22 replies to this topic

[Wilfrid]

I'd be curious to know if anyone else has tried this place. The concept - small plates paired with cocktails as the central attraction - seems contrived. The result is that it's hard to know how to order dinner here.

Pink Pig

[Sneakeater]

My friend who hates eating normal three-course dinners loved it.

[Wilfrid]

Does your friend also have a small appetite? Because even if you prefer to graze on small plates, it would be expensive to make a full dinner out of them here.

Okay, I should explain that The Beagle makes things even more difficult than the average small plates joint by including a half-pour cocktail pairing with its more interesting food choices. This means each small bite or two costs $15; a reasonable price given the cocktail, but $45 for three snacks.

Where is wasp-waisted Nathan to tell me one or two of The Beagle's dishes would be plenty?

[Sneakeater]

My friend has a large appetite.

I'm sure she went somewhere else afterwards.

[nuxvomica]

i didn't love the food/booze pairings (except for the dessert) but cocktails are top notch.

to me it's a great place for cocktails with a bite if/when needed but not a dinner destination, although i realize others may have a different expectation. i was there at the end of a fairly long night but we had 3-4 plates (with their booze pairings) - can't say any of the food as particularly memorable. cocktails, on the other hand, terrific.

[Wilfrid]

Yes, no need to dismiss it as a cocktail bar, but it is trying hard to be a food destination too. Of course, as a cocktail bar it is one of a remarkable number of choices in the neighborhood, so it does need to be good. (PDT, Death & Co, Cienfuegos, that tequila place, the new Amaro/bitters place, Louis 649 and I've probably forgotten some.)

[nuxvomica]

if you are talking neighborhood, then these guys have to worry about food being good more so than cocktails

these are guys from Clyde Common in Portland, where the food is as good as cocktails - but also, iirc, there were more dinner items on the menu (and it's a much larger restaurant). i'm not saying that they were trying to reproduce Clyde here but that's their background so comparisons are unavoidable. no idea why they decided to serve small plates rather than more traditional dinner format (Orologio managed to crank out a full menu out of that kitchen so i doubt it was due to kitchen limitations) - you're right that the pairings with half-cocktails seem a little contrived. and it puts more emphasis on the cocktail. when you have small plates and cocktails it's not about "dinner" but "going out." look at Beauty & Essex or Stanton Social - same concept, no? it might be an obstacle to being a food destination (unless they start doing whole animal meals )

i don't know if i'm "dismissing it as a cocktail bar" but the draw for me is cocktails, not food - in an area with great cocktail places The Beagle does stand out.

[Wilfrid]

The lamb neck was very good, but two bites. They do have five entrees, but they looked slightly less interesting than the food on the small plates.

[Sneakeater]

That's often the case.

That's why my friend isn't TOTALLY wrong.

[joethefoodie]

I just don't get the name.

[Wilfrid]

You are not alone. No Snoopy wallpaper either.

[Sneakeater]

Could it be named after the ship? Why?

[Wilfrid]

Ockham's razor, mate.

[Nancy S.]

We had brilliant pre-dinner cocktails here last night. Great proportions and great mixing. The bar and front room were full while we were there from about 7:30pm to 9:00pm. The crowd was also quite varied, from hipsters to older couples (perhaps who just read the recent review in The New Yorker).

[TaliesinNYC]

I'd be curious to know if anyone else has tried this place. The concept - small plates paired with cocktails as the central attraction - seems contrived. The result is that it's hard to know how to order dinner here.

Pink Pig

Maybe if I were 10 years younger and possessed with ADD like the current "in" generation.

Most likely never.

A small plates place that would see visits from people like me is somewhere like Otto, which isn't really a small plates restaurant but succeeds at that kind of business model without much effort.