Craftbar
Tom Colicchio's more casual offshoot of Craft has been in our neighborhood for years. Aside from a glass of wine here and there it wasn't until last week that we actually stopped in for a full meal. The place was absolutely packed on Saturday night but we were able to get two seats at the bar. We skimmed the drink menu and were both happily surprised to see some incredible beers...Cigar City Jai Alai, Westbrook Citrus Ninja and Imperial Biscotti Break Natale were just a few of the great beers on the list. After settling into our drinks we began with an Autumn Squash and Kale Salad.
I found this salad to be very strange. Each piece of Kale was shredded into long lengthwise segments which made it really difficult to get a big satisfying bite. This combined with a smattering of under cooked cubes of squash on top made for a most disappointing dish.
The Skate fared better than the salad with a delicate brown butter sauce on top and crispy roasted brussels sprouts on the side. The fish was a tad overcooked but the wonderful horseradish creme fraiche saved it from being dry.
The Veal Breast Roulade was the big winner. The meat was soft and tender, filled with rich flavors of porcini and chestnut with a creamy dollop of sunchoke puree. It was the perfect dish for warming up on a blustery winter night.
Overall it was a decent meal...the food doesn't live up to the excellence of the original Craft down the block, but it's also half the price which makes it a little more accessible for a casual night out.
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