Craft Bar

[Wilfrid]

Not to be confused with the bar inside Craft - which I could get nowhere near on Saturday night - this is a separate space a few doors down the block, although connected with Craft's kitchen.  I don't know how new it is, but I noticed it on Saturday night and managed to grab about the last table in the place.  Menu consists of only three entrees (all around ฟ), plus a bunch of appetizers and sandwiches, and they were serving much the same wines as Craft by the glass.

Having raved about the rabbit ballotine at Craft, and read in the "Craft is dull" thread about the excellence of the game bird terrine, I chose a plate of mixed salumi to start.  The prosciutto (slightly too salty), coppa and spicy salami were "outsourced", but the three items the waiter identified as made in house were astonishing: moist slices of duck ham,  dense and powerfully flavoured little pieces of porcetta, and a mortadella which was simply the best I have ever tasted.  The waiter told me that the Craft kitchen buys whole animals, and the charcuterie being produced for Craft and the Craft Bar reflects an effort to use as much of the beasts as possible.

This is craftsmanship of the highest order, and if this little empire growing on 19th Street were doing nothing but making and selling charcuterie, that would be good enough for me.

My entree was a fish stew: a bowl packed with big shrimp, mussels, clams, delicate squid and some chunks of white fish, in a rich, very slightly spicy sauce (not a very liquid dish, which was fine).  Every ingredient was perfectly cooked, and I just couldn't find a fault.  พ, I think (maybe ภ).

As at the mother restaurant, sides are separately priced and plated.  Four people at a table near me all ordered the meatball entree, with no sides, and looked a bit puzzled when they were each served ungarnished three meatballs (that would be twelve meatballs altogether!).  Bet they were good meatballs, though.

If you've not been to Craft, and are still not convinced it's for you, this is a relatively inexpensive way to dip your toe in the water.  But book ahead.  Personally, I am now convinced that the food coming out of Craft and Craft Bar is exceptional (which I admit is why I wanted to sneak out from under the "Craft is dull" header).

[yvonne johnson]

Last night a little group of us had an early dinner at Craftbar. Thanks Wilfrid for posting on it, as I’d read about its opening but then forget about it. It’s well worth going to.

We started with an assortment of charcuterie (ภ) going by “salumi” on the menu. This included duck ham, mortadella (especially good, I agree), and prosciutto amongst other things. This was a generous portion for three people. The bread that had a texture resembling that of a light focaccia went fine with the meats, but this isn’t my favorite type of bread.

My husband and I both opted for the calf’s liver (ภ). Three thin slices of sautéed liver, sprinkled with sage, atop collapsed onions. This was marvelous. Our friend had the lasagna (ฟ) that was nicely crunchy on top and meaty inside. He thought it needed salt and asked for some. (I tend to agree with others who say that restaurants are being a little presumptuous when they don't place salt and pepper on the table.) We shared a side of stewed potatoes (Ů) which were a let down. Mealy specimens.

We shared a chocolate tart with pistachio ice cream. It wasn’t much to look at, but the ice cream was chunky with nuts and toned down the chocolate.

My husband noted there wasn’t a cabernet sauvignon on the wine list for less than ้ which is a bit steep given the prices of the main courses. We had a Samur Champigny Cab Franc instead (low thirties). Here’s another example of the wine & spirits being out of synch price-wise with the moderately priced menu. The cheapest cognac is ม.

All and all, however, I found most of the food to be excellent, and I liked the low key, though elegant (like Craft next door) atmosphere. And the service was top-notch.

47 East 19th Street

212/780-0880

Noon till 1AM (lunch, dinner, snacks, sandwiches--it really is the sort of place you could drop in for a quick bite.)

7 days a week

No reservations

(Edited by yvonne johnson at 11:19 am on Feb. 4, 2002)

[Steve Plotnicki]

Okay, on your recommendations I went there last night. I figured out three things that bothered me about the place right away. And it occured to me that Craft might be guilty of the same offenses. Poorly crafted menus that are almost impossible to read. I mean what is the purpose of dark paper and small typeface in a barely lit room? Also, I hate the rectangular plates. To me they have been chosen to make small portions seem larger. Those portions would be lost if they were served on the standard extra-large size white dinner plates most places use. But the most annoying thing is how the waiters speak to you like what they are doing is so revolutionary that you might not be able to figure it out if they didn't explain it to you.

