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Restaurant Week Winter 2014: City Hall

8 Mar

For Restaurant Week Winter 2014, we made 3 reservations: City Hall on Duane Street near West Broadway, Butter Midtown on 45th St near 6th Ave, and Villard Michel Richard at Madison and 51st St.

Unfortunately, upon showing up at Butter Midtown, we found out that they do not participate in Restaurant Week on Sundays, which was disappointing since our last Butter Restaurant Week experience at the downtown restaurant (which is apparently closed now?) was so great.  (And it became even more disappointing after we actually ate there… more on that in a review coming soon).

So our first Restaurant Week experience wound up being at City Hall in TriBeCa with some old friends and new friends.

The dining room is set up nicely so there are a lot of tables but it still feels somehow private.  The building and space is quite beautiful with a very Old New York feeling. They even have a lot of old pictures of New York backlit around the top of the walls.

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We were given some some (pickled?) veggies (carrots, pickles, green tomatoes) upon seating.

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And they quickly took our orders, which most of us took from the Restaurant Week menu.

I went with the lamb chops with a mint chimichurri over kale. This was absolutely delicious, with great lamb flavor and a nice fresh mint and herb sauce.  Not much needed to make lamb taste great, but this was prepared very well. I was especially impressed that they were serving it for Restaurant Week.

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Someone also got the scallops, which they said were tasty but the portion was SUPER small with one miniature scallop on the plate and one reasonably sized one.

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Another friend got the salmon appetizer, which was a nice portion over a risotto that had squash in it. It was very nice.

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Another person in our party ordered off the regular menu and she got the local field greens salad, which they seemed to enjoy.

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Mike didn’t get the Restaurant Week menu either, but the chef didn’t want him to go without anything so they served him a very, very small amount of French Onion soup.  It was about 1/4 inch in a small bowl with a crouton in it. While I appreciated the gesture a lot, it was a bit.. odd.  Very little soup and no cheese.  They would have been better serving it in a very small shot glass or something of the sort, because it just seemed funny when it was barely a bite in a cup.

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We got a side of brussels sprouts off the menu that the entire table split when the entrees came out. They were caramelized and very, very tasty.

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Two of our friends go the fish, but I cannot recall exactly what it was (and sadly, them menu is no longer posted), but it certainly didn’t photograph well. Luckily, I think it tasted better than it photographed and they both ate it all up.

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I got the beef bourguignon over wide egg noodles.  The meat was fork tender and I enjoyed the dish, but I do with the sauce had a bit more punch to the flavor.

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The regular menu offered Calves Liver “Milk-Fed” with sauteed onions.  I certainly was tempted to try this myself, and then I forgot to ask for a bite when it came (damn) but she gobbled it up and seemed to enjoy it.

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Mike’s regular menu choice was  the burger. It was a big burger and Mike chose blue cheese, which he said was a bit overpowering.  It wasn’t anything too special but it was a decent burger.

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For dessert, I got the chocolate with raspberry.  I remember enjoying it but it wasn’t overly memorable or special. Just a nice end to a nice dinner.

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A few other desserts that were all tasty but nothing to write home about:

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Overall, City Hall was a very good place to have dinner and the Restaurant Week menu was very good.  I don’t know if I feel the need to run right back, but I would absolutely recommend it if someone is looking for a place to eat in TriBeCa.

Overall Nom Points: 7 out of 10

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Mike’s Birthday Dinner 2013: American Cut

15 Oct

If you have been reading the blog for a bit, you know about our holiday/birthday surprise tradition.  This year, Mike requested steak for his birthday.  I was torn… I LOVE Keen’s and our meal at Peter Luger’s was pretty legendary. Where could we go that would be special for his birthday? I debated Strip House (where Mike has never been) and Porter House (where neither of us have been).  I even made a reservation at Costata, Chef Michael White’s new(ish) steakhouse.  I was leaning very heavily towards Costata after reading about the steaks being aged for 40 days or more.

But then American Cut hit my radar.

Opening just two weeks ago and with Iron Chef Marc Forgione at the helm, this steakhouse came with pretty great reviews from their Atlantic City location.  I tentatively made the reservation as soon as the reservation lines opened up, but held onto my Costata reservation just in case early reviews weren’t so good.  We also tried one of Chef Forgione’s restaurants for brunch, and we were not all that impressed.  I did a search and couldn’t find much, but what I did find was pretty good, so I took a chance and canceled Costata and off to TriBeCa we went to try American Cut.

The inside was pretty sexy, actually.  It was almost deco, almost rat pack… but somehow modern.  The seats were big (without being oversized) with comfy leather and tables that had a stripy grain and a lacquered look.  It looked like the kind of place that you could (and should) sign all of your 6 figure deals.

