Sidewalk Supper

Lindsey and I fell in love with Nolita this week. The tiny area in between Little Italy and Houston is filled with small cafe type restaurants on every block and pretty people walking the streets. We met a friend who recently moved to the area to see what it's like to live below 14th street.


It was a nice night so we met at Cafe Gitane and got a table outside for prime people watching. The place is small and minimal but it's so popular, they recently opened another location in the Jane Hotel. We luckily didn't have to wait for a table, but usually the waits are long.

Looking at the menu during work on Tuesday, so many things looked good. Steph, being the pro, suggested what she liked and we got some of that and tried some new things also.

We started with the avocado and chili flakes on seven grain bread and the marinated beets with cinnamon in a vinaigrette sauce. Both were light and good for sharing. The chili flakes weren't spicy but I wish the bread was a little crunchier. The beets were a little on the hard side but still tasted great with the vinaigrette. I didn't taste the cinnamon at all and didn't realize it was part of the dish until I looked at the menu again.

Next, we shared the tuna ceviche with glass noodles and mango, the Moroccan couscous and the baked eggplant. The ceviche wasn't really a ceviche because the tuna was cooked, but the dish was great. It was kind of like a soup bowl with the glass noddles in a soy ginger dressing and huge slices of mango. The Moroccan couscous was my favorite and knew we were getting it days before we went. The dish was definitely picture worthy, as it comes as a tower with a dollop of hummus on top. We got it with chicken, but you can get it without or with sausage and there's also raisins, eggplant and red peppers. I would go back and just get this dish and leave happy. The baked eggplant was also great and totally different than I expected. It came with three pieces of eggplant and then each one was topped with something different. One was topped with an olive tapenade, one with goat cheese and a pesto. I ate some by itself and others with pieces of french bread and it was delicious.
















We opted for no dessert and finished the night with some pinkberry (now with unlimited toppings) and some rice to riches (for Lindsey - not me).

Make a point to try some restaurants in Nolita and you won't be disappointed. It's easy to find, walk away from the crowds of Soho until you find people sitting outside enjoying their nights in Nolita.