Dirty French
Summary
This place is right around the corner of Katz in the Ludlow Hotel. We sat in the patio area which is much nicer and quieter than indoors where everyone else is sitting.
Starting off, they serve bread that seems to be freshly made for your table. The bread comes with some butter with oil on it, and it’s really good.
We ordered 2 cocktails: Laboulaye which is the green one and Petite Socco which is the red one. My green drink wasn’t as good as the red one. The green was definitely smokey, but I was hoping the bell pepper would provide a more significant kick. The red drink was definitely very good.
The oysters were pretty good although the horseradish mignonette was not preferred. The oysters though were fresh and nicely chucked in that there were a lot of juices left within. They kind of reminded me of Blue Point oysters, so they weren’t as salty as other East Coast oysters.
The duck was phenomenal. It’s been a while since I’ve really enjoyed duck, and this restaurant hit it out of the park. The skin was delicate and crispy, and the meat was very tender and juicy. In addition, it wasn’t just 1 small half sized breast. They actually gave a lot of duck. The sweet orange tangy sauce wasn’t overpowering and complemented the duck well.
The steak frites was a mild disappointment. The sauce had some horseradish flavors in it which I didn’t think went well with the steak. The steak though was cooked a perfect medium rare. The fries on the side were actually pretty tasty. It’s definitely unlike your standard steak frites place where they give you two servings. Here is just one.
The pommes purée reminded me a little of the classic Joel Robuchon recipe. It was pretty buttery and pretty silky smooth, but not quite the same. Nonetheless, it was really good too.
I did like the ambiance here, but maybe we were fortunate to have been seating away from the crowds in the patio.
One note about the service: it could be perceived as a little rude at times, but it is pretty direct. Some of the staff look like they don’t want to be there. But nonetheless, I wouldn’t take it personally. For me, it was fine because I make it very clear to the staff what my intentions are, so that there’s no ambiguity.
Final Verdict
If you come here, definitely get the duck because it completely caught me offguard how good this was. Also, definitely ask to be seated in the patio for more of an intimate/laid-back vibes.
Yelp Jabs
Our server didn’t bother asking so we thought maybe the chef wants it served only a certain way which is commonly acceptable by diners so we waited. The lamb was delicious in flavor but it was medium rare (a little more rare) and that’s not our preference.
If you’re going to order your lamb anything more cooked than medium rare, then just don’t order it. Yeah I’m being elitist about this, but it’s pretty much the truth.
The menu is somewhat limited but standard brunch fare.
Rating a restaurant on their brunch menu is almost like deciding if a restaurant is good based on their Dine NY menu. I still don’t get why people want to rate restaurants based on the limited amount of ways to do eggs.