The Breslin

All the foodies were in the house at the Breslin today for lunch.  April Bloomfield and Ken Friedman's newest venture, The Breslin, in the new Ace Hotel.  No reservations available except for a party of 12 where you can be treated to the options of a whole roasted lamb or pig.  Sounds like my kind of place.

The room is the similar vibe to the Pig, feels like an old English pub, kitchen on view in the back.  The menu, also Pig like, very heavy and definitely has the head to tail element.  As one of my lunch partners pointed out, the menu teeters on the edge of the cliff as in how many people eat like this.  Based on the success of the Pig, many. 

The menu has a handful of bar options.  We ordered the pork scratchings that come in a clear plastic baggie and marked with a label and the date.  The bar options are available in the hotel rooms.  Clever.  Also, good to grab on the run.  The scratchings were salty, crunchy and tasty.  A little bit like a pork rind potato chip. 

2 of us started out with the onion/bone marrow soup with a Parmesan cheese over the top.  Basically onion soup Bloomfield style.  Rich, rich, rich.  A tad on the salty side but loads of flavor, almost too much.  Light handed is not the word to describe the Breslin or the Pig or for that matter The John Dory (RIP).  Personally, it works for me.  A hearty wonderland. 

For the main courses, we all tried something different.  One of us went with the cod ( I think it was cod ) terrine.  Not what he was expecting.  It was tasty but cold fish mixed with a sauce and sauteed greens around the side wasn't his thing.  Wouldn't be my first choice.

The lamb burger covered with feta cheese is truly fantastic.  This comes with bit fat fries in a cup lined with paper and a small cup of hummus on the side.  Nice presentation on the wooden board.  The burger is full of flavor but not overwhelming, juicy and the feta kicks it up to another level.  Excellent.  Picture is not great but trust me on this, the burger is a winner.

I had to, I went with the beef tongue.  Honestly, fantastic.  Perfectly cooked, melts in the mouth in a baguette and chopped horseradish on top.  On the side came with a small bowl of lentil soup.  The soup is super rich, a tad fatty and not sure you need that on the side, a bit of greens would have been nice. 

Side dish was the pumpkin.  Pumpkin is so big everywhere especially Australia and England not so much here.  Too bad.  Medium thick sliced pumpkin roasted with a mild spicy sauce covered with roasted pumpkin seeds and pomegranate seeds.  Really nice side.

On the way out talked to a few people.  One guy was eating the mixture of 5 different meat terrines with different sauces.  Looked beautiful and he gave it a thumbs up.  Everyone around the place was looking quite happy. 

Personally, I'm racing back for the lamb burger very very soon.