Aging Gracefully

In honor of turning 24 a couple years ago, I took a group of my friends to Craftbar in the Flatiron. It was an average meal: large meals are difficult to negotiate, but the food was pretty basic and not that interesting.

However, I have returned to Craftbar a couple times since and each time have been impressed with the food, menu selection, and atmosphere. I definitely got the impression that the Craft empire decided to devote more resources to its more casual outpost and it has paid off. I recently went on a Thursday night. The restaurant was lively and warm. The menu was seasonal: lots of hearty vegetables, sturdy proteins, and heady sauces.

The starters at Craftbar are great: they have risotto balls, which are delicious morsels of rice with pecorino laced throughout. I went for a mushroom and fontina bruschetta which had a nice variety of hearty mushrooms. For the main, I went for a classic, or at least a classic in my mind: duck confit with chestnuts. When I walked into the restaurant, I had intended to order fish, but the duck and server sold me on it. The duck confit was great, the chestnuts a nice accompaniment. All and all, a perfect meal for the chilly November night.

It's rare I give restaurants second chances after an average experience...Craftbar is one of the few I have given another go and it has succeeded. Mercat is another restaurant which I think has improved a lot since its opening a few years back. It's a lot of fun when you can see tangible progress in a restaurant but in a city where there are so many dining options, first impressions still are most important.