We've heard Crisp, a sliver of a shop, is a popular lunch spot for nearby office workers, but who works and who eats lunch? We frequent it for its true purpose, satisfying those ravenous cravings that develop after 3 martinis (or as college kids refer to it - drunk food). We stumbled across it after spending an afternoon drinking at The Campbell Apartment.
We never feel guilty about our alcohol consumption, but Crisp makes us feel a bit healthier about it. Its video menu says the shop has its own nutritionist. We know this probably isn't true, but these days we desperately want to believe in something other than change, so we've chosen to buy into this marketing gimmick.
Crisp's nutritionist has created a genius array of vegetarian, Middle Eastern treats using three classic ingredients -- falafel, hummus and pita. The hummus bowl with salad is our favorite. The name at first confused us in our hazy state -- a bowl made out of hummus, that's impossible; it would seep through your fingers! We argued with the frightened cashier, until the manager ran over and showed us the environmentally-friendly plastic bowl they put the hummus in.
Every hummus bowl comes with homemade pita bread that arrives warm and fluffy from the oven. The creamy, lightly-flavored hummus was topped with diced cucumbers, tomatoes and fresh parsley and sprinkled with paprika. A falafel the size of a golf ball rested in the middle of the mix. The falafel had a pleasing herby, spiciness to it. The piece de resistance, though, were the toasted almond slivers. Their nuttiness was a warm bass note to the cool treble of the salad. The dish sang to us. And we don’t mean drunken karaoke.
We liked the music so much, it became a problem. We also started singing, out loud. The standards we'd been listening to at The Campbell Apartment didn't go over so well with the manager. He escorted us out of the shop, but was kind enough to let us keep our hummus bowl.
Review – Crisp - 684 Third Avenue:
Campbell Apartment – 4 olives – The setting is posh, but could use some imaginative thinking. Can't they serve their classic martini in a Hummus bowl?
Health food as Drunk food – 4 olives – A refreshing change of pace from Ramen noodles. It almost was a bit too unusual for our drunken tastes. Luckily, we always come prepared with the three fistfuls of MSG.
Interesting use of Falafel – 5 olives - Lindsey Lohan’s neo-burlesque performance at The Box might be the most scandalous (let’s just say you do NOT want to be in the front row), but this place sure is the tastiest.
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