Last year, to celebrate the passing of yet another birthday, I took my main man out to dinner. Always looking for someplace new to explore, we settled on a recently reviewed restaurant on Bowery. However, where we started is not where we would end the night.
We made an early reservation and arrived to an almost empty restaurant. We sat, ordered some drinks and began to peruse the slightly complicated menu. Their revolutionary new approach to fine dining confused us, the service, while friendly, was slightly dictatorial and little on the menu compelled us. It didn’t fit with the evening.
We looked at each other with the same thought: “Let’s go somewhere else.” We got on our smartphones while sipping our drinks and made a reservation elsewhere. We politely declined dining at this restaurant, paid for our drinks and left.
SCHOP! Tip #11.02
Should you find yourself at a table of restaurant you do not further wish to patronize, exit in the most mutually beneficial way possible. This means there is no penalty (financial or otherwise) to you or the restaurant. Receive and pay for what you have already ordered if it has already been queued up for service (ask your server about your order’s status first) and tip your server, as your discontent with the restaurant is not his or her fault. Ultimately, your potential return will not be marred.
We ultimately landed at Saxon+Parole (@SaxonAndParole, 316 Bowery, 212-254-0350, www.saxonandparole.com), one the restaurants of one of my favorite chefs, Brad Farmerie. The evening proved to be just the right fit for us.
Excellent service carried through the night, from the hostess accommodating our seat request to our friendly French server adding homemade ice cream with a candle for the birthday boy. The menu provided a bevy of eats from which to choose.
We started with cocktails. He had the Orchard with Chivas Regal 12-year and apple cider cordial and I the Celery Gimlet with gin, Chartreuse, St. Germain and verjus. The cocktail program is real tight and right! Cheers!
For our meal, we started with the refreshing crudo of the day with chilies, radish and cucumbers and we split cauliflower soup with truffle polonaise (a French sauce comprised of hardboiled eggs, butter and breadcrumbs). That soup was beyond delicious with a luxurious mouth feel and taste. I would go back just to have a bowl of that to myself and I will take the option to add Maine lobster, too.
Our entrees were grilled Berkshire pork over goat cheese polenta with maple and bourbon glazed apple and ricotta gnudi (a.k.a. gnocchi) with roasted butternut squash, mushrooms in sweet butter and truffle sauce with fried sage. The hunky pork chop was cooked perfectly. I could have swam in my plate of gnudi. They were light, as was the whole dish, and the sauce didn’t overpower the delicate taste of the gnudi. This is a staple menu item you should rely on at every visit to Saxon + Parole. You can even add Maine lobster to this dish, too!
Dessert brought us a sealed mason jar filled with smoke. Open it and cue the drama! Whisky barrel smoke wafts into the air and their version of s’mores appears: warm chocolate pudding topped with graham crackers and toasted marshmallows. It’s an American classic sans the campfire but with the perfect combination of textures and tastes. Bomb-ass dessert is all I can say!
Thank you, chef Farmerie, and the entire team at Saxon + Parole for exceeding expectations, even when you were the plan B. Until we eat again.
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 and 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.