"If you haven't noticed, the bottom half of the left side of the menu are cold dishes and....." Pleeeaaaase. " How could I notice anything when the place is so dark and the typeface is so small? And do they think I don't know the difference between cold and hot? Do they think I'm a moron?

Onto the food. I had the Salumi assortment. The Duck Ham is great. I found the Mortadella not up to the same standard. Those are the two home made ones I believe. As for the rest, they are of good quality and the dish was enjoyable but they can be had anywhere. For my main dish I had the Loup de Mer. It was a half of Loup, fileted but with the skin still on. The skin was nicely charred and the burnt taste was well integrated into the dish. It was served on top of leeks and tomatoes that were stewed. I feel like lemons, either confit or just some pulp was thrown into the mix because the vegetable stew had that tang to it.  It was quite good.

But despite the goodness, I don't think it changed my opinion in any way. As Robert Brown said about Craft, it's good bistro food. Nice and honest. But for me it stops there and I don't see what the fuss is about? I  mean mine would have been much better if they served me a whole fish, brought it to the table that way, deboned it, plated the vegetable stew and put the fish atop, just like any other bistro would do. But the gestalt there is like they are doing more than that. And I find it annoying. So I say they should;

Turn the lights up

Print new menus that don't try and make a point with dark paper and small typeface

Serve normal size portions

Serve the veggies with the food. This ala carte thing is a

ripoff

Then they should hire a publicist who announces that they have abanded all pretention and are just going to serve great NYC bistro food that is based on market ingredients. Then my expectations will be in sync with what they are actually serving. As an aside to this, I fancy myself to be a good menu reader. In my experience you can hand me a pack of menus from places I've never been and I can pick out the wheat from the chaffe with about 75% accuracy just by looking at a list of ingredients in a dish. But I have to say that I am frustrated with the way they have layed out the menu here. I must admit, I had the same problem at Marseilles and it made my meal less enjoyable there as well. In my world, appetizers are appetizers and entrees are entrees. And to deconstruct the way they are listed, only to serve them in a traditional way seems not only to be pointless, but I find it actually bothersome.

[Fat Guy]

I can't believe you're going to make me go there just so I can explain the place to you, Plotnicki. Sigh. I'll be back with a report soon.

[ajay]

Steve (Plotniki),

Do you have any special techniques for "separating the wheat from the shaft?"  If so, do tell.

Does the Craft Bar pruport to have the same mission as the restaurant?  If so, what precisely is the difference between the two establishments?  Do they allow you to sepcify at the Bar how you expect the food to be prepared??

[Fat Guy]

Plotnicki, would you be willing to start a thread in General on "How to read a menu?" with some of your pointers?

[Wilfrid]

Maybe the menu is subject to change.  I have been having lousy problems with eyesight and new eyeglasses recently, but don't recall having problems with that menu, as I am sure I would have done if it had been as you described.  Anyway, I agree:  let's have legible, non-patronising menus.  Yeah, generally I agree about the gimmickiness of the Craft empire - it should rest its reputation on the food, which I think is very good.

I would be interested in hearing about some New York bistros which de-bone fish at tableside!

[Wilfrid]

Maybe the menu is subject to change.  I have been having lousy problems with eyesight and new eyeglasses recently, but don't recall having problems with that menu, as I am sure I would have done if it had been as you described.  Anyway, I agree:  let's have legible, non-patronising menus.  Yeah, generally I agree about the gimmickiness of the Craft empire - it should rest its reputation on the food, which I think is very good.

I would be interested in hearing about some New York bistros which de-bone fish at tableside!

[Fat Guy]

Wilfrid, is seeing double one of your problems? :)

Sorry, I couldn't help myself.

[yvonne johnson]

Steve Plotnicki: I took (with permission) my Sunday menu home. It's yellow paper with black type and is easy to read, but they may print them daily using different paper.

On the "concept", I agree with you. But I haven't been given the lecture you describe. I may have cut our waiter short at Craft when he asked if we'd been there before and I got feeling he had something to say, I replied, "No, but I understand the point". I've been very happy with the service at C and CB. The waiter at C was a true pro (anything but oleaginous).

