Gettin' Piggy with it: Market-fresh is the focus at Little Piggy (Market)
(Credit: Craig Samuel)
After bringing BK barbecue lovers a solid pit stop with Smoke Joint, partners Ben Grossman and Craig Samuel now have a Southern-themed country store and café to go along with it. “We affectionately refer to it as our non-smoking section,” laughs Samuel. “We’ve been eating too much barbecue for the past year.” With a focus on market-fresh offerings, Little Piggy, in Fort Greene, delivers back-to-basics American fare like meat-loaf sandwiches and heirloom tomato salad, in addition to 13-month-cured artisanal ham and Anson mill grits, among others. “Right now, restaurants are moving toward this basic standardized version of American food: Caesar salad, shrimp cocktail, baked potato—we’ve lost our agrarian soul,” says Craig, who sources his ingredients from local Brooklyn markets. “I hate chefs that say they try to educate. I try to remind people that what we have here is great—American food that is either forgotten or not served anymore.” 64 Lafayette Ave. at S. Elliot Place, Fort Greene, 718-797-1011
Toloache
There’s no shortage of incredible Mexican restaurants in the Hell’s Kitchen/Theater District area, but this splashy “contemporary Mexican bistro” whacks the competition harder than a pinata. With a bi-level space and an epic menu that reads like a phone book, Toloache serves up a parade of ceviches and guacamoles, as well as small plates, tacos and about 13 entrees. “I wanted to have my own interpretation of mixing traditional and contemporary Mexican food,” says chef-owner Julian Medina, who earned his stripes at Zocalo and SushiSamba. Medina puts an imaginative spin on Mexican staples (caramelized-veal-sweetbread tacos, quesadilla with corn and black truffles) by drawing on the food of his youth in Mexico City. “Every weekend, we used to [have] a Mexican brunch with carnitas,” he says; now, he uses suckling pig roasted in a brick oven for his version of carnitas. The restaurant’s name is a reference to the flowering plant used in love potions, but we bet the only potions you’ll need to get lucky come from a whopping selection of over 70 tequilas. Arrrrrriba! 251 W. 50th St. between Broadway and Eighth Ave., 212-581-1818
BarFry
If the onslaught of izakayas, ramen joints and yakitori spots hasn’t already convinced you that Japanese food in NYC has gone completely zonkers, prepare to get fried: The Village now has a restaurant devoted solely to tempura. Josh DeChellis, of Sumile Sushi fame, plunges everything from vegetables (eggplant) to meats (pork dumpling) to overall oddities (beef beignet?!) into canola oil—don’t even try to ask him what’s in the batter. Also on tap: a selection of po’boys (think pork cutlets with kimchee and chili dressing), as well as “Bar Boxes” filled will tempura (or po’boys), sides and special sauces like jalapeno soy and sweet miso. 50 Carmine St. at Bedford St., 212-929-5050
Sangria 46
Midtown’s Restaurant Row just got busier with the addition of this tapas-and-sangria bar, which offers about eight homemade sangrias (ranging from mango to strawberry-and-peach) and over three-dozen tapas plates. “The great thing about tapas is, you’re not stuck to one dish,” says co-owner Benny Castro, a native of northern Spain. “The bad thing is that a lot of new restaurants are going funkier—adding creams and sauces—which is fine, but it’s breaking away from tradition.” Castro considers himself a purist, preferring instead to stick to simple ingredients: olive oil, garlic, paprika. “I like to keep it the way it was meant to be made,” he says. 338 W. 46th St. between Eighth and Ninth Aves., 212-581-8482
Flatiron Joe’s
If you’re located at the site of the spectacular flameout that was known as Lonesome Dove, you’ll probably want to fly under the radar, too, which is what this cozy neighborhood spot seems to have successfully done. The restaurant is from chef-owner Joe Shaffer, who also owns Shaffer City Oyster Bar and Grill a few doors down, and serves up casual bar food like sliders, pizza and nachos. A full lunch and dinner menu is expected in the fall. 29 W. 21st St. between Fifth and Sixth Aves., 212-414-3139
