The Cottage (UWS), New York, N.Y. (Manhattan)

One night, Ian and I couldn't decide where to go eat.  Ian decided he wanted Chinese, and, while I was amenable to the idea, I didn't want to go back to the same place we'd been before in Gramercy Park.  So, Ian dragged us all the way up to the Upper West Side, where we went to another Chinese restaurant that offered free wine with dinner.  We got there, and it turned out to be another of the three branches of The Cottage! It took me a bit to recognize it, though, since the arrangement and decor was completely different from the Gramercy location, and even the menus were different.

The restaurant was really quite crowded and noisy, and this location is about half as big as the Gramercy site.  They were also doing a brisk take-out trade from the main cash register in the center of the dining room. We had to wait for quite a while to get seated, and it was rather awkward, since there was no real place for waiting patrons to sit or stand.  Finally, we got a table, but it was a little tiny two top in a corner where the architecture of the room made it a very tight squeeze for us both to sit at the table.  Service was quite brusque in that rushed way that can be seen in many Chinese restaurants, and clearly the waitresses were trying to get people in and out as quickly as possible.

Ian didn't want an appetizer, but he did want some crispy noodles, those fried strips of won-ton wrappers that Chinese-American restaurants often serve with soups; he didn't, however, want to pay the $1 charge for the noodles.  So, I got a bowl of hot and sour soup, with which the crispy noodles came for free.  It was interesting soup, with nice pieces of mushroom and more than the usual quantity of tofu.  And, Ian ate my crispy noodles.  Then, he decided he wanted more, so he ordered another bowlful and paid the $1 charge.  LOL

For his main course, Ian ordered the chicken lo mein.  The lo mein noodles were quite thick, and the large plate was laden with clearly enough lo mein for two.  Instead of coming with a fork or chopsticks, a big pair of tongs came with the platter.

I was in the mood for something spicy, so I got the shredded pork in garlic sauce.  There was a large quantity of pork, and quite a lot of green vegetables like scallions, celery, and Chinese cabbage.  It wasn't terribly spicy-hot, but the garlic was a very strong presence.

This store wasn't as generous with the free white wine, and only allowed us to have two small carafes.  The food quality was similar at both of the Cottage locations, but the Upper West Side store was much more crowded, noisier, and had less congenial service, so if I had to choose between them, I would definitely prefer the Gramercy location.