Our 8:00 am American Eagle flight brought St. Louis' beautiful fall weather to the Big Apple; there had been torrential rains the week before. The long taxi line at LaGuardia was nonexistent on this morning, and we were soon unpacked at out Upper East Side apartment. Our traditional first lunch in New York City (and sometimes our last lunch) had for years been Bice. But the Italian restaurant had closed the previous December after being open almost 30 years. While we had reservations for our many meals ahead, we did not have one for our first lunch. So we set out walking towards Midtown, and creatures of habit that we are, ended up at 54th street, between Madison and 5th Avenue, hoping Bice had been resurrected. To our surprise, it almost had.
Bice’s founder Roberto Ruggeri had sold the restaurant to his business partner in 2012. When the restaurant closed, he reached out to Russell Bellanca, who had lost the lease for his Rockefeller Center restaurant, Alfredo of Rome. Mr. Bellanca took over the space Bice had occupied, reopening his restaurant as Alfredo 100. We sat at a table in the bar area — our Bice tradition. The bar had been renovate, as had the entire restaurant. The bar was sleek and modern, and more open to the main dining room, which was now adorned with Hirschfeld lithographs. We ordered glasses of Chianti and looked for "familiar" dishes on the menu.
We ordered two dishes to share — a salad, with grilled octopus and calamari, and the same pappardelle preparation we had shared many times at Bice.
Polipo e calamari alla griglia — grilled octopus, calamari, Italian frisée, red onions, blood oranges
Pappardelle mozzarella e pomodoro — large homemade noodles, mozzarella, tomato-cream sauce The salad was perfect. The octopus and calamari were tender and flavorful. Even the lightly dressed frisée was exceptional; it didn't taste like ornamental lettuce. And the pappardelle was every bit as good as the Bice dish, with its al dente ribbon noodles and rich gooey cheese. Italian comfort food. Farewell Bice; welcome Alfredo 100. A new tradition had been born. Our dinner reservation was at Bâtard, a shiny new restaurant in Tribeca. The creation of restaurateur Drew Nieporent and Austrian chef Markus Glocker, it had received rave reviews.
Bâtard's menu is divided into starters, main courses and desserts, but somewhat confusingly offers two courses for $55, three courses for $65 and four courses for $75. We opted for three courses, which could be mixed and matched. We ordered three starters to share, we each ordered a main course and we ordered a dessert to share. We also ordered a wonderful Burgundy, recommended by the knowledgeable sommelier.
The three starters were fantastic. They were beautifully presented and delicious. The octopus "pastrami" was innovative to both the eye and the palate. The ocean trout was sushi-like. The yellowfin tuna was perfectly prepared.
OCTOPUS "PASTRAMI" — braised ham hock, pommery mustard, new potatoes
OCEAN TROUT — cured cucumber, sour cream, clams
YELLOWFIN TUNA — marinated radish, quinoa, bok choi We were ready to declare Bâtard a winner — until our main courses arrived. Unfortunately, we both ordered the same entée. Marlene had read glowing accounts of Glocker's off-the-menu house special — the chicken schnitzel. We expected deconstructed schnitzel, or at least innovative schnitzel. Instead, we were presented with a plate of ordinary looking schnitzel and potato salad. And it wasn't good schnitzel. The chicken was tasteless, the breading was tasteless, the dish was tasteless.
CHICKEN SCHNITZEL — potato salad, julienne cucumber, lingonberry sauce Our shared dessert was another house special, the caramelized milk bread. Sharp tongued New York Times reviewer Pete Wells loved it and mused, "It looks like the simplest thing in the world, but if it’s so simple, why isn’t everyone making it?" Well they are, Pete; it's called brioche French toast. The dessert was good, but not great.
CARAMELIZED MILK BREAD — blueberries, brown butter ice cream The service at Bâtard was first class. Had we selected a different main course, perhaps our opinion of the restaurant would have been different and we would return. But the chicken schnitzel left a bad taste in our mouth, or more accurately, no taste at all. Copyright © 2014 TwoForTheTable.com |
