SOUTH STREET SEAPORT — All that's missing is the grandma.
Grandma's House, a cozy new restaurant on Peck Slip, has a white picket fence, a fireplace and large portions of throwback comfort food — all designed to create a homey vibe that makes diners feel cared for and relaxed.
Breakfast is served all day long, the 8-ounce hamburgers are called "Hambiggers" and the Original Grandma's Baby Back Sweet Ribs come coated in caramelized sugar. The motto of the eatery, which just opened Tuesday, is "Food That Hugs You."
"It's the idea of grandma, that everything she made, she made it with love," said Dom Lendjel, the general manager. "She wanted to make everyone feel happy."
The 50-seat restaurant has an Americana theme, and everything from the patriotic knickknacks that dot the walls to the wooden benches customers sit on were made in the United States. Repurposed denim jeans — pockets and all — cover the booths and counter seats, and a white picket fence runs down the center of the space, ringing a raised flower garden.
The menu at Grandma's House is full of throwback items including chocolate and vanilla egg creams, lime rickeys and a "Manhattan Special," a concoction of coffee and soda. The frothy milkshakes are made on a refurbished teal machine that is nearly 100 years old, and sodas pour from an old-fashioned barrel.
A pie shop will open in September with a curated selection of the best New York has to offer, and in the meantime desserts include the cheesecake from Junior's and scoops of Bassetts Ice Cream, from a fifth-generation family-run company in Pennsylvania.
The homey fare won a rave review from one early customer Wednesday afternoon.
"I love it," said Jack Glazebrook, a Boston resident who was in New York on business and tried the Original Grandma's ribs. "They were so good. They come right off the bone — they're nice and tender."
Grandma's House, 27 Peck Slip, 212-GRANDMA (472-6362), is open Monday to Thursday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
