And my meal the following day not long after takeoff on my flight to Vancouver. Not quite the Gramercy Tavern.
The only thing that can save this is a mini-bottle of Merlot.
Airlines should really rethink their cuisine. Imagine: if the plane was to go down, THAT would have been my last meal. Not very fitting.
Its times like these, and a meal like this one, that make is almost inconceivable to leave New York. Part of what I love about this city is the discoveries I make every day. It could happen by going to a new neighborhood (Tribeca is like the final frontier for me. I picture tumbleweeds down there), or just by walking to the market. Things are in a constant fluctuating state, new restaurants opening and closing before you can even think of making a reservation.
Even though the restaurant has been around since 1994, the Tavern at Gramercy Tavern is for me a new discovery. I had heard how wonderful it is, but it has never been on “The List” so to speak. However, after its recent 2008 James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurant, and a menu that maxes out in the mid $20s for an entree, my boyfriend and I decided to go the night before I headed to Vancouver for a week.
I hardly have enough words to describe how wonderful it was. Where to begin? I guess as I usually do, with a drink. My boyfriend, Jamon, is on a constant intoxicating search to find the best Manhattan in town, made with Rye of course. This one got the nod of approval for him (its a simple equation, either a nod, or a twitch. Nod= good, twitch=bad). And in it for me were the drink’s garnish of deep purple, liquor-infused cherries which Jamon always lets me have. Another easy equation: Booze+cherries= amazing.
Manhattan
Also, on the bar were small bowls of spiced nuts. There is nothing I love more than a complimentary bar snack that has had some thought put into it, which these obviously did. They were crunchy and fresh, not too spicy and a little sweet. After a few of those, and half a glass of wine, I was ready for dinner. We arrived at about 6:45 and were told we would have to wait about an hour (the Tavern does not take reservations) but we were seated in about twenty minutes, which is always a welcome surprise.
What surprised me next was the food.
Our server was wonderful; extremely gregarious and helpful, not something you always find in New York (although service issues general don’t faze me. Give me a glass of wine and some good food, and you are usually alright in my book). After sensing my inability to make any sort of decision over the menu where everything looked so appealing (Im a Libra, ok?) , she gently suggested what I should have, and I agreed with her. I don’t think I could have made any better choices had I reflected over the menu for an hour (which Im sorry to say, could have happened).
Arriving first was the Calamari and Carrot Salad with Toasted Pine Nuts and Preserved Lemon Vinaigrette, and for Jamon, the Chilled Nettle Soup. Placed in between us to share was the Grilled Octopus with Mizuna, Fennel and a Ginger Vinaigrette.
Calamari and Carrot Salad
Octopus
The Calamari Salad was filled with the silkiest, most tender calamari I have ever put in my mouth. Small slivers of carrot complimented the lemon vinaigrette which was sweeter than is was lemony, but light and lovely. The dish was studded with pine nuts that added a necessary and wonderful hint of crunch that as soon as you bit down on, dissolved into the same creamy and smooth texture the calamari succeeded in. The nettle soup was fresh and light, and a wonderful green color you want out of a springtime soup. The octopus was tender, which is not a small feat when dealing with our eight-armed friend. I’ve been fed octopus that had the texture of chewing gum. But such was not the case on this occasion. The meat was succulent and white, with a perfect grilled, charred taste on the outside. I wanted the other 7 1/2 tentacles. But I wouldn’t starve, we had more coming.
Next came the Baby Carrots, Farro and Swiss Chard and the Heirloom Cauliflower with Almonds, Capers and Lemon.
Baby Carrots. So much cuter than the grownups.
Cauliflower
The Baby Carrots surprised me because they were decidedly soupier than what I had anticipated, and while I had expected more carrot in the Calamari and Carrot salad, this definitely filled my Beta carotene quota for the day. They were soft, sweet and flavorful and the farro, which had absorbed some of the beautiful carrot flavor, still had a firmer texture that nicely complemented the supple carrots.
Jamon described the Cauliflower as “You (meaning me, India) on a plate”. Never before had I come across a dish that highlighted so many of my favorite things, cauliflower, almonds and capers, in such a delicious and simple way (Just for future reference I LOVE cauliflower. Its almost a problem. I eat it every day. After seeing me eat fish many times my sister declared I would turn into one, which I thought would be quite nice. However, she now insists I will turn into a cauliflower. Not quite so good. But I digress…). I had never before come across Heirloom Cauliflower so I was immediatly intrigued. Heirloom tomatoes yes, but this was something new. The cauliflower was carmelized on the edges which made its innards perfectly tender. The crunch and sweet nuttiness of the almonds, balanced by the saltiness of a generous bunch of capers was perfection. I would go back any day just for it.
You would think we were done at that point, and part of me wished we were, stuffed and tick-like as we were becoming, but we soldiered on to our entrees, the Arctic Char with Snap Peas, Mussels and Mizuna and the Meatball Stuffed with Fontina Cheese with Potato Purée and Onion Marmalade.
