One of the many estrogen filled TV shows I was forced to watch while growing up with my single mom and older sister was a show about a road side diner run by a bitter and ugly chauvinist named Mel. Mel was a grumpy old sailor who terrorized his waitresses (all single mothers I believe) with bad management and worse language. Looking back, I see why my mom and sister were so attracted to the show. No matter how bad things got, two core values always insured a happy ending; the sage female spirit always perseveres and donkeys don’t fly.

The same could be said about The Diner at the corner of 14th S St and 9th Ave. Upon entering this hip diner with upscale comfort food, we were greeted warmly by a very attractive female spirit who gave us seating options but cleverly advised against sitting in the sunny spot of the restaurant. Once seated, another lovely female spirit, a fiery red head, enthusiastically encouraged me to get the homemade veggie burger as they are “The bomb and I’m not just saying that.” Yes indeed, the female spirit is strong in this diner. And I didn’t see one flying donkey!

JJ and Rajesh joined me today at this choice location (literally one block away from my job) for another installment of the man lunch. It was the first time JJ made it out since having a baby and Rajesh wasn’t traveling this week for work. So I was very happy to see them both. We’d attempted to have Man Lunch at the Diner before, but that was when we would meet at 1:00 which is actually the worst time to meet for lunch in NYC as any respectable venue is full at that time. So at 12:30 we rendezvoused at this Meat Packing district staple.

The Diner appears to be like... a regular diner… complete with vinyl covered booths and a familiar menu. As I mentioned in a previous post, this is upscale comfort food without an upscale price. The waitress was right about the veggie burger. It’s probably the best one I’ve ever had. No, it is the best one I’ve ever had. I’ll be eating it once a week now, I’m sure of it. JJ opted for the Kobe sliders, 3 little Kobe burgers that are so cute you'd feed them to an infant, and Rajesh got the fish and chips. All of the food appears simple and straight forward on the surface, but the taste is sophisticated yet approachable. The combination of great food and great conversation made the whole meal fly by.

I’m lucky enough to work one block away so I know I’ll be returning next week. I’d go again this week if I could but it’s Friday and this is the first time in my life I am a little disappointed the end of the week is here. Come Monday, I’ll have my veggie burger again. I’m sorry Dave missed out on today’s man lunch, but I have no doubt we’ll be back again. The Diner is in the rotation. Two thumbs up!

Man Lunch – August 30.0hseven

For some reason, and when I say "reason", I mean "no reason at all", I never enjoyed, and when I say "enjoyed", I mean "tried", sushi. Thankfully all that changed this year and these days I really dig it, and not just the food but the whole process; the wasabi, the sticks, the dipping… the whole nine. It's neat, clean and makes me happy. To quote one dj lance rock… so yummy, so yummy…Having said this, when we planned this particular Man Lunch, I knew what genre the palette would be getting thus we headed east, Far East, for some Japanese on Mott Street @ Mottsu.

I knew this was something that Craig and JJ already enjoyed so I felt it a confident choice while pilfering through search results on nymag.com. they agreed , so I pinged locale details off to the fellas and we headed down. It was hot that day and Houston was a mess but I still made it on time and first. Mottsu has a completely open front layout with tables spilling out onto the side walk. I took a front row table far left facing street. As I sat, JJ arrived and Craig soon after. The man Lunch party of 3 was in effect, equipped with rock star shades and dudes that get paid. It was a little muggy but the Jazz coming from the spot kept things cool. 12:30 and the camp was all ours, quick came menus and off we went. We all decided to rock the bento box lunch special I rolled with filet mignon teriyaki $14 and JJ and Craig both opted for the salmon teriyaki $11. Served with Rice & Miso Soup, Mini Salad, & 2 Pc Shrimp Shumai and Choice of Side Dish, tuna or california roll, sushi (3 pcs), sashimi (3 pcs), hijik. Yes, all that.

The grub was insanely tasty and a ditto on the price. Crisp and clean presentation / taste with a super quick turnaround. Craig said the Tuna was very tender and melted in his mouth. I could say the same for the steak. I enjoyed the rolls and shunai just as much and this from the kid that ordered the hamburger at Red Lobster. Yes, I was " that Kid" . For lunch in Nolita I'm saying recommend, its New York Times quality on a National Enquirer budget and worth a trip… ups to JJ from nabbin' the tab.

