I am grateful for so much in my life, but none more so than family and friends and friends who are family. Usually you can count the latter on one hand, maybe two, and if you are lucky, both feet too!
The end of 2015 brought a farewell to New York City to one such friend I have known since elementary school. She is like no other. Generous of spirit and time, a warm smile and heart and makes me laugh! I know she is a mere flight away, but somehow that is not the same as a subway ride. There is video chatting, but that guffaw-with-wheeze won’t have the same impact.
To mark the moment, we went to our last morning movie followed by the essential marker: food. What locale would be written in the annals? That would be Houseman (@HousemanResto, 508 Greenwich St., 212-641-0654, www.housemanrestaurant.com).
We arrived to the Hudson Square restaurant under a deluge of rain. Our reservation time didn’t seem to matter in the small, modern, Swedish-inspired bright space. That is, until the lunch rush showed up. We were grateful for our reclaimed bowling alley maple wood table.
Though the menu is not very large, Houseman aims to deliver straightforward, simple dishes with a few surprises. However, simple is relative when you are talking about chefs and owners formerly of New York City institutions such as Prune, Le Bernadin and Craft.
We began our meal with their petite list of snacks: pickles, cheese and olives and the simple, not-so-simple egg: a split soft cooked egg topped with capers, anchovies, fried leeks and parsley. It was so good we had to do it twice. The last time I was this transfixed by an egg, I was in Red Hook at Fort Defiance. Surprise! It is one of chef Adam Baumgarten’s former kitchens. The mouth doesn’t lie!
For our entrees, we ordered crispy pollack with spicy slaw and the Houseman burger, adding fries and a salad to the mix. There was a perfect mix of crispy batter to light flaky fish mixed with a bright, acidic and spicy slaw. And that burger will give you some life with its double patty, cheese, mushroom and caramelized onions served with housemade new pickles.
We ended our meal—our last New York City dessert together…(gathering myself)—with the peanut tart! Imagine pecan pie but stuffed with peanuts and just enough filling to make the nuts kiss. A meal unto itself, this is the perfect dessert for those with a not so sweet tooth.
Saying goodbye to my sister-friend, my best good Judy, my ace, was not fun, but marking the time with good food and good times (and a little retail therapy) helped it to go down a little easier. Loving you forever! COCO!
Happy eating and thanks for reading!
Kysha Harris is a food writer, culinary producer, consultant and owner of SCHOP!, a personalized food service offering weekly and in-home entertaining packages. Questions? Comments? Requests? Feedback? Invitations? Email her at kysha@iSCHOP.com, follow her on Twitter and Instagram @SCHOPgirl or on Facebook www.facebook.com/SCHOPnyc. For even more recipes, tips and food musings, subscribe to her blog at www.talkingSCHOP.wordpress.com. Follow AmNewsFOOD @NYAmNewsFOOD.