Restaurants to Try This Weekend Around NYC
Riding off our summer weekend restaurants to try, we’ll occasionally offer recommendations on fall Fridays, with new restaurant or unsung dishes or drinks from familiar places in the mix.
This new, walk-down noodle shack on the busiest block of St. Marks is heralded by an eye-searing pink neon sign, the interior is comfortable, if a bit cramped. Outside, however, is one of those front porches where you can sit and watch the world go by. Rice noodles are the focus of the menu that showcases southern Chinese. Sichuan, and Guizhou flavors.
There are dry noodle dishes, dumplings, garlic cucumbers ($10), and other salads. Among noodle soups, choices include lamb, tomato and egg, and chicken, and organ meats, as well — both tripe ($13) and intestines. There’s even a wonton soup ($10), on par with any good one in Chinatown. Currently open Saturday, closed Sunday. 28 Saint Marks Place, near Second Avenue, East Village.
Upside Down Luncheonette
There’s nothing better than a freshly prepared dessert hot out of the oven. And that’s just what you get with this cornmeal pancake, delivered in an individual cast-iron skillet at the Upside Down Luncheonette, a pop-up for the next few weekends — Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. — at Figure Eight in the Village.
The cornmeal cake ($17) is topped with maple creme fraiche and some sliced fruit (in this case peaches) at the height of their season. The bolo burger ($19), a good-size patty with sweet onions and Champagne pickles on a house-baked (slightly sweet) Chinese bao, is also very tasty. Pair it with a black sesame and chocolate egg cream ($8). 18 Cornelia Street, between Bleecker and West Fourth streets, Greenwich Village.
Nenes Taqueria
Everyone knows the birria at Nene’s, the convenience store that transitioned into a taqueria a couple of years ago. Now, al pastor and chorizo are the best choices ($3.75 each), decorated with guacamole and ensconced in handmade yellow corn tortillas, coarse and tensile. There’s not much seating inside — though you may want to stand around and watch the rollicking crew at work — but you can take your tacos, tortas, sopes, quesadillas, and burritos to nearby Maria Hernandez Park. Don’t miss the chile relleno burrito ($12). 14 Starr Street, near Central Avenue, Bushwick.
