So last night, after a not-so-great shift at work, I decided to check it out. I asked a co-worker if he would like to join me and at 11:15 we caught a cab and headed to Sullivan Street in SoHo. The decor was not what I was expecting. In fact, I had pictured it more as a diner then a nice, semi-upscale restaurant with servers wearing starched white shirts and ties.
We got a table in a corner and started discussing the culinary possibilities of the night. Almost immediately we decided to order an abundance of starters and a bottle of wine. On our menu for the night: A dozen oysters, escargot, cheese fondue, steak tartare and, the house specialty, beef marrow with oxtail marmalade. With our food order we also picked out a bottle of Nigl Gruner Veltliner - an Austrian white.
The wine was very light with just a little fruit on the front of the palate but the finish was almost too light and had a little too much minerality. Sipping it before the first course arrived was pleasant but

We also had the escargot with our first course. Wow. The preparation stepped away from tradition with candied apples, carrots, mushrooms and bacon. Like I said, wow. All the ingredients were individually amazing but the dish was finished off with a port/brandy reduction that surrounding and stuck to every morsel of food in that bowl. It was served with crostini and we had to hold ourselves back from licking the bowl - I guess that's why we got a loaf of bread... it was gone by the time we wiped that bowl clean.
The next course was cheese fondue. Again, wow. Fondue brings back childhood memories of my family's time in Holland. Our next door neighbors in our little farm village, Eemnes, were Swiss and they taught my mom the secret to perfect cheese fondue. Since moving back to the states 10 years ago, fondue has become our family's Christmas Eve tradition. Every year we sit on the floor around our living room coffee table and enjoy cheese fondue with cubes of French baguette and a fruit salad. When the fondue hit the table last night, all these memories came flooding back. It was made with Gruyere and Emmentaler cheese, just like the way our neighbors taught my mom, and was surrounded with cubes of baguette, bread sticks and apple slices. The only step away from tradition? A side plate with a baked potato covered in bacon. I was starting to notice what makes Blue Ribbon amazing; everything is traditional but there is one element that pushes the food from great to exceptional. Needless to say, we devoured the fondue.
As we ordered our second bottle of wine, a 2008 Chablis Ier Cru with slightly more body and fruit than the Veltliner, we realized that we ordered the five richest dishes on the menu and we were

The entire experience, which lasted until 2am, was amazing. I love being in a city where food is not a necessity but an obsession. The fact that food of this caliber is available until the wee hours of the morning makes me want to find more restaurants like Blue Ribbon - although I am not sure if the quality will be met. Definitely a restaurant worth checking out.
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Currently Eating/Cooking: Pan sauteed Yukon gold potatoes and zucchini from Lana and Charlie (farmers from upstate that provide our restaurant with almost all the produce we use) and Trader Joes organic chicken tenders.
Currently Craving: Homemade Butternut Squash Soup. I found a great recipe last winter and made it on a snowy day in Richmond. It was so easy, delicious and nice to have on a cold day. I'm off today and it's a rainy day in New York so a trip to Trader Joes might be in order later in the day
Currently Reading: Heat by Bill Buford
Currently Obsessing Over: Immersion blender. This is something I have wanted for a while but have yet to purchase. It is a great item to have when making something like butternut squash soup. Perhaps a trip to cooking store is in order this afternoon as well...
woooo I'm mentioned!! I feel so famous! But for real Morgs, I'm so proud of your blog...you've inspired me to start one. Except I don't really do anything, so maybe I'll just start a private one and bitch about my life/job hunting?
ReplyDeleteAlso, you should try an Albarino wine. It's my new favorite- a Spanish White wine that's dry and citrus-y