Food and Things » 10025

Want Great Oatmeal? Try Metro Diner on the Upper West Side

Laura Weiss — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 01:53:57 +0000

I eat oatmeal most mornings and consider myself a bit of a connoisseur. Mostly, when you eat it out at a restaurant or diner a serving of oatmeal is runny or lumpy. But Metro Diner at Broadway and 100th Street cooks up an outstanding bowl of of the humble gruel. What’s more, if you ask, they’ll top it with a heaping serving of blueberries, each one the size of a Concord grape.

Girl eating oatmeal. Photo by by mliu92 via flickr.

Not in the mood to schlep to the Metro Diner? You can make this at home. Here’s how it’s done according to Nick the manager:

Use Quaker instant oatmeal (probably the fancy organic stuff works too) and use milk instead of water. It’s that simple.

At Metro Diner, they first prepare their oatmeal at 6 a.m. Then they keep it hot throughout the day over a pan of hot water.

Sometimes the simplest things are the best.

Sneak Peak: Key West Diner on Upper West Side Dropping Tropical Look; New Name Needed

Laura Weiss — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 18:07:42 +0000

The Key West Diner is being renovated. Photo: Laura B. Weiss

For 22 years, the Key West diner, an Upper West Side institution, has served standard diner fare in tropical-themed dining room that can only be described as extreme diner kitsch. Now, the neighborhood eatery which for years has boasted a vibrant–some might say garish—turquoise and tangerine decor designed to evoke its sub-tropical namesake, is undergoing a gut renovation intended to create a more modern look.

When will the new place, a favorite of upper Broadway denizens and of guests of the Hotel Newton next door, open? November, says owner Frank Tsiamtsiouris.

And, to go with the new, sleeker interior, management is searching for a new name for the place. The owners are asking the public for suggestions. Send them as comments to this post, and I’ll pass them on.

Key West Diner pre-renovation in its tropical phase.

As for the menu, “it will be pretty much the same,” says Tsiamtsiouris. That means you’ll still be able to get their refreshing fresh squeezed lemonade—maybe the last of its type in any diner in New York. Also likely to be kept around are the gargantuan omletes, mammoth salads that are enough to feed a family of five and other over-sized dishes.

As for the color scheme, dabs of tangerine will still exist here and there. But “there will be some browns, along with a higher ceiling, and a terrazzo floor,” says Tsiamtsiouris, who also owns the nearby Metro and City diners on Broadway as well as two other diners elsewhere in the city.

“After 23 years, the floor was breaking” and there was other structural deterioration too, he says, explaining why he decided to renovate now.

Key West Diner
2532 Broadway
New York, NY (Btwn 94th & 95th St)
212 932-0068

Upper West Side Restaurants: Falafel, Druze Restaurants Turn Neighborhood Into a Middle Eastern Mecca

Laura Weiss — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 16:43:40 +0000

Soom Soom. Photo: Laura B. Weiss

If you want falafel or maybe something more exotic from the Middle East, the Upper West Side is sprouting an array of joints to help you sample cuisines from around the region.

Soom Soom, which opened recently on 72nd Street just east of Broadway is a falafel lovers delight. The golden orbs are perfectly fried, then tucked into loaves of pillowy pita. Best of all is the salad bar-like set up which allows you to pile your falafel high with all the veggies and sauces—not to mention endless tahini—that make a falafel a meal in itself.

I went wild at the salad bar—to the point that my sandwich was really a tower of toppings with the falafel shoved into the bottom of the pita almost as an afterthought.

Also new to the neighborhood is a restaurant serving up Druze cuisine. Another Gazala Place, which already has an eatery in Hell’s Kitchen, is to be situated at 380 Columbus Avenue, near 78th Street, Grub Street reports. Druze dishes are similar to those found in other Middle Eastern countries, but instead of pita, the Druze use a thin crepe called sagg.

Not on the Upper West Side, but yearning for a great falafel?

Click here for Serious Eats’ Best Falafel list.

Soom Soom

166 West 72nd Street
New York, NY
212 712 2525

Upper West Side: Truffle Store Comes to the Neighborhood

Laura Weiss — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 18:43:02 +0000

Fresh Truffles. Photo: Urbani Truffles.

Truffles? What ever happened to lox as the delicacy of choice on the Upper West Side?

The neighborhood is going ever more upscale with the opening of Urbani Truffles on West End Avenue at 60th Street. The shop is slated to open sometime in September, says Vittorio Giordano, Urbani’s VP.

Truffles, of course, come from the Piedmont section of Italy. And the site of the new store couldn’t be more different than that lush area, which is marked by rolling vineyards and quaint hilltop towns. (I just spent a week there, dining on truffle accented dishes and drinking lots of Barolo.) In fact, the shop, a glittering glass boutique, is situated directly across from a grungy parking lot, the hulking Con-Ed plant, and Western Beef.

Why the less-than-scenic locale? “Because it’s Manhattan and West End Avenue,” explains Giordano. The area is “improving,” predicts the truffle seller, with Trump and other towers springing up along the western side of the street.

Ubrbani mostly sells wholesale but you can buy their products online and eventually at the new store.

By the way, Urbani Truffles “are certified kosher,” says Giordano.

