So, I love the restaurant Cookshop. It’s not only close to my apartment, but its also consistently great food. I tend to get a lot of the same thing over and over again, but I have never been disappointed. I have heard that one of the faults of Cookshop (never in my mind) is that the menu is too small. The food is good, but there’s nothing to choose from. So, here comes Union Square Café.
They don’t have a brunch menu, its called lunch. I’m scared.
It was 1pm. Do you know where you are going to eat? (How annoying is that news channel slogan?) Turns out that lunch at USC far surpassed my imagination. In a very not-me move, I didn’t even check the menu. It wouldn’t have mattered. The menu is so large that I wouldn’t have been able to just decide in advance and stick to my decision; especially after I saw all the plates going by. I never thought I would be having seared scallops on a random Sunday lunch. That is my normal dinner go-to. We ended up splitting the scallops and the tuna salad sandwich. Yes, I typed it. Tuna Salad sandwich. I consistently refused to eat that as a child. Mayo really isn’t my thing. My mom would make my brother and herself a sandwich, and I would make my own… with honey mustard dressing. More healthy? Maybe, but that wasn’t my concern 20 lbs and 10 years earlier. I just think mayo is disgusting. (Melanie – if you are out there, feel free to post photos of the greatest all time mayo fight). I try to avoid lobster rolls with a lot of mayo (hello Klee). I make them at home with just the plain lobster on a toasted bun. Why ruin the goodness? But I digress….
As I mentioned, we split the Seared Sea Scallops (with brussels sprout-bacon farrotto and black trumpet mushrooms) and the Tuna Salad Sandwich on Tom Cat White (with slab bacon, arugula and garlic potato chips). The scallops were a no-brainer. I saw them pass. I love black trumpet mushrooms, even though I think they look like a charred green vegetable. I love USC’s scallops (check out the other link to the restaurant). They did not disappoint. As you can see to the left, the scallops were large. As you cannot see, they were also tender and cooked to perfection. The tuna sandwich was probably the best I have ever had (sorry mamma). Yes, there was mayo, but the overall taste, including the slab-o-bacon and the delicious bread glazed over my hatred. I’m glad we split it because it was enormous (my half pictured – which I couldn’t finish). USC, being the delightfully elegant place it is, split our dishes so we didn’t have to pick them apart.
I suggest that everyone give USC a try. I have now eaten there for dinner (pre-blog starting so you didn’t get the pleasure of reading what I thought on my first try) and now lunch. There’s a reason that this place has been on the top of everyone’s list for years: it’s a wonderful restaurant with excellent food, great service and a non-disturbing atmosphere. It doesn’t try to be something its not, but it puts all those places to shame. You can just ask the guy I sat across from: with hair down to his bum, covered with a doo-rag, a Redskins jersey (why?) and workman boots, the guy was enjoying a Sunday Funday with two buddies wearing their softball uniforms, drinking three bottles of red wine and some beers and eating everything on the menu. I don’t judge, I’m just glad that I wasn’t the least dressed up person in the joint.
What is a farrotto? Is that just brussels sprouts chopped in half and mixed up with bacon? I have the sneaking suspicion that it is.
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