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Hearth


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grungey?

i don't agree (i live 10 blocks from there)

if you go down like 4 streets on 1st ave. there are places

4th and 1st is a bit far don't you think? Then again, I'm not one for walking beyond a few blocks.

Ya-Roo Yang aka "Bond Girl"

The Adventures of Bond Girl

I don't ask for much, but whatever you do give me, make it of the highest quality.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I had another very enjoyable meal at Hearth Saturday night. I was a solo diner and ate at the bar in the kitchen pass. When I sat down I was presented with the usual shot glass filled with a puree/soup - last night it was apple. Not sure if I liked it or not, but I found it interesting (I love his parsnip preparation). I started with the Quail appetizer. The quail was nicely roasted, it had a crisp skin - tender and slightly pink meat that was very flavorful. It came with a faro salad topped with a poached egg that was cooked in a slightly sweet tomato jam. Next came a half order of the pappardelle with tomato and basil and a light dusting of parm. Very clean and fresh tasting - a good way to remember the tastes of late summer. I thought the thickness of the pasta was just right - the past few times I’ve ordered pappardelle in other restaurants I've found it to be too dense and thick. For my entree, I ordered the Niman Ranch Pork Loin. Two thick perfectly cooked rosy slices of pork came a top a mound of candy sweet tomatoes. While a nice slab of belly meat that was crusty on the outside and juicy inside came draped over a sauté of cabbage flavored with chunks of crispy bacon. All of it was moistened with a light pork jus. I could eat that belly meat all day, and not get tired of it. I finished with the Olive Oil Cake, Roasted figs, and Burnt Sugar Ice Cream. The cake was dense - yet still moist - had a nice aroma and was served warm with a sprinkling with coarse salt. I loved how the crunchy salt brought out the flavors and added a nice textural component. The figs didn't really do anything for me - I didn't think they really brought anything to the dish (maybe I don’t like figs?), and would have preferred a different fruit. The ice cream tasted more like vanilla to me than burnt sugar, but was still tasty. Wine was served with each course - don't remember the names, but do remember that I enjoyed them. Service was warm and professional.

I really enjoy sitting at the kitchen bar. Marco is a real nice guy - he talked to me about the menu, where he gets some of his products, and about restaurants that we have tried lately. I also like watching the cooks go about their business and putting the food out.

johnjohn

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I finished with the Olive Oil Cake, Roasted figs, and Burnt Sugar Ice Cream.  The cake was dense - yet still moist - had a nice aroma and was served warm with a sprinkling with coarse salt.  I loved how the crunchy salt brought out the flavors and added a nice textural component.  The figs didn't really do anything for me - I didn't think they really brought anything to the dish (maybe I don’t like figs?), and would have preferred a different fruit.  The ice cream tasted more like vanilla to me than burnt sugar, but was still tasty. 

I like the Olive Oil Cake too. It's new to the menu. I was a little nervous when I tried it -- the name is just awful -- but it's rather like a pound cake or poppy seed cake, minus those bothersome poppy seeds.

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Now that it's tuna season, Marco has these really delicious blue fin tuna, caught off the coast of Massachusettes. It's served seared with a sprinkle of sea salt with a frisee salad and black radish and Asian pears. The appetizer is worth a trip to Hearth in and of itself.

Ya-Roo Yang aka "Bond Girl"

The Adventures of Bond Girl

I don't ask for much, but whatever you do give me, make it of the highest quality.

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  • 2 weeks later...

For a while I had been trying to find a reason to go to Hearth. This weekend a few friends came from out of town, so I reserved a table and had a great meal,

I’m not big on cocktails, but two of my friends had cocktails: the Baum and the Huckleberry Ginn. Both were very good. The Baum was my first taste of Strega. Mixed with club soda, orange and lemon, it was very refreshing.

No time for a full review -- everything was wonderful. So the highlights:

Snapper crudo with lemon, red pepper and rosemary. The fish was the perfect temperature; I hate when the fish in crudo is too cold. Five slices of snapper were topped with roasted red pepper and a few needles of rosemary, and slicked with lemon oil. I think there might have been chopped snapper under each slice.

With our main dishes, we ordered a side of gnocchi and the kitchen sent out four. I had made it a point to order the gnocchi because of what I’d read about them on this thread, and they were unlike any I’ve had. One restaurant week I had gnocchi at Café Boulud that were dense but unbelievably light, if that makes sense. These became my benchmark. At Hearth, however, they are different – they taste like they contain no flour, like dumplings of potato puree. Canora puts them on the plate with butter, parmigiano, salt and black pepper. We also had a side of roasted, crisp-edged hen-of-the-woods.

