The Alex & The Eleanor + 1

Hot on the heels of my Babbo review will come a flashback quick review on Artisanal (sorry, with the wedding, the honeymoon, getting back to work, and never having written a blog before, I’m a bit slow on this – I promise I’ll get better and you’ll get some more really live and current reviews of stuff!). I’ve been here quite a number of times over the years, the latest visit being with the wonderful group of 12 Sunday after the wedding, My family, Eleanor’s family, and my new brother in law in law’s family (is that such a thing, in law in law?).Really the perfect sort of restaurant for this gathering, Artisanal is a casual french bistro with some special qualities. It’s the second restaurant of Terrance Brennan, his first being Picholine, a very fancy restaurant (that has recently gone through an extensive renovation and change of chef) on the upper west side across from Lincoln Center and a mainstay dinner for opera goers for ages. Picholine is also well known for it’s tremendous cheese cart, so it’s no huge surprise that when Brennan opened Artisanal it was a more than just a bistro, it also has the largest cheese selection in the city (and in fact it has a retail counter in the restaurant to purchase said cheeses, as well as hosting cheese classes) and to go with that selection, it also features fondue.

On previous visits, I’ve tried one or two of the fondues, but what’s really struck with me has been their skate wing (which I’ll admit I’m a big sucker for skate) with a blood orange sauce and a pureed cauliflower (like mashed potatoes) that I absolutely love, and have ordered every previous time I’ve been there. The fish is fresh and moist and flavorful, the sauce is almost too sweet, but there’s just enough tang to cut it for me, and the cauliflower is almost a butter spread for the fish. Just delicious.

This trip, with the large party of 12, we of course had a selection of fondue’s to start the meal (what brings a table together better than sharing food, and really fondue is a lot of fun with a group) – and unlike previous visits where my cry to try the stilton and sauternes fondue (I love blue cheese) were shot down by the rest of the group, it was one of the three we ordered this time, along with the artisinal blend (a fairly standard fondue) and their special of the day, a raclette (good, but actually more mild that I’d have expected and not nearly as stinky as I feared (sorry corey)). I can promise you that next time I go back it will be ordered again. It had all the flavor of the stilton, but the sweetness of the sauterne mellowed it to the point that it wasn’t overpowering. Something blue and non-blue lovers at the table both were able to enjoy.

For a main course, I had the steak tartare which is served in an entertaining fashion in an individual canning jar with an orange rubber gasket (sorry for the lack of pictures, I promise I’m going to start remembering to take some so this blog can add some much needed visuals to go along with my overly long text), with the accompanying fries in a paper cone held tall in a metal coil. The tartare was good, and the fries were nice and crisp, but next time I’m afraid I’ll have to go back to my skate. No knock on the tartare, but the skate’s just better.

The wine list is nice, not incredibly deep, but this is made up for by the fact that almost every wine on the list is available by the glass, over 100 of them. That and remembering that this is a casual bistro, not a haute restaurant it’s really quite impressive.

I’ve never actually had dessert here, since of course the thing to have if you’ve got room is the cheese. I’d comment on it, but suffice to say anything you want, they have, and probably as good as you’ll find anywhere.

On a final note, this is probably my favorite bistro in the city. The menu is fairly standard, but the executions are excellent, and the fondue’s and cheese plates take it to the forefront. In addition, it’s easy to get into spur of the moment (it’s big, and in a weird area for restaurants, 32nd and park), and makes an excellent date or a group meal. A great place to have in the mix.

B+