City Hall

[jaybee]

Friday night we (6) are dining at City Hall.  I so enjoyed the burger I had at lunch (Steve Shaw's suggestion) and the look of the food on other tables that I had to go back.  I would appreciate any suggestions for dishes we shouldn't miss

(try saying "don't miss dish" after one of their martinis).

[vengroff]

City Hall's signature starter for a large group is the shellfish high rise.  It comes in Empire State and Chrysler sizes.  It's a selection of raw and chilled shellfish served on a multi-tiered tray of crushed ice.  I've had some great oysters and clams, and some very good lobster and shrimp as part of this dish.  Only the rubbery razor clams have been a disappointment.

The roasted brussels sprouts are a hidden gem on the menu.  They have crunchy sweet carmelized outer leaves and tender, almost melting, insides.  I wouldn't think of dining at City Hall without ordering them.

[Fat Guy]

Onion rings. Or straws, or whatever they call them.

[Wilfrid]

Also consider the various cooked shellfish appetizers.  They serve an excellent, creamy oyster roast, and from memory you can get other shellfish cooked that way too.

Also, I believe this is an example of a non-steakhouse restaurant serving steakhouse standard steaks (gee, try saying that quickly...)

[mchoi]

My favorites are the Delmonico (ribeye with maytag blue cheese on top) and the hashbrowns. The steak is pretty good.

[jaybee]

Thanks to mchoi, Steve S, Wilfred, and Vingroff.  We enjoyed a very satisfying dinner at City Hall:  fried oysters, half shell oysters and clams, Delminico steaks, onion rings, hash browns, brussel sprouts, grilled tuna, mussles and martinis.  A completely haimische (sp?) meal.  The kind of place I want to come back to at least once a month if not more.  I basked in the praise of my dinner mates for my choice!  Henry Meer is a charming host and the service was flawless in a comfortable table that was ours for three hours.  All at a price that was 25% less than I expected to spend.  Steve S. (I think) said Meer has a knack of cooking food that tastes the way you remembered food tasted. I agree!

[Fat Guy]

Henry Meer believes there's such a thing as a historical cuisine of New York, and he's really thrown himself into the project of preserving it at a high level. I admire that. And I'm glad you had a good meal. Thanks for following up.

[dimitri steinberg]

Based on Fat Guy's comments, I made it down to City Hall for dinner on Saturday night. I had the burger with all the fixings (Cheese, Bacon and Guac). Wow! Just amazing, it was incredibly flavorful and juicy and cooked to perfection. I would have trouble citing a better burger that I have had in quite a long time.

Other things were also good. Starters included the oyster fry, chopped salad and tuna tartare. Mains included two specials (wild white salmon and the strip steak) Tried both and liked them. The Steak was very comparable to the various steak houses that serve strip.

Desserts were the ubiquitous molten chocolate cake (fine) and a poached pear with pear sorbet (great)

Other benefit. The place is VERY spacious with both large tables and generous spacing between them. All in all, a definite recommendation.

[Suzanne F]

Next time you go there, get a whole grilled fish. Perfectly simple, and simply perfect!

I'm not always thrilled with the (sometimes clueless) service there, but the food is excellent.

[jaybee]

Dimitri, I started eating at CH due to FG's recommendation and my take is just as yours. I love the place. The burger is superb, the onion rings great, the rib-eye very good, the oyster fry is delicious. It is simple food. Well prepared and well served. I've been there at least four times and like it more each time. It ws Henry Meer who cued me to grinding brisket in with the chuck to make a really good burger. That's how I order the meat for home cooking too. If you like liver, try their grilled liver and onions.

[kjohn]

The combination seafood pan roast totally rocks.

[Steve Plotnicki]

Ahr, Jordyn and I made it through the rain and went down to test City Hall last night. This was a first visit for me. I had eaten Henry Meer's food at a couple of benefits and always liked it. But I had never eaten at the restaurant proper. Given the good reviews the restaurant gets on a consistant basis it had been on my list of places to go. When I called for a reservation, their BYO policy made it even more appealing. They told me it was $25 a bottle but if you order a second bottle off their list they will wave the corkage fee. Now that's good business.

