One of my favorite ways to wile away a lazy winter weekend afternoon is to pop into a restaurant in those quiet hours between lunch and dinner for a snack. Nothing substantial, just something salty, something sweet, and a tall glass of something soothing. We found ourselves on 29th Street this weekend and were immediately pulled in by these signs:
My go-to food guru, the illustrious Adam Gross (who is currently in Paris cooking with the finest chefs in Europe!), introduced me to Resto a few years back. A Belgian restaurant that prides themselves on delicacies like fried balls of veal and a curious concept called “nose to tail dining”, it’s not the typical spot you’d go to for a bite and a beer as a vegetarian. What’s the draw then, you ask? Simple: the frites.
Resto takes their taters and creates thickly sliced, perfectly salted french fries that when, dunked into their array of dipping sauces, are simply heavenly. The sauces come in flavors such as lime pickle, mayo and onion, sriracha, gribiche, and my personal favorite, sweet chili. It was the exact amount of sweetness to offset the salty…mmm.
Combine them with the right combination of brewskies and you’re in for a treat. We started with a pale Blanche de Namur, merged into a Ter Dolen Armand, and capped the afternoon off with a wildly hoppy Biere De L’Amitie. When in ordering doubt, as the bartender. Along with awesome recommendations, he’ll give you a bit of a history/geography lesson, too. Gotta love those brilliant Belgians. Or in this case, brilliant New Yorkers who work in a Belgian restaurant.
If you don’t fall into the vegetarian category, I’m sure Adam would encourage you to order the meat, and lots of it. Since deep-fried pork jowl is not exactly my area of expertise, I’ll let Adam give you carnivorous suggestions when he returns to NYC. Pork jowl aside, we definitely enjoyed our Sunday snack.
What’s your go-to restaurant for a bite and a beer?
WHERE: Resto
111 East 29th Street New York, New York 212.685.5585
Jessica Tiare Bowen lives in the juicy Big Apple with her adorable pink-nosed chihuahua, Gillman. He’s the inspiration for her first published children’s book, “Park Avenue Pound Puppy.” The book is the combined result of her two greatest passions: pooches and penning stories.
Her passions include art, urban hikes through Manhattan, drinking coffee with 3 creams and 6 sugars, making extremely detailed itineraries and traveling to far away places, singing along to Broadway shows, Netflix movie nights, discovering incredible treasures at Goodwill and thrift stores, and listening to stories from little people under 7 and big people over 70.
She started her career as New York City Teaching Fellow, teaching elementary school and theater arts at a special education school in the South Bronx for 6 years. She is now a Special Education School Improvement Specialist working in public schools throughout New York City. She is the Editor-In-Chief of the online New York City travel magazine, Used York City. The magazine focuses on finding the best of New York…as used by New Yorkers. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and an ASPCA Ambassador.
