Where Colin Ate: My 4 Charles and Via Carota Hacks
Plus: our columnist hits a subway gem, some hibachi, and a new spot from the duo behind Dame
Colin Camac (aka @resyguynyc) is officially Blackbird’s “Strategic Sales Lead,” and unofficially is our resident insider’s insider. He is out, on the town seven nights a week, sniffing out the city’s best joints, skateboard in one hand, martini in the other.
Don’t be fooled by the headline above, this week’s roundup still includes plenty of my recent restaurant deep cuts. That said, I think it’s worth noting that we, as diners, all have to do a little dance with the spots at which we someday hope to become a regular. The better, and—even more importantly—gracefully, you do said dance, the better shot you have of getting that coveted PPX scribbled next to your name in the joint’s guest book.
Ok, let’s hit it.
Colin
4 Charles Prime Rib
📍West Village
🍽️ Steakhouse
I had some friends in town, none of whom had ever been to 4 Charles. I always like taking first-timers to 4 Charles because it reminds me of the way I felt the first time I went. I started going there during its first week in business, back when it was still pretty under the radar and walk-in only. My first time I immediately felt the magic of the room and the experience, and I knew this was a place I wanted to be. I chatted with the staff, who soon became friends, and I was able to secure coveted seats pretty regularly from then on. Does 4 Charles serve the most creative and thrilling menu in the city? Certainly not, but that’s not the point. They do their thing and hit you with comfort food in a high-end yet casual setting that just makes you feel great. For me it’s the service that takes the experience over the top. The team knows how to read a table and how to interact in a way that makes you feel special. It’s hard to put your finger on what that thing is, but they all have it and that is what keeps me coming back. My 4 Charles order always remains more or less the same, but it can change slightly depending on party size. This visit being the four of us, we went with oysters and shrimp cocktail to start, burger classic style (no bacon or egg), prime rib sandwich, green salad (always perfectly seasoned and a sleeper), Chicago cut prime rib, mashed potatoes, creamed spinach, and fries. It always feels nice to come back home!
People always ask me how to get into hot restaurants. In the end, it’s not as hard as you think. Without being specific to 4 Charles, here are a few things you can do to get into the restaurants you want to go to:
Always helps if you are in the industry (even industry adjacent).
Respect the staff and be nice (act like a normal person). It’s just dinner. It’s not that serious.
Don’t be an entitled asshole, you are not owed anything.
Be consistent. Show up a lot, put your name on the list. Also: chat with the staff (but only when they have time).
BE FLEXIBLE … everyone wants to eat between 6 p.m.-8 p.m. on Friday or Saturday. Don’t be that person.
Say YES. If they can get you in, no matter what time, say yes! Help them fill “off time” seats and one day maybe they’ll help you as well. Food tastes just as good at 5 p.m. or 9 p.m. as it does at 7 p.m., just plan your day accordingly.
Nōksu
📍Koreatown
🍽️ Korean
High-end dining hidden in a stairwell in the subway is not something you hear about everyday. It’s something that definitely happens in Asia, where fine dining experiences live in office buildings and other unexpected places. Nōksu opened just over a year ago in a Midtown subway station and just received its first Michelin Star this year. I was invited to come in by an industry friend who recently started working there to check out his new digs. From the first bite I knew I was in for a great night. My love of silverfish is well documented, and a fancy restaurant starting with a sardine dish right out of the gate is all I’m looking for. The menu was thoughtful and incredibly delicious. For booze, my friend surprised me with a nontraditional pairing that included a crème fraîche washed martini with a caviar bump on the side, a Chungju rice wine which was the perfect complement to a broken rice and mushroom dish, and a whisky infused with banana beside a dessert of (among other things) mushroom macaron. It was an incredibly well put together meal and experience where everything was well considered and it showed. I am also a big fan of fine dining restaurants that aren’t afraid to challenge their guests by offering dishes that you don’t see everyday. Starting the tasting with a sardine makes a statement. Including a cod milt (iri in Korean) course and finishing with a mushroom dessert are the type of things you have to respect, especially when every dish is delicious and the progression makes sense. Of course there was caviar and some truffles as well, but introducing these other ingredients is where I would like to see more fine dining establishments go.
Via Carota
📍West Village
🍽️ Italian
Via Carota has been one of the most popular and successful restaurants in the West Village since it took over the former Betel space on a quiet stretch of Grove Street over a decade ago. It’s still one of my favorite places to go, bar none. I was lucky enough to snag a solo barstool the other night and had a rare dinner here. Enough has been said about the Chefs, the awards, the lines down the block. Dining at the bar last night I sat next to two first-timers and found it hard to watch when I overheard their order and it just felt like they were doing it wrong. They had probably planned to come for a while or were just food tourists looking for the photo as a trophy, but I really wished they’d jumped deeper into the menu and tried the restaurant the way I would have wanted to experience it. I understand how silly that is. I should definitely mind my own business, and they probably had a great time (and definitely got that shot, flash and all!). But this post is, after all, for the people who are curious, and if you’ve never been to Via Carota, or have only been a few times, here’s my playbook of how to do it right (at least I think so).
