#29: Mussels

My favorite mussels in the city to date are at Café Bruxelles, a not so hip place in the west village. I can tell you from experience that shiny spandex and gold chains wont mesh well with the more mature crowd… but a quiet scene with great food has its place. Café Bruxelles boasts an amazing selection of beer glasses (and Belgian brews to go in them), as well as the perfect mayo for your frites…a moules very best friend. With this recommendation, I lack a good story. I just really like this place. I also think it may have closed down... To compensate, I relay my most recent mussel experience of note.

My friend is a waiter at Maialino... He has other important qualities I suppose, but in my foodie world this fact outshines even his wit and good looks... Because being a waiter at a top place in New York enters you into a secret society of free food, special tables, and extra big pours of wine you didn't order (for you and your freeloading friends). His place in this world has given us delusions that we can actually afford to eat in the restaurants he and his friends work at (we can't). But this doesn’t stop us from trying. Every time I dine with him we eat like kings, and rely on any free booze we may have gotten to blur our vision when the bill comes.

Such was the case one Friday night, when we ate at Market Table. Now, in our defense, we started out with the goal of a cheap night. We made the plan to go to Corner Bistro, which I hear has an amazing burger (stay tuned), but had to abandon that plan because I, um, couldn't find it (for those of you who know I have an iphone with GPS, all I can say is that little blue dot is deceitful). Market Table is a cozy corner spot in the west village, with floor to ceiling windows providing a great street view (pictured here). As for the menu, all I can say is if you are a vegetarian, you’ve been warned.

I can’t quite give it a rave review. I think I need to go back again (once my wallet recovers) and try a few more things. From what I did sample, though, I felt their mussels were the standout. Quite a feat considering the other dishes included lamb shank, beef carpaccio and a pork chop. What I enjoyed was they didn’t have the usual bells and whistles (pancetta, an abundance of herbs, cream etc…) They came with a simple, and simply delicious butter sauce, that really allowed the mussel itself to shine through.