This would seem to be the month for old rimes' sake. We have been chophousing again. But let me say right here that the an of the chophouse per se, as it was known in the days of Henry Irving or Olive Fremstad or others who enjoyed the glories of well-cooked, well, aged meal in a pleasantly clubby atmosphere, is all but gone. Nowadays, in this chromium-and-plastic age, the comfortable, massive atmosphere of wood and leather and mellowness seems to have vanished. There are. however, a handful of real holdouts in this greater New York of ours, and I have sought out two of them with the first days of winter, actually upon us at last.
Uptowners are dangerously wont to forget Keen's English Chop House at 72 West 36th Street. Its geography is ideal for the opera or one of the theaters below the mid-forties. Here is the true chophouse, more or lest as it has been since 1878. That's seventy-two years ago! Naturally, there has been expansion over the years, but there still lingers on the aura of smoky wood, the same old theatrical posters and pictures, the same racks upon racks of pipes marked with the names of many past and present great. It is a nostalgic setting.
I have only one thought when I think of Keen's—mutton. I am certain that at this point no other restaurant in New York exists where one may feast on such pedigree mutton chops as Keen's. They are of well-aged Canadian or Northwestern mutton, the chops carefully selected and trimmed to about three-quarters of a pound each. Then they are slowly broiled under a low (lame, placed in a slow oven, and broiled a second time. As a consequence, there is a mutton chop which is well-cooked and appetizingly pink without having its outside charred and its inside raw. It is really neither well done nor rare, but a medium chop of hot, hearty juiciness. Its essential muttony flavor puts everyday chops momentarily in the pale. A giant baked Idaho potato, with literally ounces of butter on it, bursts out from its crisp brown shell, steaming fragrantly alongside its good companion.
As if that were not enough, there is also featured a robust mutton-chop combination, including kidney, sausage, and bacon with the Gargantuan chop. Here is simplicity in food in gourmet terms! No sauce, no other embellishments, just sheer good fond and good cooking. A mug of beer or ale with this, please.
Is it roast beef you crave this brisk winter evening.? Keen's again hits man's vulnerable spot with really superb ribs of beef. For a truly Brobdingnagian appetite. there is an extra cut which is almost enough for a small family.
If you would toy with steak. Keen's serves some of the best aged beef in New York, and that perfectly cooked and served. If you wander in with a small appetite, let me suggest the sirloin steak sandwich, which is in reality a minute steak of excellent flavor. But you need not choose such weighty things at Keen's. There is a huge menu featuring fish and sea food and such homely dishes as old-fashioned chicken fricassee and breast of chicken with ham Virginia style. The desserts are of the more traditional chophouse variety, and very good they are. You'll find apple and Other fruit pies along with such familiar items as rice pudding and ice cream. On Mondays there is a famous beefsteak and kidney pudding which has been ordered and reordered endlessly down the years.
Keen's is open every day but Sunday from noon until eleven at night. Telephone WI 7-3636.
We also wandered far afield to Brooklyn to see if Gage and Tollner, 374 Fulton Street, were still alive and full of the old zest at the three-score-and-ten milestone. They were. This spot, which has probably changed less in its physical aspects than any other restaurant in the metropolitan district, has the same tables and chairs and, one would swear in some instances, the same waiters they had decades ago. When you look at the hash marks ( no pun) on some of the waiters' sleeves, which indicate their years of service, you are aware that the tradition of courteous, old-time service goes on and on, uninterruptedly. There is the same heartiness about the portions, the same good-humored quality about everyone there, that have always marked Gage and Tollner.
Their Seventieth Anniversary menu is something extraordinarily good. I have always felt that the huge menu which measures about eighteen by thirty inches is among the most unwieldy things in the world. But theirs is in a booklet form which lists all their hundreds of dishes, yet is still easy to use.
I think you will find the selection of sea-food dishes something to marvel at. once your carriage and pair have arrived at the door and you are comfortably seated. I will wager they have put down more ways of preparing clams, oysters. crab meat, shrimp, and lobster than any other current list boasts. And that includes a great variety of fish in season. The Steak and chop offerings are traditional and sound. Here is food that is not garnished with bits of this and that. Merely simple, sometimes unusual, for the most part typically American dishes served in ample portions, freshly prepared and deliciously hot when they arrive at your table.
Gage and Tollner's has no pretensions: no long list of specially prepared entrees; only a few out-of-the-ordinary dishes to embellish the straightforwardness of the menu. But for hearty food, honestly named, carefully prepared, and pleasantly served in the nostalgic atmosphere of another era, lake a hansom to Gage and Tollner, Brooklyn's proudest chophouse, any day except Sunday. Telephone TR 5-5181.
