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“Northern Spy”

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

There have been many times where I’ve walked into a crowded restaurant, battled my way through the crowds to find a host and inquire about a table, only to be told I would have to wait an hour, and promptly turned on my heels and plowed my way back through the throngs. On Friday night, I was faced with such a scenario. And yet, I didn’t leave. Instead, I stayed, and quite happily I might add, waiting on a rather wobbly steel swivel stool (appropriate in size for the bottom of a ten year-old) at a “bar,” really a lean-to facing a wall of wainscoting hung with a chicken-wire mirror, listening to the voice of a man bellowing at the top of his lungs, who clearly had never learned about inside voices. While the seat was about as comfortable as sitting on a thumb tack, and the man seated next to me was such a loud buffoon I had a hard time concentrating on my own conversation with Jamie, I could not have been happier. I was drinking a glass of hard cider from the Finger Lakes, I was getting together with one of my closest friends (an activity I have not been able to do with as much frequency as I would like), and I was at Northern Spy, a place where the welcome is warm, the food is delicious, and the attitude that often accompanies hour-waits for tables is completely absent. This place is a gem.

Northern Spy, named for the variety of apple, is a rather new (and rather lovely) addition to the East Village locavore scene that’s already earned great buzz both in print and on the blogs. It’s well deserved. A sort of cross between Back Forty and Brooklyn Larder, the concept is a combination of famer’s market and all-day restaurant serving lunch, dinner, and brunch. It’s owned by three friends: Christophe Hille (A-16), Nathan Foot (One Market, Jardinierre), and Chris Ronis, who wanted to open a modest authentic spot serving and selling food sourced from the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions.

Unlike Market Table, which tried this combination platter of market and restaurant and then switched to an all “table” format, the folks at Northern Spy seem to have a found a set up that doesn’t take revenue away from the restaurant with market space. The real estate for tables, which are all located in the front of the low-lit room, is not infringed upon by the market, which you’ll find secreted in the rear just before the washroom, with two glass cases filled with local dairy pr ... [more, click below]

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Posted: March 14, 2010

Other restaurants in East Village :
+ Yujin-- Closed   + Jack's Luxury Oyster Bar   + Mermaid Inn   + Five Points   + Lavagna   + Five Points   + Bond Street   + Jewel Bako   + Alphabet Kitchen   + In Vino   + Bao 111   + Chikalicious   + Il Buco   + Hearth   + Lima's Taste   + Mercadito   + Hedeh   + Momofuku   + Una Pizza Napoletana   + Winebar   + Uovo-- CLOSED   + Mo Pitkin's House of Satisfaction   + Gotham Bar & Grill   + Colors   + Chinatown Brasserie   + Knife and Fork   + European Union-- NEW CHEF; SEE APRIL 2007 Review   + Aroma Kitchen and Winebar   + Stand   + European Union   + Mercat   + Gemma   + Back Forty   + The Smith   + Seymour Burton   + Belcourt   + Graffiti   + The Redhead   + Double Crown    + Apiary   + Joe Doe   + Apiary by guest reviewer Kiri Tannenbaum   + DBGB   + Northern Spy   + Goat Town   + Saxon + Parole   + Il Buco Alimentari & Vineria   + Acme   + Calliope   + Nicoletta   + JEPPNEY by Claire Jaffe   + Feast   

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