Cabrito

In my garden of gastronomic delights, roast pork definitely has a starring role but will roast goat win its way into the picture? “Cabrito”, Spanish for roast baby goat, serves up the Mexican food we’ve all come to know and love with a slight twist. The guacamole rivals many mainstay Mexican spots south of Union Square but what you really come here for is the dish it owners named the restaurant itself after: Cabrito…Sour orange, garlic and chili rubbed goat. Slow roasted and served chopped with salsa borracha & warm flour tortillas. It is indeed as delightful as the description itself but if baby goat just simply isn’t your cup of tea, the el pastor tacos are always a favorite. Although not the best Mexican I’ve had in the city (that title still goes to Barrio Chino), Cabrito is still worth checking out. It’s the perfect place to kick back with some friends and enjoy something new in the West Village.

50 Carmine St
(212)929-5050

Malatesta Trattoria- loved it.

Every time I roller blade down Christopher on my way to the West Side Highway, the tables are packed at this italian eatery. Two things I noticed the first time I walked in the door: there were people eating alone, and an old-fashioned clock on the wall (stopped on 4 o'clock). We started off with the grilled calamari. The slices were big, chewy, and chock full of tasty garlic and olive oil. I didn't even need to squeeze my usual 2 slices of lemon. We also ordered a piadina of mozzarella and prosciutto which turned out to be a cross between a quesadilla and a panini. Eh, nothing special.
Feeling dangerous, we went for Polpette, veal meatballs with tomato sauce. I kid you not, my girlfriend and I devoured these savory bundles in about two minutes, and finished off the sauce with pieces of bread. Though on a diet, we thought this would be the place to get tiramisu. Fresh as could be, there were delicate hints of espresso, chocolate, and liqueur.
I might even go back there tonite.

Hundred Acres- cute place, average food

Though recently opened, it's easy to walk by the classy, old school Greenwich Village exterior of Five Point's and Cookshop's newest cousin. The inside of Hundred Acres gives the same feeling, except for about a dozen photographs of the inside of a deserted farmhouse (which I found to be a bit gloomy). Maybe it was my fault for going on Vday (stereotypically the worst night for restaurant service), but minus the rushed service, I'd only order 2 of the 4 dishes again. I wanted to have the calamari as an appetizer, but by 8 o'clock, they had run out of squid so we had to settle for the special, shrimp and grits. Expecting a bit of Bourbon St spice, the flavor was as dull as the barnyard photographs in front of me. Being it was Vday, we also ordered oysters on the half shell. They would have been fine if it had been Passover, since that they only gave us a white horseradish dipping sauce, instead of the usual alternative of a tomato based sauce. For the main course, we had the grass-fed bottom round steak (whatever that means), which I must say, was excellente, even with the lingering taste of horseradish in my mouth. For dessert, we had an apple tart a la mode that almost made up for the disappointing appetizers.