Sammy's Roumanian

[Fat Guy]

A few of us hit Sammy's Roumanian last night.

The chopped liver remains exemplary, though the ratio of liver to other stuff was somewhat off in favor of the other stuff last night. The pickles have gone down in quality and are now mushy. The "tenderloin" (skirt) steak remains bizarre tasting but the rib steak is acceptable and the veal chop is pretty good. It being a Sunday night during Succoth, there wasn't much of a crowd, but the live music was amusing nonetheless.

Still, had it not been for the excellent company -- it was a pleasure to see some old friends again, meet some eGullet people in person for the first time, and make some new friends who as far as I could tell don't post here but were very enjoyable conversationalists anyway (oh, I also met Simon M., but that's a whole different story) -- I'd have declared the evening a bust. Sammy's is so monumentally overpriced (the meal, which offered only about 25% edible food, cost more than it would have cost to dine at Peter Luger) that it's very hard to recommend, though I know from experience that it is possible to pre-arrange a set menu that will remain a bit more under control pricewise.

Here's something I wrote about Sammy's a couple of years ago. It's the positive spin version. I think the place has slipped just a little -- I've been there three times since I wrote the aforementioned -- but it can still provide an enjoyable experience under the right circumstances.

[Jason Perlow]

I agree, it was ridiculously expensive but I think the fact we consumed so many bottles of iced vodka probably added substantially to the bill.

I agree with Fat Guy's assessment of the steaks... I definitely prefered the rib eye, the skirt steak marinade was a bit strange.

As I didnt have the chopped liver (I hate the stuff, it makes me gag just looking at it) I'll comment on the other things I did eat:

pickles: dissapointing, I was expecting the gargantuan mature half sours of Jewish mythos. As FG says they were mushy.

kasha varniskes: flavorless. Rachel's and my mother in laws beat these things into the ground.

mashed potato: the fried onions on top of em were good, but the addtion of schmaltz doesnt seem to really sex these up for some reason. I cant figure out why.

latkes: too cakey, way too dense, and they sit in your stomach like rocks. Ugh.

ground meat/garlic sausages: I liked these a lot, but then again I was also quite inebriated.

stuffed cabbage: Overcooked to all hell but the stuffing wasnt bad, albeit mushy.

deep fried kreplach: Just say no.

rugelach: They may have been home made, but they tasted too floury/bisquicky. I've had much better commercial brands.

rye bread: fresh and warm. If only everything else was as good.

As FG says, the company was exceptional (thanks to Nina for putting this together) and we did get pretty drunk off our asses, which tended to balance things out. Other than that it was like having Rosh Hashanah in Purgatory with Tony Bourdain.

[Fat Guy]

It's a shame because all of the above foods can be delicious when prepared properly. Although inherently heavier than nouvelle cuisine, the East European Jewish culinary repertoire contains much to be proud of. I fear last night there were many people present who have never had these foods in their exceptional forms, and therefore will leap to incorrect conclusions about the genre. You all should have been at the book party for Mitchell Davis's The Mensch Chef, which is subtitled Or Why Delicious Jewish Food Isn't an Oxymoron. It was at Cafe Boulud and Davis teamed up with Andrew Carmellini to produce quite an impressive spread of vibrant, lovingly prepared, old-world-delicious Jewish food. It can be done, but Sammy's isn't doing a great job of it.

[Wilfrid]

A bizarre but immensely enjoyable evening, which is pretty much the par for eGullet events.

But let me offer the first, ahem, Goyish commentary on the food. Some of the worst dishes I have eaten in a very long time. And the prices? What we were not subjected to, because we thankfully ate a set meal, were the a la carte prices. Now, while Sammy's entree prices may not quite overlap with those of Lespinasse, I would like to see some more clear blue water between the two. Several entrees cost between $26 and $30, with sides priced separately. This would be unfair if the cooking were good, but at this standard that's nothing short of robbery. In contrast, our $50 a head for just about every appetizer on the menu, served family style, plus one entree each, seemed reasonable.

The only two edible items were the chopped liver - and I disliked the stringy burnt onions, which I admit may be authentic - and the stuffed cabbage - despite the floury tomato sauce.

The lowlights. Sliced, unseasoned, undressed, flavourless calf's brain. Veal sweetbreads with both the texture and taste of burnt rubber bands. Greasy, limp fries. Latkes which seemed to be filled with some combination of gluey potato and flour suitable for pasting wallpaper. Leaden, unseasoned kreplach. A garlicky, sausage into which the evening's entire ration of salt had been poured, leaving none for the other dishes. I am partial to rugelach, and can find palatable versions in any supermarket - these were warm, but doughy and tasteless.

