Commerce

[Nathan]

it's been open a month or so now...in the old Grange Hall space.

completely packed. they're doing a crapload of covers.

cocktail list kind of sucked. saw jiggers and bitters but didn't see them being used. glasses weren't chilled. bar actually has a decent selection of liquors though. small wine list by the glass and the selection wasn't very good.

service seemed efficient and friendly.

the food's not bad at all but expensive for what it is. price point is the same as say Bar Blanc or Allen & Delancey but the food just isn't as polished (hard to be when they're whipping through 4 times as many covers....a good problem to have but it doesn't justify the prices).

there clearly is talent in the kitchen. parsnip soup with cherries and an innocuous touch of foie gras was almost good. the idea was sound...the cherries a perfect accent. the technique wasn't bad either...pureed but with little bits of parsnip left for snap. the problem? tasted way too much of stock and not enough of parsnip. its the same problem I have when making similar soups at home....but I'm not charging for it.

veal breast was pretty good...though the veal could have had more flavor. the root vegetables with it (including a parsnip hash) were nicely done. the carrot still had crunch...something which most restaurants flub in dishes like this.

portions are generous.

[flinflon28]

Looking forward to trying Commerce soon.

When Grnage Hall was at its best it was my favorite restaurant in NYC.

Blue Mill was a disaster both times I went.

I agree 100% that is is one of the prettiest blocks and spaces in the city.

[ulterior epicure]

Commerce gets one star.

What was that you were saying, Nathan?

[Nathan]

Bruni's take seems to have been similar to mine.

[LPShanet]

Bruni's take seems to have been similar to mine.

←

Went to Commerce on Thursday. Total fiasco. Those who have read the thread about "waiting even with a reservation" will be able to understand my frustration with Commerce. We arrived on time for our 8:15 reservation, and were asked to wait at the bar. 15 minutes later, no one had spoken to us or updated us. We asked about our table and were told "it won't be too much longer". At this point we noticed another group of 4 at the bar, who seemed to be in a fight with the hostess because they'd been waiting 50 minutes after the time of their reservation, and still weren't seated. (When they finally were seated, it was a terrible table right in front of the door.) I felt sorry for them.

Another 20 minutes passed (35 total), and we asked again. Now I felt sorry for us. This time we were told that the table had paid their check and they were just waiting for them to leave. As seems typical, though, they were unwilling to ask them to leave or move to the bar, and the hostess was quite snotty about things rather than apologetic. Another ten minutes and no change. It should be noted that at no time did they offer to buy us a drink or any similar gesture while we waited. Finally, I walked up to the stand again, and suggested to them that they might want to offer the table we were waiting for a drink at the bar, since it was 50 minutes after our reservation! I further suggested that they might want to do the same for us, since they hadn't offered any such courtesy. She quickly said, "we'll buy your next round" and went off to check on the table. The attitude she gave off wasn't at all friendly, though...it was the condescension typical at places that are more trendy than serious. When we were finally seated, 55 MINUTES LATE, the promise of a drink had been completely forgotten. I had to inform the waitress that the hostess had offered this, and suggested that they just pick up the round we already had at the bar, since we were going to order wine (and they weren't offering to buy it for us).

Getting to place our order took another 25 minutes, as our waitress failed to return after answering a few questions. She was very nice throughout the evening, and just as incompetent as she was friendly, it seemed. After brief deliberation, we decided duck and foie gras rillettes, a hamachi sashimi dish, spaghetti carbonara, and the ragu of assorted things with orechiette as our starters. Entrees included a Braised Beef, Bone Marrow And Sliced Sirloin Steak with crushed cauliflower and a chicken dish for two that had been highly recommended. We were told that the chicken would take about 35 minutes, which was fine with us, since we set it up to come as three courses (app, pasta, main). There were a number of other items ordered by our group, too, though I can't recall the specifics. Apps came another 20 minutes later, all of which were very good. It's really a shame the service was making the overall experience so unpleasant, as I think some of the dishes are really notable, and all of the food was consistent solid.

