Tag Archives: marrow
The Marrow
If it’s true that “you are what you eat,” we also are what we grow up eating. Harold Dieterle, the chef behind the Thai restaurant Kin Shop and American restaurant Perilla, has gone back to his roots with the Marrow, with a menu that highlights German offerings from his father’s side, “Familie Dieterle,” and Italian dishes from his mother’s side, “Famiglia Chiarelli.” (more…)
Posted in Cuisine, food, German, Italian, Neighborhood, New York restaurants, restaurants, West Village
Tagged bars, beef, beer, cocktails, duck, Harold Dieterle, marrow, schnitzel, seafood
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The NoMad
Not only is the NoMad a shiny new restaurant in a shiny new hotel, it’s the reason Danny Meyer sold Eleven Madison Park, to avoid the competition from another high-end place up the street. And the buyer of Eleven Madison Park, Daniel Humm, who just won the James Beard Award for Outstanding Chef, is now in the kitchen at the NoMad. The buzz about this place has been huge, and the stakes are high. (more…)
Posted in American, food, New York restaurants, NoMad
Tagged bars, beef, Daniel Humm, marrow, New York
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La Maison Mère
When you think Parisian food, do you think filet mignon or pastrami? Tarte au chocolat or cheesecake? If the answer is the former, it’s time to revisit Paris, because the latest dining trend sweeping the city is cuisine new yorkais.
Traveling across the Atlantic to patronize ever-encroaching American chains like Starbucks is not recommended, but new Parisian places like Marcel and La Maison Mère are worth a visit to experience the French take on delicatessen classics. Basically imagine a Cordon Bleu student interning at Katz’s, and you’ve got the picture. (more…)
Fedora
As much as we hate to see old icons of the New York dining scene disappear, let’s face it: not every place is worth saving. Take Fedora, the gay bar on West 4th Street that’s been around since before gay bars were even legal. The atmosphere: fabulously decrepit, as was much of the clientele. The food: questionable. Fedora was a restaurant in the vein of the bygone bohemian Greenwich Village depicted in Mad Men, a style that only lives on in such stalwarts as Gene’s on West 11th Street.
Fast forward to 2010, when new owner Gabriel Stulman of Joseph Leonard took over the Fedora space and reopened it this January. He kept the name and the iconic neon sign outside. A long wooden bar spanning one side of the spare, black and white room looks antique, but it’s actually a new, custom-made bar that incorporates parts of the old Fedora bar. It feels as if it’s been here forever, as does the impressive collection of black and white photos on the opposite wall. Even some of the original Fedora’s regulars are now regulars here. Though Stulman’s following is pretty straight, the original regulars can’t be displeased by the eye candy in this good-looking, stylish crowd. (more…)
Posted in American, food, French, New York restaurants, restaurants, West Village
Tagged bars, duck, Gabriel Stulman, marrow, New York
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The Breslin
The Breslin is a restaurant for people who like to eat. That may sound redundant, but given the lengths to which some restaurants go to accommodate picky eaters (an entrée of “steamed vegetables with boiled egg” at one downtown spot comes to mind), the Breslin embraces food with genuine gusto.
Granted, chef April Bloomfield’s British pub fare is extreme cuisine. Bacon-wrapped eggs, stuffed pig’s foot and fried head cheese are all on the menu, should you be craving them. But there’s also sea bass, chicken (aka poussin) and some excellent salads if you’re not a particularly adventurous diner. The menu—and the food—almost seeks to provoke: the “onion and bone marrow soup with parmesan toast” ($10) turns out to be a particularly meaty, velvety riff on French onion soup, with the bone marrow only adding to a beefy flavor that already existed in the original. Tread carefully, but do not be afraid. (more…)
Posted in British, food, New York restaurants, NoMad, restaurants
Tagged April Bloomfield, bars, beef, gastropubs, marrow, New York
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Anella
One of the saddest things about losing a restaurant can be losing a favorite dish. Such was the case when Le Zinc closed several years ago: Although the airy, art-poster interior was mercifully preserved by the next tenant, Kurt Gutenbrunner of Blaue Gans, the outstanding French pork country terrine vamoosed with the beloved bistro.
