"For the first time in forever, The Noortwyck manages to get us excited about eating New American food. Even their most basic dishes get exciting accents, like half a dozen oysters topped with yuzu kosho and sugar plum. And even though this isn’t an Italian restaurant, their pasta is some of the best in the West Village—so get it. The space is casual enough for after-work drinks, yet special enough for a birthday dinner. Most importantly, the food is consistently excellent. We also love desserts here, and might cry if they ever take their banana mille feuille off the menu. " - carina finn koeppicus, kenny yang, neha talreja, bryan kim