As professed earlier, I’m on a mission to try all ten Keith McNally restaurants. Although I’ve never been overly impressed with any of the ones I’ve visited, the man is just so fascinating that I want to love them all. Unfortunately interesting people don’t always create amazing restaurants.
Scrambled eggs “in” puff pastry, with wild mushrooms and asparagus
Towards the end of April I had brunch at Balthazar. Although I worship its take-out cafe (best croissants, best ginger citrus tea), the brunch menu was extremely underwhelming (only a handful of choices, less than what’s listed on the website) and extremely overpriced (everything around $20). When the food came out, it looked like it had been grabbed off a fast food line. French toast was flopped on a plate with two slices of bacon criss-crossed on top of it; a pile of scrambled eggs with a puff pastry thrown on the side. I have no problem paying good money for good food, but paying $20 for mediocre poached eggs? Never again.
And the service! I understand the draw of this place is the larger-than-life, wide open brasserie, and yes, of course it’s going to be packed. But when a food runner ran into my mom’s chair, spilled her water, looked at it, and then walked away without doing anything, that’s when I vowed I was so over this restaurant.
Grilled asparagus at Pulino’s
But not over McNally yet. Last week I finally made it to his newest venture, Pulino’s. What a difference a couple city blocks make. Although the food wasn’t anything unique, it was good. It wasn’t the best pizza I ever had, but the ingredients were fresh and delicious, and I’d come back if there wasn’t a wait. My favorite part of the experience was the inventive cocktail menu, chock full of liquors and concoctions I’d never heard of. An extra bonus: the staff was excellent. Without us saying anything, a manager came over to fix our wobbly table, and our waiter actually seemed like he was enjoying his shift.
Funghi pizza: mushrooms, tomato, mozzarella, pancetta & grana
