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“Minetta Tavern”

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

;s a mile-high layer cake indigenous to St. Tropez fashioned from rounds of moist and fluffy brioche and layers of sweet pastry cream. You’ll no doubt spy it on the dessert cart in the corner, where it rests next to a gorgeous, berry-adorned Balthazar seasonal fruit galette ($9), on display for you to drool over until it’s finally time for dessert. Skip the tough hazelnut crepes ($9) and instead make room for a trio of pot de crème in coffee, vanilla and chocolate classic nursery desserts that are better than any pudding I’ve had in recent memory.

Does the food at Minetta Tavern good? Yes. Is it great? No. But, to be honest, I don’t think that’s really the McNally formula. He’s hitting the high middle ground, the solid territory of repeat customers, and he hits it with so much enviable style and attention to detail that the food is almost secondary, but it’s not. People still go to Balthazar and Pastis because he turns out an amazingly consistent product, a good product, one they can count on, just as they can count on a celebrity having lunch in the corner. And they (myself included) will continue returning to Minetta for the same reasons, and maybe for one more: the bathroom eavesdropping. Let me share.

On my way out, I made a pit stop in the ladies room (for some reason, the bathrooms are heated up like saunas) and both stalls were occupied—two pairs of pointy-toed heels were visible under the wooden doors. The girls in the stalls were having a conversation, and I was their captive audience:

Stall A: Well, you were faking it, right?

Stall B: Yes, but still he should know. I mean guys should know that kind of thing.

Stall A: How is he supposed to know? You were faking it. He thinks you like it.

Stall B: There’s no way he thinks I like it.

Stall A: Why not? You’re faking it.

Stall B: Well, what am I supposed to do? Say, “OUCH! Turn me over?”

Oh, dear. Yes, there’s something in the air, indeed.

Minetta Tavern is located at 113 MacDougal Street, corner of Minetta Lane, 212-475-3850.

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Posted: March 20, 2009

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   

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