Restaurant Review: Heidi's House

Jeremy and I have walked past this cute little place, Heidi's House, many times. It is located on 78th St, between 1st and 2nd and seats about 20 people max, and half of that is at the bar. They let you call ahead to be on the waiting list for a certain time, but won't call it a reservation. It is always crowded in there and it's so small that there literally is no place to stand without being in the way. You have to wait outside. Good thing we were on the wait list for 8pm and were able to be seated right then.

The menu is very limited with 2 staple items (a burger and mac n cheese), and then the rest of it changes daily. They do have a pretty extensive beer and wine menu though and a page of "snacks." We decided to start with the Bruschetta which is made with baguette from Orwasher's (the bakery next door) covered in melted organic mozzarella and topped with heirloom tomatoes, basil, and capers. Not your traditional bruschetta at all, and I was surprised by the way the mozz was used, but it was a good starter. The bread was awesome too!

Bruschetta

The pasta of the day, pappardelle with lamb ragout, caught both Jeremy's and my attention, but he let me have it. And thank god because I totally won with my meal. The pasta was homemade and coated with a savory gravy that was made from the lamb juicey goodness. The lamb ragout was cooked until incredibly tender. The dish was a bit salty - not over seasoned but just naturally high in sodium. I had like 4 glasses of water with it in addition to my white wine, Orvieto. Aside from that, it tasted genuinely homemade and just was simply tasty.

Pappardelle with Lamb Ragout

Jeremy ended up going with the hamburger made with grass fed beef served on an English muffin with lettuce, tomato and onion and served with homemade fries. He also ordered a side of roasted vegetables that included brussel sprouts, white beets, cauliflower, and broccoli. The burger was fine, nothing crazy, and the fries were absolutely horrible. I never thought I would ever have seriously terrible fries, but this was it. They were mushy, undercooked, mealy, cold, and really just inedible. I was super surprised considering they were homemade and everything there is made to order in small quantities. Good thing he ordered the roasted vegetables as a side. You could tell the dish was made with fresh veggies and they were simply roasted with some seasonings, but not overdone. He also had a couple Samuel Smiths, organic beer. It was pretty good.

Hamburger with Homemade Fries

Roasted Vegetables

I sort of felt misled that because this place is all homey and cozy and uses locally sourced ingredients, the food would be excellent. However, we were underwhelmed. Also, where was Heidi? This is the kind of place that Heidi actually exists and runs that kitchen every day. Bummer. For $100, an annoyingly tight space, and a lackluster meal, we will not be returning to this supposed neighbor favorite.