301 Church Street corner of Walker
212/334.8282
about $60 for two, without drinks, without tip
Craving for pasta and too far of a walk from Peppe Rosso now that I work in Chinatown, we went to Bread Tribeca.
With lamb ragout
With haricot vert and zucchini in pesto
It hit the spot but I liked their interior better than their food–mediocre at best.
2nd floor of the Hudson Hotel, 356 West 58th Street off Ninth Avenue
212/554.6500
about $150 for two, with two drinks, with tip
We walked in at 4pm, way past brunch time for early risers like me, but we still enjoyed a civilized lunch with the afternoon sun seeping in at the Hudson Cafeteria. We ordered the foie gras in honor of our Chicago friends who won’t be able to enjoy it anymore. It came with country ham and pickled watermelon and black eyed peas. The Peking duck pizza hit the spot and was absolutely delicious. The scallions in the hoisin sauce was a nice kick with the fresh mozarella and tomatoes.
Mmm, mmm sautéed foie gras
Peking duck pizza
We could have stopped there but two glasses each of the Pinot Gris and the Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand made us order the Hudson burger with Niman Ranch bacon served with fries and cheese.
The space is gorgeous and perhaps the most good looking “cafeteria” you will lay your eyes on. The dark wood, high ceilings and tall windows make the space inviting that you forget you’re inside a hotel in the first place.
3rd floor of the Time Warner Center, 10 Columbus Circle at 60th Street
212/823.9366
$64 for two, without drinks, with tip
♥ ♥ ♥
It’s in the mall, but it has Thomas Keller’s name on it, so how can anyone say no to Bouchon Bakery even though it’s just really a bunch of tables and chairs outside the Samsung store on the third floor of the Time Warner building? Bouchon Bakery is for those who can’t score a table at Per Se on the fourth floor or don’t have the $200 to feed themselves. It also serves lunch to the corporate employees around the area during the day from a take-away counter.
We started by splitting the haricot vert soup. Creamy but oh-so-light, we just couldn’t figure out how it was done. The peekytoe crab meat, poached scallops, shrimp and squid fruits de mer tasted so fresh. The sweet and sour dressing was so refreshing, you can absolutely taste the fresh herbs used. The tuna sandwich is made to look like a tartine, topped with eggs like a niçoise.
The service is Thomas Keller all the way: a waitress asking us to pardon her reach when she would offer us freshly cracked pepper, a waiter knowing what exactly was in the dessert when asked, another waitress refilling our water glasses without intruding. It’s a great place to have a simple brunch and to experience a tiny part of the Thomas Keller enterprise without paying more than $30 for a dish. I don’t think I’ve ever eaten anything good at a food court until Bouchon Bakery.
50 Clinton Street between Stanton and Rivington Streets
212/477.2900
about $300 for two, with a bottle of wine, with tip
♥ ♥ ♥
Wylie Dufresne, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways…
1. Pickled beef tongue with fried mayonnaise and onion streusel. I loved the beef tongue carpaccio style; you can barely remember it was pickled. And fried and cubed mayonnaise? It was worth ordering just to find out how the hell they would do it.
2. Octopus with celery pesto, pineapple and tiny bits of mojama, or dry tuna, and marcona almonds. Celery pesto is something I’ve never had before.
3. Corned duck, rye crisp, purple mustard and horseradish. Our waiter told us this is the mainstay on the wd-50 menu and that it was an absolute must-try. He was right. The mini parsleys were a nice touch.
4. Root vegetable “lasagna” with sweet and sour mushroom broth. I tasted carrots, parsnip and burdock in there. Perhaps beets were not in season. Lasagna is in quotes because the familiar layering technique was used. The mushrooms were a delight to eat, but I wish this came in a smaller portion.
5. Rack of lamb, sauerkraut spaetzle, swiss cheese consommé. We finished a bottle of wine from Piedmont and all I remember about the lamb was that it melted in my mouth. We ordered medium, but it was definitely rare. Divine.
6. Kumquat confit, carob ice cream, or St. John’s Bread, a pea pod that looks like cocoa but without the caffeine, with soy caramel. The kumquat was chewy, but I wondered if it would be any softer if cooked longer.
7. Caramelized banana, smoked chocolate ice cream and stout. I have no clue how one would smoke ice cream, but we paused after every spoonful and asked, Is that bacon I taste?
8. Thin crisps in a wooden box. I had to ask our waiter to take them away because I couldn’t stop picking from it.
A very expensive meal for two, but worth every penny.
78 Second Avenue at 4th Street
212/253.5410
about $200 for five, with two bottles of wine, without tip
♥ ♥
Three of us drank two bottles of Algerian red wine while waiting for the rest of our group. When the five of us were complete, we shared two lamb shanks that were so tender, the meat just came off the bones when our forks touched it. Two order of crab cakes were the least African on the menu, yet they were still tasty. I liked their tagine so much I could have eaten one more serving. The seafood pancake was so-so and the chicken kebab tasted like, well, chicken.
We were seated at the front and the breeze would come in every time someone opened the door. We asked to be moved when the back room freed up, but the manager never returned to accommodate us even though they told us they just needed to clean up in the back. Minus that one slip, the waiters were almost unnoticable which could be a good thing when you’re just enjoying the food and the company you’re with.
