There is a romantic air about Robert's (33 West 55th Street), whose setting seems to have been lifted right out of a smart novel. The low ceilings, the perfect lighting, and the comfortable seating are a blessing, especially for a well-planned dinner à deux or an evening of leisurely dining and good conversation. There is a detached quality about the restaurant which slackens one's pace, relaxes the nerves, and enables one to enjoy food and drink to the fullest. It is definitely a place to choose when the romantic urge and the desire for good food emerge at one and the same time.
Should there be something on the menu which you would enjoy prepared in another fashion, have no hesitation in asking to have it done, as Robert is most agreeable about the whims and moods of his guests. This is one of the special services of the house. There are, however, certain specialties which have become traditional in this delightful dining spot. One is a favorite of mine, poulet sauté viennoise, a simple and delicious chicken dish. Tender young chickens are dipped in egg and rolled in crumbs and sautéed in butter and forthwith served to you golden-brown. It is a sauté sec par excellence. A tiny twist of lemon gives the right flavor, and homemade noodles with tiny croutons tag along as proper accompaniment.
Though late to discuss it now, we give you a hint to be filed. Robert prepares a terrapin Maryland which is completely wonderful and which has done much to break the stringent dieting resolutions of one of my feminine friends. Merely the thought of West Fifty-fifth Street will start her rushing toward Robert and a large portion of terrapin. I cannot criticize, for it is terrapin which may be termed perfection.
For luncheon, should you feel in a salad mood, try shrimp with Russian dressing, a bountiful and truly delicate blending of flavors, a most satisfying warm-weather luncheon.
Incidental note: Why will restaurateurs not use a court-bouillon for cooking shrimp? It enhances the flavor immeasurably, and the trouble involved is negligible. I recommend highly—no, I urge—the use of more sapid liquid in cooking shrimp in the finer restaurants in New York.
Soups are a specialty of Robert's. His cold cream of leek soup, the onion soup, that runner-up in popularity, and his boula are all distinguished and worthy soups. What a little turtle broth will do to make a distinguished potage out of otherwise simple ingredients! It is my hope that someone will someday present to the public a truly fine, unadulterated turtle soup, one that will really stick to the lips.
I am not what one would call a dessert fan. I confess to a few sweets which I crave from time to time, but as a general rule there are few instances when I feel that a dessert is absolutely necessary to round out a meal. However, I do know that when I dine in Fifty-fifth Street, I get a certain feeling about crêpes au kirsch. Tender, delicate crêpes, positively ephemeral, rolled with crème Chantilly and blazed in butter and kirsch. This superb sweet is worth a trip from San Francisco or New Orleans for just a taste.
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