And the veal chop. Steven, did you try it? Completely unseasoned again - wet cardboard, not breaded, but shrouded in a soft, droopy batter. I managed to get about a third of it down by smothering it with tomato ketchup. Our waitress was thoughtful enough to tell us "the coffee sucks"; if only she'd warned us about the food.

The best food on the table was a jar of sauerfleisch which Bourdain thoughtfully plonked down, with accompanying pumpernickel.

Hideous. I am sure everyone's grandma did much better with these dishes at home.

P.S.: Just read Fat Bloke's second post. As you see from my last sentence, I draw no conclusions about the genre. If anything, last night increased by desire to sample a decent version.

[cabrales]

Unborn eggs were served at Sammy's They were not included in soup, but instead were cooked and served on a plate. The sizes of the different unborn eggs varied considerably. Some were the size of a normal, small-ish yolk; others were much smaller. They tasted slightly less moist than normal cooked non-runny yolks, but the overall sensation was somewhat similar. Note that the portions for the entrees at Sammy's were very large. For example, I could only finish 1/3 of my skirt steak.

The eGulleteers in attendance included: the Perlows, Wilfrid, ahr, Simon M (welcome back to NY ), Fat Guy, Nina (who, as previously mentioned, organized the event), stefanyb, Tony Bourdain (who brought along certain German specialties) and other members whose username I am somewhat uncertain about and who I will leave to provide input as they see fit.

[Fat Guy]

I think the dryness of those unborn eggs had to do with them being severely overcooked.

[Wilfrid]

Yes, I'd forgotten the vile eggs. I am sure there was something else nasty too, which came along at the same time as the kreplachs.

[jaybee]

Ellen and I were scheduled to join the ensemble. My stomach was not in prime shape so I begged off at the last minute not wishing to push my luck. It seems, apart from the pleasure of the company, it was a wise decision. Conceptually, Sammy's sounded like a great idea. I guess there a big slip 'tween concept and lip.

ediot: prime=prome as in promoselzter

[ahr]

In the process of previewing this message, I see that others have already discussed, more entertainingly, the dishes I was going to add to the list, so I've deleted most of it.

We also had pickled roasted peppers, more vinegary than my Bubby used to make, and egg creams, which were excellent since I concocted several myself. By the way, those peppers and the pickles played the role of the evening's vegetables.

To paraphrase something Wilfrid said, while I found the idea of the food interesting because of nostalgic associations, this was not an exemplary rendition.

I agree, it was ridiculously expensive but I think the fact we consumed so many bottles of iced vodka probably added substantially to the bill... ground meat/garlic sausages: I liked these a lot, but then again I was also quite inebriated.

I was wondering who drank all that vodka. My end of the table didn't see any once Jason changed seats.

I had a great time anyway because of the company. Congrats, Simon, on sticking to Atkins, and thanks, Nina, for making the arrangements.

Edit: Added last, most important, paragraph.

[macrosan]

Unborn eggs ? So when the egg pops out of the hen, that must be a born egg. Right ? Well when the chick breaks out of the egg, is that a born-again chick ? LOL

[Rosie]

We went to Trio's (now closed) quite a long time ago and liked it. They served the same food as Sammy's but we were told that Trio's was better. Did you have gribinis? (SP)

[yvonne johnson]

I was thinking of you all as I had my tasting menu at Jean Georges.

[tommy]

Unborn eggs ?  So when the egg pops out of the hen, that must be a born egg. Right ? Well when the chick breaks out of the egg, is that a born-again chick ? LOL

well this certainly adds a twist to that age-old question. now i'm *really* confused.

[macrosan]

Rosie, do you mean Triplets ? SteveP told me yesterday that one of the triplets committed suicide.

[Rosie]

Gee---I guess it was Triplets.

[stefanyb]

Well, all I can say is DIE-AY-NU! die-ay-nu.

The food was abysmal. I have prepared and eaten almost all of the offerings and even with my limited talents, my own preparations are SO much better that it boggles the mind.

But the quality of the food has already been dissected here.

On the other hand, the company was spectacular.

King Jason and Queen Rachel presided over the long table. Sir Wilfrid was in attendance and seemed to slowly turn purple after consuming copious amounts of vodka and awful offal but was his usual amiable, lovable self. Alas, Beloved could not make it. She certainly did not miss any culinary experience but it would have been excellent to have had her brio to add to the party.

The always knowledgable and wonderfully charming ahr added his inimitable smile and gusto and ripped into his ribsteak like a hungry lion.

We had some CH-ers among us and surprisingly enough they turned out to be some of the lovliest and most knowledgable hounds I have ever met.

One terrific highlight was none other than the great Simon Majumdar who is not only a delight to talk with but is also soooo cute and funny.

Nina and her beau were great as usual and kept everything lively down at the other end of the table. Thanks to Nina and her magnificent chutzpah we ended up with a celebrity guest in attendence. I hear she's aiming to replace Lizzie Grubman.

