Weighing in on Pounds & Ounces

While Chelsea may be a fantastic area to play, lounge hop, and people watch, one thing it has seemed to lack is a one-stop shop where you can enjoy delicious food either as a snack with friends over conversation, specialty cocktails, intimate lounge seating, a communal bar with a great group scene, or secluded dining, along with outdoor seating in great weather.  And then I met Pounds and Ounces (160 8th Ave at 18th Street).

I was pretty thrilled to discover Jeff Kreisel had recently taken over as Executive Chef, as his creations in Long Island City at Penthouse 808 had really elevated rooftop dining in my neighborhood.

In a recent post by The Village Voice, the chef explains, "The whole dinner menu is new. We still have some burgers, but we've added lighter fare and gluten-free options, and we've focused on seasoning properly, portioning properly, and sourcing very locally."

Chef Kreisel is working on the lunch menu and a late night menu, so I can't wait to return soon to see what new dishes he has in store.  In the meanwhile, here are is a preview of what a great dinner menu he already has set in place.

Summer Watermelon Salad with mint, cucumbers, tomatoes, ricotta salata, toasted pine nuts, & lemon dressing.

Chicken Liver Pate with truffle salt

Citrus & Herb cured salmon with beet couscous, citrus creme fraiche, and corn blinis

Lobster Corn Dogs with Meyer Lemon Aioli

Seared scallops with eggplant caviar, roasted tomatoes, crispy sunchokes, & aged vinegar

Seared Halibut with maitake mushrooms, fingerling potatoes, and scallion-ginger pesto

F&Kn Burger with onion marnalade, fontina, pineapple braised short ribs, pickled green tomato chips, on brioche.

Motorist mistakes new gastropub The Shady Lady as a drive-thru

Just some of the fantastic sharing plates at The Shady Lady

UPDATE: The owners have confirmed they will reopen this coming Sunday

The Shady Lady | 34-19 30th Ave, Astoria | (718) 440-9081 | Open daily for dinner and late night

Opening a new restaurant in New York City can pose countless unforeseen road bumps, but the worst is when someone mistakes your new restaurant for an actual speed bump. Two nights ago, a motorist did precisely that, driving his car directly into The Shady Lady, which recently opened on the corner of 30th Ave and 35th St. The owners have posted a sign on the windows which reads, "Unfortunately someone thought we had a drive-thru. We will absolutely RE-OPEN ASAP and look forward to seeing all of you soon."  Fortunately, no one was injured.

Such an unexpected hiccup could be a huge setback for any new business, but the team at The Shady Lady seems determined to reopen for business. A message from the chef anticipates the reopening as early as this Sunday or Monday. If you have yet to stop by, this would be a perfect time to welcome them to the neighborhood and show some Astoria support. I was fortunate enough to meet the team and sample the food on a few occasions during their soft opening. It seems to me that this place has got something pretty special going on. Not your typical bar food, this gastropub is cranking out some impressive plates.

First cousins Louie Sparagis and Billy Pappas have been inseparable best friends since the age of two, so when Sparagis decided to open a new restaurant—Crave—in Astoria with business partner Marinos Argyros (the two opened Nikitas Place in White Plains in 2001), it only seemed natural to team up with Pappas, who had graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in 1997 and built his career in such kitchens as the Waldorf-Astoria and Rainbow Room.

Now just 2½ years after the successful introduction of Crave, it seemed the right time to open a restaurant that could showcase the full range of the team’s abilities. This time bringing along high school buddy, Chris Prilook, as a partner and General Manager, The Shady Lady was built by hand, using no outside contractors, including all of the tables, beams, and the bar, using reclaimed wood.

Only one television screen, above the bar, plays silent films, the entire concept intended to foster socializing and interaction amongst friends, with a global menu focused on plates intending for sharing.

Pork Wellington

Juicy, tender, pork tenderloin medallions are encrusted in mushrooms and dijon, then baked in a flaky pastry crust.  Served two to an order, this is one of the most delicious dishes on the menu and a must-try.  

Meatloaf meatballs are served on a pedestal of chive whipped potatoes.  

Foie gras terrine (made in house by Pappas) is paired with cashew butter and port wine gelee for a sophisticated PB&J.  Rock salt crystals cut the richness, and spread on toasted buttery brioche, it's a remarkable blend of textures, flavors, and colors. 

Mini sandwiches for sharing include these lobster tacos with lime aioli, sriracha, and pico de gallo

Mac and cheese carbonara and lobster pot pie are highlights, as well as several sliders, and oysters on the half shell. 

This French Onion Pizzette is bubbling with fontina and gruyere blanketing rich caramelized onions, served with roasted bone marrow.

Thai chili glazed buffalo wings sprinkled with sesame seeds are available spicy or even 'diablo style'.

Crab cakes are made with jumbo lump meat in a spirited brandy remoulade, served with nuggets of actual roasted corn on the cob.

Brunch service is anticipated to open very soon, but this plate of biscuits and gravy is available all night  for $6.  Pappas makes the most exquisitely flaky, moist, delicious buttermilk biscuits which are then topped with a sausage and bacon country gravy.  Breakfast for dinner never tasted so good!



