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“Commerce”

Occasion:	Cuisine:	Area:	Cost:	Rating:
Night Out	New American	West Village	Moderate	Good

a testament to the close spacing of the tables. (I’ve never seen a dining room this cramped with tables. They pack ‘em in.)

After getting to know each other, we found it only fitting that we share some of our dinner, so we swapped tastes of our halibut for hunks of their massive Porterhouse for two, served with spinach and cippolini onions with red wine shallot sauce ($44pp). The tastes of halibut ($27) we gave up were hard to part with. It’s a glossy and moist filet, the color of mother of pearl, set in a lush green jus made from fresh peas, peppered with smoky speck, and garnished with a shower of snap peas. The taste of Spring on that cold wintry night was a shock, but it was a welcome one.

While Commerce is not the most inspired restaurant I’ve visited in recent weeks, it is a lovable place and it’s one I found myself returning to again and again. I did so because I really love the bar, I love the cocktails, I love that bread, and I did find some of the dishes on the menu to be very appealing. Commerce also offers very good service and sincere hospitality from an industry veteran. That goes a long way in my book.

My biggest issues with the restaurant stem from the acoustics, an overcrowded severely cramped dining room (they’ve got to take out some of those center tables), and a menu that in some cases feels slightly too precious and for the concept. I remember when Moore was consulting on the menu at August. His food there had more of a soulful peasant style, which is what I expected to find at (and what I think belongs at) Commerce. That’s the sort of food that makes sense for this restaurant, not sous-vide chicken with crispy skin on the side and hollowed out brussels sprouts.

We all have ghosts that we need to confront and deal with. Perhaps Moore is struggling with a few of his own. It’s hard to transition from a classic French restaurant like Montrachet to a more simple American spot like Commerce. I think he’s figuring it out, and finding his way, negotiating a path in a room full of sprits—ghosts of sisters and of restaurants past. It’s tough to get beyond the past. But once you do, the future is there for the taking. I’m betting he gets there.

Commerce is located at 50 Commerce Street, near Barrow Street, 212-524-2301.  

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Posted: March 9, 2008

Other restaurants in West Village :
+ Jefferson-- Closed   + La Palapa Rockola   + Sumile   + Babbo   + Tasca   + AOC Bedford   + Home   + The Spotted Pig   + Barbuto   + Numero 26   + Mas   + August   + Alta   + Cru   + Blue Mill Tavern-- Closed   + Employees Only   + Lassi   + Metropol--Closed   + Turks and Frogs   + Bellavitae   + Yumcha-- CLOSED   + Gusto: SEE EARLIER REVIEW; THIS CHEF HAS LEFT GUSTO   + Perry Street   + Home   + Ditch Plains   + The Little Owl   + Cafe Condesa   + Cafe Cluny   + Gusto   + The Waverly Inn   + Morandi   + P*ONG   + Perilla   + Soto   + Market Table   + Centro Vinoteca   + Barfry   + Dell'Anima   + Bar Blanc   + Smith's   + Commerce   + Elettaria   + Bar Q   + Cabrito   + 10 Downing   + Minetta Tavern   + Braeburn   + Scuderia, by guest reviewer Kathleen Squires   + Bar Blanc Bistro by Guest Reviewer Kathleen Squires   + Joseph Leonard   + Bar Henry, by Guest Reviewer Kathleen Squires   + Kin Shop   + Monument Lane   + Wong   + Bin on Bleecker, by Dara Pollak   + Ristorante Rafele   + Cole's Greenwich Village by Guest Reviewer Claire Jaffe   

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