21
Feb

Kutsher’s Tribeca – NYC

by ccwynne812   {9:17 am}

KUTSHER’S  TRIBECA – NYC

186 Franklin St. (at Greenwich St.) New York, NY 10013

Rating: 7.8

Photo courtesy of: www.nytimes.com

Living in New York, it’s hard to avoid the influence and presence of Jewish food. Some is excellent but might involve standing in line for 30 minutes to get your perfect bagel and lox or brisket and some you would really rather avoid altogether.

Kutsher’s the restaurant takes the best of Jewish culinary culture and does it up right. The name Kutsher’s comes from the 100 -year old Kutsher’s Country Club in the Catskills – the hot destination for Jewish families in the ’60’s and ’70’s. The Kutsher’s website has lots of fun facts about the original resort but the idea was to recreate the culture in a modern Jewish American Bistro. The airy and spacious dining room is meant to evoke 1960’s minimalist with its modern clean lines.

At Kutsher’s they hand select their ingredients from the best places across the city and put them all under one simply elegant roof.  Chef Thomas Higuchi-Crowll cures and smokes his pastrami meats daily which makes for the freshest sandwiches and charcuterie platters. The only problem with the menu is that everything looks delicious. This resulted in ordering two kinds of potatoes.

Some friends and I were graciously hosted by our friend Zach Chodorow at Kutsher’s for brunch one day to welcome a friend home from London.

We started with some potato latkes with apple compote and sour cream. These were almost as good as the class moms’ latkes who came in to make them for us during Hanukkah in 5th grade.

Potato Latkes

We also couldn’t resist the duck schmaltz fries which came highly recommended by Zach. He was definitely right. These are amazing.

Duck Schmaltz Fries

To cut the grease a bit we had the assortment of pickled vegetables. This mixture included a colorful mix of veggies as well as half sour and salty full sour pickles (my favorite).

Pickled Vegetables

Next was the bagel that was piled high with nova lox, red onion, tomato and a garlicky avocado dressing. This is an enormous sandwich and definitely requires a partner in crime.

Bagel with Lox

Coming in for the close up...

Someone else at the table ordered the Leo with egg whites which was nova lox with onions and potato hash (yes, yet another potato variation, I see that now).

The Leo

For our dessert portion of the meal we had the cheese blintzes which were drizzled with a three berry compote and served with sour cream. These were creamy and rich without being too sweet and much better than any blintz I have every had.

Cheese Blintzes

To top it all off we had to have an egg cream. But we couldn’t decide on chocolate or vanilla so we ordered both. Obviously.

Johanna sampling both egg creams...

Come home soon Johanna!

 

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20
Feb

Wong – NYC

by ccwynne812   {3:30 pm}

WONG – NYC

7 Cornelia Street (nr. 6th Ave) New York, NY 10014

Rating: 7.2

Wong Counter. Photo courtesy of www.wongnewyork.com

The concept behind Wong is to be an Asian restaurant that features local and seasonal fare. Chef Simpson Wong is of Malaysian heritage but the menu is broader than that. Chef Wong has been on the restaurant scene for a while and his first restaurant, Jefferson, even made a cameo on “Sex and the City” some years ago. After suffering a heart attack he closed the restaurant and returned home to Malaysia to travel with his elderly mother. Throughout his travels he collected ideas and inspiration for a menu that would be healthier than some traditional Asian dishes. While this is definitely not diet food it does exhibit a lighter quality.

The space is small and mostly made of concrete with a bar to the right of the entrance. There is not much to it besides a bunch of small tables that can be easily rearranged and stackable wood and metal chairs. The kitchen is open concept and there are several seats at the counter which allow you to have such a front row seat that you should probably wear layers if put there because it gets a little toasty from the open oven.

I started with a spicy gingery cocktail as I waited for my friend to arrive.

Ginger Cocktail

Duck is prevalent throughout the menu including some of the lesser used parts such as the tongue. There is even a tasting menu (the Duckavore Dinner) that offers 6 dishes each featuring the protein – including the dessert. Other unusual ingredients make their way into dishes such as sea cucumber which is not seen very often.

