COUPONS & DISCOUNTS

Dangerfield's
2-for-1 admission
Save 10% on Any Purchase at Crocs
Save 10% With the Macy's Savings Pass
Receive 10% Off at Bangkok House
$20 Off Any $200+ Purchase at DataVision
Click Here for More Discounts...
VACATION TRAVEL TIPS
Sightseeing/Tours
Culture/Museums
Family Fun
Restaurants
Shopping in NYC
Theater
Nightlife
Activity Planner
INSIDERS' TIPS
Theater Blog
Shopping Blog
Restaurant Reviews 
NYC Videos
PLAN YOUR VISIT
Discounts & Coupons
Book Hotel
Buy Tickets 
Seating Charts
NEIGHBORHOOD GUIDES
Chelsea
Chinatown
East Village
Financial District
Greenwich Village
Harlem
Little Italy
Lower East Side
Midtown East
Midtown West
Soho
Theater District
Times Square
Tribeca
Upper East Side
Upper West Side
SITE
 Advertising
 Add a Calendar Event
 Bookmarks
 Company News
 Contact Us
 Jobs @ City Guide
 Suggest a Listing
CONCIERGES ONLY
For Concierges
LOGIN
 email:

password:


save
 Forgot Password?

Dining Review: Hourglass Tavern
Post Feedback | Printer-Friendly | Send Article to a Friend
January 24, 2008 - by Richard Jay Scholem

   ACTIVITY PLANNER
   Find out what is happening in NYC when you come and visit.
Arrival:
Click Here to open the calendar
Departure:
Click Here to open the calendar
Category:
 

Ask Chris Sideras, who along with his wife Tina runs The Hourglass Tavern, how many years they've been there and he says, "Forever." Actually, this warm, hard-working Greek couple has owned this, the smallest and least pretentious place on Theatre Row, for 34 years. It's a hometown, Main Street sort of spot that nobody expects to find in Manhattan, much less on 46th Street in the middle of the Theatre District. Corny as it sounds, the Sideras' act as though their customers are guests in their home.

Mrs. Sideras wears an apron and amicably chats with people who pause outside the restaurant. Don't be surprised if upon leaving she hugs you and plants a kiss on your cheek. Her husband lugs sidewalk signs out front when the restaurant opens, describes the dishes on his handwritten menu with enthusiasm ("How is it? It's beautiful!") and helps the long-time upstairs waitress serve diners.
It's more than just homey hospitality that keeps patrons returning to the Hourglass Tavern. Portions are monstrous and prices are miniscule. This one-of-a-kind, easy to miss nook near the corner of Ninth Avenue, with only six or seven tables on each of two levels, has a lived-in look. Art covers every wall. There's bric-a-brac galore, everything from nutcrackers to elephants. Every inch of back mirrored shelves is taken by mementoes gathered over the 34 years of the restaurants existence. There are candles and flowers on every table. A dinner companion observed, "If I were a tourist and found this cute little place, I'd congratulate myself for discovering a restaurant where the real New Yorkers eat."

Warm loaves of bread and maybe a minced vegetable, phyllo dough stuffed, in a spunky red sauce, greets diners. They can order a glass of beer for as little as $3.50, a hefty glass of wine for $4 and a bottle for $16. Most main courses come with a choice of mixed green salad or a bowl (not a cup) of soup. There are six two-course meals priced at $15.75. (Almost everything on the multi-paged menu is listed as "tonight's special.")

Beginnings and endings - that is, appetizers and homemade desserts - are most noteworthy at The Hourglass Tavern. Regulars seem to know about two off-the-menu starters: warm, plump, grilled shrimp over salad and smoked salmon draped over greens. The rustic, filling soup of the day was a good cannelloni bean and vegetable brew. Desserts are house made and gargantuan: sturdy tiramisu, dense chocolate cake, towering apple-pear pie and a terrific mixed fruit cobbler that fills a soup bowl.

The best entree sampled was five, bite-sized, gilled lamb chops. They were tiny, tender and knowingly seasoned.

373 W. 46th St. btw. Eighth & Ninth Aves., 212-265-2060, www.hourglasstavern.com


Archives:

Reader Feedback - 0 Replies
Be the first to kick-start this discussion
Join the discussion To register, please click here

Places to Eat Listings

JUMP TO CITYGUIDE LISTINGS

 · Theater
 · Culture/Museums
 · Sightseeing
 · Galleries

 · Nightlife
 · Family Fun
 · Places to Eat
 · Shopping in NYC

 · Activity Planner
 · Discounts
 · Hotels
 · Maps


 For More Content Visit: Manhattan Living Magazine | NY Metro Parents Magazine
NYC Activities | NYC Dining | NYC Discounts | NYC Events
NYC Museums | NYC Shopping | NYC Theater

Contact us. All Materials Copyright 2010 Davler Media Group, LLC
View Privacy Policy | Terms of Service

FEATURED ACTIVITIES
Sightseeing
Shopping
Where to Eat
What to Do
NYC NEWS
· This Week's Off-Broadway Openings: February 8th-February 14th
· Happenings at B. Smith's Restaurant in New York City
· Lynn Nottage and Paul Taylor to Receive Rockefeller Awards, 3/15
· Stephen Kunken Joins ENRON as 'Andy Fastow'
· Madison Square Garden Invites Dogs to Put Their 'Best Paw Forward' and Win a Role in 101 Dalmatians on Thursday, Feb. 11th
· Grand Central Oyster Bar Presents Chablis Pairing Dinner on Tuesday, Feb. 16th
· Grand Central Oyster Bar Offers Valentine's Day Prelude Menu on Saturday, Feb. 13th
· Colin Hanlon, Jeremy Jordan Join CAP21's NEXT THING YOU KNOW Reading, 2/22
· RIALTO CHATTER: Diana DeGarmo & Ace Young to Join New HAIR Cast on Broadway?
· BILLY Producers & Elton John Announce Fidelity FutureStage Playwriting Contest
Click Here for More News...