Kefi

[Sneakeater]

(I mean, I've seen children in Bouley Upstairs. But I'm not saying it's the norm.)

[Sneakeater]

I'll bet you'd see children in Landmarc if (unlike either of us, ever*) you went early enough.

I mean, there has to be a reason they have a children's menu.

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* That's another point. Consider the times you usually eat. Any children are probably gone by then.

Edited May 1, 2007 by Sneakeater (log)

[oakapple]

for better or worse, today's NY dining scene is concentrated downtown...precisely the area where you don't see too many kids.  (there are actually a fair amount of toddlers in my building (no one of school age that I can see)...but I don't see them at local restaurants).

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Actually not, unless you meant to capitalize "Scene." According to Zagat, the most restaurant-heavy neighborhood is the East Village, but the West 40s & West 50s are second and third. If you combined them (and they really are one "neighborhood"), then together they outnumber the EV. Greenwich Village is fourth, and the East 50s fifth. Please feel free to introduce better stats, if you have them.

If you consider the whole UWS, where Kefi is located, to be one "neighorhood," it has more restaurants in Zagat than the E.V. or any other downtown neighborhood. Perhaps the UWS doesn't qualify as a SCENE, but as a place for dining out (which is the relevant discussion) it has plenty. If Nathan's point is that you don't generally see high chairs at "Page Six" restaurants (or some other constrained definition of Scene), then I agree. What that shows, I don't know.

Just to expand on my earlier hastily-written post, the UWS, UES, Theater District, TriBeCa, Battery Park City, and nowadays even the Financial District, are very child-heavy neighborhoods. And I agree you find plenty of children at Landmarc too, which actually markets itself that way.

Kefi, of course, is the ultimate stroller restaurant, which is what makes this incident so funny.

Edited May 1, 2007 by oakapple (log)

[Nathan]

I used the word "scene" because I didn't mean concentration of "restaurants" (a very broad term...virtually every deli sells some made to order food)....but I didn't mean "Scene" in the page 6 sense either.

I meant serious restaurant neighborhoods. (although they're improving...its possible to count the number of restaurants worth a trip on each side of Central Park above the TWC on two hands for each side.)

if you want empirical data on that...simply plot the restaurants reviewed by professional critics and serious food bloggers (heck...just look at the TONY 100) on a map.

I daresay that your blog would illustrate the point.

[larrylee]

Landmarc definitely has kids at earlier hours (they give out cotton candy at birthdays, I think) and you'll find strollers parked outside and such.

I'll bet you'd see children in Landmarc if (unlike either of us, ever*) you went early enough.

I mean, there has to be a reason they have a children's menu.

[Nathan]

Bruni gives Kefi an enthusiastic writeup here:

http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/200...fi-on-the-move/

he also notes that Kefi is moving to a much larger space sometime next year....

[Pan]

I'm surprised there's been no activity on this thread for so long. Anyway, I had dinner tonight at Kefi with my parents. It's now in a larger space at 505 Columbus, between 84th and 85th Sts., but the food is exactly the same as it was at the old location, which is to say: Great. This is a remarkably consistent and high-quality restaurant, especially at this price point. Moreover, our waiter was friendly, and we had good service. We had the following:

Bean and spinach soup - a special, which was wonderfully lemony and soothing.

Two Greek salads (good as usual).

Appetizer of delicious lamb sausage on skewers with some pita, tzatziki, and a little bit of salad. My mother was a little put off that it was kind of raw in the middle and brought it to the attention of the waiter, who explained that they deliberately sear it. I was surprised, too, when I noticed how red it was inside, but I had no complaint because it was so tasty.

Sheep's Milk Dumplings, Tomato, Pine Nuts, Spicy Lamb Sausage. Yes, my mother had lots of sausage tonight. This dish was delicious, as usual, and quite spicy.

Grilled Branzino, Potato, Olive, Tomato. I ordered this, and it was the same as ever - perfectly unfishy, perfectly cooked fish with nice accompaniments.

Grilled Swordfish, Tomato, Cauliflower, Olives. My father ordered this, and I didn't try it, but he spoke very appreciatively of it.

For dessert, my parents got one galaktoboureko apiece, which both of them loved (I tried my mother's, and it was lovely).

I got the yogurt, thin-sliced almonds, and honey dessert, which was soothing and satisfying, as always.

The new location is very big, and I think it's great that such a good place is able to expand successfully at a time of economic hardship. I celebrate their success!

[Curlz]

Finally got to Kefi last night, and I've got to recommend it VERY highly--for both the food and the value! I was truly surprised to see such reasonable prices on the UWS.

We were to be a group of 5, but since two of us arrived early, we forced ourselves to sit at the bar, where I discovered that I like ouzo. Much. I stuck to the 'shooters' for $3.50 each, figuring this is for sipping anyway, and I wanted to try a couple of different flavors (Lemon/basil, pear/cinnamon, and blood orange/jalapeno). This was an excellent strategy...juices are fresh, and each flavor was good on its own, but the pear/cinn was my favorite.

The country bread and olive oil were stellar. For apps, we had 2 octopadi w/white beans and the assorted 'spreads,' which were good but I was far too focused on what was literally the best piece of octopus I've ever had.

For my entree, I had the aforementioned sheep's milk dumplings in tomato, w/pine nuts and fantastic (spicy!) lamb sausage. This was just a wonderful dish--and all of $13.95. Others at the table had the sheep's milk ravioli, the lemon chicken (again--WONDERFUL), branzino, and the shrimp w/orzo. We were all OMGing and "WOWing" as we dug in.

For dessert, I went with the two sorbets: sesame and lemon/mint. Both were incredibly flavorful, but the sesame really blew me away. Think of a piece of halvah turned into sorbet--it's really the only way to describe it. Others had the walnut cake w/walnut ice cream; I tried the cake, which was densely packed with walnuts.

Really--a terrific dinner and a great value. This is definitely going to become a go-to spot for us!