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For me, Queen’s Hideaway is a neighborhood gem and I the happiest clam ever because I can easily walk there and enjoy something from the smoker. The Hideaway stands out because it is quirky, tasty and in love with the idea that any dish is possible. It’s roots, it’s pork, it’s a team of people who just want to cook and enjoy life. For all these reasons, Queen’s Hideaway fits into the neighborhood, itself filled with quirky people enjoying the local vibe.
Elsewhere in the City, there are neighborhood joints that, while not roots & quirky like the Hideaway, do fill a neighborhood niche.
Klee (Chelsea 200 9th @ 22) and Uva (Upper East Side 1486 2nd Avenue & 77th) are two examples.
First, Klee. The chef, Daniel Angerer, has had some amount of success in the city (at Fresh – which made him a darling with the James Beard Crowd back in 2004). Klee, however, is his first solo flight (although with his partner/co-owner/fiancée Lori Mason) in the actual owning of a concept. Klee (named for “clover”, a motif seen in the cheery tile work) is a fusion of Austrian and New York expectations. Austrian food is often conflated with German food, to be expected since there is a common language and some border sharing. But Austrian food is lighter and shares some Swiss and eastern French notions of flavor & texture – a fact which held Angerer in good stead when he was at Alouette (Upper West Side); certainly he has quite a pedigree. New York, where almost anything goes, can be a demanding place to open a meadow-like expression of continental Austrian charm, especially in Chelsea, where every little detail will lead to snippy gossip. In this sense, Klee has a lot to offer to the neighborhood: the food can be dreamy, continentally elegant, savory; the venue is nicely appointed and cheery; the service can range from awesome to awful. It is a great place for the local crowd to sit and watch themselves, for escapees from Meatpacking to sit and enjoy conversation, and for friends getting together to enjoy a neighborhood they can longer afford to live in. But Klee is not a destination place that will bring in herds of grazers, nor will it knock the socks off the roaming gourmand. It is stylish comfort food, a perfect addition to the neighborhood.
Next, Uva. Anyone who wants to serve the complainers who haunt Upper East Side eateries gets a big Gold Star. The collective whining that goes on at surrounding tables can ruin a good meal. At Uva, there is not a lot of opportunity for the usual barrage of nit-picking. First, there are a lot of young couples who frequent the place, more interested in each other than in berating a waiter or questioning a vegetable. Second, there are so many items on the menu that the guest is immediately disarmed and can never say, “there’s nothing I really want”. The family owners (of Lusardi, nearby) have hired Claudio Meneghini of Friuli (northeastern Italy), and some basic love of proscuitto and truffles informs much of what comes out of the kitchen. It is Italian comfort food, spun with some modern threads, and it is made with the kind of love that can only come from years of wielding a wooden spoon. A real benefit is the wine list, which definitely represents Italy in all its regions. Another plus is the host, Massimo Lusardi,who maintains a certain level of grace and control in a neighborhood where complaining is a sport. Like the parent, this child is bound to become a local favorite, one they will return to over and over again because they had a good time despite themselves.
Tags:
great wine list, Klee Brasserie, neighborhood eateries, northeast Italian, Queens Hideaway, Uva Restaurant New York
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Posted on 5/25/2007
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