Go for lunch! Dinner lines are crazy and the restaurant takes very few reservations. Most days for lunch you can walk right in or wait a very minimal amount of time. Plus, it’s a great looking daytime room.
It is not a pasta restaurant! While the pasta may be good (cacio e pepe, always) that’s not where the strength of this menu really lies. Instead, go for …
The majority of the menu is made up of vegetables with a few salads. Order them, especially the salads. The portions are probably a bit larger than you want them to be if you’d like to try a bunch of stuff, but if the castelfranco is on the menu it is a MUST. It may be my favorite salad in NYC. If it’s not, they usually have the piselli with prosciutto, whipped robiola and peas, which is a close second.
The top section of the menu has some real gems as well with the ‘nduja arancini being an easy choice. During the summer they bring back their incredible frutti di mare with shrimp and cuttlefish and, if you catch it right, the fried cardoons is a great off menu special when offered. Also, the sardines as a special, served whole over escarole and olives, is a perfect dish.
Their Cibreo (chicken liver) Toscana is fantastic. It also may be the definition of ugly delicious, but it is definitely worth getting. Served warm and coarsely chopped, melted on top of some great bread and balanced with a perfect acidity, it hits the spot every time.
I usually don’t go too deep on the larger plates here, but, when I do, I tend to go towards the fried rabbit, grilled octopus (if I didn’t already order the frutti di mare above), and the svizzerina, which is basically a bunless burger cooked to perfection with a side of garlic confit and fried rosemary.
Now that you have the game plan, go hit it!
Okinii
📍Greenwich Village
🍽️ Japanese
When asked what I thought the new trends in dining would be in ‘25, one of the first things that came to mind was that hibachi dining would make a big comeback. Trying to will my predictions into existence, a group of friends and I, who have to be close to the hardest people to schedule anything with, decided to book a hibachi dinner at Okinii about two weeks out. I am not a big planner more than a few days in advance (when in NYC), so this was already unusual, but I was excited to do something different. I had always dreamed of a more high-end hibachi experience, more closely resembling the teppanyaki you see in Japan but with the fun of the places I grew up going to. Cote comes close with the tableside cooking in the high-end environment with luxe ingredients, but it’s not the same without the big group around the flat top and a chef with a big personality running the show. I don’t think I had eaten this style of meal since regularly dining out on Long Island in my early twenties, so I was excited to see if I would still enjoy the whole experience. My friends and I showed up to what looked like your standard neighborhood sushi spot on Thompson Street and were quickly whisked to the back of the narrow dining room to one of two hibachi tables that could fit about eight people. Although this was not the high-end hibachi I had dreamed of when I had hopes of still opening restaurants, I can say wholeheartedly that this place is a great time. The chef came out and did all the tricks (fire, onion volcano, etc.), and the food was really solid. We started with some gyoza and all ordered either the steak and shrimp or steak and scallop combo. I would gladly come back anytime I’m with a group who wants to do something kitschy and fun. It hit all the spots! Fun side note: the chef says that hibachi chef training is about a six month process to get from 0 to 99 percent. I still don’t know what gets you that last percent, but this guy had it in spades.
Quick hits …
Crevette
📍West Village
🍽️ Seafood
I was invited to the friends and family of Crevette (Lord’s and Dame’s new sister seafood spot) and it really impressed. I still always suggest giving restaurants time to settle in as a general rule, but this felt really dialed in already. Highlights for me were the caviar toast, shrimp and uni, morcilla skewer, and the Dover sole. Bonus points for a killer 50/50-style martini with sherry on the menu.
Cha Cha Tang
📍West Village
🍽️ Cantonese
Stopped by to kickoff the Lunar New Year. Cha Cha Tang is a delicious new Chinese restaurant by Wilson Tang, of Nom Wah, and Mercer Street Hospitality. The restaurant started as a pop up in the former Hancock St space before the team decided to make it permanent. I hung out at the bar with some friends and had a martini and some shrimp dumplings for $25 (when paying with Blackbird 😉). Really solid way to start the night!
Dear Strangers
📍Greenwich Village
🍸 Cocktail bar
Dear Strangers is an incredible new bar that opened up on West 4th Street just off 6th Ave. The bar is from a bunch of former Employees Only principal bartenders and it has quickly become my frequent neighborhood drinking destination. The bar has a very laid-back feel with delish drinks and a full menu (haven’t tried much food yet, but the croquettes were tasty with my ‘tini). So far this place has been pretty under the radar and a great little secret in the area.