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The bread course starts things off quite well with an “everything” biscuit and vegetable cream cheese.  A little too well actually.  This biscuit is fantastically delicious and the everything crunches perfectly on top.  Unfortunately (though not too unfortunately), it’s quite a large biscuit and fills you up faster than you want to be filled up at a steakhouse with all the offerings.

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Mike started with the “wedge salad.”  This was flavored beautifully with a piece of bacon on top that was more like a porky crisp.  It had a great, light blue cheese and a really flavorful dressing.  The one really weird thing that I couldn’t get past was that while they called it a “wedge,” it was really just the chopped ice burg with a single large leaf across the top. Now it tasted GREAT… but a wedge has to be a wedge.  Call me a purist.

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I started with the bone marrow app.  I don’t know why I keep doing this to myself though… I REALLY love bone marrow but it’s just too much.  Every time I get it I’m overwhelmed.  It’s just so damn rich. And this was certainly gilding the lily with the addition of Burgundy Escargot (which was fried crisp) and Short Rib on the plate.

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The taste was great, and I absolutely love the fresh parsley with the marrow, but it was just too damn much.  Overkill. Also, the toasted bread tasted great but it was so sharp that it really cut up in the inside of my mouth. I hate that. Not that it stopped me from eating it though. What do you take me for? Like I wound waste one morsel!  (Sorry waistline)

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As for the main course, we tried two sides, including the latkes with apple, sour cream, and gribenes (crackling chicken skin with fried onions, similar to a pork rind but a Jewish variety).  This was heaven in a fried stack.  The potato pancake tasted like potato and was perfectly crispy.  Then the sour cream and apple were a great compliment (as always) and the gribenes was a nice twist.  Great side.  Highly recommended.

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We also tried the sunchoked spinach with fontina and smoked salt.  This was a nice side akin to creamed spinach, but not quite as heavy and with a nice cheesy flavor. (We took a good amount home with us and it made for awesome leftovers inside an omelette the next morning!)

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I got a steak from the specials.  This was a small filet minon with a “hunter’s sauce.” Our waiter instantly qualified this as “JUST a red wine sauce with wild mushrooms.”  By qualifying it as “JUST” a sauce kind of took away from the cool sounding “hunter’s sauce” but boy this was not JUST anything.  The filet was perfectly cooked with the tender, flavorful mushrooms.  The sauce was just glazed enough to stick to the meat and create a depth of flavor that really upped the ante on the filet. (Typically I choose anything other than filet because I prefer a richer, more deeply flavored steak that can only come from marbleized fat).

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Mike got the “New York City Cut” which was a 20 ounce bone-in ribeye with pastrami spices and smoke.  This was a very well cooked steak with a nice char and delicious spices.  And this was QUITE a portion.

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Mike chose to order some maitre d’ butter on the side and every steak is served with their own steak sauce, which was good but somehow unnecessary with how good the steak was.

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By midway through our meal, a little piece of me was regretting the biscuit. As good as it was, it was SUPER filling.  I am not sure if the same delicious biscuit could be executed in all it’s fluffy inner and crunchy outer goodness in a smaller portion, but it made it difficult to finish the meal. Though to be honest, I would do it all over again exactly the same way. Nothing wrong with leftovers! (Which they packaged up for us and then gave us a claim ticket to get from the coat check. Nice touch.)

We took a good amount home so we could have room for dessert.  We chose the Cracker Jack Sundae with popcorn ice cream. (Though I was very curious about the HB&J that came with hazelnut butter and concord grape semifreddo, as well as the AC Carbomb which was chocolate bread pudding, Jameson butterscotch, bananas, and Guiness ice cream.)

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I really enjoyed this sundae.  A mild, popcorn flavored ice cream (that could have been a bit bland on its own) was enhanced by a caramel sauce and pieces of crackerjack that by some miracle of food managed to stay entire crispy even when borrowed deep in this sundae.

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Our meal was finished with 2 little sweet bites.  I wish they told us what exactly they were, but I would venture to guess that the chocolate one was a chocolate mint cookie (that tasted a bit like a Girl Scout’s Thin Mint) and the other tasted like a Lintzer cookie with what I would assumed was raspberry and nuts.  (I preferred the latter).

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These tiny guys were quite good, but it hit one of my biggest pet peeves: 2 people… 1 of each cookie.  It forces you to nibble a little bite off of each to allow the other person to try it. Thank goodness I like my husband, otherwise we would be fighting over each morcel. Come now… serve 2 of each… 1 for each patron. Don’t make us split a thimble of cookie.

