Artisanal

[LaurieA-B]

After reading about Artisanal's grilled cheese sandwich

cheese

I'd love to have one the next time I'm in town.  Is it possible, at Artisanal, to drop in for lunch, as you can in the Tavern at the Gramercy Tavern?  If I must make a reservation, can I make a reservation and then have something like soup and sandwich, or would that be totally inappropriate at a restaurant like this?

[glenn]

I ate there this past week for lunch by myself with no reservation.  There are tables in the bar area which seem to be meant for walk-ins and there are also seats at the bar where you can dine.  While the restaurant was packed, this area was never full.  I had the grilled-cheese sandwich which I highly recommend.

[Wilfrid]

Yes, I have never had a problem getting a seat in the bar area.  Although the restaurant is popular, I think it is fairly easy to get tables if you get at slightly off-peak times.

[stefanyb]

I have had lunch at Artisanal many times.  Most of the time I do not make a reservation but I always get there by 12:00.

I have (party of 2) always been seated in the actual restaurant, not the bar area and although they do a nice trade for lunch, I've never seen it totally full.

I have had the grilled cheese (they have 4-5 varieties).  It comes with a small salad and the combination is an excellent lunch.  Although grilled cheese and salad is fine I recommend also getting the gougeres, just to have them.  They are one of the highlights of the lunch menu.

If you want to go whole hog, get a piece of their best roquefort and a glass of sauternes for dessert.

Bon apetit.

[Beachfan]

I got reservations for 12:30 pm today when I called at 11:00.  And thank you for the post; I went in, had only the grilled cheese sandwhich and it was the best ever.

I'm bring a group there for brunch tomorrow; it seems like a great $20 prix fixe deal.  There are two young teenagers and it seems like a perfect place for them; gourmet macaroni and cheese among others.

My reverie in the afternoon was a vision of going back and ordering four more grilled cheeses so I can try them all.

PS Pardon my ignorance stefanyb, but what are "gougeres"?  Not a pickled vegetable, are they?

[Sandra Levine]

Gougeres are small savory cheese puffs, similar to the shell of cream puffs, but with cheese added to the dough before baking.  They are not generally filled with anything but air.

[Beachfan]

Thanks for the gougeres tip.  They were a hit (althought I would have preferred less air and more cheese).

I had the grilled cheese sandwich again, this time Artisanal mix and prosciutto.  I liked it, but it didn't send me to heaven like the cheddar and bacon.

It made me wonder whether it was personal preference or something more.

Dear Reader, what is your favorite grilled cheese sandwich at Artisanal?

PS Going to the cheese shop in the restaurant is a great part of the experience.   I got a Spanish goat cheese yesterday (Monte Enebro), that was closer to a Boucheron than your typical Spanish goat cheese.  This was a Boucheron with a tad more tang.

Today a got a lovely Keene cheddar (Mull something or other).

[stefanyb]

PS Going to the cheese shop in the restaurant is a great part of the experience.  

I agree completely!  Also, you can ask to see the cave.  Peter, the maitre de fromage, is very accommodating.

I think the cheddar and bacon is my favorite grilled cheese but all varieties I've had were excellent.

With respect to the gougeres, they may be filled with air but oh what air it is.

[cabrales]

stefanyb -- What wine do you typically take, if any, e.g., by the glass, with particular cheese sandwiches? When you have a chance, please consider discussing whether Artisanal appears to have certain French cheeses difficult to find elsewhere in NYC. I assume it is still subject to the same import restrictions as other US establishments? In particular, what relatively "rare" French blues might Artisanal offer?

Also, do members have input on Artisanal's fondue dishes?  

[JeffWilson]

Well, I finally made it to Artisanal for dinner last Sat night. Here are my thoughts.

We got there right on time, but had to wait 25 minutes to be seated. This, coincidentally, was the exact time it took us to pick a wine from the 150 (?) wines on the list, (all available by the glass) and to get it from the bartender.

We were escorted to the far side of the room and were seated at one of the quietest tables there. But plesae don't think it was quiet. It was one of the noisier restaurants I have ever eaten in. I found that I wsa unable to clearly hear the person sitting diagonally across from me.

The menu is fairly small, with just a few specials. Here is where I was first impressed with the wait staff. They seemed to have a very strong knowledge of every dish that we inquired about.  We all had different appetizers, which I can only breifly talk about right now. Mussel were simple and huge and delicious. The beet salad with goat cheese was fantastic.

