#8 Maroons

244 West 16th Street
New York, NY 10011
212.206.8640

What a grueling subway ride Snowman and I had! A trip that would normally take 25 minutes, took over an hour. Thus we were very late for our reservation. But we did see a very tall Tim Robbins and his two boys in Union Square, so that kind of made up for it. This restaurant is packed and cramped. They have absolutely packed in as many tables as possible, leaving virtually no space between diners. The kitchen is smaller than my own, and, oddly, the bathroom sink is outside the actual bathroom. The booths are probably original fixtures, as they were more spring than cushion when I sat on them. The service was polite, although a bit harried.

Everyone I ate with had the fried chicken, which they all said was delicious. As it was a veggie day for me, I opted for the waffles with cream and syrup (their only two non-meat items were either waffles or pancakes). Definitely some of the best waffles I've had, and plenty of them. The cream added a really wonderful layer of sweetness. The cornbread that came with lunch was fresh and crumbly. It would have been nice to have been served butter with it, but it was still tasty without.

Grade: B