There was a time when Hell’s Kitchen was just about the last area in North America you would take your family out to dinner. There was a time, not too long ago, when I would drive with friends just to see the prostitute action along 10th and 11th. We would not even roll down the windows, let alone get out of the car in this neighborhood. Of course I’m talking about when I was a teenager, not in my mid 40’s. Hell’s Kitchen was a rough neighborhood.
But boy is it different today. Not only its safe to dine out with your family at all hours, the options out there are endless. In this month’s W42st magazine you see all over the neighborhood, the theme is family. In the insert you will find these 5 places I would take (and took) my family in Hell’s Kitchen. Notice there’s no Trip Advisor family darling Carmines on the list. Works for some families. Not so much for mine. “Family style” sharing is something you can do easily with any of these places
Pio Pio – The sprawling high ceiling basement space of this Peruvian is perfect for families of all sizes. The usual Peruvian suspects like the Chicken and Ceviche are spot on.
The Marshal – Small space with a sound family friendly menu. Whether its Frittata and Mac and Cheese for brunch, or Meatloaf, Chicken, and the best bread and butter in town for dinner
Mercato – Who says family style means large plates of chicken and eggplant Parm. A pasta feast at Mercato is a lot more interesting for Hell’s Kitchen kids
Ippudo – Kids love the atmosphere, energy, and all that yelling…”Welcome in”, “thank you”, and presumably “aim well” when going to the bathroom
Blue Ribbon Sushi Columbus – This pick may raise a few eyebrows, until you see how shareable some of the hits are like the fried chicken, oxtail fried rice, and sauteed squid.
A slight variation to my usual best soups of Hell’s Kitchen post. This month its part of the food issue on W42st. Mooncake Foods and their sick Wonton soup is sadly no more, so needed to replace it with Pam which made the list twice in a row. The only news here to veteran readers is the inclusion of Chong Quing Xiao Mian Noodles. Try saying it just once. As usual you will find Ziggy’s EatList at the small Zine inside the magazine distributed all over the neighborhood. This month’s issue matched my couch perfectly so we may keep it as furniture for a little longer this time.
Its that time of the year again. Resolution season! The slowest eating month of the year. The time of the year when Mrs Z says “Enough”, and I have to sneak out of the house Shawshank Redemption style in order to eat something that doesnt have Quinoa in it. I then find myself in a dark room in a basement, a resolution speakeasy, with other men indulging in pizza, and chicken skin dumplings. These are dumplings deep fried in chicken skin instead of dough.
Eating With Ziggy 