For main courses I strongly suggest the scallops. It seems scallops are the new Chilean Sea Bass, but these were very fresh and simply perfect. The mussels served as a main were more than enough food for a hungry person.

For dessert...cheese, anyone? Of course I don't need to go into the best cheese selection in NYC (or is that in the U.S.?). Short descriptions are needed, but once again the staff knows about ALL of the cheeses it seems. When the Zamorano was not available, the waiter was able to suggest a similar, suitable alternative.  Also, there is a very nice and varied selection of after dinner wines. Ports (including a Colheitas! and a white port), mucats, sauternes, brandies, armagnacs, were all available.

The most surprising thing to me about this restaurant wsa the outstanding service. As crowded and noisy as it is (and boy, is it ever!) the waiter was always available. He always noticed empty glasses and offered to get another glass of wine. He apologized for the cheese course taking a little longer than everything else took. He was outstanding.

My only reservation would be the noise level. I understand it was a Saturday night, but I just thank God I had a quiet table. I suspect if I sat near the bar, it would have been unbearable.

All in all, I give it a strong recommendation. I will be returning soon (but not before I try Bouley).

[Jinmyo]

Nice post, Jeff. Have you tried their grilled cheese sandwiches?

[JeffWilson]

Thanks, and no...that was my only visit there. I am hoping to do a lunch there fairly soon...what kind of cheese is in the sandwich>? I imagine it is fantastic.

Jeff

[stefanyb]

Cabrales-

I have to say I consulted with the people at Artisanal about the wine pairings for the grilled cheeses and here is what they said.  For the:

Engish Cheddar, Bacon, Apple-Rancho Zabaco Zinfindel, Sonoma

Vegetable and Goat Cheese- Clos de Bousants Sancerre (white)

Smoked Salmon Celery Root Remoulade- Clos de Loyse Beaujolais Blanc

Prime Sirloin Steak Sandwich- Chateau Berliquet Saint Emilion

Artisinal Blend of three cheeses and Procuitto-Byron Santa Maria Pinot Noir

Your other question about rare French Bleus:

They are the only retailer in the U.S. that sells Roquefort Papillion Bocuse.

Other rare (relatively) offerings are:

Blue de Causses

Roquefort Carles

Roquefort Vieux Berger

Blue D'Auvergne

Blue de Gex

Mont Briac

St. Augur

I have actually eaten all but the Papillion Bocuse.  Artisanal is subject to the same restrictions about raw milk cheeses as everyone else (60 days aging required).

Thanks to Amy at Artisanal for her help.

[LaurieA-B]

Matthew (mamster) and I dropped in at Artisanal on Friday for grilled cheese sandwiches.  Thanks to everyone who replied to my query.  We got there at 12:45 without a reservation; the restaurant was busy with the business crowd, but we were seated immediately near the bar area.  Artisanal is large, airy, and very fragrant.

We read over the menu but didn't really consider anything but the sandwiches (especially as this was the second to last day of my lavish weeklong dining spree, to be described separately).  We ordered gougeres, English cheddar and bacon sandwich, and Artisanal blend/prosciutto sandwich.

The wine list is very impressive, with a vast array all available by the glass.  Matthew suggested I ask for a beer or cider to go with the cheddar sandwich.  (Neither of these were listed.  I am very fond of ciders and hoped one would be available.)  Our server offered the beers on tap (about five, I think), and suggested Stella Artois, which I ordered.  Matthew had a glass of Barbera.  My drink was all right, and a good combination with the sandwich, but I just don't like beer very much.  I hope they add some hard cider to the menu, as it is delicious with cheese.

Gougeres were delicious and fun to eat; the cheddar and bacon was divine, definitely the one to get from the list of five sandwich possibilities.

The ladies room had beautiful French faucets (and wonderful thick paper towels.  I notice these things when I visit "nice" restaurants.)

Cheese note: I picked up some Keens Cheddar at Zabar's on Sunday, which we ate during our flight home.  It's the cheese.

[ajay]

Do members know whether the bar area of artisnal is akin to the front (tavern) room at GT in that one can go at any time after the lunch service and have a grilled cheese, or is it a more traditional lunch break dinner style of service?

[Bux]

The bar area at Artisanal is much smaller than the one at GT. It more resembles the one at 11 Madison Park in terms of size and proportion.

Hard cider with Cheddar, Bacon and Apple sounds good to me. I think an ale or beer would also be my choice over zinfandel.