Dry-aged sirloin, braised short rib, mustard green, turnips and beets. Sticking my fork into the short rib was one of those dining moments when you can’t hold back a smile. The meat was braised to a point of melting that I’ve never experienced. This made the meat very rich, so I was grateful to have the sweet beets, the bitter turnips and the beads of sharp whole grain mustard. The sirloin was served rare and was very flavorful.

Braised barrumundi with artichokes, black olives, romanesco and clams. The fish was moist from braising and was wading in a tasty, briny broth. This was my first experience with romanesco, a green, caulifower-like vegetable, and one of the best experiences I’ve had with tiny artichokes, which are often flavorless. Just a simple combination of distinct flavors that worked well together.

We drank Aglianico del Vulture (100% Aglianico), Il Viola, Tenuta Le Querce, 2001

Apple cider donuts, apple compote, maple cream. What a great dessert! The donuts were warm, coated with just enough icing, and the tart compote was a fine foil. Here’s a great article on apple cider donuts, written by eGullet’s own alacarte, that gives a recipe for Hearth’s.

My friend had three cheeses, including a beautiful triple cream from Cowgirl Creamery, paired with mistella. From what I understood of our waitress’s description, mistella is a mixture of fruit juice and “local” alcohol, like brandy, which implies it originated as an impromptu mixed drink. (But if that’s wrong, it’s the fault of my memory, not the fault of our excellent waitress. She was very knowledgeable about the menu and wine list, and made great suggestions all night. Anyone have more information on mistella?) It went well with the cheese; it was sweet without being syrupy, clean tasting, with good alcohol.

My only regret is that I didn’t sit at the counter, where I would’ve had a view of the open kitchen.

Edit: Strega link fixed. Thanks, Pan.

JJ Goode

Co-author of Serious Barbecue, which is in stores now!

www.jjgoode.com

"For those of you following along, JJ is one of these hummingbird-metabolism types. He weighs something like eleven pounds but he can eat more than me and Jason put together..." -Fat Guy

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Nice report, JJ. The gnocchi are like Joe Bavuso's only not quite as good. The mushrooms are fantastic.

John Sconzo, M.D. aka "docsconz"

"Remember that a very good sardine is always preferable to a not that good lobster."

- Ferran Adria on eGullet 12/16/2004.

Docsconz - Musings on Food and Life

Slow Food Saratoga Region - Co-Founder

Twitter - @docsconz

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Nice report, JJ. The gnocchi are like Joe Bavuso's only not quite as good

Lately, whenever I pay a compliment to a restaurant dish, doc or slkinsey tell me that that dish is almost as good as the version Joe Bavuso makes. :laugh: Joe's got great PR.

I have a question for those of you who know something about the dynamics of the restaurant kitchen. Last night, we asked our waitress if we could order a few apps and while we ate them decide on our entrees. She pointed out that the main dishes at Hearth were fired with the apps and took about 25-30 minutes to prepare, so it would be better to order apps and mains at the same time. Is this normal? From what I've seen (and I haven't seen much) the mains are fired 15 minutes after the apps or as soon as the apps go out. Or was this the waitress's way of gently telling us that the kitchen would prefer that we order of apps and mains at the same time?

JJ Goode

Co-author of Serious Barbecue, which is in stores now!

www.jjgoode.com

"For those of you following along, JJ is one of these hummingbird-metabolism types. He weighs something like eleven pounds but he can eat more than me and Jason put together..." -Fat Guy

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I have a question for those of you who know something about the dynamics of the restaurant kitchen. Last night, we asked our waitress if we could order a few apps and while we ate them decide on our entrees. She pointed out that the main dishes at Hearth were fired with the apps and took about 25-30 minutes to prepare, so it would be better to order apps and mains at the same time. Is this normal? From what I've seen (and I haven't seen much) the mains are fired 15 minutes after the apps or as soon as the apps go out. Or was this the waitress's way of gently telling us that the kitchen would prefer that we order of apps and mains at the same time?

I'd say both are plausible.

I wouldn't say it's normal to fire apps at the same time as mains.

But Hearth can run a different way.

