Apologies for the lack of posts - I spent a week in Korea (where the food was incredible) and also started cooking more at home, so new restaurant experiences have been sparse. I still do need to make good on my plans to post entries on some older visits.

I did have a chance to check out Cafe Condesa (183 W 10th St. at 7th Ave. South) in the West Village this weekend. It’s a small and cozy restaurant that’s been open since summertime and has garnered some positive reviews. Everyone seems to love the exposed brick and hanging light bulbs with exposed filaments - and I agree they’re nice touches, but they seem to be increasingly commonplace characteristics among trendy new restaurants these days. I was more impressed by the very reasonable prices. My Dungeness crab, a big hairy crab shell stuffed with creamy sauce and crab meat topped with avocado, was only $12.95, and the fettucine, which featured enoki mushrooms and came as a fairly large portion, was only $8.95.

With entrees at popular fine dining establishments pushing $30 and even $40 per entree, it’s nice to see that a rack of lamb ($13.95) or roasted halibut ($12.95) are still accessible dishes. I’ve grown a bit weary of expensive dishes that have been forgettable or even disappointing. Sure, some things, like steak, are unavoidably pricey and demand $25 and up prices, but having seen $20-25 chicken, common fish, and pasta dishes, you really have to wonder - how much of this is for the crazy rent and how much of it is actually for the quality of the food?

I’ve thought about dining out more for lunch to take advantage of better prices, but fine dining in midday just doesn’t seem as festive or special - unless it’s a nice brunch on a Sunday I suppose. That’s why it feels good to come across affordable yet quality restaurants like Cafe Condesa, where you get fine ingredients and nice decor for unregrettable prices. The hope is that New York, particularly Manhattan, continues to allow such small establishments to exist amid the high-price clashes of the Crafts and the Del Postos. Brooklyn has done a great job in nurturing affordable new restaurants, but rent in the nicer parts of Brooklyn has risen considerably in the past few years as well. I don’t think there will be a backlash against the high prices anytime soon since people are more than willing to cough up the big bucks for what they hope is a good meal, but with Manhattan becoming an increasingly hostile place for small, affordable restaurants, my thinking is that the other Boroughs, especially Queens and the Bronx, may find fancier and more contemporary restaurants - with reasonable prices - popping up at a quicker pace.

Now, don’t go telling too many people about Cafe Condesa - when popularity skyrockets, prices often follow suit.