What kind of cheese is in the Smoked Salmon Celery Root Remoulade sandwich and the Prime Sirloin Steak Sandwich? It might seem obvious, but I've been in trouble making assumptions.

[Wilfrid]

A good cider is a very correct choice to drink with English cheddar, since the same region of England which produces the best cheddar also produces the best cider apples.  Beer is fine, although I am thinking of an ale (in England you would choose bitter or pale ale) rather than a light beer or lager.

If you want to drink wine with cheddar, or similar semi-hard English cheeses (Gloucester, Double Gloucester, Cheshire, Wensleydale, Caerphilly), I would suggest going in the robust and tannic direction rather than light and fruity.  I would select a shiraz (or shiraz/grenache) or a full-flavoured cabernet ahead of a merlot, pinot noir*  or zinfandel.  I see no reason why a strong Italian like a Barolo wouldn't work, although I don't recall trying it.

*Although I now recall John Arlott commending a vintage Chambertin as an accompaniment to a slab of Gloucester!

[stefanyb]

Last night I was one member of a table for eight at Artisanal.  We actually had a fine time and the food was top notch.  However, I arrived to the news that Peter, the maitre de fromage, had left for Scotland and would not be returning.  The idea that Max McCalman is the maitre de fromage is ridiculous.  Perhaps he does the ordering but I happen to know that he has walked through the door of Artisinal only about a dozen times.

Our table decided upon a twelve cheese plate as our final course.  We all had differing ideas about which cheeses we wanted and I have to say most of us were not especially knowledgable about how and what to order.

The place was quite busy.  The young man who was sent to our table to discuss with us our preferences was over-taxed and possibly over his head.  The plate came and it really was pretty pedestrian.  Certainly not bad, but i could have gone to Murrays and come home with a more interesting selection.

Needless to say I am saddened.  As a further note, our waiter didn't seem to know much about the menu in general, either.

Any knowledgable cheese people out there in need of a job, get yourself over to Artisanal- they need your help.

(moderator please change title to Artisanal last night- maitre de fromage-less)

[Beachfan]

The two times I was at Artisanal, I couldn't help but admire, ogle, linger, at the cheese store.  The woman behind the counter was busy, but appreciated my interest and would tell me what she liked best that day.  I had her make a little assortment for home, but perhaps that's the best termporary solution for meals.

I understand it may seem less than elegant, but for someone like myself, who likes to ogle gorgeous cheese assortments, it would work out well.

I like cheese.

[mamster]

I agree that Artisanal's cheese counter is a beautiful spread.  So why do they make it impossible to stand there and ogle without being in the way of passing waiters?

There's a great book by Paco Underhill called Why We Buy about retail design.  One of his tenets is the "butt-brush phenomenon"--if you're shopping and the aisle is so narrow that two people bump you in the butt as they're going past, you're going to leave that aisle.  A lesson unlearned at Artisanal, a place I hasten to add is otherwise pretty awesome.

[Matt Zito]

I had a friend from my hometown in the city over the weekend, and she made the suggestion that we go out to Sunday brunch. As she put it, "New Yorkers like to go out to brunch all the time, right?" So, we went to Artisanal, which has a $20.02 prix fixe brunch that I've eaten once before. The food is fantastic and at the price point, I feel its one of the better deals in the city. The menu is technically three courses - the first course being either a mimosa, fresh juices, or sheep's milk parfait with granola and fruit. Both my friend and myself had the parfait, which was excellent - the fruit was very firm and sweet, offsetting the tangy sheep's milk nicely.

For a second course, I had gnocchi with mushrooms and artichokes. I'm not a huge fan of artichokes and left those alone, but the gnocchi in the mushroom sauce was very hearty and filling. My friend had the cheese blintzes which were, like the gnocchi, very simple and flavorful.

For the third course, my friend ordered the waffles with pistachio butter and vanilla syrup. This is what I had the last time I had the brunch at artisanal, and while I found each individual piece to be fantastic, together it was too terribly sweet. Rather than being a contrast to the very sweet syrup, the pistachio butter was so sugary the nut flavoring was almost lost. If you like sweet breakfast foods, you will probably enjoy it, but I'm not a huge fan of sweets. I had scrambled eggs with potatoes and boudin blanc, but I requested they hold the sausage. The eggs were fabulous, a generous portion cooked to what I consider the perfect consistency: neither runny nor so firm that they hold together easily on the fork. The potatoes came in the form of a little latke-esque patty of shredded, grilled potatoes. The taste was excellent, but it had been overcooked and was dry and too crunchy. Despite being almost completely stuffed at that point, we asked for the fromagier to select a cheese plate for us (it seemed a shame to not get cheese as long as we were there). If I can get the list of cheeses from my friend, I'll edit the post and add that in.

