Trattoria Dopo Teatro

 

My son and I walked into Trattoria Dopo Teatro in December 2005. It was mostly an act of desperation: we were hungry, and in the Theater District it’s hard to find anything much better than Olive Garden. I was surprised to find very respectable standard Italian fare and designer pizzas prepared in a wood-burning oven, all prepared conscientiously in spite of the crushing load of tourists on their way to a show.

The other night, we actually made a 6:15 p.m. reservation, though I don’t know why we bothered. We found a long line snaking out the door. After about 15 minutes, we finally got to the hostess station, and told her we had a reservation. “So does everyone else,” she said. It seemed almost random—like winning the lottery—when another hostess picked us out of the scrum of hapless souls waiting around the bar, and took us to a table.

Last time, we were seated at a two-top near the front window, so I hadn’t appreciated the size of the place. There’s a rabbit’s warren of rooms on two levels, with names like “The Secret Garden,” “The Theater Room,” “The American Room,” “The Grappa Room,” and “The Wine Cellar.” They must be able to accommodate hundreds of people. Despite that, the kitchen manages to do a solid job while turning out the orders quickly.

Mezze Luni ai Porcini

I truly enjoyed half-moon ravioli stuffed with ground veal in a porcini mushroom sauce ($19.50)

 
Mezzi Rigatoni alla Siciliana (left); Calamari Sabbiati (right)

My son didn’t much care for the half rigatoni in a light tomato sauce topped with eggplant, mozzarella and basil ($16.00). But the kitchen did well by baby calamari ($10.50), which were delicately sautéed and topped with breadcrumbs, in a generous portion for an appetizer.

The orders came out fast, but you had better know what you want, because you have only slim odds of flagging down a server later on. Near the end of the pre-theater rush, we saw the beginning of a transformation. Plain wooden table tops with paper placemats gave way to white tablecloths for those who would dine after 8:00 p.m., when things slow down considerably.

I can’t claim that there is anything unique about Trattoria Dopo Teatro, but for a meal before a show, it’s a solid option in a neighborhood where so many of the restaurants aren’t even worth writing about. And after curtain time, it might actually be a place worth hanging around.

Trattoria Dopo Teatro (125 W. 44th Street between Broadway & 6th Avenue, Theater District)

Food: *
Service: Harried
Ambiance: *½
Overall: *

7Square

Note: 7Square closed abruptly in February 2007 after it ran out of money. It just goes to show that having hotel guests and theater patrons as a captive audience is no guarantee of success.

Hardly a month goes by without a new steakhouse opening in Manhattan. The new restaurant 7Square seems to be yet another of these, with its billing as “A Modern Chophouse.” But of eleven entrees, the only one straight out of the steakhouse playbook is a ribeye. Other menu items that cater to carnivores aren’t steak per se, and would be at home just about anywhere: rack of lamb, pork chop, and short ribs, for instance.

The chef, Shane McBride, trained at four-star Lespinasse, and much of the menu at 7Square suggests that he isn’t content to replicate the steakhouse format by rote. A Dirty Rice Risotto ($12) is laced with duck confit, smoked duck ham, and andouille sausage. In pleasure given per dollar spent, it beats most risottos in town. Other appetizers caught my eye (though I didn’t try them). “HAM²” ($14), a “unique tasting of artisanal hams,” sure looked interesting. I’ve also heard good things about the steak tartare ($12). At these prices, it couldn’t hurt to experiment.

Main courses are $15–34, with most in the twenties. In the latest style, the menu tells you the biography of the animal you are eating. The pork chop comes from Niman Ranch, the veal chop from Upstate New York, the chicken breast from an Amish farm, the lamb rack from Colorado, and the ribeye from Wolfe’s Neck Farm. I tried the ribeye ($32) after Adam Platt raved about it. Served off the bone, it’s a slightly smaller cut than most steakhouses serve, which means you can actually finish it. The marbling and exterior char were first-rate—indeed, better than I was served at Porter House.

Sometimes the best bread service comes in the most unexpected places. 7Square serves warm rosemary cornbread that’s out-of-this-world. It would be worth stopping in for an appetizer, just to have more of that cornbread.

Located in the Time Hotel, 7Square’s decor is attractive and comfortable, but appropriately informal for the neighborhood. The service is a bit careless at times, but not annoyingly so. The food is actually good enough that you don’t need the excuse of seeing a show to dine there. This is one of the few restaurants in the Theater District that you can take seriously.

7 Square (224 W 49th Street between Eighth Avenue and Broadway, Theater District)

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

db bistro moderne

I dined at db bistro moderne a couple of years ago, but my only memory is their $29 gimmick hamburger. A couple of Saturdays ago, I went back with my friend, determined to try anything but that hamburger.

The restaurant caters heavily to a pre-theatre crowd — and I must say that it’s a far higher-class dining experience than most Theater District restaurants can offer. The décor is stylish and comfortable: a “modern bistro” indeed. We arrived at 7:30 to a busy, bustling room. By 7:45, it was practically deserted. A few more diners came in later, but clearly their busiest hours were behind them.

