Seasonal
Not sure I get the location as I get a little bit foggy above 23rd street. A clean chic restaurant serving modern Austrian fare. With a modern environment comes modern food. A nice long sleek bar to the right when you walk in with about 10 seats. Light colored wood, small booths, lots of low light, creates an austere yet warm vibe.
The wine list by the glass ( small carafe ) is really great. Many Austrian wines which you rarely see on a menu in such depth. There is a tasting menu as well and many appetizers and main courses to choose from.
Although I did not eat a lot, what I did eat was delicious, well thought out and brilliantly prepared. I started out with the Ziegenkase Salat. Pumpkin seed crusted goat cheese sitting at the bottom of a white porcelain bowl with a wide brim. Over that was a mixture of fresh greens and tiny sliced salted baked yellow and red baby beets with a shallot elderflower dressing. A wonderful refreshing combination of flavors.
For a second course, I went with another appeitzer. Too late too consume a lot of food. I had the Schweinebauch. A heavily scored pork belly confit with a crispy flavorful skin on top of a confit with braised spring onions sitting in a riesling caraway jus that was foamy (the nouvelle cooking coming out). It was excellent.
The bread at the table was also hard to resist with a pumpkin seed butter. The mise bouche was a thin sliced piece of salmon wrapped with some chopped tomatoes. All good. There was even a small dessert plate that came out for a taste. One walnut pastry, and a light lemon filled cake. Each the size of a thumb nail. Delicious.
If it definitely a restaurant I will return to and try other things. Good to know about in a neighborhood where I am generally at a loss if I need to find a good restaurant. Also, the chef came over and asked us how everything was. He was later hanging by the bar when we left and made sure to wish us good bye. Near enough to City Center to make the short walk. I will be back.
Comments (Archived):
Really enjoy reading your tips on dining in the city. Almost as much as I like dining out myself. Almost.I’m newish to living in NYC and am always excited by the prospect of finding a great place to eat. I’ve tried several because of your blog. Thanks for that. And luckily my significant other is a long-time New Yorker and we’ve had the pleasure of eating at a ton of fantastic places.As an UWSider I’m always surprised when people who live downtown don’t seem to venture uptown – though I’m impressed you made it all the way to 59th, most don’t make it past 14th ; ) Living on 67th I love jumping on the 1 to hit the Village. You do have the lion’s share of good eats. What would you say is the best Italian downtown? Many say Bar Pitti, but I don’t love it. More celebrity hype than great Italian IMO. I enjoyed Babbo too, but again wasn’t blown away.And maybe I’m a homer, but the UWS has some really great places. Bar Boulud, Picholine, Recipe, Celeste, Bar Bao, Spiga, Dovetail, Kefi, Gari, and Gennaro. We even have our own Fatty Crab and ShakeShack so we must be getting cooler. ;)Keep up the great posts and maybe we’ll see you out and about on the UWS.
Best Italian, right now downtown, is probably Morandi and I Sodi.I have ventured to the UWS to eat but it isn’t as much about the food but the vibe of the restaurants that I am not that into.Glad you have had success with my suggestions!!! Will keep them coming.joanne [email protected]
Thanks! I’ll check out both. Italian and I are best friends. And I hear what you are saying about vibe. Agreed. Completely diff on the UWS. I suppose that’s why I don’t really love eating on the UES – the vibe is off – for me. With the exception of Sfoglia on 92nd. Love that place.
Just FYI: it’s amuse bouche not mise bouche. Which makes sense, since it’s there to tickle your mouth with portents of more to come.
Thanks. Sometimes I just fire off without really thinking.