If it was towards the end of the evening, it's also possible she was afraid you might linger and wanted to prevent that as much as possible.

I'd like to believe that wasn't the case at Hearth, but it's possible.

And of course it's also possible there was no ulterior motive, and she meant exactly what she said.

Herb aka "herbacidal"

Tom is not my friend.

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I'd say both are plausible. 

I wouldn't say it's normal to fire apps at the same time as mains. 

But Hearth can run a different way. 

If it was towards the end of the evening, it's also possible she was afraid you might linger and wanted to prevent that as much as possible. 

I'd like to believe that wasn't the case at Hearth, but it's possible.

And of course it's also possible there was no ulterior motive, and she meant exactly what she said.

Thanks, herb. And, for the record, I don't mean to imply that anyone was trying to rush us. We had a very leisurely dinner. The service was excellent: skilled and efficent, with a hint of formality (the silverware changes, the waiters' choreographed serving of the food, placing the plates down at the same time).

JJ Goode

Co-author of Serious Barbecue, which is in stores now!

www.jjgoode.com

"For those of you following along, JJ is one of these hummingbird-metabolism types. He weighs something like eleven pounds but he can eat more than me and Jason put together..." -Fat Guy

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Yeah, but Hearth kept us lingering for 45 minutes before we sat down. The 45 minutes usually starts with the words "They're finishing their desserts" or "They're about to pay the bill."

So long as they don't rush you when your finishing your meal too :laugh:

John Sconzo, M.D. aka "docsconz"

"Remember that a very good sardine is always preferable to a not that good lobster."

- Ferran Adria on eGullet 12/16/2004.

Docsconz - Musings on Food and Life

Slow Food Saratoga Region - Co-Founder

Twitter - @docsconz

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My wife and I ate at Hearth a few weeks ago, and we got seated just after we ordered a couple beers at the bar. We gave the waiter our order, but asked him to hold off on putting it in for a little while, so we could enjoy our beer before starting on our appetizers and wine. They were very accomodating-- I told the guy that I really wouldn't mind if he told me that they'd need the table later and that he'd rather get the order in right away, but he did as we asked. I got no sense of being rushed at all.

It was so nice not to have the appetizers come right out that I think I might try a similar gambit whenever we go out.

"I don't mean to brag, I don't mean to boast;

but we like hot butter on our breakfast toast!"

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  • 2 weeks later...

Dinner tonight with Bux and his wife. We sat at the pass this time. Marco wasn't in the kitchen -- which didn't matter, since the kitchen functions like a precise, self-perpetuating clock. Bux remarked, "It's a sign of a good restaurant when the chef isn't missed." Amen to that.

Before I get to the meal, here is Hearth's menu:

First Course

Baby Lettuces

Shallots, beets, red wine viniagrette (9)

Ribollita

Black cabbage, white beans and parmesan (9)

Arugula and Shaved Fennel

White anchovy and pickled cipollini onion (12)

Red Snapper Crudo

Lemon, red pepper and rosemary (11)

Marinated Sardines

Soffrito crudo and parsley (12)

Red Wine Braised Octopus

Celery root, celery and potato (12) (Bux)

Rabbit Ballotine

Picholine olives and frisee (12)

Stuffed Cabbage

Sweetbreads, veal, pastina and broth (14)

Roasted Quail

Tomato preserves, farro and poached quail egg (12)

Foie Gras Torchon

Mission figs and brioche toast (16)

Fish

Braised Barramundi

Artichokes, black olives, romanesco and clams (25)

Chatham Cod

Baccala mantecato, red peppers and salsa verde (24)

Roasted Striped Bass

Rapini and beans (24)

Monkfish "Cacciucco"

Calamari, pepperoncini, fennel and tomato (26)

Meat

Roasted Guinea Hen

Braised thigh, Swiss chard malfatti and pancetta (26)

Roasted and Braised Domestic Lamb

Lamb sausage, buttercup squash and chanterelles (28) (Bux and myself)

Stone Church Farm Duck

Duck confit, brussels sprouts and quince (30) (Esilda)

Mushroom Pappardelle

Porcini, hen of the woods and chanterelles (22)

Vegetable and Sides

Pumpkin Tortelli

Amaretti, chestnut and sage (20)

Anson Mills Polenta (6)

Hen of the Woods Mushrooms (6)

Potato Puree (6)

Gnocchi (8)

Tasting Menu (58)

