Monthly Archives: December 2009

BBQ and Whiskey.  Whiskey and BBQ.  Char No. 4 specializes in both of these things.  The BBQ is what I would consider Post-Modern Brooklyn BBQ (if such a category exists).  This isn’t Dinosaur BBQ.  The food is good, not great, with the BLT, which uses pork belly not bacon, the Pulled Pork Sandwich and the Home Cured Lamb Pastrami being standouts.  The real star of this joint is the whiskey.  With almost 200 whiskeys, most of which are illuminated with spotlights behind the bar, this is a drinkers paradise.  You can also order all the whiskeys either by the glass or as 1 oz tasters…so you can sample several.  I started with the Belmont Park flight (a sampler of three whiskeys) and went from there.  I think I had dessert, but after several rounds of tasters I have no recollection.

Freemans might be the coolest spot in NYC.  Tucked at the back of Freeman Alley in the LES, this place has it going on in all the right ways.  Most restaurants seem like the owners have a manual on “cool” and are trying to follow the directions.  There is no manual at Freemans.  Killer look and feel, great food, great booze and the right vibe.  To top it off, after my lunch today, I got my haircut in the barbershop at the  back of Freemans Sporting Club, the retail store for Freemans owner Taavo Somer’s clothing line (also named Freemans Sporting Club).  So in one joint (more or less), I had great eats, a solid cup of rye, got a haircut and bought a flannel.  Until another restaurant starts selling flannels and cutting hair, you can find me at Freemans.

I feel good every time I polish off a sandwich at Porchetta.  I do, however, often wish that I had a little something sweet to finish off the meal.  That problem was solved on my last trip downtown when I looked across the street (and maybe slightly east) and found Butter Lane, a very cool little cupcake shop.  Butter Lane posts all of its icing and cake flavors on the wall and you simply choose your poison (pleasure).  A nice soft, fresh cake in vanilla, chocolate or banana, combined with icing flavors including, blueberry, peanut butter, burnt caramel and chocolate tangerine, make this place a winner.  I particularly loved me a cupcake with peanut butter icing and chocolate cake and one with French chocolate icing and banana cake.  

 Warning:  Eating a sandwich at Porchetta and two cupcakes at Butter Lane on the regular will make your body irresistible to women…be prepared.

Butter Lane-123 East 7^th Street

Normally the opening of a new Danny Meyer spot would be as exciting to me as watching the paint dry in my freshly painted bathroom.  However, the fact that this new spot in the Gramercy Park Hotel is 30 feet from my apartment, that the name means “little pig”, and that it looked so much more casual  than the space’s previous restaurant, I was intrigued.  I also rolled in here with a former Meyerite (that sounds like some sort of Eastern European Yid Clan) who knew everyone in the joint and totally hooked it up. 

The space is cool.  It’s trying, but not to hard.  In typical Meyer fashion the food is good, but not great.  The Raviolo Al Uovo was a definite standout, with a lightly cooked egg within a large ravioli shell stuffed with ricotta.  The Grande Selezione meat platter could fulfill the dreams of any Italian meat lover.  The Maialino al Forno was good, but not the highlight of the night.  As far as wine, being that I was there with a guy who knew a guy I did more eating and drinking than ordering and listening, but I know everyone was impressed with the value of the Dolcetto, which was one of several bottles we went through. 

The best part of the night was our ability to get up to the GPH’s roof after dinner, a super cool space with several different rooms, all of which look like rooms in my cool British uncle’s flat in Notting Hill Gate (if he really existed).  The Mixmaster up on the roof (the one behind the bar not on the turntables) also turned out some of the absolute best drinks I have had in some time (maybe ever).  With a nip and tuck this dude turned my Maker’s into a slice of heaven.