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“Bar Americain”

Occasion:	Cuisine:	Area:	Cost:	Rating:
Night Out	New American	Midtown	Moderate	Great

ur Mash, and a slew of spice-rubbed Black Angus Steaks. It is a menu filled with unapologetically BIG flavors and dishes that are as good as they sound (most of the time).

We started with a terrific Chopped Chicory Salad ($11) fashioned from super fresh chicory leaves and crunchy hearts, slim firm haricot verts, crumbled bits of bleu cheese, hunks of smoky bacon, and a plump poached egg that, when punctured, ran its deep yellow heart out all over the crisp greens. Voila! Perfection.

Flay’s Crawfish and Dungeness Griddle Cake ($16) arrived in a puddle of zippy basil sauce topped with a super fresh red pepper relish that was dotted with capers and chiles (get out that Tupperware people). This “Griddle Cake” was unreal. I knew I wanted another one after one bite of the first. It’s not really a cake as much as it is a crawish/crab sculpture in the shape of a cake, because there’s no breading here—just mounds of all that sweet, tender almost creamy shellfish tucked in together with lots of flashy seasoning. While Debbie and I tried to save a bite of the Griddle Cake for Kiri, she was off finishing the last of the Crispy Squash Blossoms Stuffed with Pulled Pork ($10), so we had to act fast to get a taste. These delicately crispy flowers were filled with what seemed more like creamed pork (think creamed chipped beef) than pulled pork to me, and while I liked this contrast of crispy flowers and creamy filling, I wanted a bit more heat and texture from the pork. The dish was also supposed to be splashed with black pepper vinegar but I couldn’t detect any, and I was craving that tangy pepper bite.

As we were happily making our way though our appetizers and cocktails, the dining room grew even busier. The bar was still three deep (though Debbie noted that most people were note quite as “active” as the first couple), and the tables grew crowded with dozens of suited men, ties tucked away inside shirts, digging into Flintstone-size steaks and chops, doting couples leaning in to hold hands and to be heard over the din, and girlfriends huddled around three-tiered Shellfish Platters with bottles of Sancerre nearby for quenching thirst. There was a tactile energy to the place that was right in synch with the brasserie space and bold menu.

But sometimes the service was odd. For instance, while we were waiting for our entrees, Debbie stepped outside to try and get out of a date she had ... [more, click below]

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Posted: May 9, 2005

Other restaurants in Midtown :
+ Lever House   + Aquavit   + RM   + Joseph's (formerly Citarella The Restaurant)   + Town   + Artisanal   + The Oyster Bar   + Geisha   + David Burke and Donatella Restaurant   + Riingo   + Amma   + Cafe Sabarsky   + The Stone Rose Lounge   + BLT Steak   + V, The Steakhouse-- Closed   + Bar Masa   + Cafe Gray   + The Bar Room at The Modern   + The Cafe at Aquavit   + The Cafe at Aquavit   + Bistro du Vent-- Closed   + Shaburi   + Xing   + The Modern   + Bar Americain   + Alto   + Park Blue   + Mainland-- Closed   + Nobu 57   + Quality Meats   + Dona-- CLOSED   + Daisy May's   + 7Square-- CLOSED   + Amalia   + Fireside   + Anthos   + Patroon   + BLT Market   + Toloache   + Mia Dona   + Park Avenue Summer   + Convivio   + The Oak Room by guest reviewer Julie Besonen   + At Vermilion by guest reviewer Elaine Weiner   + Lunching at Inakaya, by guest reviewer Kathleen Squires   + Marea, by Guest Reviewer Susan Kane Walkush   + Le Bernardin   + New York Central -- A Reason To Eat at the Grand Hyatt Again   + Pampano Botaneria by Dara Pollak   

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