My daily routine consists of pulling articles from various food blogs and posting them via my social media channels. The never-ending articles of restaurant closures and chef shuffles is something I have become accustomed to, but every once in a while there is an article that rocks the food world. One article in particular was the news of Chef Paul Liebrandt packing up his tweezers and leaving Corton, a fine dinning restaurant in Tribeca to go work on a new project in Williamsburg called "The Elm."
Leap forward to this summer and Croton is now Batard. Not much has changed inside of the space other than a new menu, chef, and some sound proofing for the older crowd who have a hard time figuring out how to use the volume control on their hearing aids. The menu itself is French, with a tasting menu option only. Batard offers 3 choices at 3 different prices - two courses for $55, three courses for $65, and four courses for $75. It was a long week and I was hungrier than a kid on his third day at fat camp.
Octopus Pastrami: I've seen a lot of crazy shit in my life, but this dish took the cake. The octopus, cooked to a perfect tenderness. Flavor wise, it didn't hit me until a few bites in, and then WHAM, this dish started singing sweet love songs to the little taste bumps on my tongue.
Maine Lobster: Green asparagus, zucchini blossoms, citrus rind. This was my least favorite of all four dishes. It's hard to shit on lobster, which was actually cooked to perfection. Flavor wise, it wasn't happening for me. I was actually able to take a bite of the Stellar Bay oyster dish and holy fuck was it good. If you looked up the meaning of the phrase "dish envy" my picture would be right next to it, mean muggin.
Veal Tenderloin: Tramezzini cut of veal, sugar snap peas, sweetbreads, sauce diable. The veal, wrapped in what I would say was Swiss chard, then wrapped in this tasty, flaky dough served with a veal jus. Bite after bite, the dish got better and better. The crispy, buttery dough combined with the veal made me wonder if I should keep eating the veal or ask for its hand in marriage.
Caramelized Milk Bread: Blueberries, brown butter ice cream. The one thing I liked about Batard's tasting menu is the option to replace dessert with a risotto dish on the menu. I figured that I would have a shit ton of salt after dinner and I needed something sweet. Well, there wasn't a shit ton of salt, but I still needed something sweet and the milk bread hit the spot. After three bites it got just a little too sweet for my tooth.
The service was good, up until we tried grabbing our check. It seemed that there was a "VIP" sitting behind us, and all the staff's attention seemed to dwell on them. The food in general was good. The mixture of classic french techniques, with new aged hipsterism like I tasted in the Pastrami Octopus, shows me that Batard has shed it's old, expensive, snooty skin and is ready to become another legend in New York City's restaurant scene.
Bâtard
239 West Broadway, New York, NY
212-219-2777
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