Cornelia Street Cafe

Last night I had dinner at Cornelia Street Cafe with Kimmi K.. It was funny - a women walked in and said to her companion "it's weird finally coming here after all these years in the neighborhood". Even weirder was that I had just finished saying the same thing to Kimmi. I've lived in the 'hood for over 10 years now and walk by this place almost every day and have never eaten there. So let's get right to it - this place is really a gem. The feeling is very old W. Village. We ate al fresco and it really felt like we were sitting on a movie set. The menu (as well as the inside decor) is bistro. To start we split a special appetizer which was sunflower seed crusted seared scallops on a bed of arugula with a carrot vinagrette ($11). Light and clean for summer. Then we each had a burger (mine topped with blue cheese, Kimmi's with cheddar - $13) that was served on an English muffin (which we loved). The fries were great too - very competitive with the likes of Pastis. We also opted for one of the 2 special wines of the day which was a Spanish red Castillo de Jumilla ($30). We both loved this wine - it was a light red soft in tannins without being too tart or acidic. I definite will be hitting this place again. Downstairs there is a tiny lounge where they have music performances and show movies etc. - which looked like the perfect place to spend a cold winter night. Cornelia St. Cafe has been around since 1977 and it's always nice to see a bit of the old Greenwich Village still remains intact!