where else? elsewhere

Posted: April 15th, 2011 | Author: anita | Filed under: new york, photo, recipe | Tags: chicken liver pate, date, dates, dinner, elsewhere, elsewhere restaurant, hell's kitchen, ice cream, new york, nyc, pate, photo, red velvet, stuffed dates, theater district | No Comments »

on wednesday evening, sister and i met for an impromptu dinner.

we both wanted something “good” and on the light side. it was about 9pm, and we were a couple of block south of times square, across the street from a “whopper bar.” i wasn’t encouraged.

first instinct: walk north and west.

we passed a well-jammed, flashy new shake shack and, across the street, smith’s bar (its neon sign seeming subdued, its retro fonts, cooler relative to its new neighbor’s)  and as we edged the hell’s kitchen neighborhood, don giovanni’s (whose “bella mia” – fried egg, artichoke, pepperoni, mushrooms– makes my list of favorite ny pizza pies, even though i only had it once about 15 years ago), and the fancy marseille…

then we remembered ELSEWHERE.

the thought was inspired; the meal was genius.

here are the photos:

menage a trois:dates stuffed with roaring forties blue cheese, pancetta, and fresh orange marmalade…

according to our server, chris, this was the newest addition to the starters section of the menu, and one of his favorites. it turns out chris is very, very trustworthy– this was the first of a few good tips.

i love dates in any form. (in fact, i am right now typing this without the use of my right thumb and index finger, as they bear the sticky, sweet traces of a fancy medjool date, a healthful at-home “dessert.” i digress.)

this appetizer is perfect: the sweet paste of a med-jewel, plumped with a mild blue cheese. pancetta bits are a crisp flourish. the difference maker here? the fresh orange marmalade and the magic carpet orange slice it all lays on. at first, i wasn’t sure we were supposed to eat it? the bitter rind had been mellowed, probably poached, but still provided an effective contrast.

mussels with a beautiful butter and white wine sauce…i spooned the sauce like soup. my question: is bread no longer compulsory at fine dining establishments these days? this is another instance where i would have made good use of a spongy loaf…

bay scallops with celery root puree and  i think a little dried sage?

i don’t love scallops–in fact, i ordered these as a test of whether or not i really liked them. (i do.) they were given a nice, golden crust. i liked that they were petite.

but below is the showstopper:

chicken liver pâté toast with apple butter.

my sister ordered this (chris gave a hearty endorsement).

she had high but realistic hopes, i.e. good pate on a few dainty toasts.

this was a pate orgy.

two big baguette toast slices, blanketed in faintly minerally liver puree. a thick stripe of homemade apple butter, a little runnier and a lot sweeter, was a perfect touch. the thyme sparkled on plate and palate. creme fraiche, with cute little pink peppercorns, is served on the side.

if you like liver of any kind, this super-sized chicken liver pate toast appetizer should not be missed.

***

as to the desserts…

on my first visit to elsewhere, i wasn’t enthralled by the sweet selection. but wednesday night’s dessert menu was almost entirely different. chris raved about the encyclopedic dessert repertoire of leigh friend, the dessert maven at both elsewhere and casellula cheese & wine cafe. i was mightily tempted by a couple of items this time, including the bourbon chocolate ice box cake… but we opted for ice cream:

2 scoops red velvet ice cream and a swing marshmallow chocolate crunch (as suggested by new best mate, chris)

red velvet ice cream? i expected a vanilla or cream cheese based ice cream with bits of red velvet cake. but ms. friend, my friend, is much more thoughtful. it was icier than a regular ice cream, i could discern bits of refreshing cream cheese, a hint of cocoa. chris confirmed that there was no cake in the mix, but all of the “red velvet cake” flavors here (down to the touch of food dye) make it an authentic and truly interesting interpretation.

the marshmallow chocolate crunch was more traditional: creamier and sweeter. i loved the chewy marshmallow pieces and the airy, crunchy, chocolate balls…

DELIGHTFUL, DELICIOUS and DUNZO.

***

elsewhere is in the theater district/lower hell’s kitchen.

403 w. 43rd st. (off 9th ave), new york, ny 10036

212-315-2121 or reserve via opentable.com

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