By all means try it, Paul. It wasn’t a disaster last night at all, and the first meal there was much stronger. The oiliness does concern me, but that could very well be a matter of taste, though one shared by others it seems. If the restaurant is doing it consistently, then someone in the kitchen must think it’s the right way to prepare the dishes, after all. I do like more lift (acid in this case) and less oil in general.
I wouldn’t at all complain if someone wanted me to go there with them. It’s just that, with Estela and other places I love on the LES, it won’t be my first choice.
I’m going there Tuesday night for a business dinner. I’ll report back and Paul, we can go soon and perform our due diligence. Maybe Sarah can join and we can investigate…
Some friends are coming into town and one of them is even more noise-averse than I am (which I had though a virtual impossibility). Unfortunately Racines is closed that night so I’m poking around for other options. We did Marea on their last visit, leaning towards Jungsik at the moment.
Headed to NYC next week and focused on places I have never been. We have Estela, Marea, and Contra lined-up for dinner. Spotted pig for brunch Saturday before the wife (her pick) heads home. That leaves Saturday and Sunday night for me to find places with a nice bar to dine solo. Thoughts?
Pearl and Ash could work for Saturday or Sunday or Charlie Bird. Both have bar seating and great winelists. You can order half bottles of any wine on the list at Charlie Bird. Racines is another good suggestion.
The midtown branch is still $10 corkage. I don’t know about downtown. Bring stemware (theirs isn’t great)
Personally I like Oloroso, Amontillado or Palo Cortado with the duck & hoisin. Syrah and Champagne work also. If you have them leave off the hoisin or go very light on it then anything that goes with duck (i.e., almost anything) is a good pairing.
I ate at Betony tonight. Very good but not a grand slam. Amuse of celeric truffle soup was killer, as was the lobster, which was one of the better preparations I’ve had anywhere. Short rib was impressive and good, but a little too delicate for what I look for in a short rib. Appetizers were somewhat disappointing, especially the hot foie, which received such raves from the NYT, and the “spicy tuna roll,” which was small and boring. Overall, however, the execution is at a very high level and the food is actually a silly good bargain for the quality of the cooking. I’d go back for the lobster alone.
Second night (of two) in NY for work and I hit up Dirty French. It was awesome. Really, really fun, and the food was delicious. Execution was perhaps not as high as Betony (although it was close), but the deliciousness factor was off the charts better, and loads more fun. Flatbread starter was superb, as were the foie and salmon apps. Tuna tartare app was fine. The real highlight was the duck, which had as good of a duck breast as I’ve ever had – as odd as it sounds, it was on par with Taillevent in Paris a couple months back. The Chicken was an excellent preparation and a fun way to serve it (with crepes). If the food weren’t so good, and the service on point, the atmosphere could seem gimicky, but it works somehow. Fun meal. (the '02 Raffault Picasses was tasty too)
Had a really good meal at The Milling Room, Scott Bryan’s new restaurant on the UWS, last night.
Recommendations - when he came out to talk to the table he mentioned that he’s in the kitchen Tuesday-Saturday so those are probably the best nights to go. Get the Atlantic Codfish with Shellfish Bouillabaisse Broth! Hamachi Tartar (great match with '95 Winston Churchill) and Duck Breast were other highlights. Sweetbreads were quite good but a notch lower than the other courses.
No word on corkage policies yet, my understanding is that they have no current plans to do an Apiary style corkage free Monday.
The room is beautiful but I’m concerned that it might become noisy when full. A Tuesday night two weeks into opening was fine.
I’d say the food was a definite step up from the Apiary days.
