Wallse

Wallse is one of my favorites.  The food is always good and the vibe is wonderful.  We went there last night and had a great meal.  Also, it appeared to be a locals night.  Julian Schnabel was there with his family and Laurie Anderson and Lou Reed.  The chef, Kurt Gutenbrunner was making the rounds....at our table too.  It was a treat.

We started out the night at the closing party for Rick's Picks.  I love those goodies.  Smokin' Okra wrapped in Italian ham, spears of tasty asparagus, beets with goat cheese.  Very clever ways to using the veggies besides just eating them straight out of the jar.  Also vodka mixed with okra brine.  Wow.

After we dined on pickled veggies, we made our way over to Wallse.  Sat in the front room.  The place was quite crowded by 8pm.  I started with a beet salad which is a mixture of roasted golden and red beets served with a mache, toasted pistachios and a light vinaigrette.  Fred had the butternut squash soup with toasted pumpkin seeds.  Rich and tasty.  For dinner, Fred went with the wiener schnitzel.  He spent some time growing up in Germany so the schnitzel is always calling out his name.  I had a fantastic piece of Wild Striped Bass served in a carrot broth with glazed carrots and truffles sliced on top of the fish.  All the sides we had were excellent too.  Spatzle, a large potato pancake and creamed spinach. 

Of course, dessert was in order.  Chocolate with peanuts and I always enjoy the chocolate dusted almonds they serve as an extra goodie.

You really can't beat Wallse for good food with an intimate yet happening room.  Nice bar too, if you can grab a seat.