Empellon Taqueria

I'm baaaaaaack!  Did you guys miss me?  I know I know... I've been MIA for a bit, but its been hectic the last couple weeks.  I'm excited to be back in action though!

Last week, I met up with two former coworkers for dinner at Empellon Taqueria in the West Village.  I love exploring the West Village but I always get so confused trying to find my way around! Empellon Taqueria is such a cute gem in the West Village but if you don't look closely, you could walk right past its nearly unmarked door (as I did...twice).   

Outside of Empellon Taqueria

When you walk in, you'll find a colorful and awsome looking bar area on the right.  On the left, you'll find a cozy dining area with exposed brick walls, great lighting, and well placed art/fixtures that create a fantastic atmosphere.

Awsome bar with a colorful background and fully stocked bottles

Fedora

Hello Piggy Friends!  I hope you all managed to weather Hurricane Sandy!  Turns out, I should have invested more into my Hurricane stockpile (cheese doesn't do too well when you loose power and a working fridge).  Alas...I do not look forward to tossing everything out from my freezer and fridge.  With power not expected to be restored for another couple days, Piggy KL and I have walked up to her place in midtown and now I have hot showers, hot food, and power! 

For now, here's an entry from calmer days...

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I've been exploring the West Village a bit more recently and on one of my walks I passed by Fedora. Located on a cute street in the heart of the West Village, I couldn't resist coming in and giving this place a try!

Fedora in the West Village

It's a small restaurant, so I definitely recommend calling to make a reservation before making the walk over for dinner.  There is a long wooden bar on the left and a row of tables on the right.  Space was definitely tight, and my two dining compadres and I had to squeeze into a two person table (which they just turning sideways to make wider).  TIGHT.

Dining area, before the rush

In an attempt to loosen up, I of course perused the cocktail list and went with the Songbird (there's St. Germain in it how can I resist?!). 

Cocktail menu

I love drinks that come in this classic glass

Looking at the menu, it has a pretty limited selection so make sure to take a look before you commit to coming. 

Whitehall

Hurricane Irene Sandy is rolling through NYC right about now...what did you do to prepare for Frankenstorm?  Since I couldn't even get into any of the three grocery stores in the Union Square area yesterday, I'm making do with some popcorn and diet ginger ale from Duane Reade and a huge ball of fresh mozzarella cheese from East Village Cheese Shop.

My rations for the hurricane: popcorn, ginger ale, and a big ball of fresh mozz

I couldn't resist having one last meal, though, so last night I stopped by Whitehall in the West Village for a Hurricane Welcome dinner!

Front of Whitehall - look for "No. 19" on the awning

The name is not prominently displayed in the front of the restaurant so if you are a bit lost, look for "No. 19" on the awning.  The front room has a long bar area on the left and tables on the right side of the room.  If you keep walking to the back, there is another dining area with exposed brick walls.  Both areas are warmly lit and feature chalkboards detailing the specials of the day.

Front area of Whitehall

Back dining area

Love the large chalkboards listing the day's spec

As I take my seat, first order of business is the take a look at the cocktail list.  I looooove a great cocktail!  And when they come, they are served in huge glasses!

Rosemary's

On my third try, I finally made it off the wait list and managed to have dinner at Rosemary's.  And it did not disappoint!  This new Italian hotspot in the West Village sadly does not take reservations so if you are hoping to snag a spot, come early (before 6pm) or late (after 9pm).  Otherwise, you'll be very VERY far down the waitlist (if you can even make it on to the waitlist that is).

So just what is it about this place that makes it so popular?  First thing that caught my eye was the restaurant itself.  I loved the feel of the space - rustic and relaxed.  Take a look!

Gorgeous dining room

Bar area is located in the back of the restaurant, but there are
lots of tables for you to enjoy a glass of wine while waiting for your table

Another shot of the dining room

Brunch: Little Owl

Happy September my fellow piggys!  With Labor Day just this past Monday, I took advantage of the long weekend and snagged myself a spot at The Little Owl for brunch!

Notoriously tiny (or cozy as everyone calls it) and popular, this little neighborhood spot is always fully booked and the waiting list for walk-ins extremely long.  But this Labor Day weekend, I managed to snag a coveted reservation for brunch yay!  I had been to The Little Owl for dinner before and felt meh about my experience.  But I have heard that brunch here is the way to go so what the heck, lets give it a second go!

Located deeeeeep in the West Village, The Little Owl is actually in the building that the tv show Friends made famous.  Look familiar?

