Grand Central Oyster Bar
I woke up to a beautiful, sunny,
but, rather chilly morning in Manhattan. The temperature was 29 degrees
and there was a slight breeze in the air. It did feel cold compared to
the record 60 degrees the day before.
Often I think about food
when I wake up. Today was one of those days. I made anchovies with pasta
the night before. I could still taste the anchovies with the garlic and
breadcrumbs.
Growing up in New Orleans has taught me that my
most fulfilling meals contain seafood with attitude. Jambalaya, gumbo
and blackened catfish make me happy. An oyster po boy makes me go wild.
Fresh oysters make me dance.
Grilled Bluepoint Oysters
This morning,oysters were on my mind.
There
is only one place in Manhattan that can really satisfy my whimsy for
fresh oysters. That place is the historic Grand Central Oyster Bar,
located in the lower level of the 'Fine Dining Hall' at Grand Central
Station on 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue.
My friend, Jeremy
Gatto is the general manager. He knows what to do when I come and in and
say, 'Today is Oyster Day. Can you order for me?'.
Not only
does Jeremy order food for me, but, he also pairs my meal with wines.
Mr. Gatto is the wine director, as well, and knows every bottle of his
six thousand bottle inventory.
Shortly after being seated, Jeremy talked to my waiter and then disappeared.
The
waiter rushed over and filled my wine glass with a 2014 Vrignaud Chablis ($15) from
Burgundy. I sampled the wine and loved the crisp, acidic, lemony profile
that is tailor made for seafood dishes. It went well with Chef Sandy
Ingber's colorful Manhattan Clam Chowder ($7) that was put in front of me.. The chowder was thick,
full of clams and vegetables swimming in an overly tasty and mildly
spicy roux. A faint resemblance of Gumbo came to mind.
The
waiter cleaned off the table, poured a lovely glass of 2013 Baglio di
Pianetto Ficilgno Viognier & Insolia ($12) form Sicily and proceeded
to explain that my next course consisted of six shucked oysters, three
were the sweet Gigacup Select from Washington state and the other three
were the briny Contuit oysters from Massachusetts ($18). Add cocktail
sauce with tobasco and a drop of amazing horseradish to each oyster and
you feel like you are in heaven.
I squeezed a little lemon on top of each oyster to
balance the acidity with the wine.
Normally, I would eat these
oysters in five minutes, but, in this case case, maybe because they were
so fresh and good, I took twenty minutes to complete this course.
Shortly
afterwards, one of the signature dishes of Grand Central Oyster Bar
magically appeared on the table. It was none other than a bowl of Oyster
Pan Roast ($14), sort of a soup. It is made with cream, butter, clam juice, and sweet
chili sauce. The roasted oysters float on top of a piece of toast, with a
dash of cayenne on top. The dish is outrageous and quite unique.
Customers flock to the restaurant for this dish as well as pan roasted
cherrystone clams, shrimp, lobster, Ipswich clams or sea scallops.
I was beginning to get full, but, had some room left.
Jeremy
outdid himself when he picked one of the specials of the day for my main course--Cajun
grilled Florida Red Grouper Filet with Papaya-Tomatillo Salsa and
Refried Beans ($36). The fish melted into the refried beans and became
another flavor, unique to any other. I am not sure if Chef Ingber
intended this or not, but, if he did, the mixture was genius.
As was the meal, so far.
Cajun Grilled Florida Red Grouper
Just
like magic, a glass of 2013 Hugel Reisling ($10) was poured with an order
of Roasted Bluepoint Oysters with grilled pineapple citrus vodka butter
($13). It was a first for me. The grilled pineapple citrus vodka butter
softened the bluepoint oysters to such a point that each bite tasted
like a creamy, sweet soft pancake. My palate exploded with pleasure as I
sipped the Reisling, which paired perfectly with the dish.
Oyster Pan Roast
Manhattan Clam Chowder
Old World Charm at the Grand Central Oyster Bar
Monday turned into an afternoon of seafood adventures, with oysters as my focus. Jeremy did a fabulous job of pairing the dishes with wine and Chef Sandy Ingber was spot on.
On Mondays, all bottles of wine under $100 are half price all day long.
Plus, daily Happy Hours:of 4:30-7pm weekdays and 1-5 on Saturdays.
The restaurant is closed on Sundays.
You can view their website: www.oysterbarny.xom
Philip S. Kampe
philip.kampe@thewinehub.com
/•/ Luiz Alberto, #winelover. Founder of the #winelover community, judge at International wine competitions, wine educator and communicator. /•/ Philip S. Kampe, #winelover: Growing up in New Orleans has opened my eyes to the world of wine, food, and culture. My heritage is a combination of French, British, and Hungarian. Add eight years of European life coupled with a wife of Italian roots and you will understand my journey into this amazing world.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
40 Years of Winemaking at Russian River Valleys Sonoma-Cutrer by Philip S. Kampe
Innovation in Winemaking at Sonoma-Cutrer began forty years ago. The focus has always been innovation for this Russian River Valley winery....
-
A nice welcome at the Hotel Laurin in Bolzano. Inside the cathedral in Bolzano. Laimburg Agricultural Research Center - http://www.la...
-
One of our new year resolutions is to give as my TheWineHub t-shirts as we can. That will be done through games, quizzes and contests ...
-
We are creating a new T-shirt for TWH and we need your help to decide which quotes we should use. Choose the ones that you like the most (u...
1 comment:
Thank you Phillip for giving a taste of New York being so far away.
Tony white
Post a Comment