Arctic Char
The Char, slightly devoured
The Arctic Char was perfectly cooked and the most gorgeous rare pink on the inside. The textures were wonderful; the crisp, bright-green snap peas, the plump little mussels and the satiny fish, covered in a slightly sweet lemony vinaigrette (much similar to the one I tasted on the Calamari salad) were brilliant together. Full as I was, I ate every bite.
Meatball
The Meatball was mostly “ball” in shape and name alone, its texture and taste more dense and hearty like a meatloaf. It was comfort food to the highest power, extremely rich and undeniably satisfying to Jamon’s Midwestern heart. Despite it’s homespun roots, it remained refined, first with its elegant rounded presentation and then with the gorgeous threads of Fontina that stretched away in the most delightful way when forked from plate to mouth. The potatoes were creamy and rich, and the onion marmalade added a nice addition of sweet on the plate when everything else was so deeply savory.
Dessert of ice cream was next. We had come this far, and skipping a course no longer seemed an option (we managed to avoid a cheese course, thank God!). The ice cream is made in house, and I could tell, especially with the Pistachio flavor that was a sensibly soft-green color (unlike the neon-green hue you so often find with commercially made pistachio ice creams) and flecked with hugh chunks of pistachio.
It was a remarkable meal, and one I have been dying to repeat (although perhaps with fewer courses next time!). Best of all, it was an unexpected and delightful surprise to find a restaurant that has been established for so long not simply relying on its name to bring in customers, but creating outstanding food with service to match. It makes me wonder about all the other restaurants I have yet to discover, and everything I could possibly miss along the way. I guess all I can do is keep eating. On to the next!
Tomato, Mozzarella, Prosciutto and Basil Sandwich
I made a spring vegetable soup the other night that was far too healthy. It consisted almost entirely of pureed asparagus and peas, and while the color was fantastic (a bright, vibrant green) it needed something to make it a little less Living Without (worst name for a cooking magazine EVER). So I bought some proiscutto, crisped it up in the oven and crumbled it into the soup. I also infused some heavy cream with garlic and thyme and drizzled it into it as well. Ok, I realize thats not exactly Foie Gras Brulee, but it was better than nothing. The moral of the story is I had leftover prosciutto, and as lunch rolled around I decided what needed to be made was a classic: the mozzarella, prosciutto, tomato and basil sandwich.
Mozzarella and Tomato
I had some bread at home, but I felt this classic needed the best of ingredients, so I headed to Blue Ribbon Bakery Market, on of my favorite places in the city, for a freshly made ciabatta role, and then went to Murray’s Cheese, my actual favorite place in the city, for the mozzarella. The tomato came from Whole Foods and wasn’t quite up to my Tomato Snob (I am one) standards, and the basil we have growing in a little pot on out windowsill (local farming indeed).
Bread with Prosciutto
Tomato dipped in Olive Oil
So simple, so good. Appropriate for any occasion.
My days are numbered. In New York, at least.
I moved here six and a half years ago to start my freshmen year of college. Let me be clear that I moved to New York to be a New Yorker, not a college student, and for the four years I spent playing the act of bookworm, and the two and a half years since I graduated, I have been living an amazing life that has had little to do with libraries and profitable employment, but a lot to do with what I really came here for: “The New York Experience.”
Its different for all of us, this “Experience”, and it evolves as long as we do. Yes, I went through my club faze, but let me assure you that those days are long gone (don’t fret, not forgotten is my need for a good, strong cocktail, you can count on that). But now, after all thats changed, what New York has really inspired in me is the need to consume and created really, really good food.
So now, after all of this time, its looks like this could be my last year in New York. I love this city, its my home, but I think its time to try someplace new. Somewhere with more trees and cheaper rents and a yard where I can finally raise my flock of chickens. A little idealized? Of course, but I moved to New York for a dream, and I can leave it for one too.
That being said, Im not leaving this city without a celebration. A year long one at that, of all the places I’ve loved and all the places Im hoping to love. With that in mind, I have composed a list (a list in ever evolving progress) of places I must go before I depart in give or take, 365 days. In no order whatsoever:
1. Tanoreen 17. Sfoglia
2. Jean George (Lunch) 18. The Mermaid Inn
3. Barney Greengrass 19. Al di la
4. Daniel 20. Kefi
5. Le Bernardin 21. Anthos
6. Hecho en Dumbo 22. Freemans
7. Allen & Delancey 23. Babbo
8. Mary’s Fish Camp 24. Taim
9. Pearl Oyster Bar 25. Dumpling House
10. Clinton Street Baking Company (Brunch) 24. Chinatown Brasserie
11. The Spotted Pig 25. Morimoto
12. Casa Mono 26. Esca
13. Diner 27. Blue Hill at Stone Barns
14. La Esquina 28. Shake Shack
15. R.U.B 29. Gottino
16. Una Pizza Napoletana 30. The Red Hook Ballfields
31. Bemelmans Bar
What have I missed?
So in the next year or so, I will document here the food I eat, in restaurants and at home. Hopefully it will read as good as it tastes.
