Crow: A Review

After hearing all the hype about Crow, a restaurant two blocks from my house on 5th Ave., I finally decided to venture there yesterday for the Brit’s birthday. It was well worth the wait. Crow is definitely on the top of my list of restaurants worthy of eating at—for special occasions. The dining area has a fabulous ambiance. The far wall is painted in a modern mish-mash of bright golds and oranges, the tables are a dark mahogany, and crow decorations are subtly used throughout—separating one side of the restaurant from the other was an ironwork fencing that had crows perched stiffly atop. It is a small restaurant, offering mid-range priced dinners from $10 appetizers to $14-20 entrees. With the sultry acoustic music and romantic lighting, it is definitely one of the more sophisticated restaurants I’ve eaten at.

As far as the food goes, the menu was limited, but the food was unbelievably fantastic. They start you off with bread, oil and vinegar. (My favorite) Except even the olive oil was exceptional, and tasted different than just plain old olive oil out of a jar. Following the Brit’s suggestion, we ordered the “House Antipasti” without asking what it was and were pleasantly surprised. It was a plate of assorted vegetables including onions, pickled beets, green beans and roasted red peppers, garlic and zucchini, with cheese in a sweet vinegar sauce. It was a perfect selection for an appetizer because since it was mostly vegetables, it was light and we were not too full for dinner.

For the main course, I ordered artichoke heart ragout with a polenta cake and feta sauce. It was amazing. It was a bowl of onions, squash, and artichoke hearts with a polenta cake on top (sort of like cornbread) and a thick pesto sauce (almost like cottage cheese) on top. It was a vegetarian plate, meaning no meat, which normally I wouldn’t have thought of ordering, but I loved it.

We finished the evening off with probably the best dessert I’ve ever had. I usually never order dessert, but since they politely brought the menu instead of asking us if we wanted to see it (a clever marketing trick because normally I just would have turned it down) the Brit and I couldn’t resist the temptation of the Almond Cake with Rhubarb compote and Strawberry frache. It was amazing. I’m a sucker for strawberry-rhubarb stuff, my mom’s pie is one of them, and this took the cake. Pun intended.

Currently Feeling: Like I already spent too much money. God dammit.
Currently Anticipating: Drinking green beer tonight with Sarah at the Irish Immigrant!