Union Square Café

[CathyL]

This is sorta tangential, but I was recently given 'Second Helpings,' the second USC cookbook authored by Danny Meyer and Michael Romano. It's an excellent collection of recipes, but the standout is the concept for the photos: instead of food shots, Danny & company recruited friends, customers and staff for a series of pictorial essays - each a vignette from the life of a busy restaurant. E.g., the customer who forgets his wallet (and ends up in the kitchen, washing dishes); the diner who offers tastes of her entree to her friends (and ends up with an empty plate); three men who order a bottle of wine, taste it in turn and go 'blech' (and end up drinking beer). The latter is my favorite because the three are Andre Soltner, Alain Sailhac and Jacques Pepin.

Danny Meyer is my hero.

[helenas]

It's an excellent collection of recipes, but the standout is the concept for the photos:

Agree. The "don't be late for your date" set is hilarious!

[Wilfrid]

Well, I was with Jaybee, and ate different dishes, and came to the same conclusion. Also, that was the only time I have been to USC, so I am not going to generalize. What struck me from Steven's report was how little interest I have in eating any of the dishes he described, loving though his portraits were. A steak sandwich? A tuna burger? Yawn. I recall AHR raving about the calamari too, though, so there must be something in it.

None of which is to be snide, but just to reflect on how very wide ranging food interests and expectations are amongst us. I expect I would enjoy a middling performance by Bergougnoux at L'Absinthe more than a successful performance by the USC kitchen. Personal preferences are not to be discounted.

[Fat Guy]

You would like the lobster shepherd's pie, though.

[cabrales]

The USC banana tart with macadamia nut brittle is quite good.

[Steve Plotnicki]

I tried to refrain from weighing in here because I thought what I had to say was redundant. But then I figured that never stopped me in the past . But seriously, I find I can enjoy USC if I treat it as a modern day extension of a place like The Palm. Steaks, chops and a few fancier items served with a fancier version of cottage fries (garlic chips) and creamy polenta instead of creamed spinach. So what if tuna has been substituted for two of the famous meat concepts, Filet mignon and chopped steak. To me the rest of the menu is analagous to The Palm serving veal parmegian. The level of cooking is a few measures more refined, the flowers are beautiful and the servers don't growl at you. What's not to like? But if I go there with higher expectations than what I just described I leave disappointed.

What bothers me about the place is that it is a magnet for people from out of town who do not know anything about food and want to eat there because they think of it as "must go to" when they visit NYC. And to me it is more like a neighborhood place. In fact it shows you how poor restaurants are in this town because there isn't any reason that every neighborhood can't have it's version of USC, maybe with the flowers toned down somewhat. But as long as that's the case, people will hold it up to the light and call it the standard. Actually Washington Park is the first place that opened in a while that is intended to serve the same purpose as USC. I just don't think they have the menu concepts down yet so it doesn't lend itself to multiple repeat vivists. The chicken is a start though.

[CathyL]

What bothers me about the place is that it is a magnet for people from out of town who do not know anything about food and want to eat there because they think of it as "must go to" when they visit NYC.

Well, better USC than Tavern on the Green, if we want to make a good impression.

[Wilfrid]

And of course, for a neighborhood joint, you want to be able to get a table without a hassle. I'll stick with El Nuevo Castillo, thanks, although I confess the lobster shepherd's pie tickles my fancy. Ever eaten a crab Scotch egg, Mr Shaw? I have

[Fat Guy]

What bothers me about the place is that it is a magnet for people from out of town who do not know anything about food and want to eat there because they think of it as "must go to" when they visit NYC.

Right; this is a reaction that has nothing actually to do with the restaurant -- it's about the context. I have it too.

I'm not sure I buy the analogy to the Palm -- the technique-level is surely a couple of notches higher -- but I strongly agree with the statement that "In fact it shows you how poor restaurants are in this town because there isn't any reason that every neighborhood can't have it's version of USC, maybe with the flowers toned down somewhat. But as long as that's the case, people will hold it up to the light and call it the standard." Worse, it shows how poor restaurants in this country and the whole damn world are because USC would garner such accolades pretty much anywhere but Paris.

[nywebchic]

Hi,

I'm going to USC for birthday dinner

Is there anything that I "must" try ?

I havent been there in a long time...so I'd appreciate recommendations....

[jbraynolds]

If it's still available, the black bean soup.

[Pan]

I haven't been there for close to 2 years, but had a very nice lunch that time. Enjoy yourself!! And please report on your meal afterwards, when you get the chance.

[Fat Guy]

USC does some of the best fried calamari in the universe. It's great to share on top of whatever you order for appetizers.

Entree-wise I have a hard time tearing myself away from the tuna loin -- it's a superb specimen.

Michael Romano is back in the kitchen these days, which means the daily specials are going to be special. Whatever they're doing with veal, keep an eye out for.

