The First of Many, Guest Review of The Lion

Hey All,

The first guest review is up.
Written By:
Roy Dervich
Roy is a friend that I've come to know quite well and recently celebrated his girlfriend's birthday at The Lion downtown. 
Below is his review...

The Lion 

Before I talk about the food at The Lion I want to talk about the atmosphere and ambience. The restaurant is basically hidden on a normal residential block with just an address on it awning, adding to the whole speak-easy vibe.       

Image via Yelp.com

I was extremely impressed with the décor and main dining room, which is a perfect example of how décor and a vibe can elevate a dining experience. The main dining room is identical to CO-OPs, but set back 90 years ago. It has a punch of prohibition with a touch of Gregory Peck class. There are large and small frames all around the room with photos of Al Capone and black and white photos of girls in vintage bikinis on the Coney Island boardwalk. The crowd seemed to be the “old money” type with class and sophistication, which can be contagious; I found the need to ask my girlfriend if I can be excused when I had to go to the restroom. The age group varied from mainly 25-55 many who seemed like they lived in the area or were European tourists. It’s a high-end spot but low key, so wasn't pretentious either. 

The other factor that elevated the experience was the outstanding service. At The Lion they are extremely proactive with multiple servers and waiters advising you on the menu and asking what you need.

The Pre Co-Op vibe

Now, to the food, 

we ordered the following:

1)    Big Eye Tuna Tartare

2)    Hand Pulled Burrata

3)    Ricotta Gnudi

4)    French Fries

5)    Crispy Brussels Sprouts, Guanciale, Apples

6)    Dessert- Market Fruit Plate with Cranberry Sorbet

Buratta, French Fries, Brussels & Ricotta 

I feel the need to mention that the bread they offered was extremely delicious. But on to the things we ordered, I’ll go down the list.

1)    The tartare had an extremely fresh texture and an explosion of flavor like one only see in gum commercials.

2)    The burrata was basically a ball of mozzarella with truffles and infused with balsamic. It had a good flavor but just a very weird cold texture, we didn’t love this dish so much.

3)    The ricotta pasta was sprinkled with truffles and a treat for my palate. This was extremely delicious with a texture that melts in your mouth and will make you salivate the second you swallow it, also known as, food porn.

4)    The Brussels and French fries were perfect sides and compliments both topped with herbs, I personally enjoyed the sprouts and found it ironic how mothers forcefully try to feed this to their sprouts, they obviously are not making them this good,

5)    I can honestly admit we didn’t order dessert right, the fruit platter seemed like something I would eat in my kitchen and was not the perfect ending, cake probably would’ve complimented the meal better but we were full anyway so that probably affected our lack of enjoyment of the fruit platter.

In terms of reservations, I used OpenTable a couple of weeks before hand. I was delighted that the restaurant called me to confirm the reservation a few days earlier. When we got there we didn’t wait a second, we got directed to a great table right in the middle of the dining room. 

My conclusion on this place is that it may just be my new favorite restaurant, you feel secluded from “the scene” but in a very hot spot, so no feelings of anti-socialism because honestly the scene just doesn’t know about this cool spot yet, its like TAO 10 years ago. It is expensive but I personally don’t care when I feel like I’m getting what I pay for. Menu options can also seem very limited if you don’t eat meat or seafood.

The Lion

62 West 9th Street  New York, NY 10011

(212) 353-8400

http://www.thelionnyc.com/

**Good For: Dinner, Date Spot, Intimate Dinner with Friends or Adult Family

More UES, Amali

If you're shopping at Bloomingdales or Barney's, visiting a museum, living in the area or looking for a good dinner spot, I'd recommend Amali.

The Food

Greek

I'd just like to preface by saying that the NYmag review over hyped this place by a tad and the only reason I say this is because I did not love the fish. The black bass, which is served whole and then filleted, is chewy and lacks flavor. Otherwise, I would really recommend anything else on the menu. Everything has a lot of flavor and isn't heaping with oil and butter. The spagehtti has pieces of tomatoes but isn't over flowing with heavy chunks and the spagehtti itself is thin and doesn't leave you feeling heavy. 

Spaghetti

I recommend the eggplant appetizer served israeli style with two whole pieces of mini eggplants and a light tahini sauce. The oven roasted broccoli are a great side order and the mini potatoes are a bit crunchy and the cheese and fresh herbs add the perfect kick. We actually ordered a second serving without the cheese and they were just as good.

