Rolling the Dice: Max Brenner

Every week, we take our turn with Lady Luck on the BruniBetting odds as posted by Eater. Just for kicks, we track Eater’s bet too, and see who is better at guessing what the unpredictable Bruni will do. We track our sins with an imaginary $1 bet every week.

The Line: Tomorrow, Frank Bruni reviews chocolatier Max Brenner. Eater’s official odds are as follows (√√ denotes the Eater bet):

Zero Stars: EVEN √√
One Star: 3-1
Two Stars: 10-1
Three Stars: 90-1
Four Stars: 25,000-1

The Skinny: After his Morandi review last week, poor Frank must be either bored or exhausted. There’s no other way to explain tomorrow’s utterly bizarre choice: a breakfast/sandwich/dessert place so insignificant that it doesn’t seem to have attracted a single review—anywhere—though it has been open since July of last year. It’s not even clear which Max Brenner Frank is reviewing: a second outpost opened last November.

Such places, if the Times reviewed them at all, would normally be covered in the paper’s $25 and Under column. Tomorrow’s review creates the topsy-turvy paradox that the city’s best dessert restaurant, Room 4 Dessert, has only a $25&U mention to its credit, while Max Brenner gets a full rated review.

Bruni doesn’t normally pick a restaurant out of nowhere, only to trash it. Given last week’s depressing review, he probably wanted some fun (or a week off). Morandi, which Frank pretty much had to review, showed us how bad a restaurant can be, and still earn a star. If he’s wasting his time on Max Brenner—a restaurant no one expected him to review—I have to assume he found something nice to say.

The Bet: We are crossing our fingers, and betting that Frank Bruni will award one star to Max Brenner.

Dennis Foy

Note: Dennis Foy closed in early 2009. We found it nearly empty when we visited in 2007, and business never really picked up. Dennis Foy deserved better than that, but his terrific food never really found a following at this location. The space later held a couple of failed Japanese restaurants helmed by Masaharu Morimoto, and is now expected to become Church Street Tavern.

*

Dennis Foy is a chef who has bounced around a bit, having run the kitchen in Manhattan at Mondrian and EQ (both long since closed), as well as a couple of New Jersey restaurants. Last fall, he opened the eponymous restaurant in the former Lo Scalco space, sprucing it up with his own landscape paintings, decorating the walls in gold leaf and the ceiling beams in bold, saturated colors.

Its arrival was greeted with yawns. Frank Bruni relegated it to a double-review with an unrelated restaurant. Awarding one star, he called Dennis Foy “a worthy but low-wattage addition to the New York dining scene: an ‘if you happen to be’ as opposed to a ‘you have to try’ restaurant.”

The only problem with Bruni’s assessment is that Church Street between Walker and Lispenard Streets isn’t an “if you happen to be” block. No one “just happens to be” there, which perhaps explains why we found Dennis Foy nearly empty. Only about one-fourth of its 60 seats were taken at prime time on Friday night. I fear an Eater Deathwatch cannot be far off.

That’s too bad, because Dennis Foy offers very respectable food in a serene, grown-up atmosphere. Prices are a bit expensive, though it’s possible to spend plenty more in the neighborhood. The menu isn’t very long, with just nine appetizers ($8–18) and eight entrées ($25–35) listed. I suspect Foy’s prospects would be improved by lowering the average price of the entrées—say, from $30 to $25.

 
Amuse-bouche (left); Crispy Veal Sweetbreads (right)

The amuse-bouche was a seafood salad with toasted blini and pickled vegetables. We were also offered several choices of bread, all served warm. To start, my girlfriend and I both had the Crispy Veal Sweetbreads ($14), with roquette, hazelnuts, apple cider, and spring onion marmelade. We particularly liked the contrast of the deep-fried sweetbread and the light apple flavor.

Rack of Berkshire Pork

Rack of Berkshire Pork ($30) seemed over-priced, given that the all there was of it was a single lonely pork chop, deboned and sliced. The accompaniments—Serrano ham, ricotta gnocchi, and romaine lettuce—weren’t especially memorable, and the pork was a bit too dry.

My girlfriend was quite pleased with fettuccini with veal and foie gras, which was rich in texture, and served in a hearty portion. I tasted a bit of it myself, and it was excellent.

Rhubarb Cobbler

Rhubarb, now in season, is showing up on menus all over town. We don’t usually order dessert, but perhaps out of sympathy, ordered a Rhubarb Cobbler ($10). We were glad we did, as it was a fine dessert indeed, served warm with heavy cream on the side.

