Twenty five years ago this month, a twenty seven year old Danny Meyer showed up in the New York restaurant scene. You know, the guy who (along with his partners) went on to open Gramercy Tavern, Eleven Madison Park, Blue Smoke and Jazz Standard, The Modern (as well as Cafe 2 and Terrace 5) within the MoMA, the relatively new Mailalino, the closing-at-the-end-of-the-year Tabla, and the expanding phenomenon that is the...(pause for effect)...Shake Shack. It all had to start somewhere, and that somewhere is Union Square Cafe.
Mr. Meyer's restaurants fall under the umbrella of his Union Square Hospitality Group, and the name alone gives a clue as to what it is like to dine at his restaurants - the staff is hospitable. Duh. From friendly hostesses to a waitstaff that actually consults the kitchen when you say you have a food allergy, you get the impression everyone is happy to help. Whether or not that's true, I don't know, but I'm fine with the smoke and mirrors.
Ok, so you're here. What can you expect? Well, the Union Square Cafe is a deceptively spacious restaurant comprised of several sections. Upon entering, you stand beneath a soaring ceiling and approach the hostess stand. The main dining room is to the left of this area down a short flight of steps. Back on the entry level, there is space beyond the long bar where tables are tucked around different corners and nooks. Finally, there is a mezzanine at the very rear of the restaurant, which overhangs one of those aforementioned nooks. Framed pictures decorate the main dining room, while a watercolor mural creeps up the back wall toward the mezzanine. The whole space is tied together, however, by hunter green trim. It's the kind of green women named Celerie, Bunny, or Dale have used to decorate the smoking rooms of the husbands they've outlived named Field, Burton, or...Dale. All in all, it's a space that's both casual and buttoned-up. Though jeans may be worn anywhere in New York these days, men might reach for khakis first.
Ok, you're seated and hungry. What do they have? Well, it's predominantly American food with Italian nuances. Thanks to the convenience of the restaurant's location to the farmers' market in Union Square, the menu varies from day to day. You might, however, expect the likes of a puree of cauliflower soup with brown butter and walnuts. Honeycrisp apple and escarole salad with toasted walnuts, rosemary and pecorino. Pan-seared sweetbreads with crosnes, cippolini onion, and a concord grape emulsion. Then there's the pasta, which comes in half and whole portions and may include ricotta gnocchi, saffron pappardelle, butternut squash tortelli, or duck raviolini. Entrees cover grilled pancetta-wrapped shrimp, New Zealand venison loin chop, smoked shell steak, and grilled swordfish with caponata and arugula.
The menu also includes a section called "Weekly Classics," where a different dish is the special each night of the week. Stop by Monday for the Maine lobster and sweet corn risotto with oven-dried tomatoes. Thursday brings the rib-eye for two. Saturday is your night if you are a pork chop fan. No matter what night you go, though, save room for dessert. Greenmarket plum upside down cake with spiced rum ice cream? Yes. Flourless chocolate cake with salted caramel sauce? Sure. Mint semifreddo with brownie pieces and milk chocolate sauce? Can I get a vat of that to go? No? Then we're fighting.
Make a reservation at Union Square Cafe for lunch or dinner, though walk-ins may try their luck for an open table or a spot at the bar. You will want to plan ahead, however, for your son-in-law's birthday, that business meeting with the St. Louis office, or your aunt's visit from Connecticut. Hey, Bunny's got a hankering for some lamb chops.
Union Square Cafe - 21 East 16th Street, between 5th Avenue & Union Square West
Mr. Meyer's restaurants fall under the umbrella of his Union Square Hospitality Group, and the name alone gives a clue as to what it is like to dine at his restaurants - the staff is hospitable. Duh. From friendly hostesses to a waitstaff that actually consults the kitchen when you say you have a food allergy, you get the impression everyone is happy to help. Whether or not that's true, I don't know, but I'm fine with the smoke and mirrors.
Ok, so you're here. What can you expect? Well, the Union Square Cafe is a deceptively spacious restaurant comprised of several sections. Upon entering, you stand beneath a soaring ceiling and approach the hostess stand. The main dining room is to the left of this area down a short flight of steps. Back on the entry level, there is space beyond the long bar where tables are tucked around different corners and nooks. Finally, there is a mezzanine at the very rear of the restaurant, which overhangs one of those aforementioned nooks. Framed pictures decorate the main dining room, while a watercolor mural creeps up the back wall toward the mezzanine. The whole space is tied together, however, by hunter green trim. It's the kind of green women named Celerie, Bunny, or Dale have used to decorate the smoking rooms of the husbands they've outlived named Field, Burton, or...Dale. All in all, it's a space that's both casual and buttoned-up. Though jeans may be worn anywhere in New York these days, men might reach for khakis first.
Ok, you're seated and hungry. What do they have? Well, it's predominantly American food with Italian nuances. Thanks to the convenience of the restaurant's location to the farmers' market in Union Square, the menu varies from day to day. You might, however, expect the likes of a puree of cauliflower soup with brown butter and walnuts. Honeycrisp apple and escarole salad with toasted walnuts, rosemary and pecorino. Pan-seared sweetbreads with crosnes, cippolini onion, and a concord grape emulsion. Then there's the pasta, which comes in half and whole portions and may include ricotta gnocchi, saffron pappardelle, butternut squash tortelli, or duck raviolini. Entrees cover grilled pancetta-wrapped shrimp, New Zealand venison loin chop, smoked shell steak, and grilled swordfish with caponata and arugula.
The menu also includes a section called "Weekly Classics," where a different dish is the special each night of the week. Stop by Monday for the Maine lobster and sweet corn risotto with oven-dried tomatoes. Thursday brings the rib-eye for two. Saturday is your night if you are a pork chop fan. No matter what night you go, though, save room for dessert. Greenmarket plum upside down cake with spiced rum ice cream? Yes. Flourless chocolate cake with salted caramel sauce? Sure. Mint semifreddo with brownie pieces and milk chocolate sauce? Can I get a vat of that to go? No? Then we're fighting.
Make a reservation at Union Square Cafe for lunch or dinner, though walk-ins may try their luck for an open table or a spot at the bar. You will want to plan ahead, however, for your son-in-law's birthday, that business meeting with the St. Louis office, or your aunt's visit from Connecticut. Hey, Bunny's got a hankering for some lamb chops.
Union Square Cafe - 21 East 16th Street, between 5th Avenue & Union Square West
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