We met up with some friends for a pre-theatre dinner at Ed’s Chowder House near Lincoln Center. It is located in the Empire Hotel and is right outside the mecca of NYC performing arts.
I have been meaning to try Ed’s since it opened in 2009, so I was excited when my friend suggested it and they had a reservation at the right time.
Our friends decided to split the tuna tartare and the spicy mussels. I couldn’t try the mussels, but the tuna tartare was quite fresh and good.
Mike went with a special of a salad with clam strips. The clam strips that were on this were super awesome. I really enjoyed my bite.
I really wanted to have some chowder at the Chowder House… but most had peppers. The one safe one was the sweet corn chowder with crispy shallots. So I went for it.
But it came out with popcorn that were the shade of danger. I am allergic to peppers. It’s a huge pain in the ass, but it could be a lot worse. Peppers are brightly colored and flavored, and I’m not anaphylactic. I will just burn and blister from them, which is annoying and uncomfortable, but at least it won’t kill me! And I have come to know the warning color is typically this special shade of orange. Sure enough, it had paprika on it (which is made from peppers… damn). I was bummed since I love popcorn in soup, but they were quick to return with a bowl sans popcorn. And it was very tasty.
As for entrees, one of our friends got the scallops. They looked great, but they had peppers, so I have no first hand account.
Mike chose the tuna steak with fries.
The tuna steak had hotel butter on it and was served raw, the chef’s recommendation. This is how I LOVE tuna steaks. I love sashimi, but I also love the grilled char flavor. This combined the best of both worlds and was a really delicious piece of fish.
My friend and I split our entrees with each other. She got the skate, which was delicious. Well cooked with a little bit of crisp and a really nice sauce to compliment it.
And I got the linguini with clams and shrimp. This was good but a bit lacking in depth. It tasted like seafood and the sea and butter. But perhaps it needed some salt or some more interesting herbs. It was good but not great.
We also split the smoked bacon macaroni and cheese around the table. This was a really good mac and chee. It was made with very small tubular noodles and was creamy without being soupy. The crunch on top was just enough and the smoked bacon added a great level of flavor.
A very good meal. A solid meal. A meal I cannot find much to say about. Besides the fact that it was good. If you are in the area, it’s a good option.
Total Nom Points: 7 out of 10
