15 replies to this topic

[Wilfrid]

If this already has a thread, I can't find it. I happened to eat there the day the Sifton review appeared. If you're in the neighborhood, daytime - and I don't mean weekend brunch - I think you might be surprised at how pleasant and relaxing the place is. Doubtless a zoo after dark.

A few remarks at the Pink Pig, along with pictures of Atticus Finch. Yes, he eats there.

[oakapple]

I was there yesterday (blog post here) and had the burger for a late lunch. I entirely agree with Wilfrid that this place is quite charming at off hours, no doubt an enormous contrast to the nightlife scene.

Even the bartender conceded that I probably wouldn't like the place at night. He suggested that if I showed up early on a Monday or Tuesday evening, I just might get seated without too much of a wait. I'll put that nugget in my memory bank.

[Wilfrid]

If we both say a thing, it must be true.

[Sneakeater]

I strolled in last night around 11:15 or so. There were enough people there to talk to, but that was about it. Easy to just sit down at the bar and eat and drink.

The appetizer -- chorizo-stuffed squid, with grapefruits for acid and lettuce with some kind of white muck for texture -- was surprisingly good. The fried chicken main course was surprisingly dull.

The staff could not have been nicer. I really had a good time.

There's much better food around late at night, but not perhaps a much more pleasant venue (at least on a Tuesday).

[Sneakeater]

Oops.

COMP DISCLOSURE: A shot of whisky, a glass of wine.

[Nathan]

its easy to make fun of Batali, but all of his places are either at the top or near the top of their respective categories. still. which is kind of amazing.

[Abbylovi]

Ever since I've heard about the Peels sundae, I've been on a mission to have lunch there. Yesterday it finally happened...

I selected the turkey sandwich to start, basically because I wanted room for the sundae. (They insist on calling it the idiotic Gobblecado, you'll see why in a moment.) This consists of smoked turkey, avocado, chili mayo and cotija cheese. Not a good sandwich. The chili mayo has no spice to it, the turkey was dry and the other ingredients just made the sandwich an uninteresting mush. I like a sandwich where the ingredients play off of each other - usually there's something crunchy, something to offset the fat, etc. Not here. Oh and the bread was insipid too. (Sorry, I had to use that word.)

My friend and I ate at the counter so we were able to watch the skinny boy counter guys. I'm not sure what their jobs were, mostly they horsed around with each other, at one point I observed the tall drink of water boy put a stapler on his head for the amusement of his fellow boys. Fun.

My friend, a hearty eater, had the fried chicken sandwich. I mention that he is a hearty eater because the sandwich was small and he needed to supplement his meal with some of my chips in order to achieve fullness. Oh the chips looked house made and were good by the way.

Ok on to the sundae. It was. Spectacular. It consists of two scoops of vanilla ice cream with whipped cream, brownie bites, peanuts, pretzel bits, hot fudge AND salted caramel.

I definitely ordered wrong with the turkey sandwich. I immediately had buyers remorse upon seeing the fish tacos go by. If I went back for lunch, that's what I'd get, but more likely I'd just return for the sundae.

[GG Mora]

Ever since I've heard about the Peels sundae, I've been on a mission to have lunch there. Yesterday it finally happened...

I selected the turkey sandwich to start, basically because I wanted room for the sundae. (They insist on calling it the idiotic Gobblecado, you'll see why in a moment.) This consists of smoked turkey, avocado, chili mayo and cotija cheese. Not a good sandwich. The chili mayo has no spice to it, the turkey was dry and the other ingredients just made the sandwich an uninteresting mush. I like a sandwich where the ingredients play off of each other - usually there's something crunchy, something to offset the fat, etc. Not here. Oh and the bread was insipid too. (Sorry, I had to use that word.)

My friend and I ate at the counter so we were able to watch the skinny boy counter guys. I'm not sure what their jobs were, mostly they horsed around with each other, at one point I observed the tall drink of water boy put a stapler on his head for the amusement of his fellow boys. Fun.

My friend, a hearty eater, had the fried chicken sandwich. I mention that he is a hearty eater because the sandwich was small and he needed to supplement his meal with some of my chips in order to achieve fullness. Oh the chips looked house made and were good by the way.

Ok on to the sundae. It was. Spectacular. It consists of two scoops of vanilla ice cream with whipped cream, brownie bites, peanuts, pretzel bits, hot fudge AND salted caramel.

I definitely ordered wrong with the turkey sandwich. I immediately had buyers remorse upon seeing the fish tacos go by. If I went back for lunch, that's what I'd get, but more likely I'd just return for the sundae.

There's a very nice piece about Shuna's 'point of view' on desserts in the current Art of Eating.

[Daisy]

I have met Shuna. She is a very nice, very interesting person in addition to being an awesome pastry chef. Good writer, too.

That sundae sounds terrific.

[irnscrabblechf52]

I recently had a brunchy lunch here. I thought the "build-a-biscuit" was terrible, the biscuit was super doughy, the ham unpleasantly chewy+smoked. the real abomination though was the red-eye gravy. having just been in mississippi, alabama, and tennessee, I was expecting something very very different from what Peels delivered.

The buckwheat muffin was great though, it had a really nice sage+citrus flavor, not too dense, very moist.

all in all I thought the place had an obnoxious vibe. i'm not into the whole regional american agenda. i would go back for the muffins though.

[Sneakeater]

Inscrutable.

[StephanieL]

It was absolutely packed yesterday at 3:00. I just wanted to get something from the counter, and bought a cranberry & sesame seed muffin (though it was listed as poppy seed). I wish it had had poppy seeds; the "sweet + sesame" combination automatically means "Japanese desserts" to me, which didn't really jibe with the cranberry.

The tarts and cookies looked wonderful, though, and I'll have to try one the next time I'm in the area.

[Wilfrid]

Popped into Peels as a matter of convenience last night, for a quick bite. The cheeseburger: you know, the ingredients seem okay, but does nobody mind that the weedy little bun decomposes immediately, leaving you eating handfuls of wet garnish or - as I did - finishing it with a fork?

[Suzanne F]

Solo dinner tonight. I was there (upstairs) from 7:15 to about 9:00. Two or three other tables occupied.

Sazerac was a bit sweet for my taste, but otherwise nice.

Squid a la plancha with padron peppers was okay; needed salt. Good size portion, with a nice little acidic dressing underneath that I would never have found if I hadn't had to salt everything.

I liked the fried chicken fine, although it too needed salt. Most of it (an entire half-breast) came home, as did much of the cheddar-jalapeño grits and half the biscuit. I'm not sure why I brought home the biscuit; it is not very good at all. Baked in too hot an oven, methinks, so it rises much and browns much but is undercooked inside. Unpleasant. The grits lacked salt and the kick expected from jalapeños, but were a pleasant dish. Adding Secret Trading Aardvark Sauce helped, but that was the least spicy habanero sauce I've ever tasted. Maybe in Portland, OR, where it's from, they don't want the true nature of habaneros to come through? Last item on the plate, a wedge salad -- blue cheese dressing over a partial head of (hydroponic?) Boston -- was a bit watery, and odd in that they left the core and stem of the lettuce on (which is why I suspect hydroponic; seemed like what we get from Stokes sometimes).

A glass of Argyle blanc de noirs; overpriced for the size of pour, imo.

The sundae was the only thing that had enough salt, even without the peanuts (I am not of a fan of peanuts on/in anything other than peanut butter, and never with chocolate). Excellent caramel and superb fudge, tasteless brownie bits, no pretzels, too much boring whipped cream.

Staff was unfailingly sweet. Very nice to encounter such pleasant service.

[Rich]

Thought this was a beer thread.