I was with friends in the West Village and texted a coworker, Sam, who lives in the neighborhood for a recommendation on where to have dinner. He said we should definitely try Bar’rique (on Bleecker between 6th and 7th Aves, right next to Murray’s Cheese Shop). I checked the menu and reviews on my phone and all looked good, so off we went.
It definitely has a wine bar feel, with high tables and focus on the bar.
They also have a small, open kitchen and we had the fortune of sitting right outside.
We started with some delicious, but over-priced crostini. I got the ricotta with honey and almonds. It was about 3 bites, and cost $4. It was good, but I’m not sure if it was $4 for 3 bites good.
The rest of the table also tried the truffled white beans with beets and the prosciutto with cheese, peppers and capers.
Mike thoroughly enjoyed the prosciutto one.
For entrees, Mike got the burger. I was surprised to see that the pickled vegetables on top included jalapenos. I took a piece of burger from the bottom and it was very flavorful. Nice char.
Mike also said the burger was fantastic, juicy, and the pickled vegetables were a great compliment. We all enjoyed the fries. Perfectly crispy.
Our friend, Eden, got the Mizuna salad, which is a Japanese lettuce with cinnamon roasted pears, parmesan, candied hazelnuts, and hazelnut vinaigrette. He really enjoyed it, and I meant to try it by completely forgot. That combination of salad ingredients is right up my alley.
I chose the braised short ribs. They came with honey glazed turnip and Anson Mills white grits. I am usually not a grits fan, but whatever the Anson Mills brand is, it’s fantastic. The turnips were just perfect and holy cow… the short ribs were holyfuckinawesomelydelicious. They had such a great flavor, on such a great sauce, over great grits. I was totally blown away by this dish. An easy 9 on the Nom Scale.
Our waitress, Sarah, was incredibly attentive and sweet. She also informed us that this place just opened in January.
Overall, everyone walked away from this meal saying what a gem this place is. All our food was outstanding, and even the wine we had was great. While the crostini was over-priced for the serving size, I found the rest of the menu reasonable for the caliber of food and portions. Not cheap by any means, but completely worth every penny. They focus on sustainable farming and wineries and have a seasonal menu that changes with the best ingredients. It is very obvious that there is extra care in the way this food is prepared, and I highly suggest trying this place before the rest of the world finds out. It won’t be empty on a Saturday night for long!
Total Nom Points: 8 out of 10
