THIS IS WHERE THE MAGIC HAPPENS
SEATED AT CHEF TRES JACKSONS TABLE IS THE WAY TO GO. THE SMALL PLATES ALL COME WITH BIG FLAVOR AND MAGICAL PREP AND YOU CAN WATCH IT HAPPEN BUT REPLICATION AT HOME IS NOT LIKELY. ENJOY IT THERE! CRISPY SCALLOPS AND EGGPLANT THAT IS CROQUETTE LIKE BUT SOMETHING IN A CLASS BY ITSELF. THE BEET AND HONEY AND FRUIT CREMEUX DEFIES YOUR BEST GUESS AND MUST BE ENJOYED WITH THE LATE HARVEST RIESLING (FROM THE NY FINGER LAKES.....HOME SWEET HOME.
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| Chelsea and SOON-TO-BE CENTER ERICEATS LEFT AND FRIEND ,PAT RIGHT |
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| BLACK BEAN NOODLES |
We couldn't remember the name of this restaurant we had passed a few weeks ago but we found it.
No seats for 30 minutes. BUT..."Anything at the bar?" Pause. Then 5 people begin shuffling to
open two stools. Kindness culture is not usually mentioned in a restaurant review, but I think it should be.
Then we order. I order the Duck and cheese dish from a Korean menu. Clinton the bartender asks, "Are
you lactose intolerant?" Funny and helpful...also often omitted from reviews. I. switch to the hand pulled black bean noodles , which Jeanne later trades for my bom bat veggie and rice dish with a sweet and hot sauce. Jeanne liked both but we both wanted both. We started with a 5 star scallion pancake. OMG-GOOD.
Reservations are among the hardest but a line forms between 430 and 5 P.M. for seats at the perfectly managed bar. Don Carlos at the Met ran 4 hours and that made us unusually hungry at 4 pm.
What to do? D train to west 4th st and first on line for Dosas and mango lemonade and a lobster tail with Parotta bread......
and Prawn curry (Eral Thokku) that were big enough for a fish TALE. And spice lovely enough to stop my heart..What a winning day...topped by a not too oaky California Sandhi chardonnay.
A restaurant that is finely OILED/Ghee-ed?
PAROTTA
PRAWNS. from the land of giants
. PORIYAL..... spicy beets
. GUNPOWDER DOSA HAT
First, where do you want to sit: the most stylish outdoor seating patio I have seen anywhere; bar stools with backs; inside table; vast lush garden ? From our outdoor covered seating we could peer into the cafe
in a way that mades you feel like we were in it....not kicked to the curb. I was captured by the Gavi
before the rapture we felt from Caesar salad with subtle anchovy flavor and a not so subtle removable anchovy. Jeanne's watermelon, tomato salad with balsamic dressing was a choice to be repeated.
The cavatelli was balanced with zucchini and the ravioli with yellow tomatoes . Ravioli have been described as pillows before but this time I actually rested my head on these soft puffy light things...in my mind.
Find the perfect cool evening and sit yourself down in a neighborhood garden. And play bocce ball in the 3rd restaurant that I know of with its own bocce court. Il Vagabondo (now closed) had a court on 62nd st where my children could watch through glass as they ate...and play. Parkside, in Corona Queens, had one outside the restaurant in a small park which was also across from the Lemon Ice King(made famous by Simon and Garfunkel as the King of Corona). Also famous for Jeanne's and my wedding location. At Popina, the court doubles as a sand box where children playfully explore the dirt and balls while parents drink wine and eat
Here you will feel you are sitting in a large back yard near the Brooklyn waterfront across from the lower manhattan skyline. Last night the breeze was not the only thing that was cool. So was the warm sour dough filone...and the muscles in a corn broth so tasty that it could have been my soup dish. Jeanne's arancini echoed the bocci ball theme and unlike the game balls were a tasty treat. Drinks included a Bklyn Beer without alcohol and an Albarino white wine. That glass was topped of by Brian, the server, who in everything he said and did modeled hospitality and made us feel he loved food and people. He explained the extra wine by saying "I felt you were waiting too long for your muscles." Shrimp(crispy and tanned) and grits(creamy and lush) deserved applause). Misticanza was a strawberry laced salad that also scored.
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| MUSCLES are from a Long Island Island |
We didn't know the town would celebrate Canada Day and given all the concerns about covid not sure how long Jasper knew they would. They did inn grand fashion. Our first clue was seeing the masses rushing to reach the route for the parade. At 330. we were hungry and not feeling the urge for fried fast.
In the distance i could see the sign TERRA. Land! Farming? Veggies? Jeanne would love it (if the clue didn't bring us to a plant store. Got to this place run by a company called Pursuit. It was a restaurant and a new one, but there was a "closed" sign near the dining area. I asked anyway and was pleasantly surprised to learn opening was minutes away. Adding joy was the menu. Jeanne's favorite: fried green tomatoes.
The table was prime with a window view of the street and mountains and passing freight trains. Corn ribs= cob quarters mopped in butter and cheese.
not Jeanne. It was firm and absorbed the sauce and creamed cauliflower nicely. Still working on a terra firmer joke. Will get back to you.
This photo is the second in a series I call "Do I miss full time work?"
