Schiller's Liquor Bar (is surprisingly good)

I'm giving my liver a rest this week. I’ve walked a lot around the East Village, written a huge amount, failed to catch any mice, and discovered that I can download CSI for free on the CBS site. I know all three of you read this blog to hear about just these kinds of thrilling activities.

Monday night we walked down to Schiller’s Liquor Bar on Rivington on the Lower East Side. Another Keith McNally (Pastis, Balthazar) joint it has a rep for being busy, buzzy, sloppy of service, and over rated. The first two, yes but the food was in a different league from, and cheaper than, most superannuated Parisian brasseries ($30 each). Seven of us (nearly all photographers - is this a gd thing?) shared plates of fried calamari & Schiller's Nachos, plus bottles of Sol & lime. Then I ate warm chèvre & sliced potatoes with tapenade and a little salad, and a bucket of skinny crispy fries on the side. Delicious. House wine comes as Cheap, Decent or Good. The restaurant blurb posits that Cheap is best, altho Decent Red was a very acceptable 05 Sicilian.

There are a lot of restaurants in Manhattan that could learn from Schiller’s. I’m fed up with eating in local places (Flea Market Café in the East Village springs to mind) that produce over priced, mediocre food and serve undrinkably bad (& expensive) house wine. Oh and Schiller’s had way over its complement of exceedingly attractive male customers and (A & M tell me) the female staff are pretty hot too. I see no reason not to return.

I wore: blue grey scooped T shirt. An exceedingly short denim skirt. Grey high heeled Mary Janes. Double breasted navy wool cardigan. Over sized slouchy brown leather bag. big hoop earrings. All High Street.