Having finished our appetizers, we noticed it was taking an unusually long time to get our main dishes. When they did finally arrive, almost 30 minutes later, one of them was incorrect (the chicken), and she immediately told us she'd get the correct dish coming. Unfortunately, it was the chicken that was supposed to take 35 minutes, but she assured us that she could shuffle orders around in the kitchen so that one that had already been started for another table was intercepted. She was wrong. 25 minutes passed. No chicken. 35 minutes passed. Still no chicken. 45 minutes passed. No chicken. Each time we asked about it, it was "almost ready". Meanwhile, several table that had ordered after we already had received the wrong dish were starting to get the same chicken dish, so they clearly had not only not done the intercepting promised, but hadn't even put us first in the queue. Finally, having waited a total of an hour for the replacement chicken, we were all exhausted, and due to the slow pace of the courses, a bit full. We had been at the restaurant for over 3 hours now, without receiving all of our mains. Rather than make a big stink about it, we simply asked them to not bother plating it, and just wrap up the chicken to go, whenever it was done. 15 minutes later, we finally got our bags of chicken and paid the bill. We probably should have cancelled the chicken, but felt bad about doing so at such a late stage. They, of course, made no offer to comp it.

Finally, as we walked out of the restaurant, the hostess said goodbye and asked us how everything was. I told her the food that we got was good, but the chicken had taken so long that we had to take it with us. Instead of apologizing, she said accusingly, "Well, we told you the chicken takes at least an hour!". My jaw dropped. Not only had they been rude to us from the start and completely incompetent in honoring our reservation or providing service, but they now were not only not apologizing, but attacking me. Furthermore, she was lying outright, as we were told repeatedly during the ordering process that the chicken takes 35 minutes. That, of course, doesn't take into account the server bringing the wrong order first. In total, we had waited over an hour and a half for the chicken anyway.

At that point, I was really annoyed, and I asked one of the other hostess types, who had been watching this conversation from a few feet away, for the name and contact info of the manager. She gave them to me, and I left, planning to make a call the next day.

I'm not sure why, but when I got home, something made me think I should check into the manager's identity before calling. After a quick Google, I discovered that they had played an end run on me...the manager, whose name they had given me, was the actually the same hostess who had been so rude all along, and had yelled at me moments earlier about the chicken! No wonder she was so fearlessly horrid...she doesn't have to answer to anyone.

It's a major shame that Commerce is being run so badly. The food actually has quite a bit of merit, but we were definitely not the only people that night who were treated poorly. It seemed that almost everyone was seated very late for their tables, and may well have had the same kind of service we did. I'm well aware that "Thursday is the new (or non-B&T) Friday, but they still have an obligation to honor their reservations or reduce the number they take. Shame on them on so many levels. I hope Harold Moore (the chef/owner) is able to make some drastic changes so that people can eat his food without having to endure Commerce as it now exists.

[ewindels]

I find LP's very unhappy experience interesting for a Thursday, although I guess Thursday is still the new Friday... or whatever. My one experience at Commerce, while not nearly as bad, would keep me from the place permanently, and that was on a Saturday night, when any sane New Yorker knows to stay home and order in, to avoid the tsunami of out of towners. Particularly in the West Village. Now one of our party showed up an hour late, so I don't fault the restaurant for changing our seating to a miniscule table behind the bar, where we had to duck large, bulky posteriors all night. That said, we suffered the same delays in food arrival as LP, though overall I have to say the food was pretty good (sorry, I don't remember a thing). Being imprisoned where we were, it was pretty much impossible to get any server's attention. Add to that a noise level that left my ears ringing for two days afterwards, and the offer of a free meal wouldn't get me back there. If it makes you feel any better, LP, when we finally left with pounding heads and squashed persons, there was quite a crowd of people assailing the hostesses for exactly the same reasons you had to, so you are / were not alone.

Edited March 16, 2009 by ewindels (log)

[oakapple]

We dined at Commerce when it was new, and our conclusion was: "We'll never eat there again." And we haven't.