Great neighborhood restaurants are meant to be well-guarded secrets. Glorious hideaways with solid food, friendly staff and the comfort of regulars. And, if they know exactly how you like your Negroni, you're in real luck.
I guess I'm lucky. I can claim two such haunts in my 'hood. The first is Five Front, which I have extolled on this blog many a time. The second is Noodle Pudding.
Yes, I know what you're thinking. Noodle Pudding?!? What kind of a name is that?
I agree. Frankly, until I started frequenting this Italian trattoria, I always associated Noodle Pudding with the rich, Judaic casserole treat pictured above. But now, Noodle Kugel is Noodle Kugel - and Noodle Pudding is simply one of my favorite, casual Italian restaurants in the city.
This would a fine state of affairs - a state featuring a perfect Caesar Salad, Paparadelle with Wild Boar Ragu and Vinny's Montauk Bass - but then the New Yorker had to go and ruin it.
They ran a review.
I hate them. Really. I hate them. I mean, the review itself is fine. I actually agree with their take on this humble, homey Brooklyn restaurant:
If you set out to create the epitome of a decent neighborhood restaurant, you
Boar Ragu Rocks! I love this stuff myself and I love making it...word...I like the one that is a bit thick because the meat gives off it's juices in the sauce.
Posted by: Joaquin Ochoa | March 31, 2006 at 01:14 PM
But Noodle Pudding has been difficult to impossible to get into for a while now, even without reviews, because it is one of the only reasonably-priced good restaurants in the Heights...
Posted by: Andrew | April 03, 2006 at 08:13 PM
Can I just say that I love this blog! I originally found it because I was searching for info on the Long Island Restaurant (like, is it any damn good, or at least fun?), and I
Posted by: guy2k | May 17, 2006 at 06:43 AM