I also agree with you on the a la carte. Once you add the sides, the meal gets expensive.  I found my main course large, despite the small plate that you describe.

I didn't find it dark on Sunday, but I guess that's subject to change. As I mentioned, our major gripe was the costly wines and spirits.

[yvonne johnson]

Steve Plotnicki: I took (with permission) my Sunday menu home. It's yellow paper with black type and is easy to read, but they may print them daily using different paper.

On the "concept", I agree with you. But I haven't been given the lecture you describe. I may have cut our waiter short at Craft when he asked if we'd been there before and I got feeling he had something to say, I replied, "No, but I understand the point". I've been very happy with the service at C and CB. The waiter at C was a true pro (anything but oleaginous).

I also agree with you on the a la carte. Once you add the sides, the meal gets expensive.  I found my main course large, despite the small plate that you describe.

I didn't find it dark on Sunday, but I guess that's subject to change. As I mentioned, our major gripe was the costly wines and spirits.

[Wilfrid]

Maybe the menu is subject to change.  I have been having lousy problems with eyesight and new eyeglasses recently, but don't recall having problems with that menu, as I am sure I would have done if it had been as you described.  Anyway, I agree:  let's have legible, non-patronising menus.  Yeah, generally I agree about the gimmickiness of the Craft empire - it should rest its reputation on the food, which I think is very good.

I would be interested in hearing about some New York bistros which de-bone fish at tableside!

[yvonne johnson]

Wilfrid, My eyesight is bad. I posted twice. But is this a first on eGullet? You've posted the same thing three times. You've taken seeing double to new heights. How do you do it? Seeing triple that is.

[Steve Plotnicki]

Do I have to post this multiple times, or can I just post it once? Look, in a nutshell my problem with Craft and Craft Bar is that they act like they are materially different than other restaurants but they really aren't. I mean they go out of their way to make every little thing different. Even my ice cream was different because they rolled each scoop in crushed cookies. I wish they would just simplify it all and dispense with the act that they are doing something different.  Considering that they serve good food there, they should just have the waiters shut up and serve more of it.

[Fat Guy]

Plotnicki!

I'm going through my change crock now, rolling quarters so I can go to Craftbar and learn you good.

[Wilfrid]

Totally agree with Steve Plotnicki about the gimmicks.  Am still wracking my brains for "bistros" as such where the food is as good.

Sorry about the repeat postings - my PC was giving me weird signals everytime I tried to post something on Wednesday.  May have happened on other threads too.

[Bux]

Wilfrid, are you still here. I thought you had left for Barcelona. Get the #### out of here. I'm eagerly awaiting your return so I can read about what and where you ate in Barcelona.

If you're going to persist in staying here, I suppose I should note that this is not Paris in the 50s. Bistros didn't have chefs. They had owners who could cook with wives who could count change. There are no more cooks in America. They all get out of the CIA with a chef's degree.

Might a place like Quest qualify as a bistro? db Bistro Moderne? "Moderne" doesn't even sound like the 21st century, more like 1930 or 50. Blue Hill has paper tablecloths, but they're place over linen cloths. I like all these places, but they don't seem like "bistro" to me. When Jean Claude was really good, that qualified in terms of price, atmosphere and quality.

[Wilfrid]

Quote: from Bux on 2:02 pm on Feb. 7, 2002

Wilfrid, are you still here. I thought you had left for Barcelona. Get the #### out of here. I'm eagerly awaiting your return so I can read about what and where you ate in Barcelona.

Look at the Barcelona thread in Elsewhere in Europe, Bux, and all will be revealed.   I am venturing out in to the night...

[cookperrync]