Happily, that terrine has landed at new Anella in Greenpoint, which Marie Fromage led us to this past weekend. All this time the secrets to the dish have lived on in the mind of Michael Sullivan, chef of Anella and former co-chef of Le Zinc with David Waltuck (Chanterelle, Macao), who recreates the terrine, peppery ground pork laced with a delicate liqueur like Pernod, a dense spread that turns fluffy as soon as you apply it to toast. (more…)
Posted in American, food, Greenpoint, New York restaurants, restaurants
Tagged Anella, Brooklyn, marrow, New York
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Commerce
Sometimes it seems as if the whole of one’s existence—trying new restaurants, admiring retro-modern interiors, sampling overpriced local ingredients, hanging out in the West Village, referring to oneself as “one”—could be summed up as Stuff White People Like. Commerce restaurant in the West Village is no exception. On a recent evening, we witnessed dozens of white people shelling out top dollar for expensive food in a casual setting, yet none of them seemed to mind. Why?
For one thing, the food is good. It may be all over the map, with Thai curries mixing with French bistek all on the same menu page, but it’s consistently well executed. It’s worth noting that Grange Hall had to close because the low prices of their locally-sourced food couldn’t cover the rent in this historic space, even when the place was packed every night, but now when a new restaurant comes in with fancier, higher-priced fare, it’s criticized as too lofty for its britches. These Commerce Street britches may be casual, but they sure ain’t cheap. You can’t really fault Harold Moore and co. for their strategy.
Jib Girl, the Sea Wench, and I visited Commerce after the Bruni, so chef Harold Moore, who was in the kitchen at Montrachet before, might have had some more time to work out the kinks. The infamously addictive breadbasket was just as tempting as promised, with all sorts of little buns in different flavors. That night’s market special mixed an asparagus and artichoke fricasse with mushrooms, truffle and, according to the menu, poached “hen” (not rooster) egg with fabulous results–all the flavors of spring were perfectly represented here.
The Sea Wench and I split Beau Soleil oysters with green apple gelee, mint, and lemon ice–these were as inventive as something Josh DeChellis might have whipped up at Sumile. The sweet-and-sour tang was interesting, but, as a white person (see photo, right), I secretly wished for something more boring: plain old oysters with mignonette sauce, so that we could better taste the oysters.
“Ragu of odd things”–the “odd things” being oxtail, trotters, and tripe–had the real earthy depth of a good stew. Served with homemade orecchiette cooked perfectly al dente, this was an excellent, rich pasta dish.
If other restaurants serve “elevated comfort food,” Commerce seems to take comfort food and turn it up to eleven. Each dish starts as something expected and then gets thrown for a loop. Mushroom and fontina ravioli sounds normal enough, until you keep reading and learn it’s served with caramelized salsify (the French “oyster plant” herb) and parmesan emulsion (read: foam). While this sort of culinary sleight of hand can be confusing to white people, we like to be kept on our toes, especially if we can feel like we’re taking a risk. Here the risk pays off with an end product that tastes reassuringly familiar and satisfying–this dish is essentially gourmet cheese ravioli.
Both Jib Girl and the Sea Wench went for the snapper as an entree. Oddly for something served in a nouveau-speakeasy setting (though less so when you realize Commerce’s secret weapon is chef de cuisine Snir Eng-Sela, formerly of Blue Hill, also responsible for the bread basket), this was one of the best Thai dishes any of us had had in recent memory. The fabulous green broth had real flavor and gingery kick, the snapper was perfectly poached, and the eggplant and charred scallion offset the other elements beautifully.
Again going way out on a limb for a white person, I ordered an entree that featured bone marrow…in the bone. Outrageous! Fortunately, the experimentation involved in eating this rich, gelatinous substance was rewarded with comfortingly familiar food, sliced sirlioin steak. It was hard to believe that this hadn’t been cooked on a charcoal grill in some West Village backyard, the char was so nicely redolent of smoke.
By this time, we were stuffed. The various appetizers, the decadent entrees, and a couple pricey bottles of wine meant the tab added up—about $100 per person. You may not find a bargain at Commerce, but you’ll find a fabulous meal and a convivial atmosphere. Who knows? With a formula like this, Commerce could be more than just stuff white people like and become a real destination restaurant.
Commerce
50 Commerce Street, between Bedford and Barrow Streets
New York, New York
212-524-2301
Posted in American, food, New York restaurants, restaurants, West Village
Tagged marrow, New York
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