Edi and the Wolf

5 Feb

I have been meaning to try Edi and the Wolf for a long time now, but it’s just in a very inconvenient spot in the city for where I usually spend a lot of time.  It’s on Avenue C and 7th Street.  A great area for new restaurants, a bad area if you live in the Bronx.

My husband and a couple male friends (including my sister’s fiance) have formed “Pepper Club” as a chance for the boys to get together and eat peppers (which both my sister and I are allergic to).  When they got out, us girls pick another place and enjoy a girl’s night out.  So Edi & the Wolf was my pick.

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The menu has some intriguing options, and I especially liked the entire section for “Schnitzel & Co.”

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I also enjoyed that they have a special line to encourage #foodporn on instagram. (Though, sadly, the restaurant was very dark, making porn pictures a bit harder)

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We began with a flatbread with candied onions, pickled mushroom, mozzarella and speck.  The candied onion were fantastic on this and there was a great balance of flavor with the sweet onion, salty pickled mushrooms, creamy mozzarella, and bitter greens.

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We tried the braised short rib with pearl onion, delicata squash, trumpet mushroom, and carrot.  This was a hearty, winter dish with all the right flavors.

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We also tried the spätzle with wild mushroom, zucchini, and poached egg.  I heard this was a “must try” and I cannot disagree. Spaetzle is one of my favorite foods and this was an exceptional version.

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We got a side of the brussels sprouts with bacon, apple, and toasted almonds.  This was a GREAT brussels side.  The sweetness of the apples with the salty and the char.  It was all very, very good together.

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For dessert we decided to split a piece of a chocolate torte.  This was rich but not too rich and we savored every bite.

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We really enjoyed our meal at Edi and the Wolf and I’m very glad I finally got to try it.  It was worth the schlep to Avenue C and I would go back in a heartbeat.

Total Nom Points: 7.5 out of 10

Total Nom Points: 7.5 out of 10

 

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Kingside

3 Feb

We were trying to find a restaurant for a Friday night before a Broadway Show, and Mike mentioned that he had wanted to try Kingside in the Viceroy Hotel (57th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues).  It looked good from the outside, with a nicely lit sign and the black and white checkered floors that I’m a sucker for.

The menu looked pretty great, too.

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I absolutely love artichokes, and would probably call them one of my favorite foods.  So we had to get the crispy baby artichokes.  I was kind of shocked and appalled by the price: $20. But I went with it.

These were good, though a little greasy, and not great. Certainly not $20 great.  What are they thinking? Not everyone is an artichoke sucker like me!

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Mike chose the braised pork shank with roasted shallots, escarole and pork jus.  This should have been great. I mean… how can braised pork shank not be great? But it just wasn’t.  The meat was tasty but had very little flavoring besides the meat.  It felt a bit like a finely cooked piece of meat swimming in flavorless jus. How is pork jus flavorless? I’m still confused.

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We got a side of the brussels sprouts with mustard and black garlic.  These were also very ehh.  I LOVE black garlic and I would not have been able to identify that flavor anywhere in this dish. The sprouts were a bit soggy and while they looked like they had a char, they were really just kind of limp.

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And then I got the scallops (with butternut squash, bacon caponata, and brown butter)… good gracious the scallops.  I love scallops. I basically could eat a scallop in any form.  I don’t think I have EVER left a morsel of scallop on a plate in my history of eating scallops probably hundreds of times.  But this? This was awful. The scallops were so over-salted I could hardly eat them and wound up leaving an entire scallop on the plate. An atrocity. I ate the squash hash because it was okay and I didn’t want to starve, but I was seriously angry that someone could ruin a scallop.

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This was such a poor excuse for a restaurant. Someone took all the things that are trendy and good and then put a cook in there who had no idea how to execute on the food.  The concepts of all the dishes were fine, but whomever was behind that stove should be ashamed of themselves. I really have to hope they had an off night, but there is no excuse for ruining a perfectly good scallop.

Total Nom Points: 4 out of 10

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Gramercy Tavern for New Year’s Eve

29 Jan

I was more than happy to plan a New Year’s Eve that included not much more than my couch, my husband, and my cats… but friends of ours were visiting from London and were passionate about having a nice meal out, especially at Gramercy Tavern. So 30 days before 12/31, we were online and calling to snag a reservation. And we got one.

And I’m glad she motivated me to get off my butt to enjoy a nice meal on New Year’s Eve.  Because it was a really lovely way to spend the holiday, without having to deal with any of the craziness that is NYE in NYC.

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The Dining Room menu is typically a 3-course menu where you can choose from an app, entree, and dessert for $92 or a Seasonal Tasting Menu (~6 courses) for $120.  New Year’s Eve was no different.  (Which I think is important, because I hate price gouging on holidays)

We were at a table with 2 other couples, some of whom were not the foodie activists we are, so when the waiter said it would be hard to have some of the table do the 3-course and the others do the Tasting Menu, we sadly went with the 3-course.

But I longed for that Seasonal Tasting Menu.  There were so many dishes on that menu that had my name all over them.  I used every kindness I had and asked the waiter if I could choose some things off the Seasonal Tasting Menu, even if they came with a supplement.  He checked with the chef and agreed. OH HAPPY DAY!

We started with an amuse bouche, and I got a special one with pickled veggies, which was a very nice start.

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One of the items that tickled my fancy off the Tasting Menu was the lobster with squash.  This was fantastic.  Sweet lobster, cooked just right, complimented by a perfectly roasted squash, squash seeds, and a delightful sauce.

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Some other dishes around the table looked equally delicious.

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But the other dish off the tasting menu I needed was the short ribs.  These were cooked perfectly and in a fantastic sauce with bright, beautiful veggies.

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We then got an intermezzo of shaved ice that was a really refreshing transition into dessert.

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All of the desserts were lovely, including the cheese tasting.

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And we ended the meal with beautiful chocolate fudge and salted caramels.

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And they sent us home with homemade banana bread and chocolate hazelnut spread to enjoy the next morning (and oh boy did we).

This was a great meal, and a great way to end a great year with great friends.  They were so kind to let me order a custom meal and get the things I so wanted, and for that bit of hospitality I cannot help but love them even more.  We already had one great meal at Gramercy Tavern, and I can’t wait to go back for another one. It’s such a classic New York City restaurant that always impresses.

Total Nom Points: 8 out of 10

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