The duck buns were what I wanted most on the menu. These were much meatier and less fatty than any pork bun I have ever had. The bun itself was also golden brown and crispy as opposed to the pillowy white bun you would see on a pork version. A few thin slices of cucumber and some butter lettuce allowed the duck to speak for itself. The buns were piping hot when they were placed in front of us but I dove right in and enjoyed every minute of it.

Duck Buns

Next we shared two entrees. The lobster egg foo young was the more impressive of the two. This dish was departure from a traditional egg foo young which is a type of Chinese omelet where all the ingredients are bound together by the egg and served with a brown sauce. This version reminded me much more of Italian baked eggs. The skillet came with a half lobster cooked perfectly atop two runny salted duck eggs in a spicy tomato-based leek sauce sprinkled with dried shrimp. Lots of cilantro brightened up the flavor of the dish. A piece of crusty bread to sop up the sauce made it seem even more Italian.

Lobster Egg Foo Young

The Cha Ca La Wong was a less memorable for me. This was a rice noodle dish with Hanoi-style Hake with turmeric and dill. I found the flavors to be much more bland but all in all it was a good noodle dish. I do enjoy a good rice noodle.

Cha Ca La Wong

Wong is a very cute, casual restaurant that offers original takes on Asian cuisine that also supports local food movement in New York.

Photo Courtesy of: www.wongnewyork.com

 

Filed Under: Date Spot, Healthy Tags: , , Leave a comment
19
Feb

Rasputin – Brighton Beach

by ccwynne812   {8:44 am}

RASPUTIN – BRIGHTON BEACH

2670 Coney Island Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11235

Food Rating: 4.5

Rasputin Performance

Rasputin is one of the most unique places I have been recently. It is essentially a Russian cabaret / nightclub where groups order huge menus and enjoy a live performance throughout the meal. Located in Brighton Beach this spot is just a little ways from the isle of Manhattan but truly feels worlds away. 

Upon entering Rasputin you immediately feel like you are in Russia in a gaudy, opulently decorated theater. Beneath the 30-foot ceiling in the center of the room is a circular dance floor and a stage with large tables pre-set with food awaiting their diners all around the perimeter.  Because it is winter, there was even more decor than usual with what looked like an explosion of white winter wonderland decorations – snowflakes and glitter everywhere. The patrons were no less gaudily adorned. Many were in black tie and there is no shortage of sequins and shoulder pads here.

Appetizers

The food itself is about as authentic as you can get without traveling thousands of miles, but unfortunately leaves a lot to be desired. For those at the table who were unaccustomed to being served platters upon platters of cured fishes and finding out the hard way that the entire fruit and vegetable tray was heavily pickled, this was not the best experience. Other dishes you might find on your table include basturma, beef tongue, caviar with blini and assorted pirogi. The portions were so large that the appetizers alone needed to be stacked on racks to accommodate all the dishes.  Among the approximately 30 dishes we were served, there were some moments of brightness in the menu. The potatoes with mushrooms were delicious, albeit a bit greasy, and the assortment of grilled meats and fish was nice too. What they really want you do at Rasputin is ply you with as much of your BYO vodka and wine as possible (probably so that you won’t notice the food as much) so they kindly provide you with not only wine glasses but also individual vodka glasses. Needless to say there were lots of “nazdarovya!”‘s being cheered throughout the meal.

BYO

What you really go to Rasputin for is the expereince. The performance is lively and worldly with songs sung in various languages and lots of theatrical costumes. At some point the saxophonist is likely to climb off stage and serenade the table. There is a photographer who will take cheesy photos of your group available for sale after the meal and even a man who wanders around with individual long stem roses for those feeling a bit romantic. It is common throughout the dinner for everyone to get up and dance to a few songs before heading back to the table for another drink or two and largely ignore the food.

Pickled Fruit & Veggie Platter, Smoked Fish

Smoked Whole Fish

If you are in need of something very different from your normal evening of NYC bars and clubs, I highly recommend getting a big group together to make a quick trip to Moscow!

