Home-style Food, Home-style Fun
It was a freezing winter day – the snowfall had turned into rain, the streets of New York with filled with brown slush and puddles – all in all, a don’t-leave-the-house kind of day. There couldn’t have been a better time for some hot, rich, comfort food and a friendly, cozy atmosphere.
Shorty’s .32
www.shortys32.com
199 Prince Street
(212) 375 – 8275
Shorty’s .32 is named for it having only 32 seats in the restaurant. A cozy little spot in SoHo, the humble front of the restaurant gives no indication of the delicious tastes within. The decor inside is cozy – the room draped with many different ceiling lamps, a bar to the side, and a one walled booth seating on the other end. The staff are extraordinarily friendly – our host dished out many little treats on the house, and we even met Chef “Shorty” at the end of our lunch (he hadn’t been the one cooking, but was just coming in for his evening service).
Starters
- Jerusalem Artichoke Soup – a divine, creamy artichoke soup with homemade potato chips and other spices sprinkled on top. The soup was served to us in little mugs (since it was a complimentary tasting) and was the perfect thing to warm up to after coming in out of the cold winter chill
On the Side
- Macaroni and Cheese – a must-order from Shorty’s, and don’t ask them to make it any other way (i.e. don’t ask them to add bacon to it). Shorty’s is famous for its Mac and Cheese – it comes in a shallow plate and it baked to be super crispy on top. Absolutely fantastic.
- Chilled Green Bean Salad – my second favorite side that we ordered. Our host explained that they make the Green Beans in a special way – first they stick it in the deep fryer for 5 seconds, then immediately put it on ice to stop the cooking. When ordered, the chef will toss it with some olive oil and garlic to give it the flavor, and serve. The Green Beans were so crispy and tender, yet flavorful – definitely a great take on a plain vegetable.
- Asparagus – the asparagus was very good, but didn’t stick out like the other sides. Served like normal asparagus with some cheese on top.
Main Dish
- Roasted Codfish with Gruyere Broth, Camarelized Onions and Swiss Chard – when my plate came out, our host took the time to describe my dish. As he was pouring the broth over the fish, he explained that the chef’s vision behind this dish was for it to resemble french onion soup. The cod is so tender, almost creamy, served on top of the caramelized onions, which sits on top of some bread. With the Gruyere Broth poured on top, the taste of all the components combined left a rich and creamy, french onion soup-like taste in my mouth. Truly a treat.
- Open-faced Reuben with a fried egg – not on the menu, but a favorite at Shorty’s, my co-worker ordered this dish, and was greeted by a very large sandwich. I tried a bite and found it very good, but I still preferred my Cod.
- Burger, 8oz Grilled with homemade pickles and french fries – three of my lunch companions ordered the burger, cooked to their liking with their choice of cheese and other toppings. Actually, the thing to note from this dish were the homemade pickle slices – made right at the restaurant, has a kick (they said it was cumin). So good that one person asked for seconds.
Dessert
- Chocolate cake with Passionfruit Sorbet – Molten chocolate cake, comes out hot from the oven. The sweet and tarty passionfruit sorbet made a nice contrast to the thick, creamy chocolate cake.
- Homemade ice cream – vanilla and chocolate flavors. The homemade ice cream was very good as well, I personally prefered the vanilla to the chocolate. Possibly because the chocolate was slightly bitter (probably dark chocolate).
Overall on a scale of 1-10: 9.5 For both the spectacular food, and the spectacular service. Would definitely recommend for dates, dinner with family, lunches – and apparently, they also have late night dim sum on Friday and Saturday nights (12 AM – 2 AM)
eat for work 