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pot luck

“My Lunch at The Rusty Knot”

These are some words that I might use to describe lunch at Ken Friedman’s cool fisherman’s follow up to The Spotted Pig (as if he needed to follow that up), The Rusty Knot: Fabulous. Empty. Pretzel dog. Spiced Colada. Andouille. Chicken and rice-o-rama. Chill. Kitschy. Fun. Necessary. Hooky.

Now, for complete sentences, here we go.

I am known to leave my desk at lunch and not return for some time. This is one of the joys of freelancing that I try to take advantage of as often as possible. My friend Kathy, a also a freelance food writer, is often a compatriot. (Our friend Julie is too, but she was out of town this week.) When we heard the Rusty Knot was opening during daylight hours and that the menu included a pretzel dog, we were there.

The Incredible Pretzel Dog at The Rusty Knot

On a priceless Spring day last week, we found the joint peaceful as can be. It was me, Kathy and literally just six other people including the staff. We grabbed a sturdy wooden booth and headed over to blond wood framed bar, walking past the ‘70s nautical lounge, past the pool table, to order from chef Joaquin (‘Quino for those of you who are on a first name basis with the tattooed Momofuku partner) Baca’s menu. It’s a short affair, set up on a retro felt blackboard, but it’s a sweet one. There’s an iceberg wedge ($6), a chicken liver and bacon sandwich, a meatloaf sandwich, oysters, a shepherd’s pie ($19), and peel and eat shrimp, among other snacks.

Our order went as follows: Red Stripe, pretzel dog ($4), beer puffs ($4), and a dish of andouille, crawfish, chicken and rice ($18). The bartender, who had clearly just woken up, took our order cheerfully. After we were served our lunch, he repaired to the men’s room apparently to do his hair. When he emerged, he had turned it from a bed-headed mash up into a full-on Mohawk.

As of 2:33 pm on Thursday, the pretzel dog is my new favorite food. Picture a pig in a blanket, but the blanket is salty brioche dough that’s wrapped snuggly around a snappy juicy foot-long wiener. It’s the love child of a City Bakery pretzel croissant and a beer hall wurst. The mustard it's served with also deserves special mention—it's sharp but creamy and I'd love to know the brand so I can get some for summer grilling parties.

While the pretzel dog inspired us to order another as soon as the first was demolished, the beer puffs were sadly forgettable. They’re sort of like wide flat gougeres, but taste like little more than warm dough, and the applesauce served with them doesn’t really make much sense to me. A beer puff needs a mustardy chutney in my mind, but who cares when you’ve got that pretzel dog.

The Beer Puffs look good...

When I headed back to the bar to order another round of beers, I noticed the drink menu. “What’s the Spiced Colada?” I asked, spying it listed under the Dark and Stormy and Mai Tai. “It’s a frozen Pina Colada but it’s not as sweet," he said. "It’s made with spiced rum and bitters.” I knew if I had one, my workday would be over, and so I resisted, but I vowed to return on a weekend afternoon when productivity would not be an issue.

With another round of Red Stripes, we had the andouille, chicken and crawfish which was terrific—a fiery New Orleans-style rice pot loaded up with strips of spiced andouille sausage, head-on crawfish and a whole braised chicken leg and thigh that we pulled apart and mixed in with the dirty rice.

Kathy's shot of Baca's delicious Andouille, Chicken, Crawfish and Rice

While I don’t know that I’d brave the place at night (Kathy has tried to go twice and been turned away because of crowds), I’m planning to return again and again for lunch and a game of pool, and a couple of those Spiced Coladas, followed by a walk along the Hudson under the long awaited warmth of this great Spring sun. I hope you can join me.

The Rusty Knot is located at 425 West Street, corner of 11th St., 212-645-5668.

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Posted: April 20, 2008

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