I apologize in advance for lacking both the eloquence and the experience that the two "Steve's" posses - both of which to whom I am particularily responding.  I have sufficiently been moved by the  ongoing debate on whether or not Craft is dull and if CraftBar is worth the trip to input my two bits.  I am a cook from North Carolina with some (very) limited experience working in New York kitchens and some not so limited experience eating in NYC.  On my last trip to the city I took the time to visit both places of current debate.  I was, at first, extremely excited by the prospect of Chef Collichio trudging out on his own to open a restaurant.  I had appreciated the food from GT on several occasions and have adopted cooking styles and philosophies from Collichio.  I found his food at GT to posses a certain amount of "soul".  Although crowded, big, and bustling I found GT of top notch concerning food, wine and service.  Not challenging but satisfying and generally interesting.  So there I was at Craft...excited to be eating Colicchio's food pared down to the minimum.  I ate cured arctic char, simply dressed aruguula, and a steamed toffee pudding.  All were excellant (if not quite expensive), fresh, and delicious.  I, however, couldn't help feeling like I was at Disneyland.  There is a certain amount of production of the dining room - the leather tiles, the exposed bulbs, the chain male in the (non-temperature controlled) wine racks...that give the place a sterile feel.  It attempts to have tons of character, but it is all highly produced making it, well, dull.  I felt that the food was delicious, that I cannot argue with.  But it was nothing exciting...there was no edge to it, no grit, no soul.  It is commonly agreed that you can hide flaws behind flashy designed food, and a mediocre sauce.  But there is nothing to argue with when a plate of lemon juice and olive oil dressed arugula is placed in front of you.  There is nothing exciting or paricularily challenging about eating some gravlax cured arctic char.  I left feeling not satisfied.  Was there something wrong? NO.  Could I really complain to the floor manager that my food lacked soul? NO.  I just left feeling poor, and uninspired.

I understand the concept of Craft.  I know that it is supposed to offer pristine ingredients cooked to perfection unadorned and left open to "craft" a meal out of many choices.  I think that it succeeds in its mission-it just so happens that its mission is dull.  

The CraftBar is a bit more exciting, and decidedly more gentle on the bank account.  I found the fried oysters, paired with pickeled fennel and preserved lemon to be absolutely delicious and the selection of bruschettas to be quite satisfying.  His pared down food works better as "pub grub" than in the arena of fine dining.  I would recommend CraftBar over its mother.  

I am also beginning to wonder if Colicchio feels as though he missed some of the empire building that many of his peers have taken advantage of...GT, Craft, CraftBar, a line of imported Italian goods, and next CraftSteak to open in Las Vegas.  Could it all add to dullness and overproduction?  Well...now that I have rambled sufficiently please read and comment...

Perry        

[Steve Klc]

Perry--thanks for a no less eloquent addition, it was much appreciated by yet another Steve.  Post more often.

[Fat Guy]

I just spent two weeks in North Carolina. You don't work at Noble's in High Point by any chance, do you? In any event, we need you on some NC barbecue threads.

I find that when I dine out with my cook/chef friends, they have a totally different standard for judging food than normal people. Do you think this might be the case with you? I mean, when you dine out, you're interested in inventiveness. You're looking for ideas, right? Craft sort of deprives you of that, or at least appears to. Am I at all on to something? I guess what I'm asking is, do you think your perspective as a culinary professional affects your perception of Craft and if so how?

Welcome.

[Steve Plotnicki]

CookperryNC-Yo, that was one #### of a post. Thanks for taking the words out of my mouth, rearranging them in restaurant expert speak and placing them on the table.

There is one thing about your post that I find so right, so correct, I do not know how to thank you for posting it. In fact, it conveniently is the ammo I need to kick Fat Guy's butt in the ongoing debate on Craft/Craft Bar :). Because what I realize I can agree with, which is confirmed by your post, is that the food at the two Crafts is delicious. Yet you and I, and some others, leave the place unsatisfied. And Fat Guy might say that's because I'm a no-nothing ignoramus. And my response is, an ignoramus maybe, but a no-nothing? Not.

I think that there is an entire discussion in why we left unsatisfied. I can't quite get my arms around it. From where I sit, I think one of the problems is that the message the place sends differs from what they deliver on the table. And to those with much expertise in fine dining, we are distracted and disappointed. It reminds me of watching some famous movie director teach how to make people laugh. It's funnier when you show the banana peel first and then the guy slips, then if the guy slips and then you show the banana peel. Meaning, knowing it's going to be funny allows oneself to prepare for laughter. Showing the peel after is too much of a surprise. By the time you realize you are supposed to laugh, the moment has passed.  There's something about Craft that is similar to the latter example. At Craft they make me feel like I ate my meal, but missed what they were telling me, all in spite of the fact that it was delicious. And maybe that's my fault. But my gut tells me it isn't.

