Restaurants: La Caverna and Inoteca

Had dinner at a dumb Italian restaurant called La Caverna on the Lower East Side with my friend T. and his fab new British girlfriend. It's on Rivington between Essex and Norfolk, just a block from the Delancey stop on the F and the J.

We were suspicious immediately: we had to go down a long candle-lit hallway and take the stairs to the basement. It was done up like a cave; stalagmites, fake rock walls, a subterranean theme that might have been cool, but wasn't. Here's the thing : there was no one else in the restaurant. I DO NOT GO TO RESTAURANTS THAT ARE EMPTY AT DINNER TIME. That is a bad sign. The food was okay, overcooked but not bad. Whatever. It was just lame.

I would have preferred it if we'd gone to the Italian restaurant two blocks east on Rivington, Inoteca, where we'd had a drink before being enticed into the cave. It was small, cozy, full, and open to the street. The food looked great. Smelled great. The people looked happy. They had a terrific selection of Italian wines, but no cocktails. Here's the best thing : they serve food until three am.

Despite what people say, this city does sleep. It goes to bed at ten. If you are like me, and you go to bed at four am, you want dinner at midnight. If you're not, I don't care, you can just drink.