Penny

[Wilfrid]

To my surprise, grabbed a prime time seat on Saturday (yes, I remember the Claud thread).

I can hardly not compare what they offer with what I just ate in Portland. They can hardly help being more expensive.

[Simon]

On 12/12/2024 at 8:23 PM, Wilfrid said:

To my surprise, grabbed a prime time seat on Saturday (yes, I remember the Claud thread).

I can hardly not compare what they offer with what I just ate in Portland. They can hardly help being more expensive.

Thoughts?

[Wilfrid]

I could say a lot about this place. Positives: the bar is indeed comfortable and spacious, no bumping elbows. The service is excellent. But perhaps the reviews, online comments and rankings overstate the merits a little.

It's important to know that it's basically a small plates menu. There are only a couple of entrees. Even the "ice box," coming in different sizes, isn't like the old seafood towers where you could make a complete meal from it.

I started with the smallest ice box. People are raving about the shrimp cocktail. Why? Good enough shrimp with a standard cocktail dipping sauce and, a slight twist, some garlic mayo (made inhouse probably).

There was some diced scallop in a scallop shell with some horseradish flavor.

And then the raw bar components: two oysters, two clams and two mussels. Although there is a shucker behind the bar, they are limited in what they can shuck. Policy here, I believe, is one kind of oyster only. These were from New Brunswick, absolutely tiny, and although they were good enough I was relieved not to have paid $47 for a dozen. The clams and mussels continued the tiny and jewel-like theme.

Of course I am spoiled by having eaten a wide spectrum of outstanding oysters in Maine last week but Penny is less of a raw bar than Aquagrill was.

Two warm small plates to follow. The first was a novelty: confit oysters steeped in warm liquid chicken fat. My reaction went from eew to, okay, I quite like this. Tellingly these chubby, soft oysters (four of them) had been nowhere near the shucker. I suspect they emerged from a plastic tub, and hey, I use those same kind of oysters when I am serving cooked dishes at home.

The fixings were the highlight. A scoop of delicious creme fraiche showered with salt crystals and very good crackers dusted with something like paprika.

Finally two