A Not-So-Irish St. Pat's

Remember I wrote about a gloomy day I had about a week ago, right before St. Patty's day? Well, Winette told me she was kidnapping me from work Friday night and putting me out of my misery with some serious alcohol. I promise, no more sniveling. So off we went, into the crowded green streets of New York, her in her usual black and me in my loud Irish t-shirt I sneakily purchased that morning at Hallmark. It was basically an "I Heart NY" t-shirt but instead of the heart and the white, the t-shirt itself was green with white writing and had a four-leaf clover where the heart would be. A must-have for any Irishman in New York who's not afraid to show their colors on St. Pat's.

Our first stop was a place called Whym. We were drawn to this restaurant like flies to a warm neon light because we love the older sister restaurant Eatery. Winette's and my favorite thing to do on a slow work day, or any day where we drank too much alcohol the night before, is to order comfort food from the restaurant Eatery. Ok, do you want to know what we really call the food? Hangover food. Here's why. They have amazing macaroni and (white) cheese with grilled onions and the best sweet potato fries, except for a batch I once had at New Canaan's Gates Restaurant. Since we love Eatery so much (Winette swears by their veggie burgers as well) we decided to give Whym a try. The place was packed on St. Patrick's Day, which was surprising because we felt everyone in the city would be drinking themselves into comas at Pat O'Brien's, Brother Jimmy's, Flannigans, McFadden's, O'Reilly's, and [insert any Irish last name here and I'm sure NYC has a bar of that name]. We shrugged our shoulders in confusion and snuck into the bar area and stood. The bar was literally standing room only with no highchairs or stools to be had. It felt a bit odd to be standing there but we got over the awkwardness and ordered a couple drinks. The food idea was out because neither of us felt like eating while standing. Who knows, maybe there's a method to this upright madness.

I tried a blood orange margarita on the rocks with salt, and Winette tried the mojito martini. I was more excited for the blood orange juice than the tequila and that was a mistake. I got ALL tequila. Winette's drink was excellent and I would definitely recommend it. I am really particular about margaritas and am sometimes known to request more tequila. This was the first time I wimped out and wanted more juice (but was too sheepish to ask for it).

Next stop? The Hudson Hotel. The Hudson never fails to make me feel self-conscious. I am always reminded of Phillip Seymour Hoffman's quote in Crowe's excellent "Almost Famous," where he says, "I am uncool." I always feel this uncoolness seeping out of me when I walk into the Hudson. This aside, I would have liked to have stolen a cozy warm leather chair in the Library but no such luck. There are three separate rooms each with unique auras about them to hang out at chez Hudson: the Cafeteria, the Library, and the Bar (plus the private park-their outside area when it's nice out). Out of the three the Library fits our tastes the best but there was no sitting room there. The bar is too clubby and the Cafeteria has one bar counter and it appeared a group of meatheads and Aspen blonds had just pulled up and weren't leaving for a while, not to mention the perky annoying hostess who was NOT friendly when we wanted to take a peek at the goings on inside.

So sayonara Hudson, and on to the last and final stop. We headed downtown to Enoteca i Trulli, a small bar off of the restaurant i Trulli. This is one of Winette's favorite places in the city and it's no surprise to me why, after our Friday night visit. We scored two seats at the end of the bar and sat for a couple hours drinking various flights of wine and dipping our eager forks and mouths into a couple appetizers. We tried an arugula salad with rosemary lemon vinaigrette and shaved parmesan ($10). Shaved parmesan is my favorite way to eat parmesan in a salad. And the dressing was very light but had a real sour punch to it. We also tried a noodle dish : cavatelli with broccoli rabe and roasted almonds. Cavatelli, as you may remember, is my favorite noodle, that and orecchiette. This cavatelli was unlike any other pasta I've tried. The cavatelli were thick and plump pockets of warmth and goodness. The rabe seemed like it had been put through the blender because it looked more like a pesto dish than one with rabe. Either way, it was delicious and Winette's first taste of cavatelli was a hit.

In addition to our great food, we each tried a flight of wine, which is something they're known for. The flight order comes with three half-glasses of wine. You pick a color off the menu than a theme, such as piamente, bianco misto, and meridionale. I liked the puglia red group of some heavier reds. Winette went with a white group.

This evening cheered me up and I'm now on the road to bigger and brighter things. And it reminded me once again how lucky I am to have, not only a great co-worker like Winette, but also a truly great friend.

Whym
889 Ninth Ave., between 56 and 57th

Hudson Hotel
356 West 58th Street, between 8th and 9th

Enoteca i Trulli
122 E. 27th St., between Lexington Ave. and Park Ave. So.
212-481-7372