Service was top-notch, though with the restaurant three-fourths empty, it had better be. The beautiful space could be home to a three-star restaurant. It is perfect for a refined escape from a hectic week, though not too many people seem to have figured this out. Perhaps it’s because the food, though strongly conceived and usually well executed, isn’t quite dazzling enough.

Dennis Foy (313 Church Street between Walker and Lispenard Streets, TriBeCa)

Food: **
Service: **
Ambiance: ***
Overall: **

Cascina

 

My girlfriend, son, and I had a pre-theater dinner at Cascina last Saturday night. The menu, service, and attitude very much reminded me of Little Italy—and in case it’s not obvious, that’s not a compliment.

The word “Cascina” refers to the farmhouse or lodging on an Italian vinyard. Wine, indeed, is the theme of the restaurant. There are several large images of vinyards and wine-making equipment. Many of the wine bottles are on display. We weren’t in a drinking mood that day, but the wine list appears to be serious, with bottles anywhere from $35 to the thousands.

 
Swordfish risotto (left); Pizza Caprese (right)

The food turned out to be quite respectable, once they got around to serving it. Swordfish risotto ($19) was slightly runny, but in the end I had no serious complaint with it. My son, who is not easily pleased, raved about Pizza Caprese ($15), with buffalo mozarella, cherry tomatoes, and basil. My girlfriend seemed satisfied with Meat-stuffed tortellini in cream sauce with prosciutto ($16).

 
Tiramisu (left); Italian-style cheesecake (right)

Tiramisu ($8) was most impressive, so airy and light that one almost forgot it was dessert. Italian-style cheesecake ($8) was a bit too dry and crumbly.

One might chalk it up to the pre-theater rush, but service was frenetic and impersonal. Perhaps things improve later on in the evening. The food was reasonable, but on this showing, I wouldn’t rush back except as a friendly and inexpensive pre-theater dining option.

Cascina Ristorante (647 Ninth Avenue between 45th & 46th Streets, Hell’s Kitchen)

Food: *
Service: frenetic
Ambiance: *
Overall: *

The Payoff: Morandi

In today’s Brunology lesson, Professor Frank hands out what must be the weakest one-star review in New York Times history. To be sure, we expected no better than a weak star for Morandi, but we never imagined that Keith McNally could be trashed this badly, and still escape with his manhood intact:

Morandi’s overworked Chianti bottles and its canopy of brick arches — no matter how old the brick — aren’t whimsical; they’re just clichéd. Unlike Balthazar and Pastis, which Mr. McNally cunningly sculptured to look old before their time, Morandi can simply feel tired before its time, and not quite worth the struggle to get in and stay upright in the scrum.

Frank did find a number of dishes he liked (which saved it from the goose-egg), but we don’t recall a one-star review as harsh as this one. But then, Frank has never goose-egged an Italian restaurant, has he?

We were prepared to take the long odds that Morandi would indeed get zilch, so we lose $1 on our hypothetical bet. Eater took the one-star wager, and wins $2.

	Eater		NYJ
Bankroll	$20.00		$27.67
Gain/Loss	+$2.00		–$1.00
Total	$22.00		$26.67
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Won–Lost	8–2		8–2

Markt

 

There are 2,146 restaurants in the online Zagat Guide for New York. Just 18 of them (0.8%) are Belgian. But eleven of those are outposts of a bakery/sandwich place, Le Pain Quotidien. Another four are branches of Petite Abeille. That leaves just three non-chain Belgian restaurants in the Zagat guide. It is, in other words, not a commonly encountered cuisine in this town.

Markt, one of the city’s three non-chain Belgian restaurants, was a Meatpacking District pioneer, back when the Meatpacking District was still cool. The owners lost their lease and moved a short distance away, to a smaller place in Chelsea that has hosted several failed restaurants. Markt arrives with an already successful formula, so perhaps it will be here to stay.

The dinner menu—printed in French, Flemish, and English—includes soups ($7–10), appetizers ($8–24), pastas ($12–17), fish and seafood entrées ($18–36), meat entrées ($16–32), and half-a-dozen entrées with mussels ($16–18). Raw bar platters are available at $60 or $90. Many of the items are familiar French bistro fare, though the emphasis on mussels and beer is a distinctly Belgian touch.

My girlfriend and I are rather predictable: we see pâté on the menu, and we order it. The Country Pâté  ($10) comes with spicy Dijon mustard and red onion relish. It’s rich and hearty, not fancy or complex. We each ordered it, but the portion size turned out to be quite generous. Two people could easily have shared.

