cshea

I swung by Hearth last week and agree with the other reviews - it's a great place. Despite all the hype, it felt casual and neighborhoody - very friendly staff. The food was excellent and, to my mind, a great bargain for the price. Liked the wine list, too. I had a basic green salad and the pappardelle with duck. I know, a salad is a salad, but it's so easy to screw it up. This was exactly what it should be - quality ingredients presented simply. The duck was nice but I agree with Fat Guy - didn't rock my world. My friend had the tuna app - raw tuna prepared in 4 different ways. Very interesting contrasts; nice presentation; fresh ingredients. And then he had the sirloin and short rib dish, which was out of this world! I was surprised - I wouldn't have ordered it - but there you have it . . . Hens of the wood mushrooms as the side - hearty, yummy. We split the pecan tart. (What did others think of the coffee by the way - I thought it was quite good . . . ) I have to admit I've been a bit discouraged with restaurants in NYC lately - I seem to keep running into places with too much hype and not enough soul - food with pizzazz (raw tuna with a vanilla-ginger infused coulis anyone?) instead of quality ingredients and focused preparation - restaurants that emphasize the scene over the experience. I found Hearth to be quite the opposite - it was nice to have my faith restored.

If you're really into cocktails, don't miss Bemelmans at the Carlyle. It's got old-NY charm (it's covered in murals done in the late '40s by, yes, you guessed it, a guy named Bemelman) but the real reason to go are the drinks - the head bartender, Audrey Saunders, is great. (She got her start at The Rainbow Room with Dale DeGroff - see CDH's comment.) She's brought back a number of old world classics and the drink menu is a bit like taking a walk through mixology history. (There are drinks from the late 1800s for god's sake!) She also uses great ingredients - juices are fresh squeezed and she makes her own ginger beer in-house. The Gin Gin Mule is my favorite. If you go during the week, it's more casual - you could get away with jeans but likely not sneakers. The drinks are NOT cheap - in the high teens if I remember correctly - and there's a cover for the music, which starts at 5:30. But, if you have a passion for cocktails (as I do - can you tell?), you should make a pilgrimage if you can - lunch or late afternoon would be a good time to go. I also second the King Cole - another classic venue with great cocktails. I agree with CDH that many places made famous for their cocktails quickly lose their motivation. I find the other old-NY bars to be overrated - the Oak Room at the Algonquin and the Oak Room at the Plaza are charming but the drinks are, well, in my opinion, generally not very good. Let us know where you end up . . .

It will only be closed for four months, while they get Per Se up and running in NYC.

All I can say is this blog is making me soooo homesick . . . graffeo coffee, the market, acme, cowgirl creamery . . . NYC just can't compete with all that!! I seriously need to move back to SF. Thanks for reminding me . . .

Adrober, I thought your post was fabulous! Very, very entertaining . . . I'm actually a fan of CT but sometimes it's just not your or the restaurant's night. And sometimes it's not the night or your lack of experience . . . sometimes the restaurant/chef is just not for you. It may be that CT is in that category for you and, despite suggestions to the contrary, that's okay. At least you have an opinion. I actually can't stand Daniel in NYC. That's just the way it is . . . will likely never go back. My friends argue with me about it but I've never been impressed by the food and I find the atmosphere oppressive. I don't spend much time feeling guilty about it - I just head to Blue Hill . . . Just keep going to restaurants. I like all the suggestions on the thread about how to break the ice with waiters when you're a newbie . . . it's much better than trying to fake experience and more often than not they'll take pity on you and give you some free stuff! Much better than getting stuck drinking Ame!