J train to Paris...

So I FINALLY got around to taking Danny to one of my favorite little oases in all of New York....

...in BUSHWICK, of all places.

Ok, so some may try to call it "South Williamsburg", but let's face it - it's Bushwick. But really, that only adds to its charm. Tucked in a teeny flatiron building right underneath the JMZ overpass, Moto is SERIOUSLY easy to miss (save for a full-sized bicycle suspended from the side of the building...), but once you step through that heavy metal door, you are instantly transported to what feels like 1920s Paris - complete with live jazz every night.



In the past I've only been for the diverse wines and the occasional dessert (including the LEGENDARY, light-as-air, grilled cinnamon-sugar doughnuts; they positively MELT in your mouth. Oooh lawdy...) but I've always watched enviously as nearby couples tucked into some rather enticing savory dishes, and tonight we finally got the chance to sit down for full-on DINNER at Moto... and boy, were we glad we did. 

We started with a simple tomato soup... or so we thought. It arrived with a crunchy, goat-cheese-slathered crouton, which, drowned in the tangy soup, elevated the whole experience to towering heights of deliciousness. 

Next came a venerable platter of Greek meze: slivered rounds of cucumbers, radishes, and salami, scattered with kalamata olives and sprinkled with fruity olive oil, cracked black pepper, and topped off with meaty slabs of fresh feta cheese. Perfection.

And finally, garlic-steamed mussels with roasted fennel - nowhere near Alchemy's plump jewels of ocean-y succulence, but damn good in their own right.

Our high spirits (or at least mine) were rapidly snuffed when we noticed (right around dessert time, which made it even worse), that right there on the chalkboard, in loud, angry letters (ok, not really.... but it felt like it!), read "no doughnuts tonight - sorry!"... I'm not gonna lie, my motivation for taking Danny all the way to Bushwick for dinner was really 50% ambiance, 50% doughnuts, so this news was truly unfortunate... but we pulled ourselves together (... and ordered another round for good measure - Sicilian red for me and Stella for him), and settled on an equally decadent - but entirely different - rich chocolate pudding, topped off with the thickest whipped cream I've ever had, and a sprig of mint to brighten things up. Delicious.

By this point the live jazz band had started playing; we lingered over our beverages and soaked in the scenery before walking out the door and being teleported back to the gritty reality of Bushwick after dark.