Cured Tasmanian Sea Trout

Braised leeks and leek viniagrette

Roasted Black Sea Bass

Butternut squash, cabbage and sage

California Squab

Fennel and orange

Blueberry Float

Vanilla ice cream

Quince Fritters

Rosemary honey ice cream

====================

Dessert Menu

Goat Milk Panna Cotta

Huckleberry compote (9)

Pecan Tart

Sweet potato ice cream (9)

Olive Oil Cake

Roasted pears and burnt sugar ice cream (9) (myself)

Cheesecake

Concord grape compote and merlot sorbet (9)

Apple Cider Doughnuts

Apple compote and maple cream (9)

Milk Chocolate Tart

Semolina crust and peanut brittle ice cream (9)

Ice Cream Sampler

Peanut brittle, burnt sugar and vanilla (9)

Sorbet Sampler

Bartlett pear, Niagara and Concord grape (9)

Dessert Wines

Mead

Lurgashall Winery; NV, West Sussex (6)

Red Raspberry Wine

Alba Vineyards; NV, New Jersey (6)

Vin d'Autan

Robert Plageoles; 2000, Gaillac (18)

Muscat Nectar

Cooperatives Vinicoles de Samos; NV, Samos (5)

Moscatel Superior Sherry

Lustau; NV, Jerez (7)

10 Year Tawny Port

Quinta de Ervamoira; Ramos Pinto; Orpoto (14)

Bual

Special Reserve "Boston"; Barbeito Madeira (16)

I don't remember what Esilda had for appetizers. There was a special tonight of braised pork belly, roasted onion and lentil potage. Unctuous lusciousness in the only way pork belly can be. :wub:

A plate of gnocchi came out gratis (which did all of us in because we couldn't finish our mains). On the upside, the gnocchi are the same as ever -- ethereal as clouds with the right mixture of cheese, pepper and butter.

Lamb was cooked perfectly, especially the sausage.

Two special desserts -- the quince fritters (Bux) and the blueberry float from the tasting menu. I opted for the olive oil cake which had a pleasant interplay of sweet and salt, noticeable especially when alternated with bites of ice cream.

As usual, I don't remember much about the wines. Maybe Bux or Esilda will chime in. Regular readers of eGullet will remember that I'm not a drinker, although I am getting better. :blink: :blink: :wink: This time I managed to survive an entire bottle of red wine (although just barely). I don't like *most* red wines, but this one was pretty good.

I should come to Hearth more often. :biggrin:

Soba

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Thanks for the report and I'm glad you all had good meals!

As I'm still learning more restaurant lingo, I don't know what the "pass" is. What is it?

Michael aka "Pan"

 

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I don't remember what Esilda had for appetizers.  There was a special tonight of braised pork belly, roasted onion and lentil potage.  Unctuous lusciousness in the only way pork belly can be.  :wub:

I had the sweetbreads wrapped in cabbage leaves floating on a beautifully clear and flavorful beef consome with a brunoise of carrots. It was really good. I ordered the duck which was a combination of a small breast roasted rare and a confit drumstick. The confit was very tasty, just right. The breast was cooked at the proper rareness (as I asked) but it was chewy, tough and tasteless. I have bought tastier duck breasts from d' Artagnan in Gourmet Garage. I was a bit surprised and dissappointed. At $90 pp incl wine and tip I expect better.

As usual, I don't remember much about the wines.  Maybe Bux or Esilda will chime in.  Regular readers of eGullet will remember that I'm not a drinker, although I am getting better.  :blink: :blink:  :wink:  This time I managed to survive an entire bottle of red wine (although just barely).  I don't like *most* red wines, but this one was pretty good.

We had a Wolffer Reserve Merlot, NY State wine. I guess Stan liked it because it was smoother than the wines we usually get which are heavier and tannic.

WorldTable • Our recently reactivated web page. Now interactive and updated regularly.
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Thanks for the report and I'm glad you all had good meals!

As I'm still learning more restaurant lingo, I don't know what the "pass" is. What is it?

The pass is the area in the kitchen where the plates get their final touches, plate cleaning and inspection by the chef and where they are "passed" to the waiters. Hearth has three stools on the side of the counter where the plates wait for the waiters. You can watch some of the cooking in the kitchen from those seats. It is sort of cool because you get to see what the offerings are before you decide what to order.

