Five Points has been a mainstay almost since its inception. It has all the makings of a classic – a dynamic couple at its helm, a warm, unique and lively interior, and a daily (sometimes seasonally) rotating menu of fresh (and when possible local and organic) ingredients prepared by passionate and inspired hands. The duo is restaurateur and chef Mark Meyer and wife and partner Vicki Freeman.

The restaurant opened in 1999 with a daily rotating menu. At the time, local was a new menu concept in New York. As Five Points gained popularity, the menu was scaled back to a seasonal rotation. A couple years ago the owners revived the daily change-up, perhaps due to neighborhood competition and the increasing popularity of market-driven fare. The new menu’s staples remain the same (cavatelli, burgers, and baked pasta) but are refreshed with inspiration from the nearby Greenmarkets.

The couple went on to launch Cookshop in 2007, a Chelsea restaurant serving less inspired food to the art crowd, and toting the bad service and pretentious atmosphere signature to art scene establishments. The highlight of the space (and food) is the stunning open kitchen at its back. Each project, however, has been developed under new contract and culinary collaboration. So while Cookshop was trying too hard to please, Five Points remained friendly and fresh.

Five Points has been a favorite of mine almost since the beginning, but I have only been to Five Points a handful of times since its return to a daily menu. This is due in part to living across town and no longer having work that obligates me in the neighborhood. As a typical New Yorker, my crosstown ventures are reserved for new culinary experiences, and “locals” remain within a 5 block radius. For me, Five Points was a first love. It seemed only fair to honor it with my first review. My memories of Five Points are some of my first inspiring food moments, and in part how I became interested in fresh, local fare.

Matt and I headed over as drop-ins around 7:30 on Wednesday. Opening the blond wooden doors against the wind, the rush of warmth and light through the bar is always a welcome entrance. It was packed four deep with after-work women toting large wine glasses with heavy pours. I had the familiar sinking feeling of a half hour wait. But with Five Points, the bar is generally more lively than the restaurant itself. This is good or bad, depending on how you like to dine. The bar is the heart of a New York restaurant, and as such is the best way to size up a new place. The table is like a second date. I’ve been to Five Points countless times, and on this occasion preferred the presence of my company to the staff tidbits en route. We were seated immediately.

The small dining room is reminiscent of dining on ship with its arching white ceiling and small square windows above the banquet seating. Four tops flank either side of the tree-lined centerpiece. The restaurant has been extended to include a small annex at the back of the room with an open wooden skylight. It has a unique and cozy feel, and adjusts well for both brunch and dinner seating.

The signature friendly service at Five Points is a refreshing change. Our bubbly waitress approached with the usual bottle or tap. We were greeted by smiling (yes, smiling) busboys to pour our water in highballs. Next came the bread basket and pickles. You can tell a lot from the way a restaurant serves their bread and butter. Five Points is always the same: fennel and black mustard seed cracker bread, slice of whole wheat, and a couple slices of a chewy country white. The butter, however, has changed to a single warm triangle of delicate, creamy unsalted butter. While the bread is not an adventurous rotation, it’s fresh and diverse, and served with warm butter. The pickle was a thinly sliced green cabbage fermented for only a couple days in vinegar. A little and sweet to cleanse the palate.

Standard dishes to the menu include cavatelli, baked pasta, a grass-fed burger, and oysters. Seasonal ingredients included a bland-sounding chicory salad, roasted beets, cauliflower soup, mushroom and squash risotto, roasted brussels sprouts, and broccoli making an appearance in both a pasta and as a crostini. I have always been a fan of the restaurant’s salads, but on this menu nothing stood out. We chose the roasted beets and goat cheese with toasted pecans on mache. After deliberating over the cavatelli, squash and mushroom risotto, or the grass-fed burger with cheddar and bacon, we chose the risotto. Enchanted by the sound of roasted broccoli with chili and fontina (very Italian combo), I ordered the crostini, and followed it up with rock shrimp and lima beans with a spicy aioli. The wines by the glass are also changed periodically, but are typically quite pricey. I was surprised to see an $8 Cannanou, and even more surprised by its fullness, earthy tone, and peppery finish.

The salad came plopped on a plate as a beautiful heaping contrast of deep purple and stark white atop the deep green of the mache. For a place I consider to have great sense of balance, the salad was heavy with beets and very little cheese, pecans, or dressing of any sort. As for the crostini, the very combo of red chili, cheese and broccoli is excellent in idea, even though the textures seem a strange pairing. However, the huge piece of half charred bread from the oven, lopsided with broccoli on one side and cheese on other would have made an Italian sad. The combo was flavorful, but the broccoli had obviously been sauteed, assembled, and broiled halfheartedly in the oven for a bit too long. The side of frisée and radish in a light anchovy lemon dressing seemed a mistake.

The pace of courses was perfect, our main dishes arriving about 10 minutes after we’d finished our appetizers. The look of the shrimp was a little disheartening. The lima beans looked grayish and unhealthy. The shrimp circled the thick, yellowy aioli, their tails sticking up, studded here and there with minced chives. The dish was sitting in what the waitress mentioned to be a “light broth” as she handed over a soup spoon to me. If there was any, it definitely didn’t fill a single spoonful. Presentation aside, the dish was creamy with a little heat, and not a hint of sea. The shrimp were excellently cooked and flavorful. Matt’s risotto was uneventfully presented on a flat dinner plate, chunks of squash peaking up from the risotto. The creaminess of the risotto, savory mushrooms, and sweetness of the squash were a subtle combo along with hints of cardamom and cinnamon. The risotto, however, was slightly undercooked, and the squash still hard to the bite.

While we happily finished our meal and felt invigorated by the comfort of the food, it’s disappointing to see Five Points losing its way. With Meyer out seeking new ventures, the restaurant has lost some of its soul, and reduced itself to a slightly overpriced yet friendly and flavorful NoHo restaurant like many others. I hope that Mark Meyer will remember his firstborn, give it a little reprimanding and some much needed love, and return it to my home away from home.

Five Points
31 Great Jones St
New York, NY10012
Phone (212) 253-5700