Spoiler alert: I am head over heals with the Brindle Room. Expect a gushy review.
So, this little gem on 10th street in the village is the kinda place (that luckily for me) many people walk past. In a neighborhood crammed with celeb fueled eateries (Momofuku I’m looking at you) the Brindle Room, with its unassuming entrance, warm interior, and chill atmosphere might not even register on most people radar.
Effectively you have then missed one of the better meals of your life.
It was so good, I even made a video about it. I was literally moved so much by this meal that my passion as a filmmaker was called into action. Take a peek, but I recommend putting a drip towel over your keyboard … https://vimeo.com/39804758
Let’s be frank and earnest here for a sec; the Brindle Room is not Boulud. It is not Jean George. We are not at Per Se. Nothing has foam on it, or even a hint of truffle. What we have here is neighborhood haute cuisine at its finest.
Seared Pepper Steak sandwich, house smoked chicken wings, even classic baked oysters that slide down your mouth like the caress of a warmed silk glove of a parisian lover. The menu stretches from the comforting beer battered pork belly to the more elegant venison loin, but don’t be fooled; everything on this menu was created by the chef to be just good tasting and fun eating. It doesn’t try to be anything that it’s not and that is where you realize it is a rare find; a genuinely good place to eat that focuses on food not fame.
It has been extremely hard not to mention the burger for three paragraphs. Extremely hard. Having been to the Brindle Room on multiple occasions you find out that even though they have THE BEST HAMBURGER IN THE WORLD, that the rest of their menu is stellar as well. But, let’s talk about it, because, damn it’s good…
… their burger is a select mixture of prime meat that incorporates the deckle cut of steak which is the most delicious cut you could put in your mouth. What? Never heard of the deckle, a.k.a. The Rib-Eye Cap? The 2nd filet of Brisket? The Pillow Cut? (I made that last one up… sorry, rule of threes owns me)
Well the deckle is that guy that shows up to your party that makes it the best party that ever was. The guy that, 20 years later at someone wedding you don’t really know but you have a lot of mutual friends so you decide to go because you might see Charlene there and you wonder if she’s got fat, and you see all your high school buds and they were like “remember that party at Tom Higgin’s place when Deckle showed up in the stolen cop car a case of Goldschäger and a Billy Goat?” and you’re like “remember? Do we not all have tattoo’s of the date with “Deckle 4 EVA … bhaaaaa!” on all our arms???”. Yeah it’s like that.
More scientifically, Deckle is the back end of the Rib-Eye steak. Basically a mixture of filet and marbled fat, that, when blended in the right proportion, seared in a seasoned cask iron skillet, and then baked with soft, sweet onions and American cheese, produces a hamburger that you want to slowly rub on your face while confessing your love to it before consuming. Hence the reason they give you cloth dishtowels instead of paper napkins at the Brindle Room. You dont come for a meal; you come to make love to your food, and if done right, cleanup is always a bit messy, but always worth it.
Besides delicious devourables, Brindle keeps a pretty great, albeit small, selection of craft beers and affordable wines to help libate the meal properly. They also have a brunch that might take you out for the day. It really should come with in-house cots. Monday nights is vinyl night, so if you’re looking for some ear candy and mouth treats, that might be your jam.
Full disclosure: I have absolutely no stock in the Brindle Room. At all. This review come straight from the heart, and or perhaps stomach.
Rs
The TravelClast 