craftsteak: simplicity

My office is in very close proximity to the Chelsea/MeatPacking District’s semi-holy trinity of heavy contenders: craftsteak, Del Posto, and Morimoto. (Word on the street is that Ken Friedman, owner of The Spotted Pig in the Village, is marking his territory in the open space between craftsteak and DP this fall with Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich.) To be fair, Buddakan is also just around the corner but it doesn’t have the celebrity chef behind it.

Speaking of which, it irks me to all hell to hear people (read: my boyfriend) rant endlessly about the likes of Anthony Bourdain, Bobby Flay or Tyler Florence because he or she has seen them on Food Network or The Travel Channel. Thomas Keller gets me a blank stare on a regular basis. (Is this why I have yet to see Per Se? Ha! I wish.) It is a fact that he has never been a judge or a challenger on Iron Chef America but he happens to own two of the top restaurants in this country… that rivals the best in the world.

“What’s French Laundry?” Sigh. I throw my hands up in agony and walk away.

But, I digress. Between literally running into Tom Colicchio, almost getting run over by Batali on Vespa, and seeing Morimoto stomp around his kitchen, I have become fairly familiar with the restaurants. Craftsteak is up first since I’ve been there most recently.

craftsteak
(85 Tenth Avenue, between 15th and 16th Street)
Visit Website

Last night, I had dinner at craftsteak with JK and his father, fresh on the heels of Frank Bruni’s recent write up where they were upgraded from one to two stars. It was a lovely time.

Since we headed over after a champagne and hors d’oeuvres event, we decided to go straight to the big show. I’ve tried their New York Strip on previous visits thus I opted for the 6oz. filet, medium rare. Tender, soft, presented in the style of Peter Luger: pre-sliced on a sizzling cast iron platter. (I was a quite surprised to find my steak was cold halfway through the meal, though.) A quartet of sauces was placed on the table and included a chimichurri, horseradish cream, homemade steak sauce, and hollandaise sauce. A fun concept indeed but I like my steak as is… no frills. In this case, since my steak was cold, the horseradish was a welcome addition. The table shared Japanese Eggplant, Roasted Garlic Potatoes Gratin, Trumpette Royal Mushrooms, and Texas Onion Rings. All were lovely accompaniments to our meal, espcially the awesome onion rings. Quite possibly, the best I’ve ever had.

By this point, we were feeling pretty good. The buzz from the champagne before dinner heightened with the delicious food and wine. Little did we know, the best was yet to come.

When I think of donuts, I instantly envision greasy, fried, doughy often dry contraptions and overweight law enforcement, both filled with jelly. I think of dingy Dunkin’ Donuts and long lines at Krispy Kremes (Ah, California, how I miss thee.) But, nothing exciting; nothing that I care for.

Yet, topping the dessert menu created by pastry chef artiste Catherine Schimenti (Balthazar, Gramercy Tavern, Per Se) is a simple description, “Glazed Donuts.” Without fail, she served up a true appreciation for the incredible beauty found in the simplest things in life.

The forbidden donut.

Perfectly fried and glazed, this donut exceeded expectations, almost transforming it into something else entirely. It was light and airy. There were smudges of chocolate pudding, vanilla cream, and Golden Apple jam on the platter… almost allowing a make-your-own jelly-filled… mmmmmm, absolute perfection. Add a glass of 12-year old Glenmorangie Burgundy Wood Scotch and you have a moment of pure bliss. If all donuts tasted like these, we’d all be so much fatter. SO much fatter.

craftsteak gets 3.5 out of 5 in Good Eats. I’ve had better steak – MUCH better and warmer for less money – but the ambiance counts for a lot and the service is almost spot on. It’s a refreshing step away from the dark oak, old man/suit crammed steakhouses all over the city. My heart still belongs to MarkJoseph but it’s good to know that my steak cravings can be curbed and my attention focused on ridiculous donuts close by.

COMING SOON
More of The Semi-Holy Trinity: Del Posto/Morimoto/Craftsteak
Korean Grocery Shopping (in NJ)
Shake Shack (Worth The Wait!)
Swagat (Chelsea, not UWS)
Klee