124 replies to this topic

[nuxvomica]

former chefs from A16 and Myth opened a cute little neighborhood place on E. 12th between A and B. Part store (pickles, jams, milk, etc.), part restaurant. Simple food, some of it pretty tasty although not worth a special trip. special of pork meatballs in marinara, light and delicate but a bit underseasoned. very good kale salad with cheddar and almonds. very loose polenta with mushrooms and spinach, sounded delicious but was short on flavor, except for the spinach, which was rather salty (or just sprinkled with salt in the center?). there is a pork entree that changes daily, the night we were there it was a kale-stuffed trotter over lentils.

the room is nice but very small, tables cramped. seats by the windows can be a little cold. the bathroom, next to the kitchen, smelled lovely of apple pie. nice and well-meaning staff but understaffed at prime time.

the menu is available all day, i bet it's a very nice, relaxed spot during the day.

[Wilfrid]

Northern Spy really is trying to hit all the right notes to attract a similar following to that enjoyed by Back Forty a short walk away. It all seems to come out of a very familiar playbook, but it's worth stopping by for the pork terrine.

I made some comparisons with another East Village venture, the more traditional Brindle Room (thread here).

[Lex]

I just read your review on the Pink Pig. You perfectly captured the feeling of reviewing the same restaurant over and over and over.

[Sneakeater]

Funnily enough, I was just going to post how the pickled eggs at The Vanderbilt (which historically preceeded Norther Spy's by a few months) are, IMO, one of the Great Dishes Of Brooklyn -- and the best accompaniment to a gin cocktail I've yet come across.

[Wilfrid]

I just read your review on the Pink Pig. You perfectly captured the feeling of reviewing the same restaurant over and over and over.

I hope I don't give readers the feeling of reading the same review over and over. Something completely different next week, I hope. Which reminds me, the Pythons entered my mind when I was typing something about the aioli being "a bit runnier than you like it, sir."

[Lex]

I hope I don't give readers the feeling of reading the same review over and over.

No, you manage to keep it fresh and readable. It's not your fault that the restaurants are doing the same things.

[g.johnson]

Funnily enough, I was just going to post how the pickled eggs at The Vanderbilt (which historically preceeded Norther Spy's by a few months) are, IMO, one of the Great Dishes Of Brooklyn.

Why was it I should visit Brooklyn, again?

[Sneakeater]

Quaker Cemetary. Montgomery Clift's grave.

[TaliesinNYC]

Funnily enough, I was just going to post how the pickled eggs at The Vanderbilt (which historically preceeded Norther Spy's by a few months) are, IMO, one of the Great Dishes Of Brooklyn.

Why was it I should visit Brooklyn, again?

To see if DiFara's is really worth the hype.

[Sneakeater]

How can Alan Richman laud Northern Spy for its unusual menu, when what has kept me from going there is the fact that the menu looks exactly like every other menu I've ordered from this season?

[Wilfrid]

Northern Spy Food Co. is an earnest little restaurant with not many seats, not too large a menu, and a sweet locavore sensibility, a place you're more likely to find in Berkeley, California, or Portland, Oregon, than in the East Village.

He hasn't heard of Back Forty, then?

Good photo of the terrine. Recommended.

[joethefoodie]

Last night, after being unceremoniously denied a table at Back Forty due to impending rain, we walked around the corner to find a table available at NSFC and quickly snatched it up.

I thought the food that we ordered was quite good - no crazy misfires on anything we tried. The cold cauliflower soup with crème fraîche could've used a smidge more salt and the mesclun salad with feta was slightly overdressed to my taste, but that's just me, after all.

My chicken liver mousse appetizer was excellent, and served with just enough toasts to make it through the whole serving of liver. Roast chicken (BOBO!) came out nice and moist (even the breast) with a crisp skin that was tough to set aside, even though my vow to set aside crisp chicken skin had been kept till now. Another special, "line caught" sea bass, was juicy and moist with a properly crisp skin, and there's no need to set that aside. Pork meatballs were as tender as can be, and I liked these almost as much as Meatball Shop's, though they're of a different style and much fluffier.

So, what's the problem? Start off with perhaps the most uncomfortable seating (on the benches) I've ever experienced. Ssam and Noodle Bar feel like a Barcalounger compared to this. Then there are my pet peeves. Partially bussed tables. Why take 1 plate away when the rest of the party is still eating? The need to ask for glasses when served a beer.

And I really love this one: used knife and fork resting on the empty plate ready to be bussed. Server removes said used knife and fork and puts them on the table. From my dirty plate. As if I want to use the same silverware. No thanks, bring me new ones. She does. And then does exactly the same thing to my dining companions. Please - you can't be saving that much money by giving us fresh silverware, can you? As a matter of fact, I find the food to be a nice value - so how about adding a dime to the cost of the entrees, and just bring fresh silverware without the customer having to ask. This customer would be so much happier.

[Sneakeater]

I was at Northern Spy shortly after joethefoodie last night, apparently.

This place seems to me to be the new mean for mid-priced NYC restaurants. Everything was well-prepared, at a level we never would have expected in the midrange years ago. But the menu is BORING. It's all the stuff all the other places like this serve. I wouldn't avoid Northern Spy, but I can't see going there, either.

[joethefoodie]

I was at Northern Spy shortly after joethefoodie last night, apparently.

This place seems to me to be the new mean for mid-priced NYC restaurants. Everything was well-prepared, at a level we never would have expected in the midrange years ago. But the menu is BORING. It's all the stuff all the other places like this serve. I wouldn't avoid Northern Spy, but I can't see going there, either.

Wow, two ships... Comfort and service issues aside (for the time being), I think it's nice to have a place where the food is reliably prepared and where one can go with friends who aren't the most adventuresome eaters.

And even though the menu may be BORING (hey, there were pig trotters offered as a special last night - did you order?), I would much rather have the well-prepared roast chicken at $16 than someone else's attempt at tomfoolery at twice the price.

Again, many people do not go out to eat nearly as often or as experimentally as the disciples of mouthfuls. And for them, Northern Spy and, when it's not raining, Back Forty, can fit the bill quite nicely.

[Sneakeater]

OF COURSE I ordered the pig's trotters.

I mean, should I be grateful that we're now in a place where we can look at pig's trotters as boring? I guess so. And I'm not saying this place is boring because it's not "experimental": Prime Meats, say, which I love, is no more experimental than Northern Spy. It's just that if you sat down to write a menu that exemplifies homey NYC restaurants in 2010, the things we've been offered day in and day out, without a single individuating feature, this menu would be it.