Don't forget to get the red onions and the polenta as sides.

[coughy]

I second the tuna loin. The lamb chops were great as are the sides of vegetables, spinach, broccoli rabe. Enjoy!

[Fat Guy]

Another triumphant lunch at Union Square Cafe today. The Saturday Lunch thread yielded no superior alternatives, so USC was chosen and USC delivered.

We had a minor service hiccup right at the outset, when our server came to the table for the first time. She was clearly in the weeds (does one say that about servers, or is it purely a kitchen term?) and I felt bad for her when several questions were directed her way even though she had just stopped to drop off menus and clearly had to attend to some hot-food issues before being able to work us into the cycle. Nonetheless, she was unpleasantly curt during that interaction. One of my tablemates commented, "She needs an attitude adjustment!"

Well, she returned with an attitude adjustment, just like that. And when we ordered, she was quite proactive; for example we had one no-pork person at the table who wanted the gnocchi appetizer (which comes with proscuitto) but she wanted to share it with another person who would have wanted the pork. This was not communicated particularly well, but our server immediately picked up on it and said she could split the order (which was already a half-order) in two and ask that one half of it be prepared with and one half without the meat. Now that's service. So, over the course of a couple of attitude-adjusted table visits, all was forgiven and by the end everybody was debating just how much we should overtip.

As for food, I must say it is very nice to have Michael Romano back at the helm of USC. It makes a huge difference in two respects: 1) The kitchen is performing at a noticeably higher level in general; while the food has been quite good for the past couple of years, today it was vibrant -- the colors, the aromas, everything was more in focus than before; 2) The specials and pastas are much more desirable -- this was the first time in a long time that I was truly tempted by them.

Food. The gnocchi mixed with mushrooms (integrated into the gnocchi dough, that is) were texturally remarkable and had deep mushroom flavor (the portion with the pork was a little better than the no-pork portion!); leek-and-potato soup was spot-on; and the top dish of the appetizer grouping was risotto with chicken livers. Let me repeat, chicken-liver risotto. Oh. My. God. It was really good. If you like chicken livers, this is one of the highest expressions of that ingredient you're ever going to find. Lots of mushrooms in there too. Chopped liver it ain't. Nicely al dente too.

The tuna burger and tuna steak were, as usual, top-of-the-line. I had a good-but-not-equal-to-the-rest-of-the-meal pasta dish with fennel sausage and hat-shaped pasta. Eh. It might have seemed better against lesser competition. The best entree was the day's market special, cod-cakes with "smashed" (fork crushed) Yukon Gold potaotes, beets, and a USC-ized tartar sauce. The cod cakes had big chunks of cod in them and didn't lose any of the cod-ness of cod in their cake format, if you get my meaning.

The side dishes are some of the best things at USC and we got the red onions, polenta, and mashed potatoes. I can't imagine any improvement to the first two. The mashed potatoes were just okay -- not as good as really good mashed potatoes, and not even as good as the potatoes that came with the cod.

Desserts ranged from excellent to okay. The banana tart remains definitive. The apple pie-type thing was almost its equal. The chocolate-cream pie was unimaginative and seemed stingy. And the pumpkin cheesecake was a total waste. USC's pastry program is probably the weakest in the Danny Meyer empire, I can't explain why.

No wine today, but a couple of bar drinks and some miscellaneous coffee and other drink orders. Four people, $211 for the whole shebang, pre-tip.

[porkpa]

Fat Guy,

If there is such a thing as the quintessential(?sp) New York City lunch it has to be found at USC. I have been at least a dozen times and have never been disappointed. Of course, I almost order the same things - Tuna burger, garlic fries, banana macadamia tart.

Porkpa

[Jinmyo]

Chicken liver risotto. A very good idea.

[porkpa]

If chicken livers(in any form) are on the menu next time I go for lunch, what do I do? One of the only foods that might dissuade me from ordering the tuna burger.

Porkpa

[Rachel Perlow]

As Steven pointed out in another thread, Michael Romano is now at the helm of Union Square Cafe, and it seems to me based on these previous posts, that it must be an improvement. We visited last night for the first time, at the request of an out of town guest (not your typical tourist, a restaurateur from New Orleans, who had pleasant memories of USC from previous visits, and a fan of Danny Meyer. Anyway, since we'd never been there before, we were very pleased to join her). From the mixed reviews here, I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but we ordered many of the recommended dishes and had a very, very, pleasant meal. We totally over-ordered, and shared everything, and I even took a couple things home. So, to begin...

We had the garlic potato chips and calamari brought to the table first to nibble on while perusing the menu. Regarding the chips, I completely agree with mikec, "I’d love to put these in a Ruffles bag and eat them on my couch while watching (TV)." They are quite addictive. The calamari, while fried up as light as a feather and definitely not-ordinary, was not necessary either, unless you were really in the mood for calamari. It was a very good rendition, but there were better offerings to come and I shouldn't have wasted the stomach room. I think it's on the menu for the same reason as the steak -- for the person who doesn't know what else to order.

