Press Coverage
New York Times
December 26, 2007 / Review
[The kind of restaurant], gentle and comforting, that you want to fall into at the end of a shivery winter day. …At Shorty’s you can fatten up for the long haul until spring with braised short ribs, distinguished not only by their tenderness but also by the company they keep, a four-cheese macaroni that’s a merry poke at the gut.
New York Magazine
December 30, 2007 / Where to Eat 2008
Arrive early to secure a table in the crowded, speakeasy-style space, and be sure to order Shorty’s gourmet riffs on classic comfort-food dishes, like golden roasted country chicken served with fried garlic and mashed potatoes, baked skate smothered in tomatoes and bacon, and the braised short ribs, which Shorty pairs with giant prison-yard-style helpings of his sinfully rich macaroni and cheese.
New York Daily News
December 4, 2007 / Review
And then there's the roast chicken at Shorty's.32. Chef and co-owner Josh Eden has nearly perfected his: This remarkably juicy bird flaunts an obscenely crisp skin. It's a notably unpretentious bird, coupled with mashed potatoes and green beans. Though its presentation seems humble, it's abundantly rich in flavor.
Food & Wine
October 4, 2007 / Mouthing Off Blog
As far as Little Owl-ish places, last night I had a deliciously no-fuss, bound-to-make-me-a-regular dinner at Shorty's.32, Soho's new comfort-food restaurant from former 66 chef and Jean-Georges Vongerichten vet Josh Eden: perfect, crisp-skinned roast chicken with buttery mashed potatoes, crunchy green beans and fried garlic. It still feels like August in the city, but that kind of food is exactly what I wanted to eat last night after a manic workday.
Time Out New York
Feb 6–12, 2008 / Review
The crab sticks starter is pure shredded blue crab meat (sans filler), breaded and fried (deftly light on the oil) with a nice rémoulade for dipping (heavy on the basil, which provides an unusual kick). Eden’s macaroni and cheese, available as a side or starter, eschews black truffles or Parma ham and sticks to the two main ingredients (including a delicious blend of pecorino, Gruyère, Piave and Beemster cheeses) topped with panko bread crumbs mixed with more Gruyère, served in a shallow dish that allows for a gratifying crunch with every bite.
Restaurant Girl
About Shorty's .32 late-night menu
Bottom line: there’s a serious dim sum menu in the works at present. Just this weekend, the kitchen was turning out everything from shrimp hargow to pot stickers to chicken sui mai. My favorites were the crispy shrimp with sweet mayonnaise and steamed pork buns. Eden even makes his own wonton wrappers and hargow dough.
New York Magazine
nymag.com / Review
For Josh Eden, chef-partner of Shorty’s.32, there is no shame in comfort food. The New York native spent twelve years working for Jean-Georges Vongerichten, from whom he learned this vital lesson: “The day you cook for your customers and not yourself is the day you learn to be a chef.” …At any restaurant that ultimately succeeds, he says, “your customers live upstairs. They live down the street.” And to keep them coming back, he’s given straightforward dishes a dash of refinement, as in the roasted cod with Gruyère broth, the Riesling-poached pears, and the steamed black sea bass with quinoa and pickled beets.
Shecky's NY
sheckys.com / Review
Loosen your tie and settle down for a meal that will remind you of home (if your mom, like chef Josh Eden, was a Jean Georges vet, of course). Get a set of sticky fingers with the braised short ribs and elbow macaroni or nibble on crispy crabsticks with basil remoulade that will erase any memory of those frozen fish sticks from your childhood.