Potatoes with shaved cheese

We left feeling satsified with a clean, healthy and well rounded meal that wasn't overfilling or heavy on the stomach.

Ambiance

It's modern but yet rustic and upscale. You wouldn't find this sort of layout downtown as it has a bit more of an uptown decor. The lights are dim and there are mirrors and dark wooden tables. It isn't the rustic vibe of Uva but isn't the downtown Il Buco Alimentari either. It's great for a dinner night out with friends or on a date where you're looking to impress and not in the mood to run into anyone you know. We sat for hours and finished our meal with cappuccinos and tea. 

Wait Time & Resos

We made reservations and were seated after a short wait (partially because we added another person to our party without letting them know). They weren't obnoxious. 

Good For: Dinner/Lunch with Friends or Family, Intimate and no-scene Date 

Location

Amali 

East 60th St. 

Between Lex & Park 

http://amalinyc.com/

UVA

As a newly established Upper East Sider I am always searching for good neighborhood eats. For the most part, Upper East Side spots aren't at the forefront of the review books so doing some individual research to have on my repertoire becomes quite handy.

A couple of weeks ago I passed by Uva one Sunday afternoon only to notice how unbelievably packed it was. The Upper East side is not like Soho, where EVERYTHING is packed during Brunch hours. So if there is a place that is packed, in my mind, it must be worth the visit...

I also MUST thank my cousin from Beyond My Recipes for scoping it out with me the first time and then revisiting Uva another two times to confirm our recommendation.

Food

Italian/Pasta

Ugh, yes, its Italian. And I must apologize for the Italian posting overload. I promise it will subside after this one!
Of course, the Upper East couldn't get enough of its Italian restaurants. Sorry, I just have to acknowledge the Upper East Side stereotypes. 

To start, there were LOTS of options for a vegetarian, as their usually are at Italian places. The arugula salad with shaved Parmesan was quite tasty and the salmon entree was pretty good but a bit on the chewy side. I wouldn't come back for the fish. It's more of a pasta and pizza spot. The return-worthy draw was the focaccia appetizer. It comes as a mini pizza with artichokes as the base layer, topped with mozzarella and marinara sauce. The combination may sound like it shouldn't really be a combination at all but it was molded perfectly together onto the rounded foccacia and each bite was smooth and flavorful. Extremely unexpected, and yet, totally worth going back and ordering that very item as an entree instead of as a shared appetizer.
The olives weren't anything too special, they were green and black olives with pits. They were salty and for some reason had that canned black olive taste. I wasn't so into that.
Overall, nothing  at Uva was too heavy and the portions are just the right size.

Overall the food was pretty good Italian and worth the return visit if one is lacking in a reliable spot on the Upper East. Just an FYI, I will NEVER say something is "pretty good Italian" unless it really is. If I wouldn't send my father, the French food snob, then I wouldn't use the latter phrase and send you there either.

Uva is an easy crowd pleaser. Anyone, picky or not, will be satisfied here. 

It's no Il Buco but its great for the Upper East. 

Ambiance

Rustic wooden tables, homey, warm and dark lighting (see below).

Its noisy, mixed scene where any age would blend in easily. 

Resos & Wait Time

I came in on a rainy Monday evening around 8pm with no reservation and was seated immediately. It was pretty busy with almost no open tables. I would say it would have probably been a bit more difficult if it hadn't been a Monday and hadn't been raining. I'd make a reservation on a Thurs, Fri or Sat night. It it gets PACKED.

(FYI, busy is always good. It means high turnover. High turnover = fresh ingredients).

Good For: Dinner, Brunch, Lunch, Dinner with Friends/Parents/Boyfriend/Girlfriends, Low Key Date Spot

Location

1486 2nd Ave

(between 77th St & 78th St) 

(212) 472-4552

http://www.uvanyc.com

Food & Hookah, Fifty Five Lounge

Hookah, food and non-grungy couches is almost nonexistent uptown. So, when we stumbled upon this spot last night on our way to a neapolitan pizza spot, we ditched the pizza and hit this up instead.

