Old Standards and New Treats

Today, I put my foot down against going to one of my favorite restaurants, Lil’ Frankie’s. It is not that I don’t love Lil’ Frankie’s (especially the Calamari and Calzone), I just want something new. After all, I just was taken to Lil’ Frankie’s last Wednesday for my Birthday. Twice in one week? How many restaurants are there in New York?

Joe showed me Lil’ Frankie’s over two years ago. We love going there every time he comes to down. Yet, last night I ate at another one of my comfy “standard” restaurants. I had my Lemon Chicken at the Hard Grove. There is a review of Hard Grove on Ramblings. Oh yes, and I ate last Tuesday at another yummy standard, Cow Girl Hall of Fame. Okay… now I know it is time to try something new.

Digressing back to the Hard Grove for just one paragraph. The awful thought consumed me for the past month that the new ownership would take this yummy Cuban-American out of my standard fare. This has thankfully not been so. Despite the fact the new ownership had tragically taken down the pastel wall tiles and campy neon ceiling lights, Jay, Steve and my meals were better than ever. The Lemon Chicken still has it. This is much more important that the fun over-the-top interior design and utensils kept in tomato cans on the table that made Hard Grove akin to one of my favorite campy gay bars, in Alexandria, Virginia I so like, Freddie’s Beach Bar (if you’re ever in DC, head to Freddie’s).

Can I allow myself to eat at two standards three NY dinners in a row? No. On MenuPages alone there are 5433 restaurant menus posted for New York City restaurants, and that is just Manhattan and Brooklyn!!! I’ve heard, excluding street vendors, that NYC has over 11,000 restaurants.

I don’t even really want to go out, do I? Considering my boat is a mess and I’ve been out so much that my suitcase hasn’t even been unpacked from a recent trip, I should just stay home. Yet, Joe Faulder is in town and tonight is Kenny Kenny’s party at Room Service. So, I must rally and go out. Tomorrow, I’ll stay home (yeah, right). Thursday I am going on a first date with a 30-something professional. Maybe I’ll get him to pick the restaurant.

Where to go? After a trip to the Thai grocery store, but an aborted plan to make Thai Beef Basil on vacation three weeks ago, and a pitiful awful meal at Lemongrass the other week with Dominique, I’m thinking that some good Thai is in order. Umm umm.. I love some Thai Chili paste and basil dishes. MenuPages lists 161 Thai restaurants in NYC. Holy Basil is the favorite of many of my friends (and has my cousin’s approval from his visit). Yet, what about Asian Fusion? One of my favorite restaurants of all time is the Elephant Walk – and you would you believe – it appears to be the ONLY French Cambodian Restaurant anywhere! There are no French Cambodian restaurants in New York. Shit! Yet, there are over 46 Asian restaurants listed on MenuPages. Surely, one has to be French Cambodian, no? I just don’t know… I don’t feel like looking through them to find my favorite Cambodian beef dish. So, Holy Basil it will probably be. That’s just fine – at least it is new.

With 11,000 restaurants to choose from, what would you do?