My girlfriend ordered the Steak Frites ($26), while I had the Red Snapper ($26), which came in a tomato-butter sauce. I thought the snapper was slightly more dry than it should be, but the sauce saved it from perdition, and in the end I was mostly satisfied.

Many of the dishes come with stoemp (pronounced “stomp”), a Belgian rendition of mashed potatoes, often puréed with vegetables and herbs—in this case basil. In the photo, it’s the big lump that looks like a green pear. I found it rather bland, but I don’t know if that’s my problem or the restaurant’s.

To drink, we ordered a perfectly acceptable bottle of 2002 Burgundy for $32. I have to applaud any restaurant that has a decent Pinot Noir at that price. Yet, I had an immediate twinge of regret, as the page-long list of beers—most of them seldom encountered in this country—should have commanded my attention. Oh well, it’s something to do next time.

The restaurant was not crowded at 6:30 p.m. on a Sunday evening, though I suspect they’re plenty busy on weekends. The server showed obvious impatience that we didn’t instantly know what we wanted to order. After we’d sent him away twice, he came back and said, “Well, what’ll it be?” At the end of the meal, after we declined to order dessert, it took all of about 30 seconds for him to plunk down a check, although we clearly had quite a bit of wine yet to finish.

Though it won’t win any awards for service, the hearty Belgian fare at moderate prices and top-notch beer menu will probably to make Markt a hit in its new location.

Markt (676 Sixth Avenue at 21st Street, Chelsea)

Food: *½
Service: decent
Ambiance: *
Overall: *½

Rolling the Dice: Morandi

Every week, we take our turn with Lady Luck on the BruniBetting odds as posted by Eater. Just for kicks, we track Eater’s bet too, and see who is better at guessing what the unpredictable Bruni will do. We track our sins with an imaginary $1 bet every week.

The Line: Tomorrow, Frank Bruni reviews Morandi, Keith McNally’s foray into Italian cuisine. Eater’s official odds are as follows (√√ denotes the Eater bet):

Zero Stars: 5-1
One Star: 2-1 √√
Two Stars: 6-1
Three Stars: 90-1
Four Stars: 25,000-1

The Skinny: Morandi had a shaky start, with many critics finding the food uneven, the service scattered, the crowds unbearable, the décor inauthentic and claustrophobic. I can only take Eater’s word for it that things are getting steadily better at Morandi, because frankly, nothing I’ve read has made me eager to go there.

The Brunologist loves Italian food, and some of his most generous ratings have gone to Italian restaurants. But it’s the one genre in which Bruni can’t be fooled. I have to think that when he wrote his love letter to Esca last week, it was with the certain knowledge that the Morandi review was up next. I therefore expect to find a noticeable contrast between the two, with Morandi earning a weak one star, at best.

The Bet: We are inclined to agree with Eater that one star is the most likely outcome, and that is normally how we would bet. But with the oddsmakers offering only 2–1 odds for that choice, we are going to roll the dice on zero stars, which at 5–1 odds is the more attractive wager.

Table d'Hôte

What is it with Carnegie Hill and small French bistros? About a year ago, the Times published a profile of the neighborhood’s better restaurants. Three of the five mentioned were French bistros within a square block of 92nd and Madison. What also stood out was that, although this is one of the most expensive neighborhoods in Manhattan, it apparently does not suport expensive restaurants: none of the Times recommendations was particularly pricey.

For now, the neighborhood’s best known restaurant is Sfoglia, but thanks to Frank Bruni’s rave review a few weeks ago, you can forget about getting in there on anything less than a month’s notice. When I had an evening engagement in the area last week, I chose Table d’Hôte instead, partly because I knew my guest had a weak spot for anything French.

Table d’Hôte is a tiny restaurant, with only about ten or twelve small tables. It appeals to a slightly older crowd: my friend and I, both in our 40s, seemed to be among the youngest patrons. There’s nothing fancy about the décor, although it might remind you of about a hundred places you’ve seen on the side streets in European cities.

The menu is a mixture of French and Moroccan favorites. If you order à la carte, appetizers are $8.00–$13.50, and entrées are available either in tasting portions at $14.00–17.50, or full portions of $19.00–26.00. A $26.50 prix fixe gets you a soup or green salad, a tasting portion of an entrée, and dessert.