No one seems to have told the serving staff that a couple who arrive at 7:30 probably aren’t going to the theater. The appetizers couldn’t have taken more than five minutes, and the entrees came out pretty fast too. In all, we didn’t spend more than about an hour at db, and that included the time we spent lingering over our bottle of wine at the end. Although the staff didn’t suggest that they were eager for us to leave, it seems the kitchen is geared up for turning out food in a hurry, and they don’t change their rhythm after the theater crowd has departed.

The food, however, was wonderful. I had a great tuna tartare followed by duck confit. My friend had duck pâté followed by coq au vin. All four dishes were prepared in classic style and were flawless. If there was nothing particularly imaginative, there is much to be said for executing old favorites to near perfection. The wine list mentioned that the sommelier was highlighting syrah and granache this month, so we tried one of the recommendations in that category, and were pleased we did.

The bread service was underwhelming, and not up to the level of the rest of the food.

db bistro moderne (55 W. 44th St. between Fifth & Sixth Avenues, West Midtown)

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

Siam Inn

Siam Inn is easily overlooked. The sign outside is small and humble; we nearly walked right by it. But for a happy, budget-friendly pre-theatre meal, Siam Inn is the ticket.

Both Zagat (“very plain decor” leads some to opt for the “excellent delivery”) and Michelin (“plain dining room”) take swipes at at the ambiance, but this is misleading. Okay, it’s not a decorator’s wet dream, like Vong or Spice Market, but Siam Inn is both pleasant and easy on the eyes. The banquettes are comfortable, the tables generously spaced. There are white tablecloths, and service was better than some two-star restaurants I’ve visited lately

In Michelin’s defense, they are tough graders on ambiance, or what they call “comfort.” Siam Inn receives two couverts on their one-to-five scale. That might not seem very good, but quite a few fine dining restaurants in New York have two couverts, such as Artisanal, David Burke & Donatella, and TriBeCa Grill, so Siam Inn is in pretty good company. Notwithstanding that, Michelin praised both the cuisine and the service, and it was an entry in the guide that led me to Siam Inn in the first place.

Anyhow, back to the restaurant: My friend and I shared an order of Thai Spring Rolls ($4.25), a generous and tasty portion that comes with three rolls, provocatively cut in half lengthwise, to show their innards.

Menu choices show between zero and three stars to indicate the degree of spiciness. I ordered a three-star special, Duck Basil ($19.95), which comes with Holy Basil, White Mushroom, Garlic and Chili. I would describe this as pleasantly hot, but not the fire-engine red associated with Sripraphai or some Indian curry houses. The duck slices (boneless, with the skin still on) were tender and moist. My friend had another hot duck dish, which looked very similar to mine, but with different vegetables and spices.

We both had a fun cocktail starter called a Blue Moon (sorry, I forget what was in it). The final bill, including tax but before tip, was about $62.

Siam Inn (854 Eighth Avenue between 51st & 52nd Streets, West Midtown)

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

Trattoria Dopo Teatro

Note: Click here for a more recent visit to Trattoria Dopo Teatro.

The “bow-tie” (named for the street pattern where Seventh Avenue and Broadway cross at Times Square) isn’t known for fine dining. On a Saturday in November, my 10-year-old son and I were getting hungry, and our options were dwindling. Neither McDonald’s nor Bubba Gump’s Shrimp Company seemed appealing. He doesn’t eat ribs, so Virgil’s BBQ was out.

In this culinary desert, Trattoria Dopo Teatro was a happy find. Perhaps nyc.com exaggerates when they say that it “has the feeling of a Trattoria that one might find near Rome’s Spanish steps.” Still, it is an attractive setting, located in a landmarked 1875 building. I especially liked the photos of the Italian movie stars that adorned the walls. According to the same site, “The restaurant has a beautiful interior garden, called ‘The Secret Garden.’ It has elaborate mosaic designs, beautiful paneling, a working waterfall, a cigar room and a GRAPPA library.”

Pizza from the wood-burning oven can be heartily recommended. The one I had featured tomato and prosciutto. It was cut in eight slices, but folded back on itself, so that one would eat two slices at a time, sandwich-style. I don’t recall a pizza being served that way, but it worked.

We arrived (without a reservation) at around 4:30pm, at about the time the Saturday matinee crowd were settling in for a post-theater supper. Luckily, we were seated immediately. I should think a restaurant in the Theater District would be adept at getting patrons in and out quickly, but service was erratic.

There is no children’s menu—a fact I wouldn’t ordinarily mention, except that one might expect it in this neighborhood. When I asked about it, the waiter said, “We have pizza and pasta.” My son was perfectly happy to have Penne Marinara (not actually on the menu, but any Italian restaurant can make it), although it came at an ‘adult’ price.

Trattoria Dopo Teatro (145 W. 44th Street, between 6th Ave & Broadway, Theater District)

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

db bistro moderne

Note: Click here for a more recent visit to db bistro moderne.

db bistro moderne is the least formal of Daniel Boulud’s New York properties. The menu is organized by ingredients, instead of the usual appetizer/entrée split. The categories are in French (hommard, thon, artichaut, etc.), but the descriptions of the items in each category are in English. You have to notice an “AP” or “MC” next to the price to identify whether the item is an appetizer or a main course. You can also look at the price itself: db’s entrées are remarkably consistent, at about $28-34 apiece regardless of the item.