I finally met the incredible Fat Guy. For someone so brilliant he certainly doesn't have an in-your-face personna when he is actually in your face. He was just lovely and laid back (at least he was last night).

And..........then there was Bourdain. He was just exactly as he is on the tube and in his books. Totally authentic Tony. And skinny!!!! Oy vey, doesn't he eat at Les Halles? I overheard him giving the recipe for chopped liver to Simon and it was almost exactly as I prepare it. I suggested he add just a little grated raw onion for some zip and he seemed to think that that was an interesting addition.

It was great to see Cabby once again. Oh Cabby, please post some of your wonderful and detailed reports. We need you!

I missed my little Tommy (and Tommyx too).

In sum, bad food (the place was my idea, mea culpa) but I'm still singing here at my desk and on a Monday morning no less.

[LESider]

Sounds like a great gathering of people over some mediocre food. My mom was recently in town and that was her pick. Disappointing. It was better a year and a half ago. the chopped liver which I looked forward to had too much sh*t in it. The rib eye is the only edible meat there. The tenderloin , well they should be embarrased to be serving dreck at that price.

I was bummed because I went on how fun it was and it was kind of lacking when we went. I live pretty close to Sammy's but it might as well be miles away. Cause I'm not going back. its a rip off. The'll probably go out of business and people will lament the loss. I already am...

[LaNiña]

In defense of one dish: my beau ordered a skirt steak black and blue. And they actually got it right. It was charred on the outside, and deliciously rare on the inside, and the meat was tender and we liked it. It was different from Cabby's rare skirt steak, which was decidedly not black and blue. So for that I give them credit.

And...after the addition of quite a bit of shmaltz to a plate of chopped liver, I spread some on some rye bread and put some slices of sour pickle on top - now that was pretty darn yummy.

[Wilfrid]

I didn't get any schmaltz because ahr told me it was the OJ for the vodka, and ahr can keep a straight face over three courses pretty well.

[scamhi]

I hadn't been there in 16 years...now I remember why. I felt a little guilty giving my child lunch today of the left over skirt steak...it is a test to see if she comments about the enormous amount of garlic on it. Next time, if Sammy's is proposed, I'll pass. Enjoyed the company.

[Simon Majumdar]

One terrific highlight was none other than the great Simon Majumdar who is not only a delight to talk with but is also soooo cute and funny.

If it wasn't so obviously true, one could almost blush.

I loved meeting everyone ( again in some cases ) Nina remains the scariest individual on planet Earth, no wonder Bourdain did a runner taking a jug of schmaltz with him

The food ( Chopped liver aside, though not smooth enough for the little goy in me ) was pretty nasty, but hey, I lived and it is one ticked off the list.

Thanks Nina and J&R for the lift

And Fat Guy, one hell of a dog!!

S

[Liza]

Simon, you'll be pleased to know Sir Anthony says you look like "a scrawy footballer".

[Rachel Perlow]

Steven had told me that Sammy's would be like going to a bad Bar Mitzvah. Well the B'nai Mitzvot I went to as a kid were usually at fancy catering halls, so last night may have reminded my father of a Bar Mitzvah, but for me it was more of a Jewish surrealist experiment. Foodwise the highlight for me was the chopped liver. They appear to start with normal chopped liver (ground broiled chicken liver, chopped hard boiled eggs, raw onion, schmaltz) but then toss it tableside with an obscene amount of carmelized (a hair's breadth away from burnt) onions, shredded radish (daikon???) and a liberal dose of golden liquid schmaltz innocently sitting atop every table like pancake syrup at an IHOP.

I mostly made a meal of the chopped liver and plan to make it similarly for our next family holiday meal. Most of my hanger steak was left over and I think it will make a decent substitute for lardons of bacon in some salads this week. The poodles will be ignoring me for several hours once I give them the bones from AHR & Jason's ribsteaks.

I had a great time singing along with the ultra-kitchy "piano" man and Stefany B. We mostly knew all the Hebrew songs; I'm impressed with our hostess for the evening, Nina, for knowing all the Yiddish ones too. I was also so glad to catch up with the eGullet friends I'd already met (Stefany, Nina, AHR, Cabrales, Wilfrid, Fat Guy) and the new faces (Simon Majumdar, scamhi, and Bourdain (not exactly a new face, it felt like I already knew him)), as well as a few new faces I hope will post soon, including Nina's handsome beau and her friends, Eric and Abby.

Ending the evening by getting a few kisses from Momo made even the fried kreplach worth it.

[ngatti]

Sorry I missed it folks. Sounds like my loss entirely. The fates had intervened anyways. I spent the evening at Englewood hospital ER. Triaged for four hours waiting for six sutures. Seems my breaking knife got in the way of my finger.

Nick

[Fat Guy]

Ouch.