The day I was there, the place was still under construction. But already cans of truffle pate, and packages of truffle oil and black and white truffles were on display like precious jewels.

Want a truffle fix? Of course, it’s not cheap

In Piedmont, I was able to buy various truffle pates for about 5 Euros or $8 at the exchange rate in early July. At Urbani, four ounces of fresh summer truffles are $59.90. More affordable is a jar of mushroom and truffle sauce for $8.26.

You can have fresh white and black truffles delivered right to your doorstep within 24 hours as well. And you can find Urbani truffle products at Citarella’s and at Agata and Valentina’sl.

Urbani Truffles
10 West End Avenue (60th Street)
212 2478800
www.urbanitrufflesonline.com.

Upper West Side: Cupcake Cafe Crumbs Moves into Shiny New Digs on Amsterdam Ave.

Laura Weiss — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 19:55:11 +0000

Cupcakes. Photo: CRUMBS Bake Shop

Not able to resist an apparently unstoppable trend, New Yorker’s continue to wolf down cupcakes. In fact,the Upper West Side branch of Crumbs has moved into shiny new digs. And the chain is expanding nationwide.

In a recent story, the Wall Street Journal, wrote about New Yorkers’ obsession with the little frosted cakes. Personally, I don’t get it. I know they’re considered by many a cheap indulgence, but frankly, it’s kid food for adults.

If you’re looking for the new Upper West Side Crumbs, you can find it at 350 Amsterdam Avenue at 76th.

Upper West Side: Recipe Roasts Pig in Alley and Neighbors Squeal

Laura Weiss — Wed, 19 May 2010 15:33:01 +0000

UWS restaurant Recipe roasting pig in alley. Photo: Courtesy Judy Starr via Westside Independent.

Pig Roasting on a spit in the alley behind your building? Sound appealing…or ghastly? Recipe, the New American restaurant at 452 Amsterdam Avenue off of 82nd Street, held a first anniversary celebration for its staff this week—and roasted a pig out back, a manager at the restaurant confirmed to the Westside Independent.

But residents apparently squealed. The smell and the sight of the piggy turning on the spit offended some. Read more.

Upper West Side: Pinch & S’Mac, the Pizzza and Mac ‘n Cheese Combo Closes.

Laura Weiss — Sun, 09 May 2010 15:27:27 +0000

Pinch & S’Mac, the pairing of former East Side pizza restaurant Pinch, and East Village macaroni and cheese eatery S’mac, has closed its doors to make way for an Italian restaurant called Grandma’s. The Italian eatery is slated to replace Pinch & S’Mac at the Columbus Ave. space located between 82nd and 83rd St., reports the Westside Independent. Read more here.

Upper West Side: Pio Pio Chicken Chain Sued for Labor Violations

Laura Weiss — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 14:11:42 +0000

Photo: by stevendepolo via flickr.

Pio Pio’s Peruvian chicken is a mainstay at our house. Want take-in? We go for their chicken, crispy on the outside, succulent on the inside.

Now, the chain with eight outposts—on the Upper West Side at 702 Amsterdam Ave., in Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx—is being sued by nine of its workers for for allegedly running afoul of a number of labor laws. Read more on Crain’s.

Upper West Side: Sal & Carmine Shuttered by Health Department

Laura Weiss — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 13:06:14 +0000

Sal and Carmine pizza joint closed for health violations. Photo: Laura B. Weiss

The Westside Independent reports that neighborhood pizza mainstay, Sal & Carmine on Broadway located between 101st and 102nd streets, has been shut down by the city’s health department. Last summer, Sal, one of the longtime pizza makers, died suddenly last summer, saddening fans of the neighborhood slice stalwart.

The reason for the health department clampdown?

According to the Westside Independent:

The most recent health department inspection from February says the restaurant had evidence of mice, or live mice, and that the toilet facility was not properly maintained, among other violations. We are assuming there was a subsequent health department inspection that didn’t go so well.

Sal & Carmine Pizza
2671 Broadway (between 101st and 102nd)
212 663 7651

Upper West Side: Tangled Vine Opens, Starbucks Closes, Eighty One Bites the Dust, Roth’s Steakhouse Shutters

Laura Weiss — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 21:22:23 +0000

Tangled Vine, which opened recently on Amsterdam and 81st is another small plates and wine bar joint. The small plates were fine. In fact, the mushroom fricassee had a nice crunchy richness to it. But like so many places these days, the noise level was deafening. Every surface in the place–from the tables to the walls–was hard edged; no noise buffer whatsoever. I was dining with a close friend. I may have heard every other word as she screeched to be heard above the din.

Photo: via Roths courtesy Westside Independent.

Meanwhile, three neighborhood spots–Starbucks, Eighty One, and Roth’s Steakhouse—have shuttered, according to reports by the West Side Independent.

The Starbucks at 98th and Broadway was a dreary place, but if you were desperate for a shot of java, it offered a convenient option.

Ed Brown’s Eighty-One tried mightily to bring fine dining to the Upper West Side. But then the recession hit. Ed tried to scale back is offerings, but it wasn’t enough. Read my interview with Brown on Eighty One and on the state of Upper West Side dining.

Roth’s, at Columbus and 93rd, apparently plans to open at another location,says the Westside Independent.