Last month Kelly and I headed east to find some good, but affordable Italian food for my son’s 39th birthday. We not only found an affordable place, we found a gem, well worth a walk across to 5th Street between A and B.
I was a little bit nervous when I was walking in with my mom and my sister. We had a Tuesday 7 p.m. reservation and the restaurant (Capitaine) was quite full. Plus, the whole place gave complete date night vibes. Couples on dates. Girls with friends. I saw no kids in the whole place. But when they led us to our seat, thankfully I spotted a family next to us with two children.
What are some fun facts about this pasta shop? They have had a pasta machine that cuts noodles (“the guillotine”) since 1916. The have had same phone number since 1920.
My parents recently took me to its sister restaurant, Malatesta, six blocks from us. Malatesta means “headache” in Italian, which is a strange name for a restaurant, but my father says he loves both places because the owners are real Italians.
You have probably walked by this place a thousand times. On the corner of Hudson at Jane, it’s hard to miss. There is a large front patio with people eating nachos, or guacamole, and drinking bright-colored cocktails. I never knew what Móle was, but today I would finally find out!
On a Friday night, my parents were already at La Boca, inside the Faena Hotel. They had gone without us, but soon decided my sister, Charlemagne, and I would probably love it too.
Now upon finding out a few weeks ago from Jeffrey, the owner of Japonica, that my favorite Japanese restaurant was closing at the end of April, I am sadder still. Japonica on University Place, like Elephant and Castle, has been a go-to restaurant since it opened 48 years ago.
If you walk past Jeju Noodle Bar, you might not notice it on the northeast corner of Christopher and Greenwich streets. Also, the shades are always down, and it looks very private.
I hope you’re not too disappointed when you learn that this article is about retirement, and not about real or imagined romantic exploits, despite the title.
Little Owl is in the heart of the vintage West Village. It’s next to the Friends apartment, half a block from Grove Court, and a block away from the narrowest (9.5 feet) townhouse in New York where someone famous lived.
