New York - The good, the average and the ugly

I was working.. Honestly.. Despite what it looks like.. Man has to eat after all.. There are always going to be a few hits and a few misses when dining in any large city and so I thought I'd share a couple of my favourite options from this last visit... 
The good...
Spotted Pig - West Village - 314 W 11th Street

A cozy little spot in the West Village that gives lie to the concept that Michelin stars are only given for stuffed French shirts. The Spotted Pig feels like it's been there for years, it's a casual bar, low lit with a kitschy floral motif. Jam packed, even on a Sunday night, there are no reservations so get your name down on the list or snag a spot at the old wood bar and knock back cocktails, Guinness or pints of Old Speckled Hen. Despite the porcine title, the menu has a fair few veggie options and rediscovered classics on their relatively small menu. We went for 70's dinner party staple Devils on Horseback (Unami packed prunes wrapped in moreish salty proscutio ham). Following that, our first night in New York had to be celebrated with a burger, it's not cheap at $17 but came packed with flavour, fighting (not entirely successfully) with an unannounced blue cheese topping. Served in a grilled brioche bun it comes with an enormous side of shoestring fries, catwalk model thin and cut with rosemary and garlic, fried into chewy golden coins. I can imagine it irritating when you've got to wait 2 hours for a slot at the bar, but it's a great call for a Sunday evening.
La Esquina - Nolita - 106 Kenmare Street

They love their hidden bars and restaurants in this city, and to be honest so do I. Even on a Monday night, La Esquina was rammed, the reservation essential. Enter a humble looking diner on the edges of Lower East Side, ignore the few seats around the upstairs windows and descend, past the obligatory uber cool and moody doorkeeper (oddly this one was the home of arch style, Derbyshire, amazing what'll impress the Americans..), into the bowels of the building. Here you're sent through the working kitchen and into a dark, grungy, vaulted tequila bar and restaurant. The food comes thick, heavy and family style, with a range of key Mexican staples supplementing the 120 strong tequila list. We get stuck into them both. Highlights included meltingly succulent Costellas de Puerco, pork ribs with a chipotle and guava glaze, and some thrillingly deep and savoury carnitas taquitos. Come 2am and it's finally starting to wind down. The DJ starts packing up his tasteful 80's foot-tappers and the barstaff call time. On busier nights they stay open till at least 4am here, plenty of time to get another round of tequilas in, just don't bother with the lime, they really don't approve...
Pastis - Meatpacking District - 9th Avenue at Greenwich Street

There's not a lot to say about Keith McNally's Meatpacking bistro that hasn't already been said. Along with sibling Balthazar, it seemed like the place that invented booking for brunch as a competitive sport. There's plenty of other options on the menu throughout the day but the claims of the best Eggs Benedict you'll ever eat were what I always remember.
It was one of the first New York restaurants I heard about and though I didn't want to admit it, one that I really yearned to go to. Easy enough to disparage, who wants to plan a simple plate of eggs on a weekend a month in advance? Surely you just drop in and go? Not an option at Pastis. Unless... If you can, go during the week. less of an 'it' crowd, more space. That being said, on a blustery random Thursday, the dark wooden tables and rustic chairs near the long zinc bar were still 70% full of local business types and yummy Village mummies.
Clean, light and tiled. It's just what you imagine a Parisian bistro to look like. If designed by Tom Ford, on a Hollywood sized sound stage, staffed with models. And the Eggs Benedict? That semi-mythical signature showstopper? Pretty damn perfect as far as it goes. Buttery hollandaise came with a light cayenne dusting and blanketed the golden sacs of gloriously poached eggs. Two salty thick rashers of ham divided the eggs from the freshly baked muffin. The eggs were served, as so often in the States, with a portion of crisp, bitesized chunks of home fried potato, a carby afterthought worthy of high, high praise.

And the others?
Standard Grill - The only time I've been charged a supplement for jam! Strawberry is 'on the house' but you'll pay extra if you want to spread a premium artisan brand on your morning toast. Not a bad burger though according to the others.

Veselka - East Village 24 hour diner with a Ukrainian twist. It's as utilitarian a dining room as you'd expect, locals come from the nearby university and a thriving east European expat and immigrant community. I went for a meat plate, a blunt descriptor for a combination of lamb meatballs in a rich mushroomy sauce wrapped in cabbage leaves, better than perogies (small dumplings) of lamb and potato which lacked a little in taste and needed the kick of the accompanying beetroot pickle.
Bill's Bar & Burger - I ended up in this good for groups Meatpacking option less out of choice, more out of between meeting schedule necessity. I initially quite liked the stripped down ex-industrial Meatpacking vibe with wipeclean gingham table cloths and obligatory tattooed and surly hipster staff. Sitting in the small front bar it felt authentic and several food writers I follow had commented favourably on the house special, the Bill's Burger, served with 'special' sauce (calm down at the back).. Allegedly, I was told, this was the closest NYC has to the burgery perfection of West Coast In-n-Out Burger. Sadly not quite the meaty nirvana I was looking for. Served in a white sesame bun, with a patty so soft your grandfather could eat it without his dentures being in. The flavour was there and the patty was juicy enough but there wasn't enough bite to really satisfy. The special sauce had a slight kick, but it certainly didn't match up to West Coast competition.
Gaslight - Disappointing slice joint on the wide intersection of W14th and Gaansvoort. It's been better from memory but the only positive things I can honestly say are that it's cheaper and more generously portioned than the prestigious location would suggest. Anaemic watery sausage sat on a pile of thick tasteless mozzarella. 'Fergeddabowdit'... There are plenty of better options in the District.