Savoy

[chopjwu12]

Veronica and i had a quick bite at savoy on prince street. We just had a bunch of small plates to share with some bread. We had a turkish potato spread that was preety good but kind of wierd eating cold because its like cold mashed potatos. Serano ham with olive oil and olives which was good. we ordered these black eye fritters that were really good. They had a cilantro sauce on them. They were really good our favorite thing on the plate. The last thing was morrocan spiced duck livers. These weren't all that good. I love livers but the spices just didn't seemed to go well and then adding the grilled taste wasn't helping either. But all in all it was preety good. Im interested in what their dinner menu looks like. The lunch menu was tiny. The beer and wine choices seemed fair though. I had a riesling kabinet for 9 bucks and veronica had a japanese beer that smelled great(but i hate Beer) she said it was really good. It was a fun quick bite to eat.

[Elissa]

The pork ribs Divine on Tuscan beans, whose taste balanced between remarkably authentic and aware of its remove, of itself as well done Tuscan.

Grilled greens also deeelish: radiccio and lettuces.

A Catalan fish soup I didn't try but would like to.

Elegant new digs too.

Edited March 18, 2003 by lissome (log)

[Sneakeater]

This is probably worthless as prospective dining advice, since this year's installment of Savoy's annual Shad Festival ends tomorow (Sun. 4/9). But, anyway.

If you're not from the East Coast, maybe you don't know about shad. It's a member of the herring family, with a very pronounced fishy taste. If you like mackerel and bluefish, you'll LOVE shad. It's very boney. And it's only available for a few weeks each Spring, when the fish return from parts unknown to the rivers of the East Coast of North America to spawn.

I love shad. I love shad more than any other fish, and more than most other foods.

Every year, during shad season, Savoy has a Shad Festival. They serve a multi-course shad meal with optional wine pairings. For shad lovers, it's an event.

First course was smoked shad served on what I think were potato pancakes. This was good, but not extraordinary. What was the wine pairing?

Shad roe is, of course, prized perhaps even more than the meat. Second course was a fancy shad roe preparation, with a Meyer lemon sauce. It was very good, but I think I prefer the simpler traditional serving with bacon. The pairing was supposed to be Long Island chardonnay, but as they didn't have a bottle handy, they substituted an Austrian chardonnay. No harm no foul there.

Third course was the standout. The traditional way to cook is to "plank" it -- you afix it to a piece of wood and cook it over a fire. The wood imparts a meaty, not-quite-smoked taste to the fish -- and shad is sufficiently flavorful to stand up to the wood flavoring, instead of simply becoming a medium for it. This appeared to me to have been superbly executed; it must be easy to overcook the fish using this method, but I thought it was well nigh perfect. And it was accompanied by the bacon I missed with the roe. It was succulent.

The pairing was a red Loire. I'm guessing it was a pinot noir -- but it didn't taste like any other pinot noir I've ever had. It tasted like black pepper in a glass. I wouldn't want to drink it every day, but as an accompaniment to planked shad, it couldn't be surpassed.

Dessert was a panna cotta with (I think) rhubarb.

We all take Savoy for granted now. To me, it's the restaurant that Blue Hill wants to be. That's not quite right, of course: Blue Hill is much more radical in its reductive cooking philosopy; Savoy is more traditional. But I like it better. The two places share a devotion to fresh local ingredients and to seasonal cooking.

Except during Shad Festival, I never get excited about going to Savoy. But once there, I always enjoy it.

Edited April 9, 2006 by Sneakeater (log)

[rich]

Had dinner last evening. Terrific experience. Arrived a bit early and waited for another couple at the bar. Small but very comfortable bar, excellent bartender and nice chips and olives. I had a Belgian beer and my wife had a muddled strawberry margarita. Great conversation with bartender and manager (Michael) about other restaurants.

Went upstairs for dinner - exquisite room. I started with the cured meat platter - perfect way to start a warm evening dinner - light and tasty. My wife opted for three appetizers. I don't remember what they were, but she thoroughly enjoyed them. I had the Wild Striped Bass and my friends had the Hake. Both fish were expertly prepared and rich tasting.

Three of us shared a bottle of St. Joseph and we finished the evening with a superb cheese course of five selections and assorted accompaniments. Bill with tax and tip (including five drinks at the bar) was $370.

An excellent meal from start to finish. Highly recommended.

Edited June 13, 2006 by rich (log)

[Sneakeater]

Everybody seems bored with this entirely admirable but unexciting restaurant.

But I want to alert you to the Charcroute Garnie they are serving until the end of March. All the sausages are house-made.

I've never been to Alcase, but with that obvious disqualification I say that this is the best rendition of this favorite dish I have ever had.

At $32, it costs much more than the various charcroutes Les Halles was offering last month. But it's incomparably better. Made Les Halles's charcroute seem like it was made of rubber.

Edited March 23, 2007 by Sneakeater (log)

[markk]

This mention NY Magazine http://nymag.com/restaurants/features/54669/ makes me wonder if anybody is familiar with Savoy Restaurant? I've never heard of it.

And has anybody had the cassoulet there?

[weinoo]

We've eaten at Savoy a number of times and have always had good meals. During summer months, they run a special Clam Bake. Delicious.

The owner, Peter Hoffman, can be spotted often at the Union Square green market.

Never had the cassoulet. But it's a solid, market driven restaurant, open since 1990, when "market-driven" wasn't found at every diner and bodega in the city.

[Sneakeater]

I find the cassoulet (which I usually have every year and will probably have tonight) admirable in its conception and ingredients but bland and unintegrated -- the way I find most things at Savoy.

[weinoo]

I find the cassoulet (which I usually have every year and will probably have tonight) admirable in its conception and ingredients but bland and unintegrated -- the way I find most things at Savoy.

←

So, everything's good except the actual "food?"

[oakapple]

We liked Savoy when we visited in late 2006. They're running a series of cassoulet specials over the winter, so that prompted us to schedule a revisit the week after next.

[Sneakeater]

The cassoulet was as ever. Actually, for some reason (it might just be mood) I liked this serving more than usual. Great ingredients, well cooked -- but it lacked soul (whatever that means). Still worth eating, don't get me wrong.

They're switching over to a different kind of cassoulet next Tuesday. I'll be back to try it.

Edited February 26, 2009 by Sneakeater (log)