We continued with individual appetizers, which we continued to share. Jason had the (special) smoked cauliflower soup, I had the chicken liver risotto, our friend had the beet/beet greens/carrot salad (without the Coach Farm goat cheese terrine as it was offered on the menu), and we shared an order of the porcini gnocchi. The salad was light and very crunchy, I would have preferred to sample the cheese terrine with it, and I also prefer my beets to be more cooked, but it was a nice presentation of micro beet greens and white carrots. I thought the cauliflower soup was very good, but Jason wanted a little more texture. The gnocchi were rich and full of mushroom flavor, but it is definitely something you want to share, as just a few of them were plenty. A similar recommendation goes for the risotto. As Fat Guy said: "Oh. My. God. It was really good. If you like chicken livers, this is one of the highest expressions of that ingredient you're ever going to find. Lots of mushrooms in there too. Chopped liver it ain't. Nicely al dente too." There actually weren't any discernable pieces of the liver in there; it was all incorporated into the creamy goodness of the risotto. Another very rich dish, I ate about a quarter of it, shared some with the table and had about 2/3 of the dish to bring home for lunch. Mmm.

The Monday evening special was Lobster Sheppard's Pie, so Jason was drawn to that like a magnet. My taste was good, although there was an unusual seasoning in there that we couldn't positively identify, Jason thought saffron, I think nutmeg (I know completely different), I suppose we should have asked. The only negative about this dish was that Jason thought it had too much potato on top. Our friend had the Catalan style monkfish with shrimp & clams. I think I just don't like monkfish -- it is so damn bland that no sauce I've had it recently can make up for it.

So that we didn't end up with three fish dishes (I was considering the bass or the tuna), I ordered the Lemon Pepper duck. This was my favorite of the three entrees. The duck was cooked through, skin crispy, fat mostly rendered off. The breast and leg pieces sat atop a lovely dark and tart sauce and were accompanied by a quince chutney (nice change from cherry or orange flavors that usually get paired with duck) and a farro pilaf. This is a chewy barley-like grain, and there was lots of butter in that side, and some chard underneath -- wonderful (how can anything with that much butter not be?).

We shared two desserts between the three of us despite not having much room left. (I know, I know, but we were definitely not members of the clean your plate club last night, our friend wanted to try a lot of dishes and we certainly did!) The banana tart, which so many people recommended on eGullet did not disappoint, but my favorite part of if was the macadamia brittle. I think my palate was getting quite dull by that point, and the bananas just couldn't wake it up. The passion fruit panna cotta, on the other hand, played Revillie in my mouth! I like ordering panna cotta, it is usually a soothing, easy dessert following a big meal. This was tart and fruity and exciting even. A caramelized shard of something (a tuille?) separated the panna cotta from a scoop of coconut sorbet and a few spoonfuls of diced fruit salad of mango and pineapple garnished the plate. Each element was delicious individually, and the taken together they harmonized beautifully. What a glorious end to a very good evening.

[Jason Perlow]

The other outstanding appetizer we had was the Tuna Tartare with avocado salad -- this was done with a ring mold with the chopped raw tuna (I believe sashimi grade) on top, with the avocado in the middle and a light horseradish/mayonnaisy like sauce with onions on the bottom with I think alfafa (or maybe they were horseradish) sprouts.

BTW I liked that Lobster Shepherds pie a lot, despite the over abundance of mashed potato (which, as mashed potatoes go, are pretty damn good). I think if it had half the potato the dish would have been perfect, but the excess is easily removed because its a layered dish -- the middle contains a mix of root vegetables, mushrooms, greens, chopped up lobster meat, binded together with a small amount of cream -- and in hindsight I'm pretty sure that flavor is Nutmeg, which added a really nice touch to the dish.

USC is not a "foodies" restaurant like Gramercy Tavern is but you can see the Danny Meyer signature in the place, and the food (and service) is really good. We had wines matched with every course and our server did a really nice job pairing them.

[Rachel Perlow]

Doh! How could I forget about that tuna appetizer? It was an extra sent out on the house, and was one of the few dishes who's plate was cleaned. That was very very good. Sweet tuna, tart vinaigrette, not too sharp onion.

[slkinsey]

Man... chicken liver risotto! In my mind, one of the greatest things about a dish is when you find yourself slapping your forehead and thinking, "of course! why didn't I think of that?" I mean, I like dirty rice with chicken livers and gizzards... I like chicken livers... I like chicken liver ragu... I like risotto... I like risotto con ragu... so why not chicken liver risotto? This is a must-try at home.

