Crave worthy little guys - Restaurant: Cypress Street Pint & Plate

I ate at Toast a few days before it closed last year. The almost empty dinning room extruded a cold somberness very much at odds with its cheerful tangerine color. What a difference a few months makes. Walking around the corner to the new incarnation Cypress Street Pint & Plate in the same space, I was pleasantly surprised to find a jolly crowd making merriment over pints of Flying Dog in the courtyard. What's more lovely was finding a roaring fire in a stone covered fire pit among the tables in the back, adding warmth and a wonderful glow to the comfortable outdoor space.

The menu looked simple with not more than a dozen items in each section. Nothing in the food section appeared super creative, just classic examples of pub grub. We ordered a set of three meatball sliders with our drinks, tickled by the option to order them in a "six pack." While waiting for our food, girlfriend J and I enjoyed some prime people watching. Let's just say that we had no clue dog walking in midtown was such a "scene."

The sliders came looking very adorable in their miniaturness. The bun was yielding to the touch, but held the meatball, arugula, and marinara sauce together surprisingly well. The first bite had both J and I in awe. Slightly sweet and very soft, the bread gave way to a very supple, not at all dense meatball. Well-seasoned in and of itself, the meatball played off the slight tangyness of the marinara and picked up the pepperiness of the arugula. But most of all, it was the texture that took the gold. Suffering none of the denseness that tends to plague its kind, this meatball slider shot straight to the top of my pub grub list. My man J arrived just in time to prevent me from devouring his claim. Finishing in two bites, he declared that ordering a "six pack" is a brilliant idea.