American – Page 13 – Writing With My Mouth Full

Knife + Fork Restaurant & Wine Bar

108 East 4th Street between First and Second Avenues
212/228.4885
about $170 for two tasting menus with wine pairings, without tip
â™¥ â™¥ â™¥

It’s almost unheard of in New York City to pay $45 for a six-course tasting menu. At Knife + Fork, chef and owner Damien Brassel pulls it off without sacrificing taste and creativity. When I called two weeks before we planned to eat there, they couldn’t accommodate four people. So two of us went and insisted we sit at the bar. Apparently, they don’t allow diners to sit at the bar unless the chef says it’s okay. The waitress asked the chef, who was only three feet away from us, and relented. The space has a romantic feel to it: heavy wood and dim lighting. There are a couple of tables which can accommodate more than two diners, but most of the guests around us came in pairs. As our night wiled away, we realized why the bar is off-limits. Chef Brassel just doesn’t want people in the way, lest it turns into a loud restaurant like Mercat.

If I have to pick a word to describe the food at Knife + Fork, I would have to say “thoughtful.” Each dish served tasted like chef Brassel put a lot of work into testing to see if his inventive
combinations would work out. Most of them do. I can imagine him working in the kitchen like a mad scientist replacing ingredients with whatever’s in the market that day.

Our first course was the salmon sashimi with pickled radish and seaweed salad. Salmon sashimi is salmon sashimi especially if it’s fresh, but chef Brassel added a dollop of homemade wasabi creme fraiche to this dish. We all know how delightful and painful at the same time wasabi can be through your nostrils. Knife + Fork just happens to make it all delightful. This was paired with a Francois Crochet Sancerre, one of my favorite white wines, which was fresh and lightly fruity.

In between courses, we picked on the dense and creamy homemade bread with salt and butter. I knew the bread was extra special after a man came in to buy a loaf before leaving again. The waitress told us that a lot of the people in the neighborhood stop by just to buy their bread.

The second course was a small dish of frog’s legs covered in sauce. The watermelon chunks and micro-greens were a good addition to them because the sauce was a little undersalted. I actually liked the wine more than the dish itself: a more citrusy and toastier Paul Cluver Chardonnay.

The third course was barbequed eel with risotto and sun-dried tomato tapenade. It sounded better on print because I thought this dish needed a little bit more of a spike. Chardonnay’s main contender, an Aligote, made the dish more interesting. I loved the firm skate with apples in Thai green curry as our fourth course. An “Innocent” Viognier from Shinas Estate was the perfect match for this spicy dish. I liked this dish so much I could have eaten one more serving.

We were prepared for more seafood with our white wines, but then the lamb with the mashed black bean-licorice reduction was served as our fifth course with a glass of Burgundy. I thought the meat was a great way to end our meal. I didn’t quite understand the black bean and licorice combination, but I was more than happy to ignore it for the medium-rare lamb.

I’m not a big fan of port but it came with our last course of cheeses and honey. The port tasted a little bit like jam and was even more decadent with the spoonful of honey. Our experience so far was a gradual presentation of chef Brassel’s cooking skills–this was the perfect end to it.

Dinosaur Bar-B-Que

646 West 131st Street and Twelfth Avenue
212/694.1777
about $60 for two racks and eight sides, without drinks, without tip
â™¥ â™¥

Update: Dinosaur Bar-B-Que is moving to 125th and Twelfth Avenue after Columbia University takes over

People have been talking about Dinosaur Bar-B-Que since it opened in 2004. I just didn’t have a clue about how many people. Jase and Mia came down from Brooklyn to eat barbeque with the Dr. and me one weekend. I was surprised that only a 9pm table was available for four people but I was flabbergasted when the restaurant was crowded. Sure, it was basketball night, but this is uptown and way above 14th Street. Where did everyone come from? I felt guilty that I was the last one to make an effort to visit. And I live about fifteen blocks away!

When we were finally seated and the the live band started playing in the other side of the room, we ate our fried green tomatoes. We also ordered two of the Sweetheart plates: a full rack of pork ribs plus four sides. Soon enough, our table was covered with macaroni and cheese, French fries, coleslaw and cornbread. Mia is almost vegan, but she politely watched the three of us devour our meat while she ate her iceberg lettuce with blue cheese dressing. (I told Jase that she was a keeper after he finished one of the racks all by himself without her glaring.)