We started with AHR and I splitting a "Light Fry" which were shrimp, oysters and calimari coated in rice flour batter and deep fried. Excellent dish with the batter light and not greasy. The calamari was cut into long fish stick looking strips and were partularly good. Warm and soft with just enough firmness to it so there was something to bite into. But I think my favorite were the oysters. They were on the smallish side but they had a good amount of light crunch when you bit into them. Since they are thicker then the calamari, they were cooked longer so they gave more of an appearance of deep fried. Excellent and I could have eaten an entire plate of them for my dinner. And the shrimp were good as well, but they weren't special in the same way. They served the Light Fry with three dipping sauces. A cocktail sauce, a mayonaisse of some sorts and a green sauce that I never tried. I'd have been happier with a big bowl of fresh tartar sauce. Ahr and I also split a half dozen kumamoto oysters. They were fine but not particularly distinguished examples. They were served with lemon only. Jordyn had some type of soup that I wasn't paying attention to so he will have to chime in here. We drank a 1999 Zind-Humbrecht Riesling Heimbourg that had nice flavor but I thought it was a bit flabby.

We moved onto meat. When ordering I quizzed the waitress thoroughly about which steak she thought was the best on the menu. At first she didn't understand what I was asking her and she started to explain the attributes of each cut. I cut her off and explained that we were already expert in steak (you drink red wine with it right?) and what I wanted to know was her opinion of which is best. She immediately said Delmonico and gave a short dissertation on how it's marbled and has the most flavor. Done. Two Delmonicos for me and AHR and Jordyn ordered the lamb.

It was all downhill from there. I ordered my steak rare and it appeared more then medium rare. After a bite and a cut into the middle, I had them take it back to bring me a new one. Less then five minutes later they brought me a brand new steak and I realized they just grabbed one that was already on the grill. I cut into it and it looked rarer then the first one so I kept it. It was better, but ultimately when I got to the heart of the steak, there was just a thinnish rare strip that was surrounded by two large ribbons of cooked steak. I held a chunk up for the others to see and it was declared a medium rare steak, not a rare one. The count was now 0 and 2. But then we have to get to the steak preperation. It seems that Meer is from the liberally pepper a steak before cooking school. Blech. I'm an au natural steak guy. I hate stuff on my steak. I can add the pepper myself thank you. Strike three you're outta here. But even if they got the cooking temperature right, and the steak wasn't adorned with pepper, the marbled, juicy, flavorful cut of meat I was promised was nowhere in sight. Both steaks served to me were dry, with no apparant marbeling present. And the steaks were trimmed in a way where there was very little fat on the edges of the steak. It was almost 90% eye which is the dryest part to begin with. Jordyn said his lamb was good but again he will have to chime in. A side dishes of Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes was good but was supposed to be flavored with dill which was nowhere in site. And we had some reasonable sugar snap peas but really nothing special. We drank 1985 Louis Jadot Bonnes Mares. It's still not ready to drink. It needs at least 4-5 years to come around. The wine has a deeper flavor profile then other Bonnes Mares from that vintage. More plum then cherry. It's somewhat fat and round, and doesn't have the typical Burgundian acidity I prefer. Nice wine but doesn't scream Burgundy to me. Hopefully it will develop. I had a non-exciting but perfectly fine dessert of poached white peaches with vanilla ice cream and a fruit sauce that isn't ringing a bell as to type the morning after.

As if lackluster main courses wasn't enough, I found the ambiance at City Hall most disappointing. It's like any restaurant at the South Street Seaport that caters to a Wall Street clientele. Nothing discerning, or New Yorkish about the place. It's just generic, beer hall, New England/faux olde New York fishhouse atmosphere. With a crowd that looked the part of who would typically be eating in a place like that.

