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Dinner at the "smokin'" Gramercy Tavern

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Covert

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Dinner at the "smokin'" Gramercy Tavern

by Covert » Sun Oct 29, 2006 6:05 pm

I was expecting the worst weather as is often the case when we take a weekend in the Big Apple. The forecast called for 100% rain on Saturday, not even 90%, to leave a ray of hope. Should have known. Didn’t rain, – unless you wanted to count the hours when a normal person would be sleeping. So I got to schlep around the whole day shopping, which is what my wife likes to do best in the world. She would rather go to Lord and Taylor than Atelier. We must have walked 100 blocks over the weekend, including a very nice stroll in Central Park.

Saturday evening we caught a cab at 40th and Park Avenue to 20th, and the Gramercy Tavern. Haven’t been there for at least six years. Before, I hadn’t paid much attention to the rustic, Adirondesque décor, because we didn’t have an Adirondack camp back then. Knowing about it in the back of my mind brought me back, though.

Be careful what you wish for, would be the apposite watchword. It was indeed Adirondacky, with big overhead rustic wood beams and lavish birch adorned with pine cones and faux forest underbrush – Lynn thought it was mostly supposed to be bittersweet vine.

At camp we are very careful of our woodstove, lest we liberate a pungent puff into the “tasting” cabin. It absolutely kills a fine nose. If that happens, and I am the culprit, there is hell to pay.

Entering the Gramercy dining rooms is akin to my worst wood smoke catastrophe. It almost makes your eyes water – as bad as cigars. The “ambience” is created by the wood log cooked fare for the throng in the bar dining area. I call it ambience because we were informed that diners claim they like it – kind of gives them a taste of the wilderness so otherwise lacking in The City.

Looking around, very few people appeared to be wine lovers. I saw only one other person in the entire fabled restaurant drinking a glass of red wine – not a bottle – a glass. The folks next to us drank Martinis and beer. I was so happy that I hadn’t somehow ordered expensive wine before noticing the smoke. Still we half enjoyed a bottle of 1995 Talbot (not cheap at $120, but not bad for New York) after chilling it in an ice bucket. They served it at a flabby temperature into the 70s, Fahrenheit. Casts suspicion on their storage. Rather bizarre. Their Bordeaux selection was quite limited, which I guess shouldn’t be surprising in an All-American restaurant.

The smoke also affected the food, in my opinion, but not as much, since it was pretty ass kicking as opposed to refined. My appetizer of sautéed sweetbreads with shitake mushrooms, bacon, pickled sunchokes and cipollini onions was still to die for. Really tasty. My second course of rabbit with shallots, garlic sausage, olives and potato puree was almost as wonderful. Artistically arranged rabbit ribs and little seared livers, left bleeding in the middle, added an extra note of rustic country elegance. The stock sauces for both dishes were as good as it gets, in my opinion.

Both of Lynn’s dishes came in a distant third and forth, unfortunately, – and I was partially to blame. I talked her out of ordering rabbit, too, which she wanted to do, convincing her that it would be more fun to share disparate dishes. Her Sea Bass in ragout of broccoli rabe, turnips and lima beans should have been better. The waiter graciously offered to replace it with something else when Lynn decided to be honest and describe her opinion of it to him as boring. But sending something back is even less inspiring than suffering a boring dish. Her sea scallops in sauternes with salsify, bay leaf and vanilla would have been okay if she had gotten more than two small scallops on an oversized plate. Maybe she deserved it after declaring that she enjoys shopping better than great food. :) She did find some really neat stuff.

The restaurant is so popular that I can’t exactly pull a Yogi Berra and claim that nobody should go there; but our experience begs the admonition that Zagat’s high praise reflects popular opinion rather than critical. The service (all male, however – how does that sit with liberationists?) and attitude was great and relaxed. The brisk 20 block walk back to the hotel was bracing and fun, and, all in all, we had a really good time.
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Re: Dinner at the "smokin'" Gramercy Tavern

by Carl Eppig » Mon Oct 30, 2006 9:17 am

Brings back many fine memories.
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Re: Dinner at the "smokin'" Gramercy Tavern

by Jenise » Tue Oct 31, 2006 12:06 pm

Consistency really matters, and it's painful when you and your partner get uneven results. We'd have done exactly what you did, order two different things for the same reasons. How was the Talbot drinking?
My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov
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Re: Dinner at the "smokin'" Gramercy Tavern

by Peter May » Tue Oct 31, 2006 1:49 pm

Covert wrote: Still we half enjoyed a bottle of 1995 Talbot (not cheap at $120, but not bad for New York)


Isn't that a good price for a restaurant? Cheapest retail price on wine-searcher is $55 from a New York merchant, others have it up to $90.
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Re: Dinner at the "smokin'" Gramercy Tavern

by Covert » Tue Oct 31, 2006 2:34 pm

Jenise wrote:Consistency really matters, and it's painful when you and your partner get uneven results. We'd have done exactly what you did, order two different things for the same reasons. How was the Talbot drinking?


I just ate a muffin from the Tavern that they gave us upon leaving. Without the smoke it might have been the best muffin I ever had.

To paraphrase your philosophy, it seemed like it couldn't get better, as far as evolution; which means it might be time to drink them all up. But they can certainly go several more years easily, and could improve a little, would guess.

Through the smoke, we got hints of tertiary aromas and the cabernet was lovely. After we chilled the bottle, the finish extended out with vintage St-Julien spice. I have three bottles in my cellar. We plan to try one as soon as it settles down a little from dragging it up to camp. Lynn believes it will be really good. As a rule, we're not in love with '95s, but the '95 Branaire was a favorite of mine, so I am looking forward to trying this other 4th Growth without the smoke - which means I have to be really careful with my stove.

When you get to NY next, you really should pop in for a glass of wine at the bar, if nothing more than to just get a visual of the unique restaurant, and see if it is smokey. I will wonder if maybe the flue was clogged up or something. But the fact that the waiter said customers like it kind of dampens my hope.
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Re: Dinner at the "smokin'" Gramercy Tavern

by Covert » Tue Oct 31, 2006 2:41 pm

Peter May wrote:
Covert wrote: Still we half enjoyed a bottle of 1995 Talbot (not cheap at $120, but not bad for New York)


Isn't that a good price for a restaurant? Cheapest retail price on wine-searcher is $55 from a New York merchant, others have it up to $90.


It really is a surprisingly good price. I was exercising a bit of disingeunous noblesse oblige when I commented that $120 for a bottle of wine isn't cheap, if the truth be told. But many other selections were more what you would expect.

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