We had a $23.50 prix fixe, offered only from 5:00–7:00 p.m. with more limited choices: green salad or purée of vegetable soup to start; chicken paillard, hangar steak, or seared salmon to continue; and crème caramel or ice cream for dessert. I probably had the better of it with the vegetable soup, which was creamy and delicious. But chicken paillard was a bit too dry, while my friend’s hangar steak was rare and tender.

The wine list, though short, had a number of bargains (comparatively speaking), and we were pleased with a Crozes–Hermitage for $38. The bill for two was $85 before tax and tip, which these days isn’t bad at all.

Table d’Hôte (44 East 92nd Street between Madison & Park Avenues, Carnegie Hill, Upper East Side)

Food: *
Service: *
Ambiance: *
Overall: *

Neptune Room

Note: The Neptune Room closed in December 2008. Management did not confirm it was permanent, but as of January 2009 the space was for rent.

*

My girlfriend and I dropped into The Neptune Room for appetizers one night last week.

The press mostly ignored the restaurant after it opened in 2004, aside from Steve Cuozzo of the Post, who awarded 2½ stars. I have to assume that the other critics in town at least tried The Neptune Room, but weren’t enthralled enough to review it.

I do recall having an enjoyable meal there in October 2004, but I wasn’t wrting reviews in those days, and don’t recall the details. That visit was a pre-Lincoln Center dinner, but I suspect Neptune Room doesn’t draw much from that crowd — you have to be a bit of a sleuth to seek out restaurants twenty blocks away from the opera.

At least Neptune Room has survived (never a sure thing on the Upper West Side) — largely, I suspect, on neighborhood traffic. We dropped by at around 6:30 p.m. and found it mostly empty, although for the area this is still early for dinner.

The menu is virtually all seafood, with appetizers $4–15, entrées $19–32, and side dishes $7.

I loved Lobster & Crab Ravioli ($14), with grilled corn, Roma tomatoes, tarragon, and a lobster reduction. The kitchen also did well by Fried Calamari ($12).

I’m not going to issue a formal rating based only on appetizers, but we certainly made a mental note to try The Neptune Room again sometime soon.

The Neptune Room (511 Amsterdam Avenue between 84th & 85th Streets, Upper West Side)

Landmarc at the Time-Warner Center

Everyone knows the story of the Restaurant Collection at the Time-Warner Center, right? Perhaps a brief recap is in order. The original idea was to gather the world’s greatest chefs under one roof, for a set of restaurants that would all vie for three or four stars from the Times. Two of the restaurants, Per Se and Masa, were clear hits, while Café Gray received mixed reviews. Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s V Steakhouse bombed, and the fifth major tenant, Chicago’s Charlie Trotter, bowed out.

The main miscalculation was that none of these restaurants appealed to a shopping mall clientele. Someone looking for a casual bite isn’t going to pop into Café Gray for the $36 braised short ribs. Café Gray’s breakfast and lunch service fizzled. The mall needed a casual dining option, and none of these places fit the bill. Bouchon Bakery filled in somewhat, but there remained a huge void between it and Café Gray.

Porter House New York replaced V Steakhouse, and it appears to be a hit. While not exactly casual, it comes in at a gentler price point than Café Gray and offers a great bar menu for snacking. Landmarc, which opened last week in the old Charlie Trotter space, finally gives the mall the truly informal dining option that it needed.

Landmarc at the Time-Warner Center is a near-clone of the original Landmarc in TriBeCa, which I’ve reviewed twice (here, here). Among the differences, the new Landmarc is about double the size, with a seating capacity of 200, plus 90 in private dining rooms, and a large bar. The décor is similar to the TriBeCa location’s post-industrial chic, with the added bonus of a picture window facing Columbus Circle and Central Park.

It’s also open seven days a week from 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m., and serves breakfast. (TriBeCa doesn’t open till noon on weekdays, 9:00 a.m. on weekends). I’m a little skeptical that the weekday breakfast service will last. Except on weekends, most New Yorkers favor expediency over excellence at breakfast time. It’s hard for me to believe that Landmarc’s $12 pancakes are much better than anyone else’s, but you have to go to the third floor of a shopping mall to get to them.

At lunch and dinner, Landmarc’s virtues will shine. The menu is a mixture of French, Italian, New American, and steakhouse favorites, but not overly long, and focused on items where the kitchen excels. A few of the items, like the roasted marrow bones and goat cheese profiteroles, are already classics, as are the desserts at $3 apiece. There’s also the acclaimed wine program, with prices only slightly above retail, and an ample selection of half-bottles.