[Bux]

Michael Romano has been there for quite some time. I'm not a regular there, but I understand they've been revising the menu and making it more exciting. I don't know that there was much they could do about quality as it's always been tops, but I think it's been a place that has appealed more to tourists looking for excellent renditions of unchallenging foods, and New Yorkers not interested in eating on the edge. Hell, I could eat good fried calamari every night for a week and not complain (too much). That the fried calamri was light as a feather and a good rendition, but not one of the most compelling appetizers is perhaps one of the more favorable compliments one could make about any restaurant and probably sizes up USC very well. Restaurants that try to please everyone are going to be criticized possibly just because everyone wants a restaurant to focus just on their tastes, but USC really is a place that can handle a diverse group of people and please them all, which doesn't mean that a visit should wait until you have that hard to please group.

[SobaAddict70]

Ok, Rachel. You've made USC a must go to place based on the strength of that review alone.

I can count the number of times I've been to USC on one hand, and none of them in the past year either.

Soba

[gaf]

Calibration New York City Entry #58

To appreciate a restaurant, one must gauge its intentions. Nowhere is this truer than at the venerable Union Square Café, which at 21 years of age has reached its maturity.

At its start in 1985 (I dined there a few years later), USC brought a culinary flash downtown. The menu often reads as if it was the equivalent of the higher spread restaurants, even if the prices or the cheery ambiance was not. USC brought "gourmet" dining within the ambit of the exploding upper middle classes, newly minted professionals with taste (real or imagined). This was a New Class who rejected the stiff formality of the grand cuisine. As others have mentioned (Frank Bruni among them), USC was revolutionary in form and fashion.

Although I sometimes speak of USC and Gramercy Tavern in the same breath, this claim is misleading, even if both are Danny Meyer restaurants, and are ranked #2 and #1 in popularity in the 2006 Zagat Guide. Tom Colicchio's GT is the more subtle, producing dishes that in their preparation can challenge three star restaurants - it is a chef's restaurant. USC is a lot of fun, serving robust dishes with interesting flavor combinations, but is limited by the preparations and the quality of their ingredients. Compared to GT, USC is (even) more casual and (even) more modestly priced, remembering of course that this is Union Square. (So informal is USC that there a Baby Changing Station in the Men's Room, a fact that says quite a lot about market niche.) Anyone who doubts that the highest quality ingredients can make a noticeable difference should spend an evening at USC after having visited a four-star restaurant (in my case, Per Se). To enjoy USC is to appreciate it for what it is: an upper-middle sanctum of the Haute. USC is a destination restaurant just as Bloomingdales is a destination emporium.

Our trio began with a pair of appetizers. The Fried Calamari with Spicy Anchovy Mayonnaise was as advertised. The calamari was tender and good. The breading and mayo reminding me of Outback's Blooming Onion (a secret pleasure). Our other appetizer had more culinary ambition: Razor Clams and Cockle Pan Stew with White Wine Tomato Broth, Calabrese Sausage and Saffron Aioli. This was robust cooking. Despite the range of exotica, the dish was not subtle. The tastes screamed, not whispered. As I was enjoying it, I thought of how Alain Ducasse might have brought out the essence of rarely found razor clams or these hermaphroditic cockles. The delicacy of these bivalves was erased by the saucing.

As a main course, I selected Seared Sea Scallops with Black Truffle, Chickpea Sauce, Braised Baby Artichoke, and Crispy Sunchoke Salad. This is quite an list and the mix was enjoyable, even if a bit of a hash in which flavors were lost. I was disappointed by the scallops, which were not of the highest quality (as well as being somewhat overcooked). This dish reflected both the virtues of USC and its weakness. Given mid-range restaurants, this is an impressive construction, it just wasn't transcendent. Even more than being slightly overcooked, it was over-designed.

The main courses of my colleagues - crispy lemon pepper duck and tuna fillet mignon were enjoyed, but in both cases - duck and tuna - these were not proteins (or prices) of the very highest order.

Our pair of desserts had something of the same quality. We selected Sticky Toffee Pudding with Cinnamon Ice Cream and Ginger-Butterscotch Sauce and Meyer Lemon Bread Pudding with Blood Orange Sorbet. I found both puddings to be heavy, edging toward leaden, but I thoroughly treasured the Blood Orange Sorbet. Once again the complexity of the dishes promise more than they deliver.

On my return to Manhattan, I knew I had to return to USC on a night on which three courses and a manageable bill ($67/person) was what was needed. Danny Meyer (and his current chef Michael Romano) deserves honor for dumbing down haute cuisine. If this seems like a back-handed compliment, it is a front-handed compliment. To know what a restaurant can't do is as important as knowing what it can.

Union Square Café

21 East 16th Street (off Union Square)

Manhattan (Union Square)

212-243-4020

My Webpage: Vealcheeks