Comfort Meals Off The Beaten Path
don't make me to go to Soho when I am having a panic attack
Helloooo everybody! I have been feeling so weird for the last 24 hours. I think I did too good of a job being avoidant and relaxed last week, and it seems to have all boiled over at once. I was initially planning on this week being a guide to Soho dinners worth the wait, but that one will have to wait until next week. The thought of Soho is giving me an arrhythmia.
INSTEAD, let’s talk about getting your comfort food fix—I am picturing a brutal Wednesday in the middle of an already-exhausting week where you simply can not go straight home from the office. There are days that are weird enough where getting in bed at 6:30 pm will only make things worse, even though it is pitch black outside and definitely feels like bedtime. In those instances, call up your friend and make a last minute plan to meet up for food that will make you feel better. It’s getting colder and we all need a little TLC in the form of bagels and scallion pancakes.
Narrowing this down was really a challenge, because I find most food to be comfort food and because my New York soup roundup covered a lot of those bases. In my humble opinion, though, these are the real hits across boroughs and neighborhoods. Comfort food is subjective though, so I hope you’ll share what you crave when you are a little busted up :)
Noodle Pudding
To really preface what Noodle Pudding is like, please zoom in and read the perfect write up framed in the their bathroom.
Tucked onto Henry Street is a big ol’ window with no signage—Christmas lights are strung across a dining room full of paper tablecloths and waiters dressed in white. That big window is always open, even on chilly nights, letting passersby in on the warmth that fills the space just beyond the threshold. Cheeky artwork, red gingham tablecloths, string lights, and assorted dishware are key components of Noodle Pudding’s charm. The interior is just right for what it is, a little neighborhood spot with a devoted customer that comes back again, and again.
It had been a long week, and my friend Niamh and I were finally convening for a much overdue date night. We needed something easy and comforting—Noodle Pudding hit all the requirements, a cash only Italian restaurant that is nothing if not comfortable. The waiters will smile at you as they pass by, they’ll be sure to check in on you and reiterate that they are not rushing you. Most importantly, they will bring you absolutely enormous plates of traditional Italian food, before bringing you a hand written check with barely decipherable scrawls.
The menu is robust yet uncomplicated. I was drawn to a fritto misto: fried calamari, friend anchovies, fried shishito peppers, spicy aioli. Nice. In need of something green, we got a side of steamed broccoli with olive oil and garlic which, to me, is the best way to eat broccoli.
Niamh got the lasagna bolognese which got two thumbs up, and I got the mezzi rigatoni a la norma with homemade ricotta. Something about me, an eggplant pasta is always going to be my first choice. It was saucy and savory. Best of all, the waiter came around and, once granted permission, dumped a large spoonful of grated parmesan cheese on my plate. How’s that for service? We were too full for dessert but it seems like the right place to get a cannoli.
It was so exactly what we needed—unfussy, full of families and tables with old friends, lively, warm, calming. On three separate occasions, a flashing disco ball lit up and the entire restaurant, led by the waitstaff, erupted into a chorus of Happy Birthday. Video below, it will make you smile.
Sometimes we need a reminder that with a few twenties in hand you can get a big bowl of pasta and, better yet, be sung Happy Birthday by a room full of strangers.
Deluxe Green Bo
I regrettably have too few pictures of this Chinatown gem. My dear friend Lila and I have now declared this our spot—when we are both so run down and in need of some venting and decompressing, off to Deluxe Green Bo we go. Also cash only, and often full, DGB is a brightly lit, cafeteria-like dining room with small tables close together, plastic utensils, and will serve you diet coke in a can with a plastic straw. It’s got charm. The most important thing to know about this place is their scallion pancakes are the best I have ever had—I think about them so often. Yes, you can get fried rice and delicious dumplings, big cauldrons of soup and moo shu, but you might need to come here just for several servings of scallion pancakes. Good grease level (without tasting like oil), supremely crunchy, and just thick enough. They will make any long/weird day better with ease.
Come hungry, bring cash, and try as much as you can fit on your very small table. Don’t forget the scallion pancake, seriously.
Gertrude’s
I kicked off this week’s newsletter with the context of a rough week hitting extra hard on a Wednesday evening and requiring some recovery time. Lest we forget how difficult it can be to mobilize at 2pm on a Sunday, daunted by the week ahead! For that very reason, comfort food needs to exist for lunch, too. If I’m being honest, I don’t find Gertrude’s to be particularly relaxing, it gets quite busy and is a small, bustling space. However, I can’t say no to an immaculately constructed bialy and a side of apples and honey. This sort of Jew-ish deli style meal is so comforting to me, and frankly, this one stands above the rest.
Gertrude’s really gets the job done—nothing on their menu is a skip. If you’re hitting a weird mid-day hour, be sure to stop by for dinner and get the chocolate cake. It is absolutely enormous and SO good. Plus, I am obsessed with the smoked fish nicoise salad and I would never ever say no to a latke, especially one topped with trout roe. Give it a go, I think it will make you feel better.
In case you missed it… there is a right on Franklin map with EVERYWHERE mentioned in the newsletter to save right into your phones! Look at that!
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Another home run of great suggestions. I second the smoked fish Niçoise at Gertrudes. Food IS love.
Forgot to comment here re:gertrude's. I go for brunch pretty much every weekend and im always impressed by how finely the chives are cut and how the plates are always wiped clean of any schmutz. Dinner also great, especially on wednesday and thursday nights (for some reason?)