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But truly… this is nit picking to its extreme. Our meal was fantastic.  There were a few minor faults and hiccups along the way, but the food was great.

The service was pretty good. We did both notice, however, that the entire main course was served to our neighboring table while 3 out of the 4 of them were away at the bathroom.  That shouldn’t happen, but our service overall was pretty good. Though I certainly appreciated the warmth of the manager over the odd coldness of our waiter.

Throughout the meal, a waft of a delicious smoke would tickle our noses. We finally asked what it was and our waiter guessed that it was the Plank Smoked Old Fashion with Woodford Reserve, caster sugar, nicks bitters, and a maple wood smoked glass. He described the process of making it: they would invert the glass and fill it with the smoke before pouring the drink into it.  We entertained the idea of stopping at the bar to try one as we handed over our credit card and waited for a bit.  It didn’t seem like all that long, but the manager came up to us and let us know that the credit card machine had crashed and it would be  a few minutes.  He offered to buy us a drink, and Mike instantly perked up and asked for that Old Fashion.

I immediately felt bad because I had noticed at the very beginning of the meal that the drink in question was actually quite pricey at $20.But hey, he offered!

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And boy oh boy am I glad he did!  We were more than happy to split the drink and it was everything as good as it smelled.  I am not the person to EVER spend $20 on a cocktail, but this one would have almost been worth it.  The ice ball drove me nuts by bonking me in the nose every time I took a sip, but it didn’t stop me for going back for more.  The smokiness was just absolutely awesome and the cocktail was so well balanced and so well mixed.  Impressive.

So we added at least $20 extra to the tip and walked out of that restaurant feeling absolutely great.

Good job Manager!

Good job Chef Forgione!

Great job American Cut!

Total Nom Points: 8 out of 10

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Kutsher’s TriBeCa

30 Dec

I don’t know a single Jewish family from the east coast that hasn’t at least heard of Kutsher’s, a “summer camp” for adults located in the Catskills (think “Dirty Dancing”).  It used to be the place to go, but it has long lost its luster, though not its notoriety.  So when the Kutsher family decided to open up a restaurant in TriBeCa, with the promise to make family-style Jewish food more sophisticated, I was curious (if not excited).  It opened just a few weeks ago, but we made our reservation for the week between Christmas and New Years with one of our favorite couple friends, E and K.

We decided to split the “crispy potato latkes” with “local apple compote” and sour cream.   It was listed on the menu as “For the Table,” so I was quite underwhelmed when 3 very, very tiny latkes came out… for four of us.  Of all the things to skimp on, fried potatoes are a strange choice.  But they were good… not great… but good.  The apple compote tasted quite fresh.

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We also decided to split the Jerusalem artichokes, which came with lemon, garlic, parsley, greens and shaved parmesan.  The parsley was crisped and this whole dish was delicious. I could have eaten every bite myself.

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E & K both ordered the wild mushroom and fresh ricotta kreplach which came with walnut pesto, olive oil schmaltz and fresh black pepper sheep’s milk cheese.  Kreplach is basically the Jewish version of a dumpling.  They both enjoyed it.

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Mike chose the grilled Romanian steak which was a prime skirt steak with caramelized onions and a roasted garlic & wild mushroom knish.  The steak was perfectly steaky.  Could rival a steak house in NY.

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I went with the red wine braised flanken style short ribs. These came with schmaltz mashed potatoes and glazed root vegetables.  Schmaltz is rendered fat, and basically just makes everything taste better.  These melted in my mouth.  Amazing flavor, cooked to perfection, and just overall fantastic.

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For sides, we got the schmaltz fries (these were just okay).

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The pan roasted brussels sprouts with rosemary.  (Delish)

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And the quinoa varnishkas with torn pasta and wild mushrooms.  Usually this would be kasha varnishkas… which is a type of buckwheat with bowtie pasta.  Kasha is something that is pretty bland, but I really enjoy it.  The quinoa actually made it more bland, so we didn’t particularly love this, but it was good.

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Most of the food was far above par. The service, however, was pretty bad.  Our waiter rushed us through the entire meal.  He came back every 2-3 minutes for our order, even when we were clearly looking at the menu.  Our apps were barely cleared when the entrees came.  Then when it came to paying the bill, he must have stopped by at least half a dozen times in less than 10 minutes.  It was downright uncomfortable.  We were in and out in less than an hour… it was a sour spot on an otherwise great meal.

I would probably give it a few months to even things out and this seems to be the place where it helps to know what to order.  Here is my advice:  Artichokes app, steak, short ribs, and brussels sprouts.   And next time I want to have room for dessert!

Overall, most of the food was very good. I look forward to going back once they have their sea legs.

Total Nom Points: 7 out of 10