Candice Marshall. Funny enough, she lives in Carlsbad ever since the Pandemic, so I see her every 4-6 weeks. But when we meet up in NYC we go out for some serious eats.
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I like Cervos but the people, the food and the wine at Smithereens is really the perfect trifecta.
We actually loved the dish and used some of the bread to soak up some of the delicious sauce.
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Completely agree. Smithereens is the real deal and I canāt wait to get back. I just canāt do without the Cervoās Piri Piri Chicken.
No shame in that! The chicken is amazing.
For me Smithereens is the kind of restaurant many other NYC places are trying to be, but donāt quite pull off. Itās a tricky alchemy of factors - quality of food of course, but also wine and drink lists, decor and ambiance, service style and quality, and probably 10 other things. When they line up perfectly you get a restaurant that feels exceptional and (for me) a quintessentially āNew Yorkā place to dine. There are only a handful of places I feel this way about, but based on my two meals I think Smithereens is on that list.
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I loved Cervoās food, but the seating ( for a solo diner) was uncomfortable and it not easy to get to (although a fun neighborhood).
Donāt remember what I drank, guessing it was a natural wine list so nothing.
But I might do bothš
Last night, we celebrated my wifeās birthday at Bridges. Both of our kids were in town so it was a lovely evening. We had a late reservation and got there a bit early. We were offered a spot at the front window in the bar but elected to go across the street for some vermouth at Bar Oliver. This is the second time Iāve been in Bar Oliver in the past few weeks. It was absolutely mobbed. There were at least 15 occupied tables outside in the 40 degree weather and inside was packed. Itās straight out of San Sebastian and we loved the vibe. I canāt wait to get back there in the warmer weather. Third time Iāve been to Bar Oliver and third time where Iām 100% sure I was the oldest in the room and not by a small margin. LOL.
Bridges texted us that our table was ready so we hustled across the street and sat down. It was an 8:30 reservation and the place was packed. We left at 10:30 and it was still packed! We went with cocktails instead of wine. If I had to pick a nit, the wine list would be front and center. For me, it was a tough list with tons of wines Iād never heard of.
My wife and youngest are somewhat picky and if you read the menu (the current menu has some differences from the online version), it was somewhat limiting for them so they had concerns. Once the food started coming though, all concerns were gone. We started with the tuna tartare on rice crisps. Absolutely delicious and yet it turned out to be the least interesting dish which is pretty amazing considering how good it was. Followed that with the cured tuna with dates and onion. The idea of putting tuna and dates together is completely weird to me and yet this dish hit on all cylinders. There were five pieces on the dish and four of us. The two picky eaters split the last piece so I knew we were in for a good night.
Followed those dishes with the chicory, cara cara, and caprino cheese salad. So simple and yet so elegantly done. Then the star of the show, the comte tart with morels and leeks. This dish was stunning. If you blindfolded me and told me I was in the 6th arrondissement I would believe you. Itās a wow dish and probably the best thing Iāve eaten this year. We then shared the trout with mussels, bergamot, and swiss chard. What a fantastic dish! Also had the pork with spring vegetables. All the veggies were amazing, peas, snap peas, ramps, etc. I thought the pork was too thinly sliced but still had good flavor. The star of the entrees was the golden chicken. It was perfectly cooked, but the highlight was the skin that was somehow stuffed with mushrooms and foie gras. Both the chicken and trout aslo felt like Paris to me. The chicken came with a side dish of Robuchon-esque pureed potatoes. My wife and kids would have licked the bowl if nobody was looking.
We arenāt dessert people but it was my wifeās birthday so we ordered the Kouign Amman with yuzu and toasted rice ice cream. Itās a croissant like pastry with brown sugar laminated into the dough. Amazing.
When my daughter made the reservation here, I admit to not being that excited, but as I read more and heard more about Bridges, I got really excited about this meal and had very high expectations that were all exceeded. This was a truly elegant and sophisticated meal. While eating out in NYC is expensive, itās an exciting time for sure. Recent meals at Lei, Smithereens, and Bridges have been eye opening.
Also worth noting, this was the second meal in a row where I went to pay the bill and somehow gave them both my credit card and costco card. The interactions with the staff at both Smithereens and Bridges when they handed me back the costco card were humorous.
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Ok now I have to got this weekend!
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Awesome to hear you had such a great meal for your wifeās birthday. Our restaurant timing is comically similar- I am going back to Bridges tomorrow night. Will definitely get the comte tart - that sounds incredible. I may give them my costco card just for a laughā¦ 
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Erick, would you be able to take a picture of the menu tomorrow?
@Mike_Cohen what a great post! Thank you for sharing. It was helpful that you told me that your family has restrictions. My wife has celiac (gluten) and is pescatarian (no shellfish). Iām trying to figure out if we can go to Bridges. It seems like they can accommodate gluten free diners, trying to figure out the second part.
Since you said that the menu changed (and the restaurant has no way to contact them), I thought it might be helpful if Erick could take a pic of the menu so we can see.
Thanks!
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Lighting is tough, but this was from last night. Wondering if they could modify the trout to exclude the mussels but it may take away from the whole dish.
It looks like your wife could eat the middle three dishes (assuming she eats cheese). If I could only have eaten the middle three dishes, I would have been pretty happy.
Edited to addā¦I missed the celiac part. Not sure what the crust of the comte tarte is made from. Also, my daughter corresponded with them via Instagram DM.
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Happy to take a photo though looks like Mike did so already. FWIW, my wife also has a gluten allergy and doesnāt eat most red meat or shellfish. I plan to chat with them about options for her because she really wants to eat here soon and weāre also considering the private room for a bday event (though Iām sure they can adjust for that type of booking). Regardless, happy to share what they tell me when we chat tomorrow.
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Oh! I appreciate it, Mike. Should have asked you first. The instagram account said they donāt check their DMs but I should have ignored that.
And wow, @ErickH , looks like weāre in good company! Itās very hard for me to find great places to go together with my wife. Her favorite restaurant is Family Meal at Blue Hill NYC.
Yes, that would be perfect if you could talk to them. Also, if you have any other recommendations that work well for your wife, Iām all ears!
The menu on their website is also fairly up to date:
any one notice if smithereens has a bar i can eat at? gonna try and sneak in as a solo
also, btw, was at la chene recently for a quick, excellent meal at the bar, and was told they stopped the lunch/brunch service on sundays. iirc robert d said he had really enjoyed it
Smithereens has a bar and what looks like seating at the pass. @ErickH can expand on seating at the pass.
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I almost always sit at the bar area near the pass. It is not your typical restaurant bar though where all of the seats are held for walk-ins. They do take reservations for 1. Tonight they have plenty of openings from 7:30 to 10:00.
thanks for the quick responses!
robert
what time would i need to get to 4h sunday morning to assure a seat at the bar? just 1 measly seatā¦
Well they open at 11, so 10:45. There is a very good change if you get there any time between 11-1 you will get a seat it is just not guaranteed.