CAFÉ CHELSEA

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BOTTINO

 I had kept Bottino in my back pocket as a go-to destination for when I needed somewhere reliably close by and moderate in price.  Given that spontaneity is one of my weakest attributes, I never found myself in such a need of it.  But I'm

 on a rampage to check those place off my list that have been there for far too long, and on a crystal clear but cold winter night, I ventured west to the veteran bistro

And cute as a button is Bottino, quite a large space, which they say is even better in the summer when the garden is open.  But I can't imagine anything much more attractive than it's winter coat, festooned with star-shaped lanterns strung from the rafters, emitting a luminous glow echoed by the smiling waitstaff.  We were seated swiftly, but the place was busy.  At capacity, or at least close.  The dining room is mostly whitewashed, and my only complaint is that the heavy wire-grid chairs kept snagging my tights, even with the seated cushion as a buffer.   Other than that, it's much like I might design a restaurant of this echelon, and it also boasts a private dining space in addition to the expansive dining room.

The menu is approachable: modern, seasonal Italian.  I started off with the fried artichokes, which (caveat emptor) were a bit more fried-y-fried than I might've wanted, but exquisitely crispy (which also made some of the batter easy enough to scrape off and lighten the dish somewhat).  It's a huge portion of them, too, of which I finished only about half, even though that had that addictive Lays-potato-chip intrigue to them with their bite of chili and mint.  I definitely ate more than I originally intended, but it's also big enough to share.  My tablemate opted for roasted beets (my go-to, so I was happy to finish his off).  They're also big enough

to maybe share, although I probably could have finished them on my own, a much lighter presentation than the 'chokes, dusted with a crumble of crunchy pistachios.

Before.... way before we came even close to finishing those, our main courses arrived.  There didn't seem to be any confusion on our server's end, shuffling plates around to try and fit all of the newly arrived dishes to ones still in progress.  The first thing to go was the bread plate, which was notably stale and terrible, left untouched anyway, so was a bit "good riddance."  (Note to Bottino: get better bread.)    But the real problem that remained, with all that unsynchronized distribution, is that I totally forgot to photograph our main dishes. 

 I'll at least go to the effort now of outsourcing a photo from Yelp so you don't have to, which isn't a great one but does look ostensibly like what showed up on my plate when I ordered the branzino.  Much to my dismay (which may have also played into my forgetting to photograph it), my tablemate ordered the same dish I did. I should've switched to the octopus, but the restaurant is pretty loud, and since I had ordered first, it seemed cumbersome to confuse our server, but in retrospect I should've risked it.  Branzino has become rather

Photo credit: Karen L./Yelp

 ubiquitous and isn't really that sensational to begin with, so while their preparation was solid, it wasn't anything to write home about.  I liked the marble potatoes and spinach underneath as much (or more) as the fish, fresh and well-cooked as it was. .  

Dessert went the way of my photography omission: somehow the check was brought before considering it, so we just took it as a sign that dinner way over. I don't know if it was an oversight or they needed the table... or maybe they're just not that strong on dessert. There is no dessert menu listed on the website, but some Yelp photos (sorry for all the Yelp refernces here. It's not a website I ever even acknowledge except in emergencies) actually look pretty appealing. That said, you're on your own. If they follow the quality of the rest of the meal, you won't be disappointed, but you might not beeline to return. .  

246 TENTH AVENUE TEL. +1.212.206.6766

EMPIRE DINER

 There are few restaurants I have visited, and basically none at which I could be considered a regular.  But this was my fourth visit to Empire Diner, although ostensibly, at the same time, my first.  Empire Diner has changed ownership and concept so many times since it's original classic diner iteration established in 1946, and has now found quite strong footing under the leadership of the Cafeteria Restaurant group, a capable entity for the takeover.  

Never in my experience has Empire Diner been a classic diner of Americana lore, slinging hash and silver dollars, greasy burgers or blue plate specials: that was before my time.  But given the landmarked real estate, there is some of that mystique clinging to the sleeked up eatery, by no means frou-frou and still offers pretty good bang for your buck.

Because portion sizes are pretty generous!  To start things off, we took our waiter's recommendation of the roasted cauliflower over fried artichokes (which was a tough decision, 'cause I love both, and there were also shishito peppers trying to elbow their way into the decision), but my tablemate and I both loved the cauli.  True, it was cooked to within an inch of complete disintegration, but I love me a well-cooked vegetable, and this was executed in sumptuous way.  If you don't like your veggies super tender, opt for one of the others we were toggling between.  But it's sweetness was coaxed out by that generous cook time, and countered with the slight,

 nutty bitterness of tahini and a fresh herb vinaigrette.  I kind of wish it would've achieved a hint more char on the outside, but it is pretty hard to criticize after we almost literally licked that plate clean.  My tablemate opted for the tuna tartare, which was a admittedly a tad basic with avocado, ginger and soy, but the potato chips that came along for scooping it up were stellar: perfectly crispy and salty.  

For mains we went surf & turf: one branzino and one meatloaf.  The latter, while truer to classic diner form, was frankly pretty bad... although my tablemate really liked it, so...?  For me, its texture was homogenous and a little mealy, the meat bland but the tomato glaze overpoweringly tangy and sweet.  The mashed potatoes that accompanied might have had a firmer texture than the meat (they were quite good) and a hefty portion of steamed collards beneath balanced the plate well.  The carrots, on the other hand, were fairly bland and undercooked, especially paired with meatloaf.  

The branzino was more successful, a sizeable filet bedded in a similarly generous portion of bloomsdale spinach, with the crispiest of skins and topped with chunks of colorful olives. Simple but satisfying.  Maybe the crowning glory of the night were the charred brussels sprouts, kicked up with calabrian chiles and a bit of colatura for funk. 

 Some of the larger halves were a little underdone, but the smaller ones came close to perfection.  

I had my heart set on a big ol' slice of diner-style homemade pie since before even ordering our repast, but oddly enough there's no pie on the menu (at least not March).  Maybe it's a seasonal thing?  Anyway, lots of ice cream and cake options, and maybe a banana praline pudding would've been more appealing had we not been so full.  There are some certainly 'Grammable milkshakes, too, with various toppings.  

Our waiter was charming and attentive, as was the maitre d', both of whom checked in on us at regular intervals to assure everything was copacetic, which it was.  Which makes me think the current iteration of Empire Diner might stick around as long, or close, as the original.  

210 10th Avenue 

tel. 212.335.2277