<< previous review   next review >>

reviews

“Home”

Occasion:	Cuisine:	Area:	Cost:	Rating:
Night Out	New American	West Village	Moderate	Great

A plate of homemade chocolate chip cookies sits in the bay window of Home restaurant. Thirteen years ago, when David Page and his wife Barbara Shinn opened their snug restaurant, they would stand out on the sidewalk and use the cookies as bait to lure diners inside. These days, they still make the cookies, but they remain inside the bay window and people (like me) grab one on the way out. There's no need to bait diners to come in any more.

Page and Shinn met in San Francisco in 1988. He was starting out as a chef at a restaurant called Dakota Bar and Grill. Barbara was a bartending nearby. She stopped in after going to the theater one night to have a drink. She was alone. Page was getting off his shift and having a beer at the bar. He sat down next to her. They have been together ever since, moving to New York and opening Home in 1992. A few years later they purchased a vineyard on the North Fork of Long Island where they raise merlot, cabernet franc, petit verdot, and sauvignon blanc for their award winning wines (all served at their restaurant, along with an exclusive East Coast list.) They are now working on building a bed and breakfast on their Mattituck vineyard property that should be open by summer 2007.

I have known David and Barbara for a few years now. Jamie and I spend summers on the North Fork, and Jamie worked on their vineyard with them three years ago, so we have all gotten to know eachother over the years. (Wine brings people together.) But the thing is, I had never eaten at their restaurant. I had heard great things about the food, but (insert violins) I was often to busy trying new restaurants to get over there for dinner. It's been on my list for years now. But recently, David mentioned his new executive chef-Ian Bowden-who had worked with Bill Telepan at Judson Grill and at Payard. He was very proud of his food. And Jamie had raved. And so last week, with the transit strike in full force, we walked over to Home for dinner.

Home feels like a sweet little diner tucked into some quaint New England village with a leafy town square, a general store, and a big old clock that strikes every hour with deep chimes. It is narrow, almost like a railcar, with butter-colored wainscoting, barnyard flooring, and old black and whites of the Page and Shinn families hung on the walls. Towards the back you'll find a partially open kitchen, and a charming patio-garden lit with twinkling white lights and warmed with heat ... [more, click below]

Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  

 Make a reservation

<< previous review   next review >>

Posted: December 26, 2005

Other restaurants in West Village :
+ Jefferson-- Closed   + La Palapa Rockola   + Sumile   + Babbo   + Tasca   + AOC Bedford   + Home   + The Spotted Pig   + Barbuto   + Numero 26   + Mas   + August   + Alta   + Cru   + Blue Mill Tavern-- Closed   + Employees Only   + Lassi   + Metropol--Closed   + Turks and Frogs   + Bellavitae   + Yumcha-- CLOSED   + Gusto: SEE EARLIER REVIEW; THIS CHEF HAS LEFT GUSTO   + Perry Street   + Home   + Ditch Plains   + The Little Owl   + Cafe Condesa   + Cafe Cluny   + Gusto   + The Waverly Inn   + Morandi   + P*ONG   + Perilla   + Soto   + Market Table   + Centro Vinoteca   + Barfry   + Dell'Anima   + Bar Blanc   + Smith's   + Commerce   + Elettaria   + Bar Q   + Cabrito   + 10 Downing   + Minetta Tavern   + Braeburn   + Scuderia, by guest reviewer Kathleen Squires   + Bar Blanc Bistro by Guest Reviewer Kathleen Squires   + Joseph Leonard   + Bar Henry, by Guest Reviewer Kathleen Squires   + Kin Shop   + Monument Lane   + Wong   + Bin on Bleecker, by Dara Pollak   + Ristorante Rafele   + Cole's Greenwich Village by Guest Reviewer Claire Jaffe   

Share ! Post a comment