The Little Owl continues to be a great little neighborhood gem on the corner of Grove and Bedford in the West Village in Manhattan. A group of four of us went there last night for a birthday dinner and enjoyed every minute of it: from the cozy little dining room, to the friendly service, to the delicious, thoughtfully prepared food. I started with the beet salad:

It was delicious and included Bibb lettuce, pumpkin seeds and a tasty vinaigrette. This was followed by a NY Strip steak, which was the perfect size, well-seasoned and cooked perfectly medium-rare. I did not take a picture of it, but did take a picture of one of my companions' entrees:

Little Owl Crispy Chicken (signature dish)

Desserts were a little less successful, with a cookie plate that didn't seem fresh and an apple crumble that was tasty but a little dull.

It's difficult to get a "prime time" reservation at The Little Owl. We went last night at 5pm, but it's great for an early weekend dinner.

A couple of things to keep in mind: the smallness of the restaurant can be a problem for larger parties, and the prices are pushing toward the upward range of fair.

Outside of that, enjoy the experience.

I went with a group to Ça Va restaurant in Hell's Kitchen in Manhattan last night. It's part of the new (?) Intercontinental Hotel on the corner of 44th and 8th. The hotel is pretty interesting, sporting a modern style along the lines of the Morgans Hotel Group. Ça Va is affiliated with Todd English, chef and retauranteur. The restaurant is large and well laid out, a bit flashy and (at least at night) dark. Service is good for a hotel restaurant, and quick given that we had a 6pm reservation because we were going to the theater at 8pm. The food is french brasserie style. Portions are large. There is a good wine list and prices for both the food and the wine are fair. Or even cheap if you consider the size of the portions!

I had an nice appetizer (Golden and red beet carpaccio, petite greens, pistachios, goat cheese panisse and white balsamic vinaigrette) that was tasty. The salad and the cheese panisse were wrapped in the beet carpaccio. I'm not quite sure if I loved the goat cheese panisse (it seemed a little soggy), but the dish was nonetheless good.

Then I had a nice, albeit large entree (Roasted Mediterranean Sea Bass, red lentils, keffir lime spinach, lazy man curried mussel sauce), which was quite a varied combination of flavors. The fish was well-seasoned and well-cooked, with crispy skin. The lentils had some curry. And the spinach was sauteed and had...mussels? It sounds a little odd. It was a little odd. But it was all tasty enough to enjoy.

No dessert because we had to run to watch Spider Man: Turn off the Dark ( that was 3 hours of my life I will never get back, but this is not a theater review...), but this is a crowd pleasing restaurant in a nice space and somewhat adventurous with flavor combinations.

Ça Va? Oui, ça va bien.

The Little Owl — A Dining Quickie

Ça Va - A Dining Quickie