131 Christopher Street (between Hudson and Greenwich Sts). 212-243-1311 www.thewarrennyc.com
American. At the Warren you can feel free to kick back, be it for an hour or three. People come here to drink. Or eat. And you cannot go wrong because the vibe is low key and the food highly tasty. I began with gulf shrimp (garlic, butter, crostini), amazingly unapologetic in size with flavor to match. The twice fried chicken appears amidst cabbage slaw plus spicy aioli and begs the question: why would anyone fry just once? Their flank steak, in the company of bernaise sauce plus salt and vinegar fingerlings, is treated with the loving care of filet mignon. Also exceptional, the spring lamb (artichoke, spring onion, nettle soubise, black trumpet jus). You might not expect a place this laid back to be so culinarily on point. Yet they are. And it is you who will reap the rewards both mellow and vastly delicious.