Sure, I know this is only an "estimate," but 1 hour and five minutes later, we were still waiting with no sign that our situation would change in the next 5 to 10 minutes. So we just left.

The food didn't look very appetizing so I'm not sure we missed out on a good meal. We walked a few blocks north to Le Pain Quotidien and had a tasty breakfast at a better price.

I can't speak for the East side location of Sarabeth's, but at the West side location, the staff are extremely slow to clear tables and take orders. The "wait times" they give to customers remind me of the estimated times airlines give for flight delays -- totally unrealistic. There are some people who praise Sarahbeth's, but I just don't get it. They must grading on a curve.

Norma's, the restaurant in the Le Meridien hotel on 56th St., is another place that has won kudos. What makes a place with $7-a-glass orange juice so enticing to them? Good question. It sure as hell isn't the food, which was distinctly mediocre. Even by NYC standards, customers are crammed together so tightly that you could be forgiven if you responded to a question from the adjoining table.

A Tasty Detour to NYC's Lower East Side

Visitors to New York City are rewarded when they venture off the beaten path. In the East Village, right on the edge of so-called Alphabet City, we found both relative quiet and culinary bliss.

Our first stop on Friday was a place called Porchetta. It's located at 110 East 7th Street. What, you might ask, is the allure of a tiny storefront eatery with interior room for only four stools and plain wooden counters? It's all about the food: succulent, fall-right-off-the-bone roast pork with crispy skin and those wonderful "burnt ends." (You can even order a side of burnt ends.)

I ordered the porchetta plate, which was accompanied by sauteed kale and canellini beans. Delicious. Before it is roasted, the pork at Porchetta is seasoned with that marvelous Italian mixture of salt, parsley, sage, rosemary and perhaps one or two other herbs.

Dessert was found across the street and only a few doors down at 123 East 7th Street is Butter Lane. It's an appropriate name for a cupcake store. This is no chain outlet. Butter Lane relies on solid ingredients, many of them locally sourced, to produce excellent cupcakes. A banana cupcake with buttercream frosting was excellent.

Colicchio's Newest Eatery Shines

Celebrity chef Tom Colicchio hasn't been completely distracted by his prime role in the hit series "Top Chef." In fact, he has converted one of his former New York City restaurants (Craftsteak) into Colicchio & Sons. And this New York Times reviewer generally raves about it.

First, some of the raves:

• "For the moment, anyway, Mr. Colicchio's (restaurant) is the must-try New York menu ... the food is terrifically good."


• The restaurant's pastry chef is "fearsomely talented."


• "... it's hard to go wrong with an appetizer of butter-poached oysters, off the menu."


• A chicken pot-au-feu "maintains the Escoffier standard while stepping into the modern age ..."

Now, the reviewer's caveats:

About the only misses are a perfectly cooked and defiantly under-seasoned fist of sirloin that is no match for the salsify, bacon and black garlic that come with it, and, for the same reason, a braised loup de mer with pork trotter and shallots cooked sweet and sour.

I find this mild criticism of Colicchio's restaurant ironic because a standard gripe of Colicchio's on "Top Chef" episodes is that one of the contestants hasn't "properly seasoned" a dish. (When he says that, Colicchio seems to be talking about salt and pepper.) So reading that prompted this snarky thought: "Physician, heal thyself."

Java in the Big Apple

In most areas of the country, the coffee-drinking scene is punctuated by the chains -- Starbucks, Caribou Coffee, Peet's and a few others. There are a few independent coffee shops here in Washington, D.C., but not many.

By contrast, New Yorkers can choose from a large number of independent coffeehouses or coffee-centered cafes. According to the New York Times:

Over the last two years, more than 40 new cafes and coffee bars have joined a small, dedicated group of establishments where coffee making is treated like an art, or at least a high form of craft.

At places like Bluebird Coffee Shop in the East Village, the espresso is so plush and bright that it tastes sweet on its own.

... Meanwhile, some established cafes around the city have made moves toward roasting their own beans. Cafe Grumpy is already doing it, and Abraco will by the summer.

Now, there's an appropriate name for a coffeehouse in NYC: Cafe Grumpy.

Adios to Tavern on the Green

Or should I say good riddance? New York City's Tavern on the Green is hosting diners tonight for its final evening of operation. But I'm not going to shed any tears. My one and only experience there confirmed what I'd always suspected: TG was an overpriced tourist trap.

At its peak, TG plated more than 700,000 meals per year. A new restaurateur is expected to operate in the existing space, but legal issues appear to preclude the new owner from reopening under the TG name.

A Sweet Tooth in NYC

Ever since I saw the Doughnut Plant featured on the Food Network, I wanted to go there and sample it for myself.

So when I was recently in NYC, I had to head down to the Lower East Side, where the Doughnut Plant is located. It's a simple, inconspicuous storefront. The front counter is tended only when a customer happens to enter the building.

The range of flavored doughnuts that they make is extraordinary. From Valrhona chocolate to coconut cream to creme brûlée. I ordered a couple of pumpkin cake donuts that were topped off with a maple-spice glaze. They were incredible.

The morning I was there, they also had apple-cinnamon yeast donuts with bits of minced apple worked into the glaze. They were yummy.

Back in midtown Manhattan, I had a very decadent hot chocolate at Lily O'Brien's Chocolate Café, located on 40th Street on the south side of Bryant Park. Lily O'Brien's sells "chocolate shots" in both milk chocolate and dark chocolate.