Really enjoyed my visit to Chambers two weeks ago.
Berkshire pork loin with scallion kimchi. Perfectly cooked with amazing flavor. Heirloom tomato salad was perfect as well letting the seasonally ripe tomatoes shine.
Paired with 2011 Weingut Immich-Batterieberg Ellergrub Riesling. Took about 30 minutes to open up, but paired very well with the meal.
Made it to Claud tonight. Showed up at 5:30ish without a reservation and they had a place for us. The wine list is short and sweet. Definitely not burgundy-heavy as mentioned in an article I read.
The food and service were excellent. The chicken liver agnolotti was outstanding. For mains, we ordered the pork chop and half chicken - both very tasty.
Thanks for that. Going tonight as I snagged a reservation earlier this morning. Mains look not as appealing as the small plates to me. If I were to get one main, what would you recommend?
Just looking at the menu, that was my take as well. That said, itās not a huge issue for me as Iām happy to order a bunch of small plates and one entree for two of us.
going again tonight. pumped after reading your take, pedro.
I would go with the pork chop. The chicken isnāt bad by any means, but the foie ādrippingsā is almost imperceptible, and there are many other chicken dishes at other restaurants I prefer.
For small plates, the escargot croquettes and rabbit rillette were really good!
Barry,
Looks like some fun eating! Thanks for reporting on the above two places as Iāve been to both recently (and have eaten at VC many times).
Other than the expense of the wine list, I find the Bar Room at the Modern to be a really fun meal. The room itself is so incredibly elegant that it elevates the whole experience.
I have a love/hate relationship with Via Carota. The menu itself is a bit strange and I never know how much to order. The dishes that I love are just perfect renditions of fairly simple offerings. I love anything with artichokes there. I also love most of the vegetable dishes. The dishes that I hate are flat out weird or heavy. For example, the anchovy & butter bruschettaā¦this sounds right up my alleyā¦but when it comes, itās several very thick pieces of toast with an ice cream scoop worth of butter on each piece and some small anchovies. I find that Iām scraping away several ounces of (delicious) butter. There was/is a bibb lettuce salad on the menu, when it comes itās like 12" of lettuce stacked on the plate. I have to look around the side of the dish if I want to talk to the person across the table from me. Iāve had a egg/artichoke/cheese/mushroom special that they offer which is tasty, but a belly bomb of a dish. The dishes that I donāt like tend to be very heavy with a lot of butter or oil. After a year long sabbatical from VC, we went back with another couple last month for a late lunch/snack and ordered three of the vegetable dishes and one pasta btw the four of us and it was perfect. Delicious spritzes on a hot day helped.
You can also order a pretty substantial meal here without either the chicken or the pork chop. The savory mille feuille (moses sleeper cheese, cherry tomatoes) is satisfying and the agnolotti dish was pretty rich. And agreed on the rabbit rillette!
is the aged duck on the menu yet?
edit: nvm i donāt see it on your pic / menu.
Itās not. But Iāll have to go back for that.
Anyone at Claud now?
Edit: Iām home. It was good. Great service, decent crowd, good food. Definitely will return when temps cool down but the Moses sleeper, squash, Rilettes were all solid.
Felt like thereās some good cheap options and then a bunch of expensive optionsā¦definitely lacking in the $75-200 range.
Hard not to compare with chambers as another recent wine-centric restaurant. Much preferred the bottle options at chambers and probably thought it was a draw on food and crowd.
missed you - we were in the back towards the patio. excellent meal with just a few things that needed tweaking. apparently still working on the duck.
re: list prices, it seems thereās a decent amount not on the printed list yet (makes sense they just opened and likely getting new things every day). if anyone here is going soon, iād recommend engaging with chase or richard and ask them for a few recommendations in your desired price range. we drank schafer frohlich bockenauer felseneck riesling spatlese '13 and a '17 lafon volnay village - both showed brilliantly.
Had dinner at Fradei last night and it was just perfect to us! Sadly they are taking a break in September from the tasting menu format and moving to a wine bar format. The plan is to return to the tasting menu format post September. It was so good we are going to try to return at least one more time.
Recent meal at Aquavit that was absolutely stunning! They have a 2 bottle corkage limit. Not cheap but the food is fascinating and the service is first rate!
Loved 63 Clinton and preferred it to The Modern (which I tried last week). The Modern was great (loved the egg on egg on egg), but I felt 63 Clinton hit higher highs for half the price. Booked 63 Clinton again. Loved the tomato martini, the bluefin tuna (awesome flavor and texture), tomato tonnato (seems so simple, but not sure how to make it at home), peekytoe crab/corn/caviar (caviar + corn = works!). $75 byo waived if you buy something off the list (which starts at $75 and goes up quickly from there).
Anyone been to Lavagna on the lower east side?
Iām wanting to go to Il Posto Accanto, but it would be at 7pm and I donāt to wait. Lavagna takes reservations and has a nice wine list (if itās up to date). Not sure how reliable the Infatuation is, but they lauded it.
I am sure it is fine but would be surprised if it is great. I live a 5 minute walk from there and have probably walked by it 100 or more times. Never been nor have I ever heard anyone in the food community talking about it. I would have said the same about Il Posto Accanto before going there 6 months or so ago, yet I love it for what it is and enjoy lunch there. And the wine list looks good. If you do go would love to hear what you think.
Another option that I really like that is not too far from the East Village is Pasquale Jones.
Also it is a big debate about whether this area is the Lower East Sideā¦currently it is not considered L.E.S. : )
Thanks! I walked past Pasquale Jones a few times thought it was primarily for pizza. Are the pastas and mains just as good? If so that could be a very good choice. Iām guessing since you go to il Posto Accanto for lunch and not dinner, the lines for dinner are longer than you care for.
I didnāt realize the east village went all the way to the river.
I think the Pasta is very good and the sides and mains are close to excellent at Pasquale Jones. They have a wood burning oven and it is part of the Charlie Bird group of restaurants. I also like the wine list.
I have never tried to go to il Posto for dinner. I like it for lunch as it is one of the few spots open seven days per week. Canāt imagine, other than maybe Friday and Saturday at peak times it is that busy. Give them a call, they are there all day.
Return visit to La Cabra. It is so great. We lucked out and got a table very close to the area where you order. It was such a joy to listen to the counter person enthusiastically answer every question with detailed descriptions of their coffees, pastries etc. I learned a ton!