Tag Archives: west village

August

10 Apr

It was one of those nights where we had a birthday party late in the night and didn’t really have plans for dinner before.  We figured we would take a cab to the birthday location and stumble upon a restaurant nearby.  When we were about 5 blocks out, I realized we were passing August, a restaurant that had been recommended to me.  So we asked the cabby to stop and we jumped out.  15 minutes later, we were seated.

We started with the hamachi tartare that had asian pear in it.

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It had a great contrast between the mild sweet and fresh taste of the pear and the hamachi.

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We also got the jerusalem artichoke soup with brown butter and sunchoke chips.  I have to assume that sunchoke chips are really hard to come by or seriously expensive, because each time I get them I notice that they could easily double or triple the amount and there would still be too few.  I LOVE sunchoke chips, and these added a great crunch to the soup, which in and of itself was great.

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I went with the roasted lamb over root vegetables.  This was seasoned incredibly well and everything just tasted like a bit plate of comfort.

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Mike chose the scallops with celeriac remoulade, frisee, bacon lardons.

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It was very tasty, perfectly cooked, and well balanced.

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For dessert we tried the cinnamon apple crumble with salted caramel gelato. I was hoping for more crisp, but the flavors were really great. And it was warm and cozy.

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August is comfort food at its best and most elegant.  Flavors that were perfect for the cold winter night and yet refined.  I really enjoyed our dining experience here and I look forward to going back.

Total Nom Points: 7.5 out of 10

Total Nom Points: 7.5 out of 10

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Bar’rique: An awesome new addition to the West Village

21 Mar

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.

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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.

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The rest of the table also tried the truffled white beans with beets and the prosciutto with cheese, peppers and capers.

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Mike thoroughly enjoyed the prosciutto one.

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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.

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Mike also said the burger was fantastic, juicy, and the pickled vegetables were a great compliment.  We all enjoyed the fries.  Perfectly crispy.

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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.

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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.

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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


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Steak Frites

15 Jun

On various days, Mike and I will walk through the city in a single direction while looking at menus until something sparks our interest.  We’ve been pretty lucky in our “stumble upons” and Steak Frites on Varick at Clarkson (West Village) was no exception.

Since the inside was mostly red, I already liked it.

We were there right around late brunch time (it could have been linner by then) but we both still went for variations on egg dishes.  My dish was unbelievably good, with the exception of the egss being overpoached (why is this so common when mine turn out perfectly almost every time? Ok… I’m not a chef in a restaurant… maybe I shouldn’t say anything).  I think it was a special, since I can’t find it on their menu, but it was a parmesan (perfectly crispy) thick piece of toast with spinach, tomatos, poached eggs, bacon, hollandaise and shaved parmesan.  The blend of flavors was impressive.

Mike went with the steak and eggs, which seemed to be quite enjoyable (though also with overpoached eggs).

Total Nom Points: 7 out of 10

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