This place has been buzzing primarily due to the popularity of their breads, pastries and breakfast sandwiches. Those are all things that I love but Aarti and I ended up going for dinner instead and I wasn't really sure what to expect as I normally don't equate a place that's good with pastries to have a good dinner menu. Luckily, I was wrong and the dinner there was wonderful.
We walked-in on a Sunday and the place was packed. We were offered seats at the "Chef's Table", which was basically just the end of the counter facing into the open kitchen. It was totally fine but it is by the bathroom and you are a bit removed from the rest of the restaurant, so don't be fooled into thinking that you're getting some special seating next to the chef. The menu is charming and rustic. They did have a delicious sounding line-up from their hearth but Aarti both refrained from carbo loading. Instead, we shared the crispy broccoli ($9) and the grilled mushrooms ($15) to start and I got the Long Island Duck ($28) and Aarti got the Sunflower Seed Risotto ($14). The crispy broccoli was fantastic - it had a tempura like batter on the outside and served with wood ear mushrooms, chow chow and scallions. The batter was light yet flavorful and the broccoli underneath still had a nice crisp to it. The chow chow was tangy with a slight hint of heat to it, which made it a nice combo with the mild batter. The grilled mushrooms came with wild rice, sunchokes and mustard apples. It was a perfectly nice dish and very farm-to-table but it didn't necessarily wow me over.
What did wow me over was the duck. Duck can go so many ways and if done incorrectly it can be dry and terrible. But this one here was absolutely perfect. Incredibly tender, moist and perfectly medium rare. It reminded me of how much I love a really solid duck dish. There were 4 nice medallions and even though it was a bit pricey at almost $30, it was the right amount of food combined with the charred leeks and turnips.
It's really easy to walk past this place and think it's just another cute West Village restaurant. And while it is a cute West Village joint, the food is really legit and solid. Based on all the reviews about their breakfast/lunch/brunch situation, I will definitely come back in the day time so see what all the fuss is about bread-wise, but I would say that you shouldn't overlook it as a great dinner spot too. Total bill: $43/pp with tax and tip
Photo Credit: Yelp
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