The service throughout the meal was attentive and friendly, and the room is an interesting mix of bistro and trendy new American decor. Something I wished I'd noticed at the start of the meal rather than on the way out was the wine list - it appears as though all of their 100+ (guessing) wines are available by the glass.

[lxt]

I have to admit that this was the first time I have ever tried fondue and wasn’t quite fond of it. As a matter of fact, my indifference to the dish was sort of confusing and prompted a morning devoted to the research on the preparation techniques and other little possible attractive tasty molecular features my palate, quite inexperienced in fondue, could’ve missed. To my surprise, I hadn’t missed anything. There is nothing to the dish besides bubbling cheese in wine and a communal experience (John Whiting would be proud ) of sharing little plates with goodies to be passed around for dipping. The whole idea of sticking as many forks as possible into the same pot with the gooey stuff sponsors quite some unity, if you will. However, I may assure you that after the second dip and a second glass of one of the very nice wines described previously, you stop wondering about communal hygiene. One of the techniques you have to acquire to operate successfully with the dish is to learn how to make sure not to lose the dipped objects in the pot which I, as a novice, didn’t seem to perfect. If not for Jaybee who rescued the pieces I lost in the pot, I would’ve left hungry like Tommy.

I am still not sure whether my fondue fondness wasn’t influenced by the fact that I was sitting next to Tommy). (By the way, whatever they say about you is a lie. You are absolutely wonderful.) He seemed to be quite distracted by the portions and the whole dish in general, and was totally devastated upon learning that Nina ordered a fondue desert for two after all that torture he had to endure. Of course that was before the melted chocolate arrived at our table.

Nina is absolutely correct and the noise level was beyond the abilities of someone who didn’t acquire the skill to SHOUT to be able to communicate. Tommy, I still wonder: who the third one was whom you could hear?

[lxt]

An additional note on the service.

The service was pretty solicitous; they asked when we sat down, and again later, whether we wanted to open all the BYO wine at once (many glasses per person) or sequentially (one glass). We changed our minds midstream. However, there was some minor confusion regarding the initial tasting and pouring, possibly due to the restaurant's noise level.

The restaurant's staff seemed to demonstrate quite some humor on occasion as well. Upon my looking for the hm, hm… facilities, I inquired of one of the service people as to their location. The response was puzzling and contained an absolutely serious assurance that the restaurant did not posses such a luxury. The cruelty of the joke at that very moment was absolutely unforgivable.

[tommy]

after giving some further thought to this, and reading others' thoughts on artisanal, i've come to a conclusion: artisanal just ain't so good.

fair enough. i'll go back for wine at the bar. short of that, i can make it better at home. i'm right. you're wrong. move along, nothing to see here.

[southern girl]

Had "brunch" (ate regular menu foods) on Sunday...Appetizer side beet salad...one of the best items IMO on the menu...even the app size is huge. Arugula and watercress dressed with a light vinaigrette, many, many cubed beets, a dollop of goat cheese and a sprinkling of grated parmesan. Excellent...(the only thing I would call excellent there...and I have eaten there 5 times...2 lunch/brunch 3 dinner...twice my choice). For a main... I had skate (had to after the skate thread )...nice piece of fish...unfortunately way over breaded and the blood orange sauce was hideously sweet...thank goodness the fish was placed on it and not the other way around. The service from my waiter was awful....thankfully the cpatain and the other waiters picked up th slack. He misordered my salad, mesculen instead of beet, forgot my glass of wine (Crochet Sancerre)...brought the wrong wine...didn't fill water glasses etc. The Captain was quite solicitous...nice enough to put a hold on my skate (told me entrees usually come out 15 mins. after apps. or salads...and since I had to wait 10 mins. for the correct one, he knew I would have both on the table at the same time). Passed on offer of dessert (the pistachio profiteroles are good though) as I had a dinner at Veritas that night.

As an aside, I have learned to ask for the cheese "sommelier" before I order cheese there. I have found a number of cheeses to be not quite ripe enough (I am sure due to the volume of cheese they serve)...and rather than be disappointed...I ask what is really ripe and ready to serve. The waiters generally aren't aware of what is ripe and what is not...