[Sneakeater]

Attempts To Get Into The Vanderbilt Chronicles, Pt. 1

Saturday night. Unfortunately, the Meredith Monk performance at BAM was short, so it didn't get me over to The Vanderbilt for an attempted post-performance dinner as late as I had hoped. Say around 9:30.

The place was slammed. Absolutely slammed.

The hostess was appropriately apologetic, sensing I think that old solo diners like me tend to spend a lot more, and generate a lot more repeat business, than the young people on dates who were thronging the place. Nevertheless, she had to tell me there'd be a 40-minute wait.

Looking me over, she said, "But you could always come in on a weeknight. Before 7:30." Heh. I'm sure I ate before 7:30 once in the last 30 years. OTOH, they claim the kitchen is open till midnight. I wonder whether that means they stop serving at midnight, or stop taking orders at midnight. I forgot to ask.

Since it had stopped raining, I was happy to walk over to Franny's (which I suspect will continue to be the better restaurant). (When I got to Franny's, the heavens opened again.) Franny's must be feeling this new competition: I got a king's welcome.

When I first heard about Saul Bolton's and Ben Daitz's plan to open a restaurant in that space, I wondered whether Prospect Heights could generate enough demand to fill such a big place. That was a stupid question.

[nuxvomica]

so, what did you say to this: "But you could always come in on a weeknight. Before 7:30."

also, you are aware it's a small plates place, right?

didn't realize how close those two are.

[Sneakeater]

I said, "That's not happening."

[Sneakeater]

Monday night at around 10:30 was more reasonable.

The room is long and thin. What with the kitchen, dining counter, and bar, the place doesn't seem as huge as it did when it was an empty former pharmacy.

The front half is the cocktail bar with a bunch of communal tables. You can only order snacks at the cocktail bar.

The back half is the dining counter, facing the open kitchen, and a bunch of individual table.

As nuxvomica pointed out, the food is the dread "small plates." Although they warn you, when you order, that the food will come out not in any order but rather as it's prepared, they seemed to make an effort, both with my meal and the meal ate by the couple sitting next to me, to send dishes out in order. At least on this occassion, dishes that seem more appetizer-like came out first, followed after you finished by the dishes that seemed more main-dish like. So it appears not to be as bad as those places, like General Greene, where everything comes out at once, and you have to eat your steak while waiting for your soup to cool.

It's no fun to say so, but the food is very good. Near the top of this admittedly low-level class. In the pork loin I had as a main dish, for example, the quality of the meat was extremely high, and it was beautifully prepared. The polenta "soup" I started with, with black trumpet mushrooms and some duck gizzards, was bland (I mean, bland polenta: what a shock -- but I'd have dressed it up more), but well-made.

The charcuterie remains to be explored.

Dessert was good (although of course the General Greene has them beat on that).

Cocktails are OK -- but they're cheap at $9.

By-the-glass wines are also surprisingly cheap, most selections falling under $10. You'd think a place like this would have a less limited selection than they do. But the choices weren't all obvious.

The staff was too smiley and solicitous by half. They seemed like audioanimatrons.

I would not travel to this place. (Prospect Heights still has only one destination place, and this isn't it.) And I wish David Chang had opened a place up the street from my apartment rather than Saul Bolton. But it's good to have it in the hood.

[Sneakeater]

I said I'd further explore the charcuterie, made in-house.

It appears to be good.

I tried a smoked jagerwurst. Very good, very forthright. I wonder where they source their hunters? Whoever is in charge of making their charcuterie did a good job of making sure there weren't little pieces of flannel stuck in the meat.

I also tried a "spicy blood sausage." It was indeed spicy. Medium-loose. Also very good.

Best of all, probably, was a non-charcuterie item, the "Fall Salad." The star of the show here was the Anson Mills farro, a simply delicious ingredient and better than any other farro I've ever had in the US. It's mixed with pumpkin (I'd have thought it was roasted but it appeared to come out of a pot on stovetop), apple slices, and the inevitable poached egg (which I for one would have preferred to have been omitted).

Saul Bolton himself was manning the stove last night. So I had my sausages thrown onto the grill by an actual Michelin-starred chef. I hope all the people who think it matters whether Thomas Keller is at per se heard that.

I'm continuing to think this place is perhaps the best of its kind. ("Its kind" being General Greene and its ilk.) But, as I've said, its kind isn't a very high-level thing. I don't think it's worth a journey, but it might well be worth a detour from, say, Underhill or even Washington Avenue.

ETA -- COMP DISCLOSURE: An amaro.

[Sneakeater]

In terms of getting in, I tried at about 9:30 or 9:45 last Thursday night: no go. Half-hour wait.

At around 10:45 PM last (Monday) night, it was almost emptpy.

Also, they claim to stay open till midnight. But the kitchen was shut tight at 11. (I just made it.) The bar still functioned.

[Lex]

I was wondering about the difficulty of getting served at normal hours. You read my mind.

They seem to have recreated the Minetta Tavern experience in Prospect Heights. "We can seat you at 5:30 or 11:00."

[Rich]

I was wondering about the difficulty of getting served at normal hours. You read my mind.

They seem to have recreated the Minetta Tavern experience in Prospect Heights. "We can seat you at 5:30 or 11:00."