So my feelings about the place are a little schizo. I really enjoyed the fish fry, but if I want meat I certainly can do better then this. A meal of some raw fish and then a double order of the fish fry, along with a chilly Sancere or Burgundy from my cellar would make an attractive lunch. Or I hear that the burger is a good one. The place sort of looks like a burger is the right thing. And I bet that's true to a greater extent in the daytime. But otherwise I'd have no reason to be going back there.

[Suzanne F]

Next time -- if there is a next time -- get a whole grilled fish. They do that consistently well. I've found their meat to be boring.

[Wilfrid]

Very interesting, Steve. I have been lucky enough to have my steak cooked as ordered when I have eaten there, but it's sufficiently long ago that I can't comment on the cut. I recall the light fry as being very good, and also enjoyed the oyster and clam pan roasts - on a par with Gage & Tollner I would say, and I prefer both to the Grand Central Oyster Bar version.

Didn't you like the big old grainy photos in the dining room. It's not an elegant place, for sure, and I seem to recall it doesn't have table cloths ( ), but I thought it had a little verve, nonetheless.

[Damian]

Steve,

Thanks for the report. My experience tallies with yours on the Delmonico at City Hall, mine was cooked to order - med-rare (maybe I ordered their default cooking style!), but was undistinguished in flavor and rather dry. Too bad, because I was looking at the steaks aging in the window near the kitchen and was really looking forward to a good one. However, I found the raw bar to be quite good and am tempted to go back for an oyster fry after your post. I think I'd go back for some fried oysters and a burger for lunch, maybe this weekend.

I liked the room, we had a corner booth, and sat next to each other - and that always makes me happy. I liked the photographs and actually thought it felt very New York (but I'm a transplant, what do I know).

[Steve Plotnicki]

Wilfird - I really wasn't impressed by the space. I thought they could have chosen better photos then the ones they chose. They were trying to get an old NY feel but the finishes are all new so it feels that way. It would have been hipper if they figured out a way to be contemporary and traditional at the same time. Like the successor to the places of old, not a copy that doesn't cut it. I think the overall result come out to be generic.

[snoop]

How's Cub Room? Henry meer's other establishment. I heard it's rather enjoyable, but I've never gotten around to eating there.

[Rail Paul]

Or I hear that the burger is a good one. The place sort of looks like a burger is the right thing. And I bet that's true to a greater extent in the daytime. But otherwise I'd have no reason to be going back there.

The lunch-time burger is fine. Smallish, about a half pound, served on a fresh (potato?) roll, with a side of fries.

The burger was $11 or so, $4 for the fries and $7 or so for a pint of beer.

Thanks for the report, the BYO wine policy sounds very enlightened

[jaybee]

My three times there have been nothing but good. I ordered the rib-eye once, the grilled liver once and the hamburger at lunch. The rib-eye, though smallish was tasty. I liked the fried oysters a lot, the seafood platter (we ordered the "Chrysler Building) was good quality as were the oysters. Grilled fish (snapper, i think) was very good. The round banquettes are comfortable and the place is not cheek by jowl crowded. A table-mate ordered the Delmonico and it seemed thin to me. Overall, I like the place. It is possible to order a good meal there, but if your goal is a steak dinner like the kind I know you like, Steve, I can see why you were disappointed.

[RockADS21]

I have visited both City Hall and Cub Room frequently and must say that I have been very satisfied with both. Cub Room's main dining room is extremely cozy and chef Craig Samuel offers some wonderful choices. The cafe and lounge can easily be a setting for a Sex and the City episode so if that is not what you have in mind avoid them especially on weekends. As for City Hall I think it is a must to start with some type of seafood (I personnaly prefer the raw Chrysler/Empire towers). All of the fish is well prepared and obviously very fresh. I have had several of the steaks and burgers as well as the lunch turkey burger and been impressed by all. It is possible that you can simply catch a bad cut of meat or just a bad night when dealing with steaks. As for the ambiance - I could not disagree more with the statement that City Hall isnt New York - the place has a downstairs room that's ceiling is a NYC street!!! They have done a wonderful job creating an atmosphere of New York and I believe that in both appearance and food quality this place is top notch.