 

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18
Feb

Maialino – NYC

by ccwynne812   {1:25 am}

MAIALINO – NYC

Gramercy Park Hotel, 2 Lexington Ave. (nr. 21st) New York, NY 10010

Rating: 9.0

Photo courtesy of: www.blog.zagat.com

Maialino is one of my favorite go-to spots in NYC for brunch, lunch or dinner. Frankly, everything about the Gramercy Park Hotel is just really well done. I have written about the rooftop in the past and my praise for Maialino is no different.

The restaurant is restauranteur Danny Meyer’s Roman Trattoria and boasts some of the best pasta dishes in the city. And obviously, given the name, some of the best pork. The ambiance is a nice balance of rustic and sophisticated with wooden tables and a casual bar where many of the desserts are displayed like a bakery but the service and quality of the food bring it up several notches.

The menu often changes at Maialino because chef  Nick Anderer uses seasonal and local ingredients.  On this particular night my friend and I ordered a few dishes to share. We started with a fresh salad of shaved radicchio with a lemon dressing and parmesan cheese and the special appetizer which was  sweetbreads wrapped in prosciutto.

Radicchio Salad

Sweetbreads in Prosciutto

We hit two birds with one stone by ordering the Malfatti al Maialino or pappardelle with suckling pig ragu. This dish was a house made super-wide pappardelle with big chunks of juicy pork in a buttery sauce. With just a few wilted greens for color this is the perfect example of perfectly executed Italian simplicity.

Pork Pappardelle

As our meat dish we ordered the garganelli al sugo di coniglio which was rabbit ragu with olives. This was a gamey dish of tender rabbit loin that popped with complementary flavors of olives, ramps and bitter greens. The rabbit was well seasoned and cooked medium rare but lightly char grilled on the outside.

Rabbit with Olives

A must order side dish is the carciofini fritti which is basically just baby fried artichokes served with a caesar inspired anchovy dipping sauce. I have had my fair share of fried artichokes as I will order them off any menu they show up on. These are some of the best I have had- you can eat the entire thing without getting any tough inedible leaves which I have frequently encountered elsewhere. These tender, crispy little ‘chokes won’t last very long on the table.

Carciofini Fritti

The torta della Nonna is a traditional Italian dessert of creamy custard baked into a buttery crust which is topped with toasted pine nuts. Even if you don’t think you have room for dessert an espresso and a bite of this pie is pretty nice.

Torta della Nonna

At brunch one of the best dishes is the porchetta and fried egg sandwich. The crusty fresh bread serves as the perfect vehicle to soak up the runny egg which is draped over a heaping pile of juicy pork with a little bit of baby arugula. This is kind of like the brunch version of the pork pasta.

Porchetta Sandwich

My one complaint is that my favorite dish was removed from the menu some time ago – the raviolo al uovo. This was a giant raviolo with a runny egg yolk in the center that created its own sauce for the cheesy, brown buttery pasta topped with crispy sage leaves. Please bring it back!

Photo courtesy of: www.nypost.com

Maialino is the perfect restaurant for dinner with the parents, a date of any kind or just a casual dinner at the bar. Just make sure to make reservations unless you’re not planning on being anywhere for a while.

Filed Under: Brunch, Date Spot, Drinks, Family, Groups Tags: , , Leave a comment
14
Feb

Waverly Inn – NYC

by ccwynne812   {6:41 pm}

THE WAVERLY INN – NYC

16 Bank St. (at Waverly) New York, NY 10014

Rating: 7.4

You really can’t pick a much cozier spot on a cold snowy night than the Waverly Inn. Even the entrance which is a small dgreen door under a staircase gives the impression of walking into a secret hideaway where you might go hibernate for a while on a winter’s evening. Inside the dimly lit restaurant everything glows from the flickers of small votives and few sparsely located sconces. In the winter the front room has a nice little fireplce to take the chill off patrons at the bar. This place has a quintessential New York feel.

