It's located in Vinegar Hill, a micro-neighborhood nestled between DUMBO and the Brooklyn Navy Yard. A wander through the few tiny cobblestoned streets brings you to one of my favorite sites in NYC, the Commandant's House. Especially on a cold day, the steamy windows of Vinegar Hill House are a cozy refuge in the winter chill.
It's always full with a short wait, but it goes quickly. The staff is pleasant as they weave in and out of the little tables. There's a nice bar with a lovely bartender who is attentive and crafts some specialty concktails - Eric's Prescription was apparently just what the Dr. ordered, but the gin and bitters weren't my thing so I gave it a miss and had a fruity but not at all sweet red wine that they were pouring to replace one of the two reds by the glass on the menu. Made our 20 minutes wait for a table go much faster. It's definitely a little cramped, but you don't really mind. Somehow the noise is not at all overwhelming and the place manages to still be quite intimate, even though you can practically be sitting in your neighbor's lap.
The hostess (manager? owner? Didn't ask!) stopped by toward the end of the meal and asked if we had been in before. Then she asked us if we were from Brooklyn - what gave it away? Eric's beard? I dunno! Told us she loved locals and was just generally very gracious.
Our "tasting menu" - cause we tasted all of these!
Chicken Liver Mousse - this is the third time I've had this, and I dream about it - comes with thick and toasty slices of country bread, vinegar marinated red onions, topped with pistachios and served with a salad of frisee dressed with horseradish. I hate bitter flavors, and usually pick frisee out of a salad mix, but the horseradish dressing made it amazing and I ate every bit of green!
Oven Roasted Octopus with slivers of parsnips, baked of fried slices of olives, charred lemon and some greens - again, a second try - a lot of the dishes at Vinegar Hill House are reworked, depending on what's good - last time I har this, there were cranberry beans involved instead of parsnips. Delicious both times, and the octopus wasn't at all chewy.
Pumpkin Ravioli - the most delicate pasta I've ever had, with a delicious puree of pumpin inside, topped with some melted butter, crumbed amaretti cookies and sage
A crispy skinned artic char with marinated & roasted beets in a horseradish cream - I found the fish to be a bit fishy for me, but Eric loved it. The beets were amazing, and I'll be working up a recipe this week with some I have in the fridge.
Short story? Amazing. A place to return to. Romantic or friendly. On my top five list of fabulous places.
No comments:
Post a Comment