[tommy]

am i the only one who thinks the Delmonico cut is a horrible piece of fat surrounding a dry piece of junk? the extreme of all worlds, and the best of none?

[ahr]

To P.'s review I can add only that my steak was also overcooked, though less so than his, and not better otherwise. (Steak Frites on 16th Street serves a tastier steak of similar configuration at a better price.) However, I was very, very hungry and dispatched it rapidly. P., to his credit, left something on his plate, as did Jordyn, whose lamb looked quite nice.

We encountered a few minor service and billing mishaps, quickly remedied, including, unfortunately, the rapid removal of someone else's bowl of light and lacy onion rings (dusted with curry?) from our table before I could grab more than a scant handful.

As for the décor and the crowd, I thought we fit right in.

[Fat Guy]

The steaks at City Hall are USDA Prime, from one of the best suppliers, and dry aged in plain view on the premises. Overcooking can ruin any steak, as can too much pepper, but neither has been my experience in many, many visits to City Hall.

Tommy, I agree that steaks called "Delmonico" can be awful, but that's usually because they're not real Delmonicos. Have a look at this wonderful piece of investigative journalism and you'll get an idea of the scope of the misunderstanding. I'd love to hear Nick G's comments on this.

Rail, you think an 8-ounce hamburger is small? That's half a pound of meat! On a very nice house-baked bun, I should add.

Now what's this about City Hall being an undistinguished-looking restaurant? I think it's a wonderful room, and quite a bit of effort went into the decor. The black-and-white photographs of Old New York that ring the main room form an exquisite collection and the architectural detail of the building seems quite attractive to me. I like the wrought-iron chandeliers, the curved seafood bar with authentic shore-style steam-powered pots, the exceptionally well spaced tables, the wood floors, and the open kitchen with its meat-aging display. Since decor, as opposed to food, doesn't vary much from day to day, I'd urge those who have not been to the restaurant (and also those who have) to look at some of the photographs on the City Hall Web site, especially the 360-degree panorama.

I'm sorry that some of our distinguished and discerning users had a lousy meal at City Hall, but I assure all of you that City Hall is a superb restaurant with a talented chef. I recommend it all the time and nearly all my feedback from knowledgeable diners is unequivocally positive.

[Rail Paul]

We had dinner at City Hall on Saturday night, following an art open house in Midtown.

One of their specials was a "Double Porterhouse of Lamb" which they described as a 14-16 oz cut of lamb. I haven't seen this item previously, and wonder if any eGulleteeers have tried it. Our minds were already set on steak, however.

Pea soup with kosher franks wasn't memorable, I've made much better soups. Dee's salad of baby greens was fine, their lemony dressing was a little more acidic than she expected.

We shared a chateaubriand ($65), rare, with a topping of mushrooms, and their poivre sauce on the side, in a bowl. Wonderful piece of meat, prob 24 oz, salty cust, not charred. Very solid taste, nicely plated, very satisfying. Shoestring fries were fine, crisp exteriors and slightly moist centers. I usually prefer steak fries, but they didn't have that choice.

One minor criticism. Dee ordered a glass of wine while we perused the menu. It arrived about 2/3 full (maybe 5 oz?). She sent it back to be topped off. For $10, they should serve a decent amount of wine, and not try to squeze five pours from a bottle.

Dessert was three small scoops of chocolate malted ice cream, and one cappucino. With four pints of draft Rheingold (!!!!) beer and tip, the shebang cost $150 or so.

[Robert Schonfeld]

One minor criticism. Dee ordered a glass of wine while we perused the menu. It arrived about 2/3 full (maybe 5 oz?). She sent it back to be topped off. For $10, they should serve a decent amount of wine, and not try to squeze five pours from a bottle.

This is always interesting to me, RP. In my experience, most places offer a six ounce pour. Some allow the server some discretion. At one place in Sonoma recently, there was a note on the menu: "We pour a five ounce glass of wine".