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“The Harrison”

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

, with chorizo, and a collection of clams—Razor, Manilla and Wellfleet. It tasted gummy, as though it might have been sitting for a while under the heat lamps. While I appreciate the idea of the dish, in execution it was heavy, and clumsy. But this was the only dish that didn’t work for me. (And it worked quite well for Frank Bruni, so it may just be me.)

Brian’s fish technique is flawless. Fluke ($24) was pan-roasted so the skin was crisp and the flesh was moist and sweet. What’s more, it comes with lovely accessories: pillowy herb gnocchi, and a sauté of baby spinach, maitake mushrooms, and preserved lemon. (There’s that smooch. Bingo.) Local brooktrout ($26) is sliced in two, and filled with a sort of pesto made from shallots and almonds, and then tied up and seared to a nutty buttery finish, and served on a bed of mustard greens with two purees—one of red cabbage and one of spinach, with a side of silky almond puree. The grilled grouper ($25) is snowy white, and meaty and oily in texture, the right choice to stand up to briny olives, caramelized onions, slivered potatoes, and a gentle sauce made of anchovies.

Brian can also make the humble chicken seem like a Kobe steak. He serves a golden crispy-skinned bone-in breast ($23) with meat so juicy and tender, it almost made me cry. This dish should make the chicken of the world proud to be poultry. The beautiful little bird comes with a great mess of brussel sprouts tossed with roasted chestnuts and surrounded by a sauce made from a secret shipment of Hungarian paprika he gets from his friend’s mother who lives there. We also tried a special that night, a miraculous dish known as chicken fried duck breast—the meat was pounded thin and breaded like a Weinerschnitzel, cloaked in a crunchy crust, with a side of lignonberry relish and potato puree. It was terrific. On the side, we ordered the quark spaetzle, which was pan-fried so it has a bit of crunch, and it was just deliriously good. I kept eating it, straight from the bowl, not letting anyone else near it. I clearly have an addiction to it. (Great, another food addiction. Like I really need another one.) But then Marcus was right there with me, putting up a good fight for his fair share, mumbling in a dream like state about how it reminded him of his childhood in Cologne, Germany. He was smitten. Note to Stacey: make your man spaetzle.

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Posted: January 29, 2006

Other restaurants in Tribeca :
+ Lunchbox Food Company--Closed   + 66: THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED   + Ola-- Closed   + Bouley   + Dominic   + Landmarc   + Pace-- Closed   + EN Japanese Brasserie   + Centrico   + Cercle Rouge   + The Harrison   + Turks & Frogs Tribeca   + Devin Tavern   + Dani-- Closed Now   + Bacaro/Smith & Mills   + The Harrison   + Matsugen, By Guest Reviewer Kathleen Squires   + Forge   + Macao Trading Company   + Harbour   + Review text tbd...   + Mehtaphor   + Brushstroke   + Jung Sik   

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