Our Thursday lunch reservation was at a new restaurant on the Lower East Side with the fetching name Dirty French. Located in the Ludlow hotel, we entered through two neon pink signs, a counterpoint to the somber Katz's Deli across the street.
Expecting a French brothel, we discovered the eclectically decorated bistro to be warm and inviting, as was our waitress and our bottle of wine.
We were attracted to Dirty French by the sandwiches on their lunch menu, which our waitress warned were large, plus she cautioned we would receive a special treat from the kitchen. Nonetheless, we ordered two sandwiches to share, plus the pommes frites; when it comes to eating, we are fearless. The amuse-bouche from the kitchen was really a first course. It was an addictive flatbread, served with a delicious fromage blanc. The flatbread was flakey and airy and beautifully spiced. It was indeed a special treat.
There were four sandwiches to choose from on the menu — we ordered the Dip and the Bánh Mì. The French dip was the by far the best we'd ever had; it was incredible. Generous slices of top round — rubbed with black pepper and Creole mustard, and slow-roasted for five hours until tender — were draped onto the sandwich. The bread, a custom baguette made specially for the restaurant, was lightly toasted. The baguette was slathered with tart crème fraîche spiked with fresh horseradish, as well as a layer of caramelized shallots. All this was accompanied by a small bowl filled with jus for dipping. It was melt in your mouth delicious. I repeat, it was incredible.
Dip - dry-aged beef, shallots, au jus The problem with the bánh mi was that it had to compete with the dip. The tender duck confit, with a smattering of pickled veg and foie gras, was served on soft sesame bread. While a bit bready, it was very good.
Bánh Mì - duck confit, foie gras, cornichon And last, but not least, were the pommes frites. They were atypically shaped, but typically crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. Dipped in their side of crème fraîche, they were perfect.
We've already decided to return to Dirty French on our next trip to New York. We'll consider a dinner reservation, but a repeat dip at lunch will be difficult to resist. Our final play was "The Way We Get By" at the 2econd Stage Theatre. It was an early 7:00 no-intermission 90-minute show, with plenty of time for dinner.
The Neil Labute two-person play stars Thomas Sadoski and Amanda Seyfried. We'd seen a number of Labute's plays over the years, and they'd been uneven; this one was excellent from start to finish, and very well acted. It's difficult to detail the story without giving things away, and it's a show that could end up at a theatre near you. Read more, if you must, in Ben Brantley's New York Times review. Our dinner reservation was at Danny Meyer's Marta, a relatively new restaurant in the Martha Washington hotel, just north of Madison Square Park.
Danny Meyer's culinary empire continues to grow, and with good reason; whether he's doing high-end cuisine or BBQ, he does everything first class. Marta is an Italian offering, but it's not mom & pop. It's a lively, hip venue off the elegant hotel lobby.
Pizza ovens dominate the open kitchen and pizza dominates the menu, both "rosse" and "bianche." So we started with rabbit meatballs and then a pizza to share. The meatballs were delicious. Heavily peppered and herbed, they were perfectly compliment by a rich tomato based sauce and ricotta.
Polpettine di Coniglio - rabbit meatballs, black olives, ricotta We chose one of the "rosse" pizzas, the Salsiccia. The pork sausage, mushroom and cheese toppings were all flavorful, but what makes or breaks a pizza is its crust. The thin crust on chef Nick Anderer's pizza was perfect.
Salsiccia - pork sausage, cremini mushrooms, mozzarella, pecorino Marte is typical Danny Meyer — he does what everyone else is doing, but he does it better. We will definitely return, Danny. Copyright © 2015 TwoForTheTable.com |