While the food at Waverly is really just fine, the truffle mac n cheese, which is not actually listed on the menu, is surreal.  For a cool $85 you will be presented with a steaming hot cast iron skillet with big rounds of rigatoni each filled to the brim with a gooey, rich and creamy blend of cheese. All of this is topped with crispy breadbrumbs. Once the plate reaches the table the waiter whips out his personal truffle grater and shaves a generous amount of aromatic black truffle on top. Hands down the best mac n cheese I have ever had.

A Dark View of the Mac n Cheese

Everything else we had seemed like filler after the Mac – a really quite good kale caesar salad that was finely chopped, a decent burger but nothing to write home about and some really yummy freshly baked biscuits with butter.

All that comfort food with nice glass of Grüner followed by a quiet walk home through the West Village in the snow and you’ve got yourself an evening.

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08
Feb

Brooklyn Fare- Chef’s Table

by ccwynne812   {6:07 pm}

BROOKLYN FARE CHEF’S TABLE – BROOKLYN

200 Schermerhorn Street  Brooklyn, NY 11201

Rating: 9.7

Looking in on the warm, cozy kitchen

Brooklyn Fare easily ranks in my top 3 meals of all time.  The brilliant chef César Ramirez’s eighteen-seat tasting restaurant is extremely unique for several reasons. First, it is Brooklyn’s only three Michelin-starred restaurant. Second, it is located in a grocery store. Third, it takes the extremely high end dining experience and puts it in the kitchen. The whole restaurant is basically a big stainless steel (boarderline medical looking) arced table with a counter for plating and a small range in the back. Above the counter floats a large cloud of copper pots in every size. 

You do pay a hefty price for this unique experience – $225 per person excluding any wine (which starts at $60 per bottle or $195 for the wine pairings which is 6 pours which we chose to do) – but this has not deterred thousands of guests from adding their name to the 2+ month long waitlist.

One of the most interesting things about the meal is that you barely see any actual cooking going on. I half expected flames and smoke and mincing of rare heirloom microherbs  but everything is about the preparation at Brooklyn Fare. The entire display is about plating and layering of flavors onto each dish. A spoonful of caviar here, a drizzle of infused oil there. Amazingly, we were never served on the same set of china twice. While all of the plateware was bright white to highlight the food rather than the serving vehicle, the shapes were certainly very creative.

On any given night the menu could range from 20 – 26 courses each of which are small enough to keep you from feeling extremely overwhelmed around #12.  My friends and I still decided to eat light throughout the day just in case. Sadly for me, as photos are not permitted during the meal, I was unable to capture any of the beautiful presentations.

The Chef at Work. Photo courtesy of www.tastingtable.com

To begin we were served a tiny glass of the most delicious sip of squash soup I have ever tasted. It was velvety smooth and had a very concentrated flavor of ripe winter squash and was complemented by a creamy yogurt on top. The next 10 or so dishes were all served sashimi style and featured interesting fish such as Knifejaw, Blue Nose and Red Trumpet Fish. Each of the perfectly fileted selections was dressed by a combination of sauces and herbs that highlighted the unique flavors of the fish. We also had some more well known varieties such as a little filo cup filled with fresh Salmon and its roe decorated by a tiny edible purple bud. My favorite dish in this section had to be the sea urchin roe which was piled on top of a buttery brioche round and capped with a gorgeous slice of glazed black truffle.

After the sashimi courses came some cooked dishes which included a brilliant uni custard with caviar,  incredible burgundy snails in silky garlic cream and of course what über lengthy tasting menu would be complete without a seared fois gras? Our main protein for the evening (surprisingly the only non seafood protein we had at all ex-fois gras) was a seared duck. The duck was perfectly medium rare with super crispy skin. This was paired with a delicious deep Gevrey-Chambertin (pinot noir) to complement.

