If You Must Meet in Soho...
here are the dinners worth the wait
Goooood afternon!
It officially feels like winter (minus the rain?) and the holiday spirit has been kicked into high gear. After spending two days making my perfect friend Kate’s birthday cake, I’ve decided to continue my baking marathon. This Friday and Saturday, I am offering cookie boxes available for all your gifting needs or if you just really need a treat. For $35, you will get nine cookies:
2x Salty Lemon Shortbread
1x Oat + Pecan Brittle Cookie
2x Chocolate Sugar Cookies w/ Earl Grey Sugar
2x Chewy Molasses Cookies
1x Buckwheat Chocolate Chip
1x Almond and Blackberry Linzer
They’ll be available for pickup in Greenpoint on Friday, the 13th and Saturday, the 14th. To claim a box (there aren’t many available) send me a message here or below:
Here’s Kate’s cake, a vanilla cake with a pistachio mousseline and fresh cherry filling, topped with salted vanilla buttercream. There is nothing in the world I love more than baking for my friends and family <3
As discussed last week, I’ve been thinking about the concentrated excitement over a select handful of restaurants and openings. It’s been a reminder of how many not-new restaurants I’ve been to, and go back to all the time. SO, instead of telling you about my recent dinner at Borgo (more on that soon), I’m going back to the archives of my previously-visited spots in what seems to be the epicenter of social media black holes and hard-to-get Resy notifys...
Soho is the nucleus of tourist-traps, overpriced pastries, and well-advertised restaurants. A new spot like The Corner Store or Roscioli opens up and, seemingly within days, is flooded with celebrities and influencers. Us mere mortals wait for the tide to pass so we, too, can enjoy a bowl of $30 pasta and mini lobster rolls. I don’t really want to wait months setting 20 Resy notify’s to get into these places, though, which I think is a shared sentiment. Despite avoiding the neighborhood almost entirely during the holiday season and being unconvinced that it is worth the effort just to get turned away by an incredulous hostess, Soho is very convenient for post-work dinners and is adequately central for relationships that cross the Brooklyn-Manhattan divide.
There are a few places that are often booked and quite popular, but I believe are worth waiting for. If you are going to fight for a reservation or commit to an hour long wait, I think this is where you should do it. ‘Tis the season for special occasion dinners and meeting half-way.
Thai Diner
Hate to say it, but Thai Diner will forever be on the repeat-worthy list. Yes, there will be a line waiting to check in at the host stand, and there very well may be a two hour wait. This kind of queue is bound to happen when limited reservations, only a handful bookending dinner service (5pm and 9pm), are available and the rest of the evening is walk-in only. On a popular corner in Soho with signage sure to draw any passersby in, Thai Diner has succeeded in building a reputation and perfecting a concept worth waiting for.
An ornate, though altogether casual interior hosts a long curvy bar and leather booths, dim lighting, and the kind of big laminated menus that point to a distinctly diner experience. Here, the menu is an amalgam of popularized Thai dishes, Pad See Ew, Laab, Tom Yum soup, with some Thai takes on diner classics, Disco Fries, Lobster Omelettes. There is something for everyone, and they make it easy with a menu that hits from top to bottom.
I am so deeply attached to maybe three dishes here and, try as I might, regularly revert to the favorites as opposed to trying something new. The Baan Salad with huge slabs of extra crispy tofu is divine. Crispy red curry rice top a bed romaine, onion, avocado, herbs, and a sweet and spicy dressing. It is crunchy, fresh, sweet and spicy. If this was the only salad I could have for the rest of my life, I would be fully content. The other winner is the Khao Soi, which I have only ever gotten the vegetarian version of. A generous portion of mushrooms and spinach are cooked in a spicy golden curry with egg noodles and pickled mustard greens, served with a side of chili jam. This is my ultimate comfort order and I have, on several occasions, been willing to swallow an egregious delivery fee to have this dish delivered for lunch. That behavior is reserved for really bad days. The Thai disco fries have never disappointed, and Uncle Boon’s coconut sundae is a dream. A spot for friends, dates, parents, coworkers, you name it. Multi-functional, delicious, and ultimately worth the wait.
Lord’s
It’s surprising that as a mostly non-meat eater I have chosen to return to a “nose-to-tail” British restaurant in Soho. Coming from the Chef/owners of Dame, one of my all-time favorite restaurants, Lord’s reputation preceded it and I was certain it would struggle to achieve what Dame had—an easy, refined elegance held up by an exciting ever-changing menu.
Lord’s has an airy dining room full of charm. Marble tables are laden with antique china, each plate adorned with flowers and gold trim different from the next. Wood paneled benches, rattan chairs, and rich forest green accents against brick walls will transport you far from the West Village to a sweet and sophisticated bistro you’d imagine every corner of London might have.
I like a menu full of terms and ingredients I don’t know, from “samphire” to “ossau-iraty salad,” neither of which I will look up but both of which I would order. Lord’s is for trying things you’ve never had, eating cuts of meat you didn’t know would taste good, and drinking a lot of fig leaf martinis. The sticky ginger sponge is not to be missed, and I won’t rest until I’ve tried all of their desserts.
If you are lucky enough to see an announcement of the rare brunch service, do everything you can to get a reservation. That sticky toffee pancake was the best pancake I have ever had.
This is somewhere I would take my boss, or my parents, or a friend keen to drink martinis out of Nick + Nora glasses and eat too much dessert. Anyone? Anyone?
Fish Cheeks
The last time I made it to Fish Cheeks with a reservation was pre-pandemic. I’m looking forward to returning next week for a timely team dinner…keep an eye out for updated images! Fish Cheeks, an ever-popular seafood forward Thai restaurant, hits many of the notes Thai Diner doesn’t. They are complementary, in a way, Thai Diner with a focus on rich meats and diner specialities with booths apt for reclining, and Fish Cheeks with an emphasis on fish and spice, in a busy and always full dining room with minimal design elements outside of bright colored accents.
Since its opening in 2016, Fish Cheeks has been packed. Glowing reviews scattered across media outlets, 30,000 Instagram followers, and prime real estate on Bond Street have lent itself to a proudly popular spot that has stood the test of time. Granted, 8 years is not a particularly long time for a restaurant to be open—Fish Cheeks’ longevity lies in its ability to stay relevant, crowded, and sought-after. After nearly a decade, Fish Cheeks is opening their second location, this one in Williamsburg, a further testament to the life span of a restaurant with personality that reinforces the food that hits your table, rather than overshadow it. I have enduring memories of the fried fish with fresh herbs, the Zabb wings, and the crab fried rice. Might have to go with the tofu red curry this time…
Next week… Best Bites of 2024. Don’t miss it!
Where to next:
Fradei tomorrow!
how have I never heard of fish cheeks wtf
Definitely keeping my eyes open for that sticky toffee pancake 👀