NYC! Battersby

12.29.13

I’m back in New York! Kidding, I wish. This is one the last dinner we had in New York, well Brooklyn really, before we flew back to Toronto the following afternoon. I wanted to explore a lot more of the “outer boroughs” of NYC this time around but this and Smorgasburg were the extent of that adventure. This day was supposed to be “Brooklyn/Carroll Gardens/Williamsburg” day but the timing didn’t work and the weather wasn’t cooperating either. Still, the day turned out to be a fun one and this meal turned out to be one of the highlights of the entire trip!

Battersby

255 Smith Street

Brooklyn

New York City

Reservations*: online / reservations@battersbybrooklyn.com / 718-852-8321

Transit: (F, G) 5-min walk from Carroll Station OR Bergen Station

Hours: Mon – Sat (5:30-11pm), Sun (5:30-10pm)

**TIP: Battersby (@BattersbyBK) does a limited number of chef tasting menus (five courses $75pp, seven courses $95pp) per evening. Besides that, first come first serve so get there right before service or you’ll be forced to wait til a table frees up, which will easily be over an hour. I thought they only accepted reservations for their tasting menu but their online reservation system says otherwise—happy to be proved wrong in this case! :D

So why Battersby when there are hundreds of restaurants in Manhattan?! A lot of younger restauranteurs can’t afford the astronomical rent in Manhattan so they set up shop outside of the core. Still great food, just a little further away. VICE Munchies is always fun to watch so that was the first form of restaurant “research” I did. Good thing the rest of our group was up for it! 

Also, it’s gained A LOT of attention since it opened...such as “3^rd-Best New Restaurant in America 2012” from Bon Appétit.

Co-owners and head chefs Walker Stern and Joe Ogrodnek opened up Battersby in 2011 to cook the food that they want and to be their own bosses. Both have worked at some of the city’s top restaurants so they bring a ton of experience with them to the kitchen. What’s admirable is that they do it all themselves! Well, the two of them plus sous-chef Michael Sowa.  

Hipster Ale. My friend got that just for kicks....no go.

 

The space is small (check out their kitchen layout! Yeah...I love Bon Appétit). I’d like to think of it as cozy and promise of an intimate meal. We counted less than 30 seats including the 8(?) at the bar—just checked, 28 seats. So if tables get turned only twice a night, you can see that the drive behind running it isn’t the money, it’s a lot more so about putting out solid food. 

The five of us sat at the bar. Sitting bar side is awesome but sharing between five was challenging.

The menu. Can we get one of EVERYTHING?! Can I have the money to say stuff like that?! We did order most of the menu to share between the five of us so I’d say we did pretty well! At the end of it all, if you’ve perused the menu and really can’t make up your mind, you can request a “spontaneous tasting menu”! 

Rosemary flatbread served with their homemade ricotta

 

Crisp Kale Salad (14) – kohlrabi, brussel sprouts, peanuts 

In Andrew Knowlton's words "this duo took a dish that's been everywhere this year and transformed it into the dish of the year." He said it right. If you wanna try making it yourself, here's the recipe. 

Sunchokes (12) – delicata squash, hazelnut butter, yogurt

Sapnish Mackerel Tartare (14) – scallion, clams, ginger broth

Veal Sweetbreads à la Meunière (16) – carrots, maple, spiced yogurt

Fregola Sarda (13/18) – tripe, tomato, grana padano

Pappardelle (16/21) – duck ragu, taggiasca olive, madeira

Chatham Cod (31) – braised fennel, tomato confit, olive

Dessert (all 9):

Parsnip Cake – maple, coffee-bourbon ice cream

Black & Tan – chocolate stout soufflé, lager ice cream

Butter Pecan Ice Cream Pie – brown butter fudge

Verdict: I think it’s suffice to say that we all had a great time. We did wait over an hour and a half (we hung out at the Starbucks down the street) but it was so worth it! Best meal of the trip, hands down. The pappardelle was my favourite pasta dish of the year! Pappardelle readily soaks up sauce. Other highlights from the meal included the kale salad, the impeccable cod and of course the tripe. 

Check 'em out!   http://www.battersbybrooklyn.com/

5 out of 5 NOMs

nomnomnomnomnom