Joshua Pinsky’s Essential East Village Restaurants

I love it, it’s the best place in the world. Everyone says hi to Penelope. They know us, I bring my parents there. I always order the same thing everywhere I go. I don’t like to try new stuff. I let other people do it. Mine’s the tuna sandwich, not toasted, the challah bread is too good to do anything with, and a side of pickles, onion, and tomato, and a bunch of pepper and salt on it. I’ve tried all the soups, because my wife has something different every time. And then we’ll slide in a slice of cake every now and again. It’s always on the counter. If you put cake on a counter, like old school diner style, I’m ordering it.

I’m there pretty much all the time. I love the space again, like a diner. And everyone’s so nice. Brooks and Cheryl are just fantastic and it’s got so much raw punk rock, East Village energy, and there are so many nods to actual technique and cheffiness to it that has no ego to it. It’s just pure, delicious food. There’s kind of gross, fat kid stuff, and then there’s a plate of vegetables. I always get the big salad. That’s comical, the whole thing. But the ginger dressing, which is the best salad dressing, is one of the best salad dressings. So we do the collard green sandwich always, the salad always, and whatever special vegetable thing he might be serving that he gets from the market. And then anything for dessert, the icebox cake, the date shake, and any gelato.

Smithereens—I can't help myself—that's our favorite spot to go eat seafood, which is great. I've known him, Nick Tamburo, for so long, I love his flavor profiles. I think he is one of most playful chefs making playful food. And the menu changes so much but I can always go and get the crepe. I always get the smoked fish salad with the crepe on it, it’s just comforting and awesome. And then whatever his raw fish crudos are, raw fish is our favorite thing. So we go, we get a couple crudos, and then I always get the celery root ice cream, because it’s my favorite dessert that he makes.

They make, it’s not even a taco, it’s their quesadilla. They have a choice of flour or corn. The corn one is like a really poorly made corn tortilla that’s big, but they stuff it with lettuce, tomato, crema, and I get the chorizo, and they put queso fresco on it. It’s just good. So I’ve been eating that quesadilla there, the wife and I, for 12 years. They know our order when I call.

That’s our spot. The chef came in the other day and he sat at our window spot. And I was like, you guys have the best window spot in the East Village, right there on Avenue A, and it’s the best people watching. We always go at five o'clock when the traffic is happening. It’s just a really amazingly tailored concept and all the flavors are good. The seafood is impeccable. And the space is really cool and well designed.