The light is fading fast. The cloudless sky that often accompanies a fresh, cold day is melting into dark blue. Candles, in clear, glass cups, wait on the tables that fill the dining rooms at the restaurant,
Elsewhere (
403 W. 43rd St.). They pool their strength, poised to light the way of the Friday night crowd, who will soon gather here to enjoy Chef Megan Johnson’s creations. A hostess leads us to the Garden Room at the back of the restaurant after we present her with our vouchers from a certain website good for a six course food tasting. The exposed brick walls of the Garden Room, in shades of red, white and blue, the potted plants that line the space cradling some of the very herbs used in the dishes we have yet to enjoy, the wooden tables, the wooden chairs and the roughly thirty year old tree stretching towards the vaulted skylight make you feel as if you have entered a world balancing on a fulcrum somewhere between the Secret Garden and a scene from a Smith and Hawken catalogue.
Elsewhere, which opened on December 14, 2010, lays claim to a menu that offers fare “inspired by seasonal produce and farms with great integrity” (
read here). Chris, our waiter and our tour guide on this culinary adventure greets us with a smile and a knowledgeable explanation about what we can expect, from the restaurant in general, and the courses to come. He tells us about Elsewhere’s unique wine collection, boasting bottles from places like the Canary Islands, and asks if we would like to take part in the restaurant’s special wine pairing, which they have prepared especially for those indulging in the tasting. We browse the extensive wine list, taking note of its many sections- “Blow your bonus on these…” “All up in your grill,” “
Do you feel lucky? Well, do ya Punk?”- and we settle on a glass of La Posta Malbec from Argentina and another red named Campogrande Cinqueterre.
Holding the stems of our full wine glasses we are armed and ready for the first course, smoked caviar with puffed rice, crème fraîche and bee pollen. This was my very first time having caviar, and I thought it was, for lack of a more eloquent term, amazing. The second course is chicken liver pâté spread over a toasted baguette with sides of pear butter (yes, it is as incredible as you imagine it to be) and crème fraîche. Chris suggests we eat this, one of his favorite dishes, by slathering the baguette with both the pear butter and the crème fraîche and then “going for it”. We do, and the outcome is a crunchy, sweet sensation that seems impossible to top.
The third course, my favorite, is sausage stuffed Forelle pears with tomato jelly on the side. I am on automatic pilot after the first taste, cutting ferociously into the squat, brown pear, dipping sausage, fruit or both at once into the tomato jelly that tastes like a sweet tomato sauce. The juices from the foods melt together and I marvel at how two seemingly different things can compliment each other so well. Next, we are presented with grapefruit glazed cod with escarole and chorizo, the top of the cod lightly crisped and the chorizo sneaking onto my fork, offering a pleasant surprise of flavor. Then, sliced hanger steak over spätzle and brussels sprouts and for desert, a jazzed up take on the French “floating island”, rose snow adrift on a sea of custard, surrounded by thin slices of kumquat and sprinkled with pistachio, a cool and refreshing finish to the masticating marathon.
I settle into my chair, full, take the last few sips of wine and pause to taste Elsewhere’s specialty hot chocolate, mixed with sambuca and served with a buoyant, chocolate glazed marshmallow. A table over, I hear the waiter discuss Elsewhere’s famous biscuits with two women, “made with brown butter and crushed black pepper”. As we leave the restaurant I glance back at the wooden sign that bears the restaurants name hanging in spotlight over the sidewalk. “Elsewhere. Why go anywhere else?” I think and amble happily home.
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| Smoked Caviar |
 |
| Chicken Liver Pâté |
 |
| Sausage Stuffed Pears |
 |
| Grapefruit Glazed Cod |
 |
| Sliced Hanger Steak |
 |
| Rose Snow |
The light is fading fast. The cloudless sky that often accompanies a fresh, cold day is melting into dark blue. Candles, in clear, glass cups, wait on the tables that fill the dining rooms at the restaurant, Elsewhere (403 W. 43rd St.). They pool their strength, poised to light the way of the Friday night crowd, who will soon gather here to enjoy Chef Megan Johnson’s creations. A hostess leads us to the Garden Room at the back of the restaurant after we present her with our vouchers from a certain website good for a six course food tasting. The exposed brick walls of the Garden Room, in shades of red, white and blue, the potted plants that line the space cradling some of the very herbs used in the dishes we have yet to enjoy, the wooden tables, the wooden chairs and the roughly thirty year old tree stretching towards the vaulted skylight make you feel as if you have entered a world balancing on a fulcrum somewhere between the Secret Garden and a scene from a Smith and Hawken catalogue.
Elsewhere, which opened on December 14, 2010, lays claim to a menu that offers fare “inspired by seasonal produce and farms with great integrity” (read here). Chris, our waiter and our tour guide on this culinary adventure greets us with a smile and a knowledgeable explanation about what we can expect, from the restaurant in general, and the courses to come. He tells us about Elsewhere’s unique wine collection, boasting bottles from places like the Canary Islands, and asks if we would like to take part in the restaurant’s special wine pairing, which they have prepared especially for those indulging in the tasting. We browse the extensive wine list, taking note of its many sections- “Blow your bonus on these…” “All up in your grill,” “Do you feel lucky? Well, do ya Punk?”- and we settle on a glass of La Posta Malbec from Argentina and another red named Campogrande Cinqueterre.
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