Little Owl - Review

Intro
Little Owl - Not Recommended (for dinner)
90 Bedford St, New York 10014
At Grove St
Phone: (212) 741-4695

Random date night with the wife and although we had a great time, I was bummed about the food. I really dug our previous brunch here and was dying to go back. Unfortunately, our dinner was a little sub par. I give the restaurant an 66/100.

Our Menu
1) American Lamb Shank goat’s cheese scalloped potatoes
The lamb was quite tender, but the meat was over salted (not insanely so) and I'd like the temperature warmer. It was slightly above room temperature. The scalloped potatoes were phenomenal though - tasted like mac n cheese, but more delicious.

2) Roasted Cod butternut squash risotto and braised cabbage *
Cod was quite tasty - nice and crispy on the outside and very tender on the inside. The risotto had a nice flavor, but I'm always a bigger fan of risotto that flows better. Italians always say allonda when they talk about risotto - means it moves like a wave. This version was not flowing at all, but the flavor was nice.

3) Spiced Fries chili aioli
Another dish over salted. Fries had a nice crunch to it, but the flavors were difficult to figure out due to the salt attack. L ots of Indian spices used here - almost a garam masala?

Rating System
--- What the F - in a bad way * Good ** Great *** What the F – in a good way

Overall Restaurant Experience (66/100)

• Food 6.8/10 – Nothing completely god awful, but 2 out of the three dishes I wouldn't describe as good either.
  
• Service 7.8/10 – Waitress was nice and helpful. Food came out quick. One annoying bit was she mentioned one of the dishes would take a long time, so we should order apps. Instead the dish came out immediately.
  
• Atmosphere 8.0/10 – Tiny place, but at night time it feels more cozy than cramped - not sure if they rearranged the place a bit. Place had loads of couples in their 30's and some groups. We got there at 8pm and were seated immediately
  
• Price 6/10 – $80 for everything (drink and tip included) which seemed a tad pricey considering the food was salty.
  

Closing Comments
I still dig the place for brunch and need to check it out for burger - Adam Platt's vote for best burger in NYC. Just no idea what's up with all these tiny New American joints / gastropubs over salting their foods.