I’ve gone through lengths to eat a good barbeque. I once spent $70 for a round-trip cab ride from the Houston airport to find Burn’s BBQ after an Anthony Bourdain episode. I’ve even smoked my own 8-pound pork shoulder. Dinosaur Bar-B-Que makes eating good barbeque in New York City easier for fanatics like me. Their kind of barbeque is my favorite. The meat is moist and falls off the bone with a dainty touch of the fork. There’s a very faint sweet taste which makes the burnt ends even better. Everything else on our table was icing on the cake.

R.U.B. Righteous Urban Barbeque

208 West 23rd Street off Seventh Avenue
212/524.4300
a large enough bill for 20 people including drinks and tip
â™¥ â™¥

R.U.B., or Righteous Urban Barbeque, was the only restaurant in the city that was accommodating to more than 20 people. We had a few things to celebrate at work and, as usual, I got stuck with the task of organizing a get-together. Daisy May’s did not want a large group before 8pm. Dinosaur Bar-B-Que was too far for my co-workers. Virgil’s was too touristy. After bowling at Leisure Time in the Port Authority Terminal, we all took the subway down to Chelsea to eat. R.U.B. does not take reservations, but the guy on the phone told me coming in with a big group before 6pm won’t be a problem. Sure enough, we were seated on a long table in the back after giving them a call ten minutes beforehand to tell them that we were on our way.

I’m not a barbeque expert but I later found out that R.U.B.’s specialty is Kansas City style. I also realized after my visit that it’s not my favorite. I thought the ribs were a little dry. I much preferred the pork butt which was very soft. The meat fell off the large bone and it had an addicting burnt cover I could not stop picking on. The fried green tomatoes and the cornbread were comparable from what I’ve tasted elsewhere. Their sandwiches were served with only pickles but the rest was far more generous. They got sufficient beer on tap, but none were my personal favorites.

R.U.B.’s space is a little tight. The friendly staff makes it an anomaly in the Chelsea neighborhood, but there’s nothing wrong with that, even if you come out smelling like smoked meat.

Palacinka

28 Grand Street between Thompson and Sixth Avenue
212/625.0362
♥ ♥

I used to go to Palacinka way back when during the dot-com days. When my job moved offices back to the West Village, I was eager to visit again and eat one of their crepes. In Central Europe, a crepe is called palaÄinka and is filled with vegetables and meats. The savory kinds are reserved for desserts and are filled with fruits and cream.

At this spot near the Holland Tunnel, I love sitting at one of the long wooden tables and sharing a couple of crepes with friends. When the weather is nice, the glass doors are open. The laid-back attitude of the staff makes you forget that you’re inhaling the soot of New Jersey commuters. The salami, potato and cheese crepe is one of my favorites. When not in the mood for a crepe, I like the ham-gruyere salad with thinly sliced potatoes drizzled with a sweet chutney dressing. The pressed sandwiches are thin and crusty and are perfect with a glass of chilled Pinot Grigio.

Salt

58 MacDougal Street between Prince and Houston
212/674.4968
$90 for two, with a bottle of red, without tip
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I’ve walked by Salt many times and have always been curious. We stopped by on a Friday night without reservations. They were completely booked but the waitress invited us to sit down with a “We’ll figure it out when the couple with the table comes in.” As soon as we joined the other diners at one of the long tables, a whole bottle of red was in order–other couple be damned.

The rack of lamb was well-executed. The crust was crispy and the meat perfectly medium-rare. The Dr. opted for one of their Protein + 2 options: duck breast with sautÃ©ed eggplant and braised leeks. The meat was a little overdone but the vegetables were simple and undeniably hearty. Other safe choices included a grilled dorade, roasted chicken, Newport steak and a bowl of pasta. Fennel, asparagus, artichokes and Yukon gold potatoes were available as side dishes. The menu may be unexciting but our dessert spoke volumes: a plum tart frangipane topped with a delicious rosemary ice cream.

I’ve fallen in-love with a restaurant before because of the ambiance and upon entering Salt, my heart pitter-pattered. Wooden communal tables occupy most of its intimate space. The open kitchen behind the bar invites you to sit, eat, drink wine and enjoy a conversation. The dim, warm lights make you feel like you’re in someone’s gorgeous apartment with exposed bricks. As the night leisurely passed and the buzz around us became intoxicating, we just wanted to stay.

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