November 26, 2013 |
Short Order
Reverse Chic: Brooklyn Invades Gotham West Market
Blair Wilson
Gotham West is on the ground floor of yet another sleek new apartment tower in Hell’s Kitchen I guess I look like a tourist. There I am snapping photos, when the pie-baking instructor of the Brooklyn Kitchen looks up from her prep and calls across the Gotham West Market to ask where I’m from.
Isn’t it obvious? I consider myself a quintessential New Yorker. I guess I’m insulted. “I live in Brooklyn,” I respond.
“Oh!” She sounds surprised. “Well, then what are you doing here?!”
This gooey, salty breakfast sandwich from Little Chef was my choice.
I laugh. She does have a point. Scanning the far-flung, ten thousand square feet grazing grounds of the newly opened fast food mart in Hell’s Kitchen, I spot a trio of favorite vendors from my adopted borough. Little Chef (by Caroline Fidanza of Williamsburg’s Saltie), Court Street Grocers, and Brooklyn Kitchen, where I’m now blushing over a pie crust in the works.
Needless to say, Manhattan sets the tone in this pricey food court – El Colmado, a wine bar with Spanish tapas by Chef-Owner Seamus Mullen of Tertulia, The Cannibal, an outcropping of owner Christian Pappanicholas’s Gramercy spot, and the new Genuine Roadside from AvroKO design and restaurant firm.
Gotham West Market is set up cafeteria-style, but with more rustic-chic charm and better food.
There are rustic-chic picnic tables lined up but my guy and I grab a couple of seats at the bar of Little Chef. He’s eager to try the chicken, leek, and prune soup. I’m intrigued by that prune, but I’m just waking up and need something more break-the-fast. We settle on Ships Biscuit, an oozing sandwich of scrambled eggs and ricotta on excellent toasted focaccia for $10. The eggs are perfectly cooked, the whites softly gooey and the yolks runneth over. Ricotta rushes off the sides and it’s all too salty. But good. I’ve made points with my choice.
The brussel sprouts with mint surpassed the rock shrimp sausage from The Cannibal.
Chewing our way across the East River, we head for the meaty Cannibal counter next. We give in to the waiter’s sales pitch for rock shrimp sausage with fennel pollen mayo ($14) and a side of brussel sprouts ($12). Sadly, I’m not as wowed as my beau by the sausage—the salty, sea taste of shrimp I expect is overpowered by the pork casing. But we're both sold on the sprouts, forks competing for the vinegary, mint-touched lumps and large chunks of country ham gremolata.
My guy and I share the Classic Shoyu from Ivan Orkin’s ramen joint – topped with a bright, yolky egg.
I’ve almost filled up on brunch even though I promised to save a spot for the much-buzzed porridge of Ivan Ramen Slurp Shop, the newest outpost by the ramen guru. Struggling against an oncoming food coma, the two of us split the Classic Shoyu ($15), salted with a soy-sauce base, even though it’s touted as heavier and richer than Shio. And of course the additional egg is culturally obligatory. A steaming bowl comes off the assembly line. The egg is cut lengthwise, two islands containing a perfect, liquid yolk. Scooping up noodles with my chopsticks I discover new craving. The finale lives up to the hype.
A solid closing message from Brooklyn Kitchen.
How easy it was to spend money. The cafeteria layout is deceptive with its food truck aura. It seems some vendors hiked the prices for Hell’s Kitchen. Court Street Grocer’s Turkey Club, $12.17 in Brooklyn, rounded off at $15 across the river. We leave sipping Blue Bottle coffees, bracing against the cold to get the subway back to Brooklyn. Possibly this inter-borough medley will find its fans in Manhattan.
600 11th Ave between 44th and 45th Streets. 212 582 7940. Open Monday through Thursday from 7am to 11pm, Friday from 7am to 12am, Saturday from 8am to 12am, and Sunday from 8am to 11pm.
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