Gimme a G!

judging by the packed house and almost deafening surroundings on a recent summer night, recession-beleaguered upper west siders have welcomed gus and gabriel's soothing prices and no-fuss american-style gastropub menu. world-renowned chef michael psilakis has traded in his vast experience with and love of greek cooking, for which he earned a michelin star for anthos and has taken a page from casual dining establishment kefi, the former occupant of this space. gus and gabriel's takes its name from psilakis' father and son, in keeping with the chef's philosophy that food should be loved by adults and should indulge their inner children.

having scouted out the menu earlier in the day, my friend philomena, who's from ireland and knows pub food, and i were more than a little excited to try the hot potato chips, a "beer snack" ($3.95). but first, taking advantage of the drink list, which includes 10 draughts, 30 micro- and euro bottles (not to mention 70 bottles of bourbon, scotch and tequila), she ordered a raderburger ($8) and declared it, with a look of great joy, "good!" curious about how big the glass was, since it looked enormous, i asked our friendly waiter, who guessed it held between 18 and 20 ounces, depending on the amount of head. much to our surprise, he came back to the table with a glass and told us he'd poured a pint of water in just to see, and then confirmed his earlier calculation.

the starter was worth the anticipatory drooling. the thinly sliced potatoes were super crisp and caused much finger licking afterward. in fact, i wouldn't have minded an overflowing plate of them to go with the creamy, rich sour cream and chive dip that was left over. philomena and i both ordered the fish and chips ($12.95) and i wondered if we would get vinegar; we did, in mini gravy boats. the abundant and beautifully presented platter came with fish bites, rather than traditional filets (two thumbs up from us to that approach) and thick, well-seasoned chips. philomena remarked, "they don't even need salt and i'm irish!" the plate was capped off with a few onion rings (also served as an appetizer, for $3.95) that were made exactly right: not too thick or overwhelmed by batter and no lingering greasiness.

i had purposely not finished my meal and skipped ordering a drink so that i would be able to linger over dessert. our waiter, who had kept us well hydrated all evening, worked hard to sell me on his favorite, the peanut butter and jelly cupcake ($4.95), made with homemade peanut butter icing. but i fancied something chocolaty, ultimately opting for the iced mint chocolate cake ($5.95). it was ideal for sharing because the massive slice, beyond rich on its own, was accompanied by chocolate ice cream, chocolate sauce and whipped cream. to avoid a full-on chocolate coma, i think the dessert would have worked better with a contrast, such as mint ice cream, which would have brought out the subtle flavor of the cake more than whipped cream.

happily, by the time we were struggling to pull off a few more bites of cake hours after we had arrived, the crowd had been reduced by more than half, allowing us to chat more easily, and making the tiny space of 60-odd tables and the eagles-era lite-fm tunes very inviting. -- gus and gabriel's 222 w. 79th st. 212-362-7470 entrees: $10.95 to $14.95 cash only