I just had to try the “Original db Burger,” to find out what a $29 hamburger tastes like. The menu says it’s a “Sirloin Burger filled with Braised Short Ribs, Foie Gras and Black Tuffles.” I was not able to identify all of those ingredients from the taste. It’s thick (to accommodate all of the goodies stuffed inside), but not very large. Getting your mouth around it is a challenge, somewhat like a three-decker sandwhich at a Jewish deli.

Was it a very fine hamburger? Yes. Do I recommend spending $29 on it? No. Rounding out the meal was a smoked salmon appetizer ($14) that was perfectly competent, but not a patch on what I had at Ouest a couple of weeks ago.

The burger and the salmon are both found in a section of the menu labeled “Specialitiés De La Maison.” Gimmicks of the house seemed more like it. I saw a lot coming out of the db kitchen that appealed to me. Neither of these really did the trick. If I go again, I’ll try something else. At $72 per person (including drinks, tax, and tip), I think this town has better bargains for your money.

db bistro moderne (55 West 44th Street between Fifth & Sixth Avenues, West Midtown)

Thalia

Some restaurants have the buzz, and some don’t. Thalia is one of those restaurants that’s never mentioned on the food boards, but it carries a two-star NYT rating from 2000, and based on my visit there the other night, it deserves a lot more attention.

I started with the Seared Herb Crusted Tuna Sashimi, which comes with pickled vegetables, sweet soy, chive oil & hot mustard. (I am copying from their website, else my identification of the ingredients wouldn’t be so precise.) The tuna was wonderfully fresh, and the soy sauce, which artfully decorated the plate, added a tangy finish to the taste.

For the main course, I had the Jerked Florida Grouper, which is served with lump crabmeat pico de gallo, sweet plantains & chipotle pepper sauce. This too was a wonderfully inventive combination, giving life to a fish that I usually find dull.

I have to report that my friend was a bit less enthusiastic. She had the crab cakes appetizer and the rack of lamb entrée. No particular complaint, but she wasn’t as wowed by her choices as I was.

To conclude, we shared a Trio of Creme Brulee, which comes with three small servings of raspberry, lavender, and chocolate Pot de Creme. No complaint here, and at $10 a bargain.

Appetizers are $7-18 (the latter for a lobster salad; all others are $14 or less), entrées $13-27, and desserts $7-10 ($14 for the cheese tasting). There is also a raw bar, which we did not sample.

Service was prompt — perhaps to a fault. Our appetizers arrived seemingly within minutes, which was so quick that our server hadn’t yet arrived with the wine. The wine list seemed to us expensive in relation to the menu. We settled on a $38 red that was acceptable without being special. The next level up would have required us to spend quite a bit more, which we weren’t of a mind to do.

The noise level at Thalia was mercifully lower than at many restaurants I’ve tried lately, although there is still an audible buzz around the place. We enjoyed a leisurely meal and were able to hear ourselves talk, which is never a given in New York restaurants.

Thalia (828 Eighth Avenue at 50th Street, West Midtown)

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

Le Madeleine

Note: After 28 years, Le Madeleine closed in March 2007, when they lost their lease.

*

My brother and his wife are visiting from California. They bought tickets the other night for Movin’ Out, and on short notice we needed a restaurant reservation. We’re dropping some major dough on food this weekend, so I wanted to keep things on the inexpensive side. It’s here that OpenTable.com came to the rescue. I chose Le Madeleine, a French bistro slightly to the left of the Theater District.

Entrées are generally in the $15-20 range, with an entrecote steak priced at $25. Appetizers are from $6-11, and side dishes all at $4. However, as all of the entrées come with appropriate vegetables I really see no need for the side dishes unless you want to load up on such things as braised red cabbage, Israeli couscous, or creamed cannellini beans. You can read the menu at Le Madeleine’s website, although the at present it’s showing the winter menu; what we saw was a bit different.

My sister-in-law chose the Spice Crusted Duck “Aigre Doux,” which is served with creamy polenta, braised red cabbage, and caper-currant-cranberry sauce - a clever preparation that was full of diverse flavors. My brother chose the braised Berkshire pork (I didn’t know the Berkshires were known for that), which he described as wonderfully tender. I had the grilled marlin, an off-the-menu special, which tasted a lot like swordfish. It was served in a sweet lemon butter sauce.

Le Madeleine is clearly oriented to the pre-theater crowd, and service is organized to get patrons out to their shows on time. Service was friendly, if occasionally frantic. There is a lovely garden room with a skylight, as well as a more conventional indoor room that resembles a hundred other bistros.

This is a solid pre-theater restaurant off the beaten path of Restaurant Row. It offers inventive fare that, at its relatively low price point, is well worth a try.

Le Madeleine (403 W. 43rd Street, west of Ninth Avenue, Theater District)

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