JUdson Grill

I’ll state upfront- the food at JUdson Grill was superb. I had risotto with squash and mushrooms, in a mushroom wine reduction. I ate every last bit. The squash added a welcome sweet note to the dish- in fact, slightly more squash wouldn’t have gone amiss. But that is the merest quibble. And while I did not partake of dessert, the concoctions that went by would have been enough to break my resolve had I not already had my sights set on a pain au chocolat from patisserie claude.

HOWEVER. The attitude was abysmal. It was blisteringly windy and chilly out, and when I wouldn’t give up my coat to the coat check [I was cold, dammit], the atmosphere inside got frostier than out. In a huff, the hostess led us up two flights of stairs and into a back, empty room. Ebeth skewered her with a look[1] and asked for one of the empty tables we had passed. The hostess glared- if looks could kill, we’d both be in the hospital, at least. She wouldn’t even respond verbally. But we got the table. Granted, upon observing the room it seemed that some sort of interview/food show was going to be taped; the staff was likely on edge. But it was a radio show. My gaucherie of keeping my coat wasn’t going to be flashed across millions of screens. Our server was distantly correct, and pointedly condescending at times; my nerves were raw from the hostess, so he didn’t get as much slack as he might have normally. He mocked me when I asked for hot water, so I mocked him back. His revenge was to serve it scalding. We asked for the check after lunch; he put down dessert menus. But don’t think that all of the service at JUdson Grill is like that- we did get helped by some perfectly friendly and charming servers when ours couldn’t be found.

In sum, it’s a power-dining space, with fantastic food. But be prepared for some serious attitude, especially if you aren’t wearing a suit. Frankly, the Mercer Kitchen can pull off attitude [and even so, I got much better treatment there], if that’s what you’re looking for- but at least there are models to look at.

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[1]Ebeth protests the skewered description. ;-)

I protest! I did not skewer the hostess with a look. I merely frowned and asked very politely, if somewhat frostily, if we could sit on the balcony instead. As soon as Shields puts up an essay page, I’ll write about my serious gripe of being given a crappy table.

The space is gorgeous, casually elegant. A staircase leads to two balconies above the main dining room, then three small rooms in the back, which are clearly designed to be used for private parties (they have frosted glass doors).

The food was indeed superb. I had a salad of romaine lettuce hearts, bacon, and shaved Parmesan. Then I had four pierogi stuffed with butternut squash, served in brown butter with pinenuts. Wow. This is my kind of food.

Yeah, there was ’tude. But I expect that from the Big Apple. Question is, will I eat at JUdson Grill again? Much as I liked it, there are oh, I dunno, like five thousand other restaurants for me to try, and I don’t get to NY very often.