To top off our meal we had several dessert courses of which the most interesting might have been the giant brick of aerated chocolate yogurt (similar concept to a cotton candy). The chef told us he would explain it to us after we ate it because it would be gone in about 35 seconds. Eating this airy brick was almost like eating a block of cold chocolate air – the flavor was there but there wasn’t really much to bite onto.

After a three and a half hour meal we were still having so much fun that we were the last to leave. Chef Cesar was kind enough to come talk to us throughout the meal and at the end take one glamour shot with our group.   

Lucky for us, Brooklyn Fare has plans to open an NYC outpost and I fully expect to be invited to the opening! And you can bet that I will do everything I can to make this an annual event.

Chef Cesar and the Ladies

Filed Under: Date Spot, EPIC PICKS, Family Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment
15
Jan

Grey Lady – NYC

by ccwynne812   {7:10 pm}
GREY LADY – NYC

77 Delancey St. (at allen st.) New York, NY 10002

Rating: 6.9

Photo courtesy of www.greyladynyc.com

Now that the Holidays are over,  if you are like me, you are probably starting to have summer withdrawal. Where better to go than a place where it is perpetually summer? The Grey Lady, whose name pays homage to the often foggy island of Nantucket, embodies the low key spirit of the island. With floor to ceiling windows on one side and a long bar with chalkboard menus all with lots of bare concrete, rustic wood and nautical themed found objects as the the décor, this place immediately feels like home to many a New Englander.

The one thing to to be conscious of about Grey Lady is that when the bar gets packed (which is almost always) it is deafeningly loud. Of course I really enjoy a very lively restaurant but be prepared. As long as you don’t mind having an in depth conversation just with your immediate neighbors, you’ll be as happy as a littleneck clam.

The restaurant clearly targets people who like to stay in one place as it also just recently opened an addition on the side which is strictly for drinking and late night dancing.

As for the food at Grey Lady, of course there is a lot of seafood on the menu. Including a damn good lobster roll (I prefer mine warm and buttery). The chef and co-owner Gavin McLaughlin selects his local and seasonal ingredients from hometown farmers as well as the GrowNYC Greenmarket program. The menu changes based on what is fresh. 

A group of my friends and I had a reservation at Grey Lady for a random night out on the LES. We started with a bunch of shared plates and then each had our own entrée.

Lots of fresh seafood to start included fresh stone crab claws, oysters and lobster on the half shell.

Stone Crab Claws

Oysters

A nice green addition to the menu were some charred shishito peppers.   

Charred Shishito Peppers

The bacon wrapped dates barely even hit the table before we had to order another round. The thick cut bacon was evenly cooked all the way through and did not seem greasy at all.

Bacon Wrapped Dates

We also had some cooked shellfish which included steamers and some baked clams with crusty grilled bread.

Baked ClamsSteamers

What would a seafood feast be without corn? Grey Lady does theirs up by grilling it and coating it with melty tangy cheese. This was also a very popular item.

Grilled Corn

 I definitely was able to make enough room for this lobster roll. A classic lobster roll stuffed to the brim with warm claws and drizzled in melted butter.

Classic Lobster Roll

Grey Lady is a great place to go  if you are craving a seafood meal any time of the year or even just want to have drinks with friends.

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25
Dec

Rolf’s German – NYC

by ccwynne812   {2:50 pm}

ROLF’S  GERMAN RESTAURANT – NYC

281 Third Ave. (at 22nd St.) New York, NY 10010

Rating: 5.9

The Girls Getting Festive at Rolf's

Whether or not you are in the Christmas spirit going in, you will leave Rolf’s German restaurant feeling something like Will Ferrell’s character from the movie “Elf”. During the holidays Rolf’s puts up enough decorations to create and ambiance of cozy holiday claustrophobia and make you really wonder what kind of expenses they pay for storage during the off season.

Rolf’s has been celebrating Christmas (and Oktoberfest) for over 40 years. When you walk in you are immediately greeted by not only the décor but also a crowd of people who are dying to sit down and get their holiday spirit on. With beverages such as mulled wine and white russians being served at the bar one is easily swayed into waiting for a table.

