Food
Battersby
You shouldn’t have to work on your birthday. It’s the one holiday you carry around with you organically. I stopped acknowledging most other holidays years ago, but I’m always down to celebrate my birth with a meal.
But alas, I did work on my birthday, and now I’m rushing to the train, through an idiot’s obstacle course, into and out of the subway, fast-walking the Brooklyn blocks, carrying the stress of the work day into an early reservation at Battersby.
My girl is springing for the tasting menu. So life is good. But we have zero chance of decompressing by this unfortunate time-slot. Even after a few tasty cocktails.
Enter the sunchoke amuse-bouche, in a small shot glass, brief and delicious, with hints of hazelnut, followed by crispy kale salad with peanuts and brussels sprouts. That crispy kale was on my mind for weeks after this meal.
“This fluke dish,” I say, “is so good, but it’s gonna be hard for me to remember what was so good about it.”
“I think it’s so clean tasting.”
“Yeah, but is that really a thing?”
I dug the homemade pasta with sea urchin more than my girl, surprising considering she loves sea urchin and I don’t even like saying it. I think I remember an asparagus course, cooked two ways, maybe, some beautiful beets? I don’t know, I’m forgetting. I can’t even tell what’s in these pictures. It was four weeks ago. A lot of water under the bridge. I should write these reviews earlier. I’m so bad at this.
I do remember wishing for the pressed foie sweetbread terrine I’d seen on the menu. Not that there was anything wrong with the chicken and cauliflower dish, It just didn’t seem like a closer. Still, put it in front of me right now and it’s gone in sixty seconds.
And honestly, what is this egg looking thing on the left? I gotta start writing shit down. It was ice-cream, yes? I probably liked it. I remember loving all the desserts. Let me ask the girlfriend. She doesn’t remember either. Good food is wasted on us.
I do remember a nice mix of flavors and textures from the ice-cream to bite-size Madeleines (soft and amazing). A host of other little cremes, cookies and pastries, and even biscotti for the road.
I shall return, Battersby, and I’ll be making my own choices. On a weekend. In a better mood. And with a pen.
Also, next year I’m taking off on my birthday.
We strolled leisurely down 11th, avoiding the tourist-infused High Line, toward a chef’s counter reservation at Toro where we happily ordered a step beyond what might be considered reasonable.
I went with a steady stream of Pizza Night! cocktails – a spicy Old Fashioned with Calabrian chili, chorizo infused bourbon, Mike’s Hot Honey, and peach bitters. Cold and hot. Spicy and sweet.
We also found the Hell’s Bell Pepper to be just the right amount of savory – tequila, mezcal, yellow bell pepper, agave and bird’s eye chili.
Now we’re diving headfirst into an expensive plate of Paleta Iberico De Cinco Jotas – a dry cured boneless Iberian ham that delights and is gone before you can say “twenty eight dollars.”
Some addictive Maiz Asado con Alioli y Queso Cotija followed – a dangerously convenient version of grilled street corn, and a nice foil for the Setas, a bowl of deliciously unctuous mushrooms set beneath a sexy chivy yolk.
Then things got heavy – in a good way. Unable to choose between bone marrow and foie gras, we picked both. I’m more of a purist when it comes to bone marrow, so the Asado De Hueso with guajillo and chorizo XO, Brussels sprouts and escargot – perhaps has a little too much going on. Yet I ate it happily.
We opted for the Foie Gras Tonkatsu – a crispy foie sandwich with strawberry tomato jam and pickled daikon. Kinda perfect bar food if you’re OK with foie taking second billing. Nice marriage of textures, too.
“Hey man, that’s probably delicious, right?” asked a stranger at the bar – flanked by two liquored up and leathery ladies of a certain age. I smiled and snapped a picture of his seared foie.
For dessert we had hamburgers.
Ok, not dessert per se, but our last course were a pair of delectable Hamburguesas, mini dry-aged burgers with a spicy kick on a potato bun.
In a nutshell, Toro is the perfect place for you and your overpaid friends to meet up, get buzzed, and eat decadent small plates while ignoring a world gone mad.
Olmsted
659 Vanderbilt Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11238 – Map
Website
Prospect Heights restaurant from chef-owner Greg Baxtrom packs them in for dinner and recently rolled out brunch. Expect twists and turns, like a breakfast of Carrot Kathi Rolls (Carrot Pulp Falafel, Cilantro Stem Raita) or the Duck Duo, crispy duck sausage with scrambled egg and maple flatbread. And don’t leave without trying their bacon, egg, and cheese Egg Rolls, as delicious as they are adorable.
The tight and thoughtful dinner menu includes a scrumptious Duck Liver Mouse, a clever Beef Tartare, Heritage Pork with Raclette, and other seasonal curve-balls. Toss in a playful cocktail menu and you’ve found the perfect spot for those who like a dash of quirkiness on the plate.
Duck Liver Mousse
Beef Tartare Polonaise
Beet Gin, Preserved Lemon, Maraschino, Juniper
House Gravlax – Scallion Ricotta, Everything Bagel Crackers
Egg Rolls – House Made Bacon, Farm Eggs, Vermont Cheddar
Frozen yogurt with lavender honey
On your fourth trip to Paris, you take less pictures and enjoy more actual moments. Best to live like a local. We rent an apartment and stock up on breads from Poilâne, french butter, various cheeses, some fromage de tête. Good coffee. And the inevitable bottle of Orangina.
The Google Map below has more restaurants than you could see in any one trip. I wound up having super memorable tasting menus at Frenchie and Ellsworth, and a nice meal at Ore in Versailles. But we also had excellent low key bistro meals, enjoyed Pizzeria Popolare, and some cocktails and charcuterie at aveK.
One of my favorite spots, L’Avant Comptoir, was closed the night I visited. And I regret not getting to Clown Bar or the Experimental Cocktail Club.
There’s always next time.
Between the historic sites, architecture, museums, churches, parks, and restaurants… there’s a whole hell of a lot to do in and around Paris. Check out our Google Map for some ideas.
Links
Eater Paris
Time Out Paris
Lonely Planet Paris
To the GoogleMap above