Union Sqaure Cafe

Has anyone in NYC not been to this restaurant? It’s been on the Zagats top restaurants since… I don’t know how long (literally no idea; just know it has been a while). Its part of the Union Square Hospitality Group (thanks Danny Meyer! http://www.ushgnyc.com/_pdf/company_overview.pdf).

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.

L'Artusi

I doubt anyone wants to hear about the Boca Raton Diner where I had a very dry yet satisfying Boca burger yesterday for lunch. So, I’m going to tell you about L’Artusi, where I had dinner with The Pod (Happy Bday H!) Thursday night.

This new spot hails from the chef-partner from Dell’anima, one of the west village hot restaurants. Needless to say, I like neither at first glance. I went to Dell’anima the first month it opened, which I came to find from most new restaurants in the city is not a good idea. I did not enjoy it. Yet, everyone I know likes it there. Is it because I’m a food snob? Is it because I tried it to early? Maybe I just didn’t care for the wine. Who knows? I vowed to try it again, and I will one day. Next time, I’ll sit at the bar on the kitchen. I like to have the experience of watching my food be prepared.

I digress… I had a similar experience at L’artusi. The Pod (consisting of my two best friends H and R) raved about this place and we went for a little girls dinner Thursday night (Thursday is the new Weekend night around NYC). The hostess attempted to seat us upstairs, but no one puts The Pod in the corner, so we quickly asked for a seat in the first floor dining area. Our table was situated in front of the bar, which I assume lead to me not being able to hear any part of the conversation (lest any chance of eavesdropping which I love doing at restaurants). The bar area was not crowded, but I think the acoustics of the place was just horrendous. I read elsewere that someone called the restaurant energetic and cozy, I would agree if it wasn't decorated so trendy and energetic meant extremely loud. I think a place can be energetic without being overwhelming, but maybe I am wrong.

We, being girls, ordered a meal for one for three. We started with the Marlin crudo and Nantucket Bay sea scallops as our apps. The marlin, albeit tasty (never had Marlin before and was pleasantly surprised), was mixed with pieces of ginger which completely overwhelmed the taste. The slice of green apple (a fave) was a nice compliment. The dish would have been better off as a simple marlin tartar on the apple slice and it would have been much more enjoyable. Remember how much I love scallops? Well, this appetizer was a huge letdown. Nantucket Bay Scallops are small and sweet. Like the marlin, the dish should have been left simply as the scallops, with a hint of citrus. Now, I can’t be sure, but I think that the scallops were not even Nantucket Bay scallops. There were slices of scallops (instead of whole) in the dish, which made me feel like they were regular scallops cut up into pieces to look like the small ones. I believe that Scarpetta (see blog post) might have done the same thing. The L’artusi scallops do not hold a candle to The John Dory or the Union Square Café scallops, both phenomenal. I would not even suggest you get them. I heard the other scallop dish was far superior.

The rest of the meal partially made up for the noisy restaurant and the depressing appetizers. The skate was cooked nicely (I like Skate a lot, especially at Lure Fish Bar), but coming from a pescetarian, there was no need to throw in a piece of pork belly in the mix. I would say that usually when people order fish, they want to eat fish…or else I would have ordered a land walking animal. The brussel sprout side dish was excellent, well cooked and flavored nicely. The best out of all the dishes was to Pizzocheri, which N had at the last place we went Insieme (see blog post). This dish was slightly different, as his had meat in it and the pasta was obviously handmade. This was purely a well cooked buckwheat pasta dish severed with a generous portion of fontina cheese on top and then seemingly baked, because the cheese had melted and hardened on top. If you do go here and order pasta, I definitely recommend.

Needless to say, I do not need to go back any time soon (at least the company I keep is great!) I heard, but did not see, that they have a very nice group dining area on the second (quiet and uncool) floor. Yet, just like Dell’Anima, maybe I am being too harsh for a first try and will probably go again. Feel free to prove me wrong and try it yourself. I would appreciate any challeges. http://www.opentable.com/single.aspx?rid=26869&ref=1244

I could not find a website and the menu on Menupages is outdated. If you google map it, you should note that is the same spot as Maremma. I hope for L’artusi’s sake it fairs better…

Late Addition: I can not believe I forgot to mention the horrifyingly bad service! We sat at the table, after we told our waiter we would be odering wine, for atleast 10 minutes before he returned (after a mean look and hand gesture). When we got our food, all the dishes came without serving utensils, so we again had to wait for the waiter (who obviously had better things to do) to bring them to us. Eventually, someone did. This happened at each course. The only thing this guy did right was to bring the correct food we ordered, which I guess is a plus?