On this particular night right after Thanksgiving I got lucky and was able to get a reservation for 5 at a reasonable time. We all sat down with our warm beverages and ordered our own appetizers and then a bunch of things to share for our mains. There is almost nothing on the menu that is even remotely healthy so  just go for it.

We started with a few orders of latkes. Mistake #1. Each potato pancake could have fed the entire von Trapp family and this plate came with three. These were pretty dense pancakes and the breaded potato holds together on the fork making it a nice little vehicle for sour cream and fresh apple sauce.

Potato Pancakes

Pancakes the size of your head

I opted for something that seemed slightly lighter which was the German apple crepe. This was similar to your traditional French crepe with cinnamon and Julienned apples.

German Apple Crepe

For our main courses we ordered several things to share. First we ordered the sausage platter which gave us a nice variety of sausages: Weisswurst (veal sausage), Knackwurst (beef sausage), Bratwurst (pork sausage), and Smoked Bratwurst which were all served with mashed potatoes and sauerkraut. Everyone got a little taste of each plump juicy link.

Sausage Sampler

We also had the wiener schnitzel with herbed spätzle. This was a pretty traditional schnitzel but not the best I have ever had. It had a very corn mealy tasting breading which is not my preferred type of breading. The spätzle tasted good but was a little bit doughy.

Wiener Schnitzel

The Golden Roast Goose was my favorite dish. The skin was crisp and the meat was rich and tender. Goose is almost like a mix between chicken and duck, it is not quite as similar to red meat as duck but still has the gamey deep flavor.  This came with mashed potatoes that brought back memories of the cafeteria as well as a relish of red cabbage with cranberry.

Rolf’s German Restaurant is the perfect place to go to put you in the Christmas spirit!

Merry Christmas!!

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01
Nov

The Nomad – NYC

by ccwynne812   {10:14 am}

THE NOMAD – NYC

The Nomad Hotel, 1170 Broadway (at 28th Street) New York, NY 10001

Rating: 8.5

Photo Courtesy of: www.wejetset.com

The Nomad is my current restaurant obsession. It is the first place that rolls of my tongue when people ask me for recommendations. I used to live around 29th street and 5th which was a complete dead zone culturally until the Ace Hotel opened up and started a trend in the surrounding blocks. In the past few years several great restaurants and some nightlife has begun to pop up throughout the area. The Nomad Hotel (whose proprietors also own and operate the Ace) then opened early this summer by the same team of Eleven Madison which means that quality of food and service are the priorities.

The restaurant space itself is a sequence of rooms each decorated a bit differently. There is the library room, the fireplace room, the bar room and each evokes a bit of Gatsby, a bit of rock-n-roll and maybe even a touch of a modern Mckittrick Hotel. The dark decor and heavy furniture make the space feel more private while the high ceilings give it a feeling of grandness.

Photo Courtesy of: www.wejetset.com

The New York Times review said that the food at The Nomad is a more accessible version of the food at Eleven Madison and I completely agree. The quality of the ingredients is comparable but the food is bit more rustic than the meticulously plated [sometimes molecular] gastronomy served at its sister restaurant which Daniel Humm and his partners purchased from restaurateur Danny Meyer last year.

A friend and I decided to check out the new Nomad together as our plotting and planning dinner before going away on a trip.

One of the trends that has been popping up around the city is being served a more interesting bread than your typically bread basket. Although I love the new creative varieties, it definitely makes it harder to resist those carbs. We were served a beautiful loaf of fresh-from-the-oven rustic bread adorned with rings of bright green zucchini.

Zucchini Bread

As our appetizers we decided to share a few starting with the stunning crudites which is a beautiful medley of colorful vegetables arranged poking out a ring of crushed ice with a bright chive cream for dipping.

Crudites

Next was a crisp chiffonade of snow peas with pancetta, pecorino and mint. This was a very nice preparation and a very different kind of salad.

Snow Pea Salad

We also had the beef tartare which is served in a small glass mason jar with cornichons and horseradish. This was perfectly portioned for two and was nicely seasoned with the addition of a little cornichon.

