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“Irving Mill”

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

a point of view and some real personality. This menu is about as far from shy as Oprah is from her goal weight. (God bless her, but she’s far, people.) It’s boisterous and brazen, and a hell of a lot of fun to eat. And as you’ll learn at any given meal you may have at Irving Mill, Skeen does a lot more than just a good hamburger, though he does that well, in a similar style to the one at Resto—fat but compact, on a relatively squishy bun (though not as Wonder Bread-like as the one I detested there), accessorized with onion, pickles, and tomato, with a bowl of salty wedge-cut fries.

Aside from that burger, he also does a great hot dog—a house made boudin blanc served on a parker house hot dog roll with a tangle of sweet chili onions, nuggets of crispy bacon and a swipe of hot mustard ($7). He’s also got a way with sausages—I’d recommend the house-made rabbit sausage with grain mustard and grilled bread ($8). And then there are the ribs. I speak of his succulent and spicy salt and pepper pork Ribs ($8) that fall from the bone and were gobbled up by Jamie, Susie and Adrienne without much discussion. His crowning achievement may be his house made charcuterie plate (he breaks down whole animals to make all of his sausages, pates and terrines)—a butcher block platter topped with mini boudin blanc, mini boudin noir, crispy pig's feet, terrine tete de cochon, fried pork belly, glazed pork shoulder, pork ribs, pickled cabbage, with fried potatoes and creme fraiche, violet mustard and whole grain mustard ($22/38). If you’re in need of some comfort after a day at the lay-off trenches, a cold pint (or two) at the bar or tavern room, and a platter of charcuterie will do you right.

Such an ample bar-food styled menu does a lot for the front tavern area which is often nicely filled with men and women (young and not so young) sharing some of the aforementioned snacks and a few rounds of cocktails or beers—there’s a fine list of eight on tap that includes local brews like Brooklyn Pilsner and far away suds like Spaten Lager poured into striking wide mouthed pint glasses.

While the food is for the most part very good, the restaurant does seem to be struggling with two issues: service and kitchen timing. We sat with empty wine glasses for too long before having to flag down a bus boy who was kind enough to locate our waiter (he started off strong but pulled a d ... [more, click below]

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Posted: February 8, 2009

Other restaurants in Gramercy :
+ Casa Mono/Bar Jamon   + Pure Food & Wine   + Parea   + Gramercy Tavern (Lunch)   + 15 East   + Tocqueville   + Irving Mill   + Bar Milano   + Irving Mill   + Maialino   + Asellina   + Corkbuzz Wine Studio   + Breads, by guest reviewer Tracy Weiss   

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