It would be well worth your while to place an order for this classic chocolate soufflé with vanilla bean ice cream and fresh strawberries about twenty minutes before you are ready to devour it, as this favorite always demands a little extra love in the oven.

While the sharing plates are unparalleled, the cocktail list is worth a strong look, with concoctions like a basil julep or a ginger habanero margarita. Check out the whiskey carafes available, as well as a notable beer selection (including Single Cut on draft, of course).  There is even a weekday shady hour from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. where guests can enjoy unlimited half price well drinks, beer, and wine with any food purchase.

Oficina Latina: a progressive dinner along the Pan-Am Highway

Paella de Mariscos at Oficina Latina

Oficina Latina  (24 Prince Street, NYC; (646) 381-2555; www.oficinalatinanyc.com)

Oficina Latina is anything but your typical biker or NASCAR bar, tucked inconspicuously on a more introverted stretch of Prince Street in Nolita.  But just beyond the garage door (which opens to the street in warm weather) sits an unofficial museum to the Pan American Highway during the 1950s, colorfully adorned with racing helmets, old black-and-white photos, mechanic 'trouble lights' dangling from cords coiled around exposed pipes, and a whole gallery's worth of vintage memorabilia evoking the spirit of the elusive highway during its heyday.  By sunset each day, the entire space is rip-roaring with a crowd of fans of a different sort.  These are fanatics of some particularly innovative cocktails, a killer tapas menu, and a versatile casual environment suited for intimate couples and groups alike.                                                                                      

Beyond the bar and communal tables sits is a more intimate dining area near the back

Just as the decor evokes a nostalgia for the spirited raceway, Executive Chef Eric Gaitan's menu reads like the itinerary for a progressive dinner running the full span of highway between Central and South America. Contemporary tapas from the nations along the highway are denoted with abbreviations on the menu,  with culinary roots from Monterrey in Mexico all the way to Buenos Aires.

Begin with a Peruvian ceviche of fresh tilapia with pink grapefruit segments served with crisp yucca chips, ideal for sharing.  Must-trys are the Venezuelan arepas, available with chimichurri short ribs, vegetables with white bean spread, or these salmon arepas--grilled spinach masa pockets stuffed with tender pink Scottish salmon crudo with buttery avocado, tangy pickled tomato skin, and sharp green onions.

The flavors at Oficina Latina are strikingly familiar, just executed to delicious perfection.  The camarones al ajillo are larger than life whole shrimp that arrive on a sprig of rosemary atop a wooden carving board.  The piquant spices and garlic gently glaze the outside of the sweet and succulent shrimp.  And if seafood is up your alley, the calamari is remarkably tender--jazzed up in a surprisingly subtle chile de arbol marinade, and then grilled.

A bartender muddles fresh lime for a caipirihna

But the tapas is by no means the only arena where the use of peppers is prominent.  Co-owner Paolo Votano, a notably charming Italian (who one particular evening roamed the floor in a denim mechanics suit with multiple pocket chains and a distressed ponytail like a tattooed Formula One playboy), has developed a seasonally-evolving cocktail list that loves to tease the balance between sweet, sour, and spicy by combining several fruits and peppers.

Weekday happy hour from 4-7 can be quite lively at the front bar, featuring buy one get one drinks.  But the drinks, even at full price, are some of the best Latin-inspired cocktails around.  Consider a mango peppercorn caipirihna or a prickly-pear-serrano-ginger mojito made with tequila.  Or purists may keep it simple, choosing from over 100 tequilas and mezcals, or over 100 rums, piscos, and cachacas.

After a few of the specialty cocktails and a starter or two, consider some of the larger plates, still excellent for sharing.  Warm, fresh mini tortillas are piled with daily roasted suckling pig, slivers of avocado, and a dollop of creamy garlic-serrano dressing.  These tacos should be award-winning, with crispy caramelized skin coating rosy, juicy, lean shreds of pork.  They are excellent.  Other delicious meats are served Argentine churrasco-style, like chimichurri skirt steak, a rich and crispy coated morcilla Colombian fried blood sausage, to a simple buy juicy, jalapeno-cilantro marinaded slow-roasted chicken.  Be sure to ask for extra tomatillo compote on the side, like a sweet, tangy green tomato marmalade that is fantastic judiciously slathered over any or all of the grilled meats.

For a sweet finale, desserts are drawn from the same pool of inspiration as many of the mixed coktails, with highlights such as a dulce de leche cheesecake with prickly pear and blackberries, or a playful lychee-serrano panna cotta with coconut ice cream and a drizzle of guava sauce.  Or for a slightly more sinful cap to the evening, try the irreverently plated 'Passion & Love' (Votano has it tattooed on his arm), the house signature shot of Venezuelan rum presented with three cut lines of cocoa powder, cinnamon, and brown sugar for dusting the orange wedges.

                                          
Whether for a cocktail, snack, a date, or a large gathering of friends, Oficina Latina holds the rare ability to captivate and satisfy almost any mood or palate.  So the next time you find yourself traveling downtown, it's definitely worth a pit stop at the very least.