In the West Village on the corner of Hudson and 11 Street you’ll find an inviting, cozy restaurant with good food that won’t break the bank. If you live in the neighborhood, it may turn into your go-to place. I discovered it recently when I was invited in recently to try 
the fare.
On an aside, the restaurant has two party rooms downstairs (not handicapped accessible). One can serve 14 nicely, the other is just for two. Yes, two. The manager mentioned that they’ve had many a proposal in that room!
We shared a 2010 Chianti Classico, Riserva di Famiglia, Chianti Classico, Cecchi, Tuscany Italy ($42), although the menu said it was a 2009. This mostly full-bodied Sangiovese with hints of ripe fruit, spices, and some smoke on the finish, worked well with all our selections.
Their amuse bouche consisted of brie cheese with a dried fruit compote, and a midwest salsa on toasted corn bread topped with smoked salmon. I’d say they were just odd combinations, the least favorite food that I had that night. They also served lots of fresh baked corn bread with butter.
The escargot were unusually delicious. No, not the typical rendition swimming in garlic butter, but the snails come in a vermouth bath with sliced fennel, tomatoes, herbs, a bit of Parmesan ($12.95) and a thin bread crisp. Be sure to try.
Also a must is the palate-cleansing salad with shaved fennel, sliced pears, chevrè and baby arugula in a refreshing lemon-honey vinaigrette.
The stacked beet Napoleon ($11.95), as you’d guess from the name, consisted of layers. That’s layers of thick cut beets, sliced tomatoes and polenta chunks drizzled with goat cheese and topped with a fresh avocado slice. I’d wait until summer when tomatoes are at their peak to order it.
For a light tasty dish, consider the Baja fish tacos filled with lightly pan-fried fish (red snapper this night) over slaw and a roasted tomato along with shoestring fries ($17.95). Also on the plate were sides of mango salsa for the fish, and ketchup for the fries.
The tender grilled filet of wild boar was perfectly seasoned and prepared. For the uninitiated, there’s no gamey taste! That was served with applewood-smoked pancetta, some veggies (broccoli, carrots) and mashed sweet potatoes in a sauce with a hint of sweetness from figs and some earthiness from the mushrooms. It worked so well with our Chianti!
For dessert, we sampled the evening’s special of butternut squash crème brulee plus pumpkin fritters ($8 each). The latter was a tasty result of the chef having forgotten to buy a pumpkin pie one Thanksgiving, he whipped them up from canned pumpkin and it’s been on the menu ever since.
– bonnie
Philip Marie
West Village
569 Hudson St
New York, NY 10014
(212) 242-6200
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