Minetta Tavern, West Village

Man oh man.

I am surprised by the lack of play of this spot on the board, especially considering Bourdain's stop here for the Black Label Burger on the recent "Obsessed" episode. Worth the hype, I must say.

The room is a classic old school downtown tavern, like Pump Room in its hey. A spot imaginable of politicos and the occasional movie star chomping on cigars and swilling down martinis. A grid of charming caricatures of regulars from bygone eras adorning the walls. Polished brass, stained hardwood, low lighting, you know what I'm saying. Called for reservations too late, no worries, put our name in and had a drink up the street to kill an hour. Seated immediately by charming (and excuse me for saying, sexy) front-of-the-house staff. Polished service the whole way through. Killer drinks- we had Ginger in the Rye, a spicy punch made with high end rye and a Maple Sazerac- both generously poured I might add.

We had to do the hyped dishes. Marrow bones- three generous lengths of roasted bone brimming with unctuous marrow served with well designed pointy spears of baguette, perfect for getting into those hard to reach crags. Sweet onion relish was nice, but an afterthought next to God's favorite condiment.

We both ordered The Black Label Burger. I subbed salad for frites, since I was transfixed by the idea of pomme aligot after reading Sam Sifton's piece on 11 Most Memorable Dishes of 2009 in the Times. The dish was exactly as fawned over, an ethereally gooey mass of potato and cheese, married in harmonious stasis. I will say this, I wasn't quite sure how to eat the dish, spooning mouthfuls of such richness seemed a bit over the top. Smeared on the lovely baguette that served as bread service, it made for a fondue-like experience, but with the burger in front of me I did not want to fill up on bread.
The one thing not up to standard actually was dining companion's frites, tasting more of oil than potato and over-salted for her liking. I made the right move with my substitution. The little tangle of fresh greens was a welcome addition to this cholesterol overload.

And that burger. It really was all that. Perfectly crisp, caramelized crust flecked with course ground salt and pepper, yielding an exact medium rare interior, oozing, full flavored to the point of near funkiness from dry aged beef. Sublime. The roll was ideal, browned on the outside and pillowy on the inside, caramelized onions adding a sweet note that was, as suggested, the only condiment really worthy of this beautiful creature. I applied an occasional tiny dab of dijon to every fourth or fifth bite to perk things up, but this is about beef. Worth $26 for sure. Best burger ever? Ground prime cuts of dry aged beef, griddled crisp and juice-maintaining, cooked perfectly to order. Yup, best burger.
No room for dessert.

Do yourself a favor and eat this burger. Delightful spot.

Minetta Tavern
http://www.minettatavernny.com
113 MacDougal Street
New York, NY 10012-1201
(212) 475-3850

Jefe wrote:The room is a classic old school downtown tavern, like Pump Room in its hey. A spot imaginable of politicos and the occasional movie star chomping on cigars and swilling down martinis. A grid of charming caricatures of regulars from bygone eras adorning the walls. Polished brass, stained hardwood, low lighting, you know what I'm saying.

Established in 2009, though in an actual old bar. I've heard good things; it's a bit like spiffing up the Green Mill or Twin Anchors and turning it into a midprice modern restaurant. Nothing wrong with that, obviously. And the kitchen is staffed with Balthazar vets, which can only be good. For a really old place with a similar vibe and a very good burger, the original PJ Clarke's is still worth a visit -- particulary in the wee hours.

We ended up at the Minetta Tavern due to the weather keeping us in New York an extra day. I can echo all the good things Jefe said.

My wife had the marrow bones, a favorite dish of hers, and these were the tops. the marrow was browned under a broiler and the sweet shallot "jam" was the perfect foil. I had a scallop, celery root and truffle risotto for my appetizer, the super sweet scallops matching perfectely with the earthy celery root and truffle shavings. For our main, we split the black label burger, and it is worth the dough. What they achieve is a harmony of the following flavors: (1) meaty, near raw middle, (2) nicely cooked outer layer, (3) an almost crispy thin crust they somehow obtain, (4) a thick layer of caramelized onions, so soft it was like a puree, and (5) a soft brioche like bun. Quite outstanding. For dessert, my wife has hazelnut crepes with brown butter. Simple but done perfectly.

The place was packed on a Sunday night, but service were very friendly. Dishes come out of the kitchen quite quickly, but there wasn't any sense that they were rushing us.

Jonah

Best steak in NYC. Cote de boef is life changing.

Went for brunch this past Sunday since they offer the $26 "Black Label" Burger then, as well as on the dinner and late night menus. The burger was very very good; it's just not worth $26 when you compare it to other great high end burgers like the 40-day Dry Aged Burger at David Burke's Primehouse for $12. First off -perhaps the burger is a bit small for the price. It didn't come close to filling up the bun. The meat itself did exhibit some nice dry-age tanginess and - oh yes- it was perfectly juicy, but for $26 I was expecting a beefy funky punch in the mouth. Regardless of my complaints about NYC price inflation or however you want to quantify this post - the Minetta Tavern has a great east coast buzz and the type of atmosphere that I envision Gene and Georgetti's as having had at some point, and is worth a visit.

Called a late night audible last night and ended up at Minetta around 11:00pm. Friend and I were seated at the bar immediately by one of the gregarious hostesses.

Started with veal carpaccio with parmesan and shaved truffles. Veal and cheese were great, sadly the shaved truffle, though generously applied, imparted little to no flavor or aroma. No biggie, still a nice dish.

Friend got the black label burger - I took a few bites. It is awesome. Amazing. Surreal. Perfectly cooked, dry-aged beef. Crusty char on the outside, perfect pink in the middle. Best burger in NYC, maybe anywhere. Frites also excellent.

I had a bowl of mussels. Plump, perfectly cooked, little pockets of sexy sea love. The broth was a tad too creamy for me, but the curry flavor was great and complemented the mussels well.

Mixed drinks off the menu were as bad as I remember. Everything is way way way too sweet. And like $14 a pop. I don't mind paying that much for a well-mixed drink, but not for a mindless sugar bomb. No matter, they have a great selection of wines, beers and bourbons (among other hard liquors). They also do classic cocktails much better than the special ones on the menu.

Minetta Tavern, one of NYC's best.

As I recall, I had a great Tom Collins off the classic cocktail list, and it was outstanding. Sweetened with honey and equipped with a homemade marachino cherry that had real flavor.

Then again, I ALWAYS find "special" cocktails way too sweet.

Jonah

One of my favorite restaurants! Best steak in NYC.