Beef Tartare

As our entrees we ordered the suckling pig and a lighter fish to balance it out. The pig is confit with a very crispy skin on top and on that evening they chose ripe red cherries as the complementary fruit as well as pickled mustard seeds, onions and some greens. The meat was incredibly tender and bursting with flavor without too much fat. This was another ideal dish for sharing as it is still pretty rich for just one person although you may or may not want to share after taking one bite.

Suckling Pig

The black bass was by far the best cooked fish dish I have had in a while. The bass was perfectly cooked to a flakey medium rare. The shallots were crispy and added texture to the otherwise tender ingredients – mint, zucchini and greens. This is a must order as well.

Black Bass

Mark Welker the pastry chef stunned us with his “Milk-n-Honey” dessert which is basically a milk flavored ice cream with crispy honey sponge-brittle crumbled over the top. This is a surprisingly delicious and creative dessert using really only two main ingredients. The little quenelles of ice cream are also very cutely decorated in stripes almost like little bumble bees.

Milk-n-Honey

I think that this was a pretty good representation of some of the great dishes at the Nomad. Although, among a few others I still need to try the heralded roast chicken for two which makes a perfect excuse to return very soon. The Nomad also has a rooftop which I was unable to explore this summer but I am anxiously awaiting the nice weather to dine outdoors or have a cocktail there as well.

Photo Courtesy of: www.gotham-magazine.com

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31
Oct

Cafe Cluny – NYC

by ccwynne812   {10:07 am}

CAFE CLUNY – NYC

284 West 12th Street, New York, NY 10014

Rating 7.5

Cafe Cluny is one of my most frequently recommended restaurants in the West Village. Cluny is always packed (but the wait never terribly long for walk ins) and it sister restaurants to The Odeon and equally cute uptown Cafe Luxembourg. Cluny is one of those places that has a very relaxed, homey atmosphere and really solid food for any meal- great brunch classics, sandwiches, burgers and seasonal dishes. The food is technically French and the waiters all wear their traditional Breton stripes adding a bit of authenticity. Since I have been here so many times (without ever being disappointed) I’ll review dishes from a combination of meals.

Brunch:

Cluny has a really classic brunch menu with everything that you might be craving. The frisée salad is one of my favorites because the dressing is so good. It is sort of a mix between a caesar and a blue cheese dressing so it tastes mustardy and blue cheesy with big chunks of blue cheese. The poached egg on top also adds some creaminess to the salad but the firm frisée is able to stand up to it all. Of course the big chunks of crispy lardons and croutons only add to the deliciousness.

Frisee Salad with Lardons

The short rib hash is a nice play on your traditional hash. Also topped with poached eggs and a little bit of hollandaise, you can just imagine how rich and yummy this is.

Short Rib Hash

I always seem to crave smoked salmon and a bagel when I go out to brunch so I will try to convince anyone to split it with me. My only complaint about Cluny’s salmon plate is the bagel itself. First of all they only have plain bagels and secondly, with NYC being the epicenter of bagels, there is really no excuse for a mediocre bagel.

Salmon Plate

Dinner:

Dinner is equally great at Cluny and with dim lighting and candles the space becomes a bit more romantic making it a perfect date spot.

A friend and I recently went for a long leisurely dinner to catch up after she had returned from a month of medical study abroad.

We started with the special squash blossoms which were stuffed with ricotta and fried. They were served with a beautifully stacked column of fresh colorful vegetables.

Stuffed Squash Blossoms

We also had the broccoli and cauliflower with toasted almonds as an appetizer. These were really nicely prepared and flavorful – a worthwhile side order.

Broccoli and Cauliflower

Cafe Cluny has a pretty decent burger which is cooked very nicely (medium rare) and serve with enough fries to share with your neighbors on both sides.

Cluny Burger

Cluny Burger

Cafe Cluny is the ideal spot for a low key meal with a friend, a date or  small group at any time of year.

Filed Under: Brunch, Date Spot Tags: , , , Leave a comment