NYC: Little Owl
As I approach my very last day living in New York City, I have been furiously trying to (1) finish packing / moving out of my old apartment and (2) meeting with friends over dinner to hang out before the big move!
Last week, my friend Tao was awesome enough to score us a table at Little Owl, an uber cute restaurant in the West Village that we've been trying to eat at together for the past two years.
There are only ~20 seats in this place, so reservations at reasonable times (ie: not 5pm or 11pm) are almost impossible to get. The restaurant keeps 2 tables that can fit 2-3 people open for walk-ins and Tao got us one of these by dropping by around 5pm to get us a 6:30pm table!
Deciding what to get!
We sat at the corner table by the window (pictured above!) and outdid ourselves by ordering 2 apps, 2 entrees, dessert and 4 glasses of wine total. Service was pleasant and attentive.
Did I mention how cute this place is?
Funny thing happened too -- I kept thinking that there was lightning (it was storming on and off last week), but turns out it was just the flash from tourists' camera from across the street.
The apartments above Little Owl are the outside façade of the Friends apartment! Who knew?
Now as for the food, I will let the photos speak to how delicious things were =)
Gravy Meatball Sliders
This is the dish that everyone raves about on yelp, etc. The meatball was so juicy and tender and the bread was baked to a perfect crisp! And yes, there was lots of gravy (had to be careful not to spill on myself haha).
Yums!
The sauce was delicious
Soft Shell Crab with Asparagus Risotto
A seasonal special on the menu was this soft shell crab on top of a risotto with asparagus on it. They were nice enough to split our apps so we got both on one plate instead of reaching over to share (+ in my book and they didn't charge extra). I usually don't like soft shell crab that much, but this dish was yummy! I esp loved the risotto.. it had the texture I like about risotto but without the heaviness that usually comes w/ it since it's slathered in cheese.
American Lamb T-Bone with Goat Cheese Gnocchi
I have a soft spot for lamb AND goat cheese, so this was a no brainer must try for me. Turns out though, I could barely eat half the dish (only one of the meat things). Again, so good! The gnocchi actually didn't taste TOO goat cheesey, so I think people who are neutral on goat cheese would enjoy =)
Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
Lastly, we had dessert! =X I usually skip this, but Tao said I'll prob never come back again so why not?? She had an apple crisp before, but for the summer menu they have a strawberry rhubarb crisp. It came out in a hot round bowl, baked on the outside and warm and gooey on the inside. Came with this ice cream too. Ah if only dessert was that good everywhere!
Our dinner finally came to the end and we had to get the check. It came in this cute guestbook type thing where everyone wrote/drew pictures in it. I couldn't find much space, so I wrote around the edges of this one page =P
Anyway, I thought Little Owl was a delicious and all around solid neighborhood eatery. It's definitely not cheap (I think Tao and I paid almost $100 each), but what an awesome dinner! Thanks again Tao for getting us the table =)
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Little Owl
90 Bedford Street
Reservations:
1) Call (212) 741-4695 between 10am-5pm up to one month ahead (very hard to get res...)
2) They save 2 tables for walk-ins, so walk by early (~5pm) and see what you can get. Or walk by later and grab drinks nearby while you wait