Dining Gratis with the Rentals
It was a festive night. We were celebrating my friend's successful dissertation defense, something to do with good old Cicero. Even better, his parents were picking up the tab. Mom and Dad had flown in from Seattle. These particular out-of-towners chose well with The Harrison, a popular Mediterranean-inspired, American restaurant in Tribeca rumored to be frequented by celebrities.
Though there were no celeb sightings this night, the restaurant was packed, and the decibel level was so loud, I could only hear the diners directly next to me.
The owners, Jimmy Bradley and Danny Abrams, of Red Cat in Chelsea and the East Village's Mermaid Inn fame, have done well despite the timing of the restaurant's opening in October 2001, a mere one month after 9/11 and location, only a stone's throw from the World Trade Center. Their business is booming, no doubt because Executive Chef Brian Bistrong, formerly of David Bouley's Bakery, crafts an imaginative menu.
We began by sharing appetizers for the table, split five ways. The starter portions could have been more generous, what we ordered was light and sprightly, making our palates beg for more: artichoke salad ($11), a flavorful blend of arugula, shaved parmesan and artichoke leaves spritzed with lemon, and a spicy calamari salad ($10), calamari, pickled carrot, serrano ham and frisée. Other appetizers that looked intriguing included maya prawns ($14), Vermont quail ($12), fried oysters ($10) and ricotta cavatelli with braised rabbit ($12).
For the main course, I munched on the breast of duck ($28), medium-rare, served with pan-fried crunchy quark spaetzle (dumplings with cheese) studded with stewed prunes. The meat was moist and succulent and the seasoning just right. One friend ordered hazelnut crusted skate ($21), prepared with fiddlehead ferns, spring onion and a pickling reduction. My friend, the newly minted doctor of arts and letters, splurged on a medium rare prime NY shell steak ($32) sliced with garlic sauce and grilled asparagus. He raved about how tender and flavorful it was, so I insisted on a bite. Dad had pork tenderloin ($26) served with baby white turnips and carrots in a spicy mustard sauce.
The Harrison makes good strong cocktails. I ordered a gin and tonic ($ 9), potent served in a nice hefty glass. My friend drank their signature cocktail, The Harrison Tonic ($9), a heady concoction of Maker's Mark and Dr. Brown's Cel-Ray soda. Harrison groups its 220 different wines under "crisp light floral," "medium round spicy honey," "full rich and elegant," "light aromatic and fruity," "medium rustic" and "full ripe." Wines by the glass cost from $9 to $15, and full bottles range anywhere from $23 to $420. We imbibed the moderately priced Villa Simone Frascati Superiore from Lazio ($28), which was light and fresh tasting, a nice switch from the ubiquitous Pinot Grigio. For the sudsmeisters, they offer some lesser-known regional beers, including Bavarian Ayinger Jahrhundert ($7), Allagash White Beer from Maine ($6), Lagunitas "Censored" Copper Ale from California ($6) and Ottercreek Stovepipe Porter from Vermont ($5).
The end of the evening was charmed and not very New York-like. We said our goodbyes to the cheerful staff. Out on the sidewalk, a gaggle of strangers across the street waved at us ecstatically for some reason (maybe it was because I ran down the street screaming the word "taxi" and the driver stopped). What was the world coming to? Everyone was friendly, there was a cab and we were having fun.
212-274-9310