Appetizers are $8–13, salads $7–21 (most with two available portion sizes), entrées $21–26, steaks $21–34, daily pasta specials $10–22 (two portion sizes), raw bar items $15–27, and house specialties $19–30. That probably seems like a lot, but it all fits on one page—as in TriBeca, on a sheet folded in sixths and waiting under your napkin when you’re seated. There’s also a kids’ menu, with all items $6.

Last week was supposed to be a “soft opening,” but as the management quickly figured out, there are no soft openings in New York, especially for a well known place like Landmarc. The bloggers and chowhounds quickly get wind of it, and within hours the whole food community knows. I ambled in around 7:00 p.m. on Friday night, and the place was close to full. The hostess said at first that there would be a half-hour wait, but then they seated me immediately at a two-top with a terrific view of Central Park. (As in TriBeCa, reservations aren’t accepted for parties less than six.)

I ordered the marrow bones ($12) and the calf’s liver ($22), mainly because I was alone, and both dishes would gross out my girlfriend. The marrow bones (right) come with an onion marmelade and warm country bread. There are tiny wooden forks to prize the marrow out of the bones. It’s a rich, gooey mess, but well worth the trouble. The amount of bread provided is about double what you need.

The calf’s liver came with two thick lobes, grilled with a nice char on the outside, and a smooth, rich texture more tender than filet mignon. The accompanying veggies were too greasy, and tasted like they’d been in the frying pan too long. Blueberry crumble for dessert was forgettable, but at $3, who cares?

Best of all was a half-bottle of 2002 Saint-Georges Saint-Émilion at $26, which most restaurants wouldn’t even carry, and certainly not at that price.

The floor was amply staffed with servers and runners. Two different managers came over to inquire about my meal. There were a couple of very minor glitches, but for a place open for five days they were in pretty good shape. I suspect Landmarc is going to do very well indeed.

Update: I’ve now been back several times. My original rating of two stars seems too generous. Much of the menu seems phoned in—merely competent. I haven’t yet had a bad meal here, but the menu doesn’t change, and it’s designed to be turned out in volumes. The food is merely acceptable, but Landmarc deserves a star for the wine program.

Landmarc at the Time-Warner Center (10 Columbus Circle, 3rd floor)

Food (and Wine): *
Service: *
Ambiance: *
Overall: *

Nebraska Steakhouse

October 20, 2006: To satisfy my weekly steakhouse craving, I returned yesterday to Nebraska Steakhouse, mainly because I knew I could eat at the bar and watch the Mets game. Since my original report, I’ve been there a couple of times. All the steaks are competently prepared, but still nothing beats “The Steak,” 32 ounces of ribeye heaven.

The tables, which never seem to be full, are served by a waitstaff right out of central casting. But nowadays I usually dine at the bar, which is staffed exclusively by buxom barmaids in low-cut blouses, all of whom are from Romania. The most striking of the bunch is dressed like an advertisement for breast implants, and it turns out she owns the place. She started as a bartender, and bought the restaurant a year and a half ago. Her husband is a specialist at the stock exchange, so I have a pretty good guess where the money came from.

Last night’s crowd was in a festive mood. I stayed long past dinner and drank with a couple from Australia. They ordered the chili, which is prepared with chunks of filet mignon and comes with sour cream, cheese, and chives on the side — an impressive production that looks to be well worth ordering on a future visit.

The restaurant is still open only on weekdays, although the owner told me she plans to start a Saturday service in November. With Lower Manhattan enjoying a mini-renaissance, her exuberance is understandable. But Nebraska Beef is well off the beaten path, and unless it starts advertising (it doesn’t even have a website), it’s hard to see how the weekend traffic will find it.

Maybe I’ll drop by in a couple of months for an order of the chili, and see how it’s going.

April 18, 2007: Rather than post a new review, I’m just updating my last report. I did indeed return a month or two later for the chilli (described above), which was as good as it sounds. And last night, I paid a return visit for another helping of The Steak. The marbling this time was more uneven than I remembered it, although it is still one of the largest ribeyes in town. They seem to have hired yet another barmaid with large breast implants.

I’m changing my rating from 1½ stars to one star, not because I am any less enthusiastic, but simply because the earlier rating was out of whack. I will remind readers that one star means “good,” and is by no means a knock against the restaurant.

Nebraska Steakhouse (15 Stone Street between Broad and Whitehall Streets, Financial District)

Food: *
Service: *
Ambiance: Satisfactory
Overall: *