[Mao]

Since I was the one who started the whole Craft is dull thread.  Let me state that I still think that Craft is dull, and both Steve and Mr. North Carolina Chef's sentiments mirror 95% of mine.  Lacks soul is what kept rining through my head when I left the place.

[Bux]

cookperrync, welcome. I really appreciate hearing from the other side of the kitchen door. I thought your post was more than eloquent enough to join the discussion here in any thread in which you choose to voice an opinion or state a fact.

I've been eating for a while and eating well enough in France and the US to see plenty of change in style in the way food is cooked and in the way it's presented and served in good restaurants. I miss certain aspects and I am glad to see some go by the wayside, but on the whole I adapt well enough to change. I've only eaten once at Craft. There were five of us, and with the exception of maybe a vegetable side dish, everything I tasted was delicious. I had reservations of the style of eating. What I think of as groaning table or Penn Dutch country serving. It's a bit like being at my grandma's house--have a little of this, taste that, etc. I enjoyed everything I ate, I don't know that I enjoyed a meal. I felt as if I was tasting things so I could come back and put a meal together the next time. I want to eat alone, not with four other people. I want to focus on a dish. That inability to focus seems exactly the opposite of what's intended, but it's inevitable. I reserve a real decision because the food really was delicious and there must be a way for me to learn how to use the restaurant.

[Fat Guy]

"There must be a way for me to learn how to use the restaurant."

Bingo!

When you come across a restaurant like Craft -- not that there are any restaurants like Craft, but I'm talking about any restaurant that represents a significant departure from the norm -- you have to make a choice: Sit around griping about how you'd rather have it be like all other restaurants, or view it as an opportunity to enjoy a different kind of dining experience.

Plotnicki I'm picking on you because, among the whiners, you've most clearly articulated the view that Craft should simply uninvent itself and be a normal restaurant. It seems to me that by doing that all you do is create the Gramercy Tavern annex, or as you said elsewhere a better version of Union Square Cafe. I think I understand that you want Craft to be a normal restaurant with the vegetable garnish on the entree plate and all that, because you've only said it a million times. But what I don't understand is why you can't take the leap of faith and try to enjoy a different approach.

The first time I went to Craft -- and of course this argument has now emerged on entirely the wrong thread because I'm still rolling quarters and haven't been to Craftbar -- I found the concept inspiring and liberating. I divided my savory order into three courses: A variety of cold charcuterie-type items, followed by a course of mushrooms only with all five kinds on offer being served at once, and a comparative tasting of several kinds of fish. In each case I was experiencing food in a way I had not previously experienced it in a restaurant. Tasting all those mushrooms side-by-side was particularly memorable.

Now you may want to go to Craft and simply put together a meal that is the same as the meal you'd eat anywhere else. You can order a chicken, a green vegetable, and a potato. And if that's what you do, then I agree that for you Craft may as well be any other restaurant, and I suppose it's just going to seem like an annoyance and an affectation to have your blue plate special served on three different plates with none of them being blue. But if you would just friggin' step back and give Colicchio's concept its due, and try eating in a different way, maybe you'd see what I see in Craft. Or maybe not. But even if you don't, can you at least acknowledge that the menu structure presents unique opportunities? I mean, sure, you could probably convince the kitchen at any fancy restaurant to give you five kinds of mushrooms on five different plates. But to have a restaurant that is entirely devoted on a conceptual basis to being able to do stuff like this is I think categorically different. And I like it. So there.

Now this business of lacking soul, it's just so much nonsense. I taste plenty of soul in the food. And I'm not even sure what I mean by that, or what any of you mean by it.

And finally I just don't see the need to get distracted by the subtext of a restaurant. I confess I might be minorly annoyed if a restaurant said, "Come visit our new and radically different establishment" and then did nothing whatever to distinguish itself from any other restaurant. But come on, Craft has done something. A lot of things. The menu structure is just one thing, the one I'm dwelling on here. But it is also as I have mentioned before a different way of presenting food, a different focus in cooking technique, and a lot of other different stuff. And I don't think you are reacting to Craft not delivering on its promise. I think you are reacting to just the opposite: Craft delivers on its promise, but despite your otherwise diverse and polyglot palate, in this instance you're for some reason acting too stubborn and set in your ways to enjoy it. Fine. See if I care. I'm just as stubborn as you.

Thank you very much and goodnight.