Quickly Sautéed Escarole w/ Slab Bacon

by Celia Sin-Tien Cheng
October 4, 2005

JIMMY’S
43 E 7th St
(2nd & 3rd Aves)
New York, NY 10003
212-982-3006

Jimmy’s has the good intention of aspiring to be a gastropub, and I think chef-owner Jimmy Carbone is really trying hard. But, if Jimmy’s is going to last, well it won’t be on the merit of its food.

A visit to Jimmy’s on opening night was disappointing, to say the least. The selection of beers is good but they’re rather overpriced, and perhaps this is because of the neighborhood it’s in.

I didn’t understand what quickly sautéed escarole meant, so I was confused when it arrived looking more like a salad with slab bacon. When I tasted it, I realized that it was literally sautéed for just a couple of seconds. Interesting.

The skillet-fried beer sausages were good, but again, it’s hard to screw this one up.

Risotto with clams and bacon sounded really promising, but it arrived with olives all over and no sign of clams. It tasted of onions and olives and is, I have to admit, the worst risotto I’ve ever had.

The roasted spare rib in chickpea tomato stew looked delicious in New York magazine and sounded really innovative, but again failed the taste test. I don’t think it was awful, it just didn’t suit my taste.

All of this is really too bad because I so wanted to like Jimmy’s; to have a good neighborhood pub that served good eats, nothing fancy necessarily, just things that are good to go with beer, other than stale pretzels. Unfortunately, the search continues.

Also in East Village, Pub, Vegetables