Four of us went last Tuesday at 7pm and had our choice of tables. Of course when we left at 9:30ish it was about 80% full, but at no time was it a sellout. If you go try the Lamb Sausage the Fried Peppers. But the best value was the DeLoach Pinot Noir at $5 a glass. Rich, full, nice fruit and some smokiness on the finish - best $5 glass of wine I ever had at a restaurant.

[Sneakeater]

So maybe what we're seeing is: early part of the week, no problem.

Weekend (which includes Thursday): big problem.

[Rich]

I should have mentioned, we ate at the counter and that was a treat. Saul wasn't in the house, but the food still tasted good. The big disappointment was the cheese course - very tiny and more importantly, uninteresting

[Steve R.]

I should have mentioned, we ate at the counter and that was a treat. Saul wasn't in the house, but the food still tasted good. The big disappointment was the cheese course - very tiny and more importantly, uninteresting

Ginny and I pretty much agree with Rich and Sneak (and I guess Peg too) on this. Not bad, some interesting stuff, but not worth going out of your way for. When Rich, Peg, Ginny and I went last Tuesday at 7pm, we were lucky to get 4 seats at the counter (not the bar) facing the kitchen. You get great service this way, can watch everything coming out and determine which look interesting enough to order & you get to stay out of the crowd at the bar or the row of tables lining the wall. The roasted peppers were great. For the $5 or $6 spent, a large bowl of small, potentially hot, tasty one biters was perfect. A couple of other things to go back for as well... I liked the blood sausage dish (most wouldnt... it was slices of a kind that morcilla lovers might not like, yet it was blood sausage-y enough that morcilla non-lovers would not want either). I also liked a couple of other dishes, but nothing really stood out, especially a week later. At reasonable (but not bargain) prices, there's no reason for these old bones to go deal with so many loud 20-somethings there to graze and socialize. I'd much rather do that at Ssam Bar.

I took home the listing of what we ate and, if I have some time to review it, maybe I can recommend some more things for those of you that will go check it out. Needless to say, we tried quite a # of things & still only spent $50pp (drinking inexpensive wine, as Rich said).

[Sneakeater]

Just to be clear, they only serve snacks -- not the full menu -- at the bar (as opposed to the dining counter). So you couldn't have dinner at the bar even if you wanted to. (I'm not sure what the status of the tables near the bar is, but I have a feeling they may be subject to the same policy as the bar.)

[Rich]

I should have mentioned, we ate at the counter and that was a treat. Saul wasn't in the house, but the food still tasted good. The big disappointment was the cheese course - very tiny and more importantly, uninteresting

Ginny and I pretty much agree with Rich and Sneak (and I guess Peg too) on this. Not bad, some interesting stuff, but not worth going out of your way for. When Rich, Peg, Ginny and I went last Tuesday at 7pm, we were lucky to get 4 seats at the counter (not the bar) facing the kitchen. You get great service this way, can watch everything coming out and determine which look interesting enough to order & you get to stay out of the crowd at the bar or the row of tables lining the wall. The roasted peppers were great. For the $5 or $6 spent, a large bowl of small, potentially hot, tasty one biters was perfect. A couple of other things to go back for as well... I liked the blood sausage dish (most wouldnt... it was slices of a kind that morcilla lovers might not like, yet it was blood sausage-y enough that morcilla non-lovers would not want either). I also liked a couple of other dishes, but nothing really stood out, especially a week later. At reasonable (but not bargain) prices, there's no reason for these old bones to go deal with so many loud 20-somethings there to graze and socialize. I'd much rather do that at Ssam Bar.

I took home the listing of what we ate and, if I have some time to review it, maybe I can recommend some more things for those of you that will go check it out. Needless to say, we tried quite a # of things & still only spent $50pp (drinking inexpensive wine, as Rich said).

I also very much enjoyed the Blood Sausage, just as Steve and Sneak. But I don't think either Ginny or Peg were into it.

[Lex]

I promise not to call you "Chief."

(If Rich is going to post obscure avatars I reserve the right to make obscure jokes.)

[Steve R.]

Okay, for what it's worth as reference, here's my rundown & personal ratings:

Malbec @$8/glass -- okay, whereas Deloach Pinot Noir @$5/glass -- better. Neither is top notch; both are more than up to the food
Peanuts - unfortunately, ehh. Since Redhead, my standards are much higher.
Shishito Peppers - at $6 a plate, my new favorite bar food
Golden Pickled Eggs - another good choice, especially at $4
Asst. Pickles - ehh. $6
Fresh and Pickled Fennel - I liked this but not worth the $9
Duck Rillets - a failure. Not just at $10, but in general. I think the Top Chef version probably beat it and she was kicked off for making it
Chopped Liver - adequate and, at $9, not worth the effort. Go to Terroir
Merguez Sausage - worth the $10. Nice dish.
Grilled Octopus - failure #2. Again, not just at $11, but in general. I cant figure out how they got this wrong.
Serrano Ham Croquets - tasty but with very little ham inside. Explains the $8 price but ehh
Smoky Fried Wings - they can make good chicken wings but $12 for 6 or 7 pieces (not full wings) is beatable in value and taste in many places
Spicy Blood Sausage - not spicy, basically 4-5 cut pieces (totaling maybe a half of a not thick sausage). Tasty but not worth the $10
Artisinal Cheese - at $12, do better. Very poor.

Four of us paid approx $50pp for this, including over $50 in glasses of wine and tax and tip, so it's hard to complain about overall cost. But, for $100/couple, I'll stick to the many other places that do better.