Another new find for Felagi and myself... after entertaining ourselves at the auction house, stomachs grumbling, whistlers dry... oh dry did I say?, yes, it was time to seek where the next martini find will be... so after commensurating , where, which way, how close, (as we wanted to get back to the auction, so I could bid on three bronze monkeys, no not the typical, hear no, see no, say no.. .One was holding an acorn, another a crab, and the other I didn't make out what it was...) So we found a place right on Broadway in Red Hook, Flatiron. So we ventured in...
It was crowded, tables outside on the sidewalk nice size bar , fully occupied, a counter looking out onto the street w/stools, which we decided to seat ourselves and look upon a gasoline station on the corner. So we said hmmn, must be good, lots of people and a wait to get a table.
So the place with sparse decor was less to be desired, plain, tables very simple/bare w/ plain, dull chairs to accompany. I think it could have use a bit more in the decor dept ,very little,to no ambiance, making it appear as though they just pieced it together in a day. So absorbing the decor, the waitress, also the bartender, took Felagi's order of martinis and left us the menus to ponder over. As I pondered, looking down over the table of four on the sidewalk in front of us, I was intrigued with the steak they brought the gentleman. His slicing , was just so inviting.. I said to Felagi, I want the steak. So our martinis arrived and wow...
The glass was so chilled and frosty. Probably the most chilled glass I have ever been served a martini in. Gets thumbs up for chilled glass. Felagi, disappointed with olives,.. "one olive"... only one?... I was like how are my woes going to get better with only one olive...? oh well,
Felagi tastes first... oh, oh , face! Felagi never makes face... oh, oh ,so I taste, I make face, and ...
too heavy on the vermouth...Though thirsty we were, we just suffered thru the tasting until our taste buds adjusted to the vermouth. Now, the one olive just was not going to make it with me, and you really had to wait until you drank the last drop to tongue the olive out of the glass. But happy to report, mine was tarty and firm... Felagi's was mushy... Oh dear... we thought this might be a premonition to the food... But we were watching the canovorious gent... and it looked quite good... so... we order...
Felagi suggested we have the oysters and the meat/sausage platter for appetizers and share a rib eye steak. I know he wanted the pork chop... but he too was eyeing the man's steak.
So out came the oysters... six on a plate and not very appetizing to look at. Actually, mostly because the shell wasn't cleaned. So one had to eat them w/an utensil and since they gave us a cocktail fork, not easy to ingest whole, and w/sauce, not as chilled as our martini glass either. The sausage appetizer next, pate was very tasty,duck sausage great, and goat stew, bread was moist and great, but could have liked to seen a bit larger of a portion,.. It was smidgeonable.
Steak arrives with two of our chosen sauces, one being a jalapeno sauce and it was saucy hot! The steak was ordered med rare, came out a bit more med. well, but, palatable, tasty, tender and w/ the sauce made it absolutely great! So to sum it up, the steak outdid the ambiance, the martinis, and the appetizers.
As the Auctioneer yelled at the sale of the monkeys, going, going, gone! ... and off we went, monkeyless, and if they were the ones that "see no", "hear no" , "say no" to the "Flatiron".
Rating - half an olive
Naturally,
Karen
- Naturally Karen
- I found that the way an establishment serves a martini, is very similar to the quality of the meal. The Beverage Server is just as important as the chef. Some establishments hire bartenders/resses for looks as persay to one who can conjure up a very good drink. It really denotes the type of service and food one can recieve just by how the drink is prepared and served. Why three olives? A story I read about a poor woman who sold flowers on the street, no matter what the weather conditions were, this woman always had a smile on her face. .. one inclement day, a gent approached and asked her how she could be happy all the time...She replied, "I think of Jesus and how all the suffering he went through...and then on the third day he rose from the dead... So if things bother me , I wait three days and it always gets better!" And that my friends is why a martini has to have three olives... by the time I consume the last of the olives, the martini is finished and I'm feeling all better too! Cheers!