Vento

Vento is a Stephen Hanson restaurant located on the coolest corner in town. I say its the coolest corner not because of it's location in the now dapper Meat Packing District, but because I work one block away. Dave and Rajesh made the hike here because basically, their jobs' neighborhood suck (especially Rajesh in midtown). We were going to eat at The Diner but it was packed. And for good reason, The Diner is awesome. It serves upscale comfort food without the upscale price, but I digress.

Vento is very close to Pastis and I feel like they are going for the same thing; hot hostesses, hip menu, small portions, crowded, standard martini menu with non-standard names for the martini's themselves (a cosmo is a cosmo already). Well, it delivered all of that except for the crowded part. We grabbed a choice table and hoped for the best!

This was about a month ago, so I don't remember the details. Perhaps thats not a good thing. Everyone seems to like there food but I don't remember anyone raving about it. The place has a great location and a lot to choose from, but if I had to sum up the food, it was just good, but not amazing. If I spend $14 for a small bowl of pasta at lunch, I want to be impressed. If you're in the area and need a bite to eat in a cool spot, sure, give it a try. But it doesn't take much effort to find something better.

Mexicana Mama

On the surface, Mexicana Mama seems more like Muchacha Pequeña. This small "Mexican" restaurant in the west village is about The size of a small coffee shop or news stand, where the kitchen takes up more room than the seating area. Once you take a bite of the food, you understand why a such a large kitchen is necessary. The food has BIG flavor!

So today was just Dave and I. JJ just had a baby last week (I know, "excuses excuses") and Rajesh is in New Orleans. This actually works well for Dave and I as we both work on the west side and the West Village is perfectly located between Dave's job on Canal & Varick and my job on 15th and 8th. JJ works in the East Village and Rajesh works in midtown, so picking a spot was easy for us today.

It was a nice enough day to walk down to 525 Hudson st so I gave myself a 10 minute head start to get there. After a few blocks, I forgot the address but I wasn't too worried. I just had to pay attention. I knew I was close when I heard someone scream what sounded like "Granny Dicksucker". Not that "Granny Dicksucker" has anything to do with Latino cuisine, but I knew it was Dave (long story) and if Dave was close by, so was the restaurant.

We were the first ones in the place @ 12:30 so we had no problems getting a seat and two beers. By 1:00 the place was full which is standard for the west village really. Anyway, the menu is relatively small but was difficult as everything looked good. The price seemed a little high for a Mexican place but I soon found out why.

The chips and hot salsa was awesome. The chips were not greasy and the salsa was hot. Hot, but not scalding. Dave ordered the hanger steak and we were very impressed when it came out. The pieces of steak were thoughtful arranged with a bouquet of garnish. It came with what appeared to be a little bowl of rice, but upon investigation, there was a surprising layer of black beans in the bottom of it. Dave looked really excited about that. The steak was perfectly prepared. Delicious. I had the veggie burritos. They were plated beautifully but that would soon change, as I devoured everything. The flavors of the burrito bounced all around compared to most burritos where each bite kinda tastes the same. I tasted light and sweet corn in one bite, flakey tortilla in the next, then creamy but not heavy cheese, followed by the earthy flavor of the phenomenal chipolte potatoes. La bomba!

In summary, Mexicana Mama was a little pricey, but lived up to the cost. And I don’t mind paying for a good meal. The portions were not overwhelming and the food was obviously prepared with a big helping of the most important ingredient, TLC. Definitely recommended.

Initial Post

So this blog is dedicated to The Man Lunch. What is The Man Lunch? The Man Lunch is the title of a remarkable occasion where old friends, that are not old men, but are certainly men and certainly friendly, gather at the apex of the work week (Friday) for lunch. Current participants include myself (Craig), Dave, JJ and Rajesh, however we have an active recruitment process that is not quite as desperate as the US armed forces but definitely requires much less of a commitment from the recruits.

I'll start off this blog with today’s lunch and pepper in some of our previous Man Lunch's.