Food 

I'll start off by saying that the food was nothing amazing. It was, quite possibly, a level up from bar food. Pretty standard hummous but nowhere near close to the best I've ever had. I'm a HUGE hummous lover and can tell you when I'm tasting fantabulous hummous.

 The mixed green salad had some sort of purchased dressing that tasted like it could've been from Hale and Hearty, meaning, it was good, but nothing artisan or farm-to-table-esqe. The babaganoush happened to have been really light and didn't taste like it had mayo like most cheap babaganoush. The falafels, like everything else, were no artisan falafels, but were fried fresh and the fries were the exact Manhattan diner fries you can get anywhere. They weren't really too crispy but still fresh and definitely weren't sitting under a heater either. This is what I would call upper level bar food, nothing more. The margarita pizza was long and sliced into eighths. It was quite cheesy and the sauce also tasted like a purchase and was not made fresh in-house. I used to work in an office next door to a bar kitchen and I know what bulk purchased cheese, tomato sauce and fries taste like. I'm spoiled, I guess, and I know the difference between in house dressing, tomato sauce and fries verse purchased. But again, this is a hookah "club" and so the food is not going to be anything amazing. 

Very honestly though, I'd go back. 

There aren't any spots in my hood that serve decent food, hookah and are clean as well. Most hookah places downtown are pretty dirty and dingy and I wouldn't really want to be sitting on the couch I'm forced to park myself on in order to smoke some hookah.. 

As much as I may be a food snob, when it comes to quality, sometimes I don't mind a standard spot that's going to give me everything I like all at once (hummous, hookah, music). 

FYI, the drinks were EXTREMELY watered down. 

We all left sober after 2-3 drinks a person. 

(I apologize for no food photos)

Hookah

For $40-$100 hookah, it's totally overrated. I make better hookah in my apartment that doesn't go harsh as quick as this one did. But hey, it was hookah and it hit the spot. Go for the fresh fruit flavor. It's the best bet. 

Ambiance

The lights are dimmed, the couches are clean, new and very unlike most of their hookah spot brethren. The scene is pretty random and it turns into a "club" that wants $500 for bottle service after 11pm on a weekend. Obviously, its more of a chilled spot to start out your night before 11, that plays nostalgic 90s disco/dance music. The photo below sort of over glamorizes the place  ad tad and there are no longer any curtains. 

Photo via GrubStreet 

Wait Time & Resos

There is no wait to be seated and reservations are NOT necessary. The service isn't great though. I asked for silverware three times. I needed to ask for water, and I have a feeling the waitress forgot to put in our margarita pizza order because I needed to remind her about it and it took quite some time to arrive.

Good For: Hookah, Chilled, Friends, Chilled Date 

Location 

Fifty Five

47 W. 55th St. 

(between 5th & 6th)

212-957-1899

http://newyork.grubstreet.com/2011/01/hash_55.html

Il Buco Alimentari

Food

Not the greatest vegetarian selection. There's only one fish option which comes as a whole fish that they then fillet, and two pasta options. The pastas are tasty but not unbelievable. The crispy artichoke app is fabulous and worth ordering two portions of, and they aren't cheap on each serving either. All the sides are good and overall the food is good. Nothing amazing and nothing to write home about. Honestly its a trendy, downtown spot with acceptably good food. Nothing more, nothing less.

Ambiance

Bright lighting people! If you're going on a first date and don't want anything too bright, skip it.

It's good for dinner with 4-6 others. Most of the tables are shared communal tables separated by a nice amount of space along with a vase of flowers. You really don't feel or see the group next too you and I find communal tables intimate, and inviting anyhow. You dont need to be decked out too come here, it has a nice homey vibe. But yes, its downtown and yes the people are young-ish or older and very bobo (bourgeois bohemian... I'll use this term a lot so get acquainted).

Good for: Double dates, dinner with friends, dinner with the fam, something trendy-ish.

Wait Time & Resos

You need a reservation and they do make you wait a solid 15-20 once you arrive on a busy night, as I did. You need to be in the hostess's face or its going to continuously be "another two minutes." Honestly, I find this common approach extremely annoying. Either seat me now or tell me its actually going to be 15 min. Luckily Alimentari also offers ice cream, a full bar, cured meats and cheeses in their "store front" so the wait doesn't feel too long.

 Il Buco Alimentari

53 Great Jones St. 

(212) 837-2622

http://www.ilbucovineria.com/