Main Dining - image from myspace
I live near South Street and I work odd hours. Therefor, I have become very familiar with any place that serves a late dinner in the neighborhood. Bridget Foy’s is the partner’s #1 choice for where to eat out close to home. He’s a creature of comfort, and loves their changing beer list and American cuisine. The food at Foy’s is good, mostly meant to be solid without scaring away the tourists. With the sidewalk deck seating it gets a lot of tourists, and lots of locals watching the crowds. They are always packed, so they must do serious business. I would always recommend Foy’s, but I’m not going to gush about it like the partner does, nor do I have any interest in eating there twice a week, as again, he does. We eat there a lot though, if the balance on my rewards card is to be believed.
Tiny Monkey Painting - image from myspace
One of my favorite things about Foy’s (aside from the sweet and talented waitstaff they have – seriously, the best in the city) is the art. The decor is very contemporary, but the art is all done by Bernadette Foy, whom, one assumes, is the mother of Bridget, who we pretend is the incredibly wonderful hostess who is always there. (I’m not really sure what is fact and what the partner and I have simply decided when it comes to Foy’s. The art may not even be done by someone named Bernadette, that may be made up.) The paintings by B. Foy are awesome. Mostly consisting of monkeys dressed as high society characters and drinking, although there are some charming paintings of friends, clearly done from photographs.
Blurry shot I took from the street of the olive ladies
My personal favorite is the gaggle of women who have cocktail olives instead of heads. I love these paintings, because they are clearly done by someone with a personal relationship with the restaurant, because they don’t really fit the decor, and are frankly, amateur. But they totally work there. I’ve seen a woman come in to eat there only to realize she was one of the subjects of the paintings. I love how Bridget Foy’s has
committed to this art, even through a recent redesign of everything else in the joint. Despite the volume of people that come and go, it cements that this is really a family run neighborhood place, where the waitstaff remembers what kind of beer you like, that you don’t like desert, and will tell you if it’s better that you don’t order the special. Most of the works are available for sale, I believe priced around $500, unframed, although there are some small prints of a few of the original works for $100.
ANYWAY, the point of this post was to tell ya’ll it’s Lobster Fest at Bridget Foy’s right now, and if you just needed an excuse to go see some monkey paintings and drink some fine beer, I think this tasty menu is your chance. Here are some of the highlights of the 8 lobster items on the specialty menu: Tempura Lobster Claws with spicy peanut dressing and chilled noodle salad $12; Lobster Sliders with poblano tarter sauce, $13; Split Grilled 1 1/4 pound Lobster with red curry butter, couscous salad and grilled asparagus $28. Give me a call; we can people watch and cash in some of my points.
Bridget Foy’s
200 South Street 19147
bridgetfoys.com
Remember when you and mom baked oatmeal cookies on snow days? You don’t? Well, on this snow day we’re doing our own comforting take on milk and cookies: Brooklyn Cookie Jar Porter ($4½ / 16 oz draft), brewed with oatmeal, raisins and vanilla, perfectly paired with a LeBus Oatmeal Raisin Cookie ($1½). Wine more your thing? Enjoy some gulpable Mother’s Milk Shiraz (specially priced at $7) from Australia’s First Drop Winery.