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I've had the red wine braised octopus before. I really thought I should order something new, but I watched the fish cook prepare several of these while waiting for Soba to show up, and remembering how much I liked it before, I couldn't help myself. It's an usual dish. It has none of the texture one expects from octopus. I like that texture, but in spite of that, I also like how this tastes. What I assume to be a long braising in red wine gives the tentacle a meaty taste and a texture not unlike veal stew. I don't know why that works so well as it doesn't sound as good as it tastes.

The lamb "sausage" garnishing the lamb are two small flat ground lamb patties wrapped in sage leaves, breaded and fried. They are not unlike the "stuffed" sage leaves at Craft Bar where the leaves were pressed with sausage meat on both sides and then breaded and fried. Along with the sausages and two loin medallions cooked as requested, was a small unctuous piece of lamb rib seared on the topside and braised until the meat was falling off the bone. It's a very nice plate of food with it's mushrooms and vegetables. I guess both the puree and turned vegetable were buttercup squash. It was a good seasonal garnish and the idea of a single vegetable served two ways supported the lamb in three forms.

Thin slices of quince rings battered and deep fired is also reminiscent of the apple fritters we've enjoyed at Craft Bar, but the quince is even a better idea or at least a nice variation. Honey rosemary ice cream was excellent with it.

I wish Hearth had a better selections of wines under $50 or perhaps more wines I was familiar with at those prices. I'm not that much of a fan of Long Island wines or of Merlot, but I'd had this one before and was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. It was less of a surprise this time, but no less enjoyable.

Robert Buxbaum

WorldTable

Recent WorldTable posts include: comments about reporting on Michelin stars in The NY Times, the NJ proposal to ban foie gras, Michael Ruhlman's comments in blogs about the NJ proposal and Bill Buford's New Yorker article on the Food Network.

My mailbox is full. You may contact me via worldtable.com.

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  • 1 month later...

I've been meaning to stop by Hearth all year long and finally had the chance to go last night. Overall it was a good experience. My reservation was at 7PM but we arrived 25 minutes early and they were not very accommodating. So we waited for 5 minutes and then my friend got anxious and asked them what the hold up was since there were apparently plenty of empty tables available. To that the host replied, "Right now we're seating on-time." Meaning that they would not seat us before the time we reserved our table. My friend gave them this look and they got a hint, we got a table in the small room in the back (which was nice, cozy, and warm despite what the other person said earlier in the thread about the small space and smell, etc.). But I wanted to ask the other readers and see if they've ever experienced this kind of obnoxiousness from the host at a restaurant before? Maybe we were at fault for arriving early?

Anyway, the service was polite impeccable and the food was great. The water glass was constantly refilled and they didn't push us to get bottled water v/s tap. The bread plate was never empty. We had Octopus and Scallops (special) for apps, Sirloin and Sea Bass for main, gnocchi as a side and shared the apple cider doughnuts for dessert. All in all a satisfying meal. We left around 9 and all the tables were full on a Weds. night. Marco was in the kitchen and Paul was making his rounds.

I agree with some of the other reviewers and would say that this is definitely more of a neighborhood place rather than special occasion.

"On ne voit bien qu'avec le coeur. L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux." - Le Petit Prince

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Mindy, if they did that to you for showing up early for a reservation, I wonder what they'd do to someone who showed up without a reservation. Tell them to get lost?

Michael aka "Pan"

 

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I don't quite follow this, nor do I understand the on-time reference. Since there was only a five minute delay, I wonder if the reference was to seating those who had an earlier reservation before they sat you. Were there other people waiting to be seated? If so, and if they had an earlier reservation, I would understand asking you to wait until they were seated. If on the other hand, no one was waiting and they asked you to wait until all the 7:00 and 7:15 reservations had arrived and were seated, that's another story. Again, since there was only a five minute wait and you arrive 25 minutes early, I don't really see the problem.

Robert Buxbaum

WorldTable

Recent WorldTable posts include: comments about reporting on Michelin stars in The NY Times, the NJ proposal to ban foie gras, Michael Ruhlman's comments in blogs about the NJ proposal and Bill Buford's New Yorker article on the Food Network.

My mailbox is full. You may contact me via worldtable.com.

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babiemindy will undoubtedly clarify, but the tone of her post suggested to me that the wait wasn't more than 5 minutes because they pushed to be seated early and weren't happy with "no" for an answer:

[...]My friend gave them this look and they got a hint[...]

Michael aka "Pan"

 

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