I like the Café St. Denis at 11 East 53rd Street for several reasons. First, there is a hospitable feeling pervading the restaurant from the minute you enter. No need to down the first cocktail to feel at home. Second, the selection of dishes is wide and features some of the regional dishes of France which are not always found in French restaurants in New York. odd as that may be. Third, and what is probably of prime importance, the food is excellently prepared and well served. Prices are exceedingly reasonable, too, and the wine list is well chosen and not expensive. Here wine is considered an integral part of the meal and no! a luxury for special occasions.
On a recent Saturday when we lunched at St. Denis, I chose some rilletts for my first course. This pâté of pure pork and leaf lard is one of those simple French provincial dishes which needs a good deal of care in preparation. There is often a temptation to overseason rillettes, but the chef at St. Denis has resisted it, and his pâté has that desirable delicate pork flavor. To continue, there is a long list of other choices among their hors-d'oeuvre, such things as baked oysters, crêpes délices, oeuf à la russe, and jambon de Bayonne; or if you prefer, you may order an assortment. Imported foie gras is a dollar extra on the luncheon or dinner, which docs not raise the total price to astronomical proportions. even when that succulent bit of elegance is included in your menu.
My entree was as good a choucroute garnie as I have encompassed in a long time. The sauerkraut was well cooked, and the ham. the sausage, and the salt pork were all excellent. This is a dish which can be perfect or dull as dishwater. and this was on the plus side. definitely. My guest had kidneys sautéed with mushrooms and wine, and they were beautifully cooked, tender, and delicious. What more could two hungry wayfarers ask?
Other specialties of the house include a cassoulet (seldom found on menus any more, which is such an oversight); broiled pig's foot, sauce moutarde, another homely but delicious winter dish which is all too seldom found; tripe à la mode de Caen; and many of the more usual dishes, such as coq au vin, brook really sensible prices—luncheon running from about $1 to $1.75, dinner from $1.50 to $2.50. I had some delicious Virginia ham there on one occasion, and on another a really excellent lobster salad. Sound raw materials and sensible cooks may not produce masterpieces, but they produce few disappointments.
All the pastries and pies are baked right there, and from what we can ferret out, their pastry chef is a master of his croft,
Luncheon is served until three in the afternoon and dinner until nine-thirty in the evening, with but and à la carte menu offered after that. It seems certain that the Viceroy will catch on and be a most popular spot with the busy people who frequent that voisinage. Open every day. PL 3-2700.
I must confess to a long-time weakness for Edith Piaf. I first heard her in France in 1945 and since then have not only heard her frequently but have also been an avid collector of her records. Now that she has become more or less a fixture at the Versailles, 151 Hast 50th Street, she is available to her fans and fans-to-be for almost three months each year. Alas, in February she leaves to sing in other cities in the country—those of you who haven't heard her, run to the spot where she is advertised. Her spot in the limelight at Versailles will be taken by another favorite of mine who is a showwoman par excellence, Kay Thompson.
There is a tremendous graciousness about the Versailles. It is one of the happiest things Dorothy Draper has ever accomplished, for there is a feeling of elegance and spaciousness which is most important in a restaurant where there is dancing and entertainment. Crowded as the room becomes, there is never the feeling of being immured in a small cubicle.
There are two shows nightly at the Versailles—at dinner and at supper. Since there is a four-dollar minimum on week nights and a five-dollar minimum on week ends, it seems dollar-wise to go for dinner.
The menu is of amazing proportion, with a huge roll call of appetizers, main courses, cold buffet, and desserts. If you can't find something to delight you. you arc indeed a dyspeptic! There is, as well, a nice balance between elaborate and simple dishes, which is always a sign of good planning and of intelligent management. I was in a simple mood the other evening and began with some crab meat done with a commendable Russian dressing. This I followed with a piece of grilled calf's liver done to a turn and served piping hot with a little crisp bacon. My companion had grilled deviled veal kidneys, a most satisfactory dish at any time.
If you would go in for the more distingué dishes, there is guinea hen en casserole smitane for two. whole English sole bonne femme, or sweetbreads Eugénie.
There arc always a few Italian specialties, one of the other night's being a veal cutlet with spaghetti, served with a sauce combining chicken livers and mushrooms. An excellent meringue glacé rounded out my dinner, and my guest found the parfait Versailles most delectable. Versailles service is exemplary.
If you want a diverting evening with dinner and show all in one package, or if there arc people from Muncie or St. Louis who have to see the sights of New York, this is the easiest way for you to accomplish it. Merely call the Versailles and make a reservation, and then sit back and enjoy yourself. Tariff is on the high side, but then you arc combining entertainment and dining, so don't let that disturb you loo much. Telephone PL 8-0130.