The Little Owl is located in the Friends building!

While I had an 11:30am reservation, my dining compadres and I were not seated until noon.  Bummer.  While waiting patiently for our table to finish, we stood outside and watched many many many people come by trying to snag a walk-in spot and walk away unsuccessful.  Moral of the story - come early and/or make a reservation and be prepared to wait a bit.

When you walk in, its a bright space with a homey feel.  I can understand the appeal of dining here - its comforting and relaxing.

Brunch: Cornelia Street Cafe

Some Sundays, I just don't want to deal with crazy lines or crowded/loud spaces.  No more panicking about having no reservations and no extra pressure to wake up at 10am just to be first in line.  Sometimes, I just want a nice relaxing brunch.  Do you feel like that too?

If so, then I think you'll really enjoy Cornelia Street Cafe!

Located on a quiet street (Cornelia St if you haven't guessed) in the West Village, this cafe is perfect for a casual brunch on a lazy Sat/Sun morning.  There's great outdoor seating and the inside is inviting, bright, and relaxing.  Even bigger plus - no crazy wait or reservations needed!  Walked right in around 12:30pm on a Sunday with no problem.  Score!!

Bar seating area right when you walk in

Dining room to the side

As you peruse the menu, you'll see that they have all the usual brunch suspects.  And of course, they offer a fantastic prix fixe that I just couldn't resist - for $20 you get a choice of entree, baked goodie, brunch cocktail/juice, and coffee/tea. 

Numero 28 Pizzeria Napoletana

Thursdays...sooo close to the weekend which makes me too lazy to cook!  Ok ok I'll take any excuse to eat out, but I'm always on the look-out for low key dinner spots for Thursdays.

I recently scoped out Numero 28 Pizzeria Napoletana - they have a couple locations in the city including Soho and the West Village.  There's also one a couple blocks away from me in the East Village and it's just the spot for an easy dinner!  They are cash only though so make sure stop by the ATM before heading to Numero 28.

I love the atmosphere inside.  Exposed brick walls lined with simple chandeliers perfectly complement the low hum of lively conversations by your fellow diners.  The brick oven in the back just begs for you to order pizza!  And I loved that the table next to us AND behind us ordered in Italian.  That may not be a guaranteed experience for you should you decide to stop by, but it def made me feel like I was back in Europe!

Inside of Numero 28

Brick oven in the back

To start off our dinner, my dining compadre and I shared the Prosciutto and Fresh Mozzarella.  This was a pretty large portion - look how much came with the order!  The prosciutto was on the thicker side so not really a favorite of mine, but my dining compadre enjoyed it.  The mozzarella tasted great though and paired well with the prosciutto. 

Prosciutto and Fresh Mozzarella

Fatty 'Cue (West Village)

Question:  Asian cuisine + American BBQ = ?
Answer:  Fatty 'Cue!

Combining these two cuisines results in truly amazing Asian flavors with great quality meats.  I just visited Fatty 'Cue in the West Village, and they also have a location in Williamsburg which I visited over the summer.  Surprisingly the menus differ at the two locales, which makes it all the more interesting to try both!

The food was delicious and every dish had different flavors.  Nothing one-note here! The food line up consisted of:

Ham, Jam, Butter & Bread (edward's ham, pretzel bread, cincalok, aged butter)

Trippa 'Malaysiana' (Tripe in a red anchovy curry)

Special: Braised Beef Cheeks with Noodles and Chinese Sausage

Brunch: Elephant & Castle

Sometimes you give a brunch spot a go and love it.  Then you go back a second time and then finally see it for what it really is.  Total bummer.  I am sad to report that I recently experienced this beauty vs beast type situation during brunch at Elephant & Castle.

Elephant & Castle (pic from nymag)

Beauty experience: The first time I went to brunch at Elephant & Castle, I rolled in around 11am. Crazy I know, but I've recently gotten into the habit of going to brunch early.  Not sure if I've been waking up earlier just to beat the rush, or if I just happen to beat the rush because I've been getting up earlier "naturally".  Either way, that first time brunching at Elephant & Castle was glorious.  We walked right in and got seated right away at a table of our choice.  Score!

The inside was simple and charming.  Yes the service was a bit spotty but I just wrote that off as a one-off occurrence.  My food still came quickly and I enjoyed my brunch.  I promptly put Elephant & Castle on my "favorites" list.

The charming setting inside (pic from nymag)