Last week, I took you through Mario Batali’s Eataly,
exploring Italian cuisine through the market-style family of shops and
mini-restaurants. It would hardly be fair for me to focus on a single country’s
cuisine, and it just so happens that my next Flatiron Fave concentrates on
classic French bistro fare.
Almond is located on East 22nd, just east of
Broadway. This was a place that I could always stop by for an easy (and
delicious) bite after work while we were opening Beecher’s. Its creators, Eric Lemonides and Jason Weiner, somehow managed to
combine the warmth of an old-style drawing room with the bustle and
conviviality of a Parisian bistro. Add to that a really friendly staff, and the
second incarnation (the first is out in Bridgehampton) of Almond makes out to
be a surprisingly cozy neighborhood haunt.
Their menu adds to this casual sense of the refined. It’s
comforting without being comfort food. It’s like going to your friend’s house
instead of your grandmother’s house for dinner. They both cook really great
food (at least, I hope your friend cooks great food!), but when you’re at your
grandma’s you might act a little more polite and refined. That’s not to say
you’re a boorish brute at your friend’s house, but you can enjoy great food and
company there and still lean back a little and laugh a little more freely.
Next week, we’ll head south on Park Avenue and head back up
20th half a block so I can show you Chef Sam Hazen’s Veritas, a
stalwart of contemporary American cuisine. In the meantime, check back on
Tuesday for my next recipe post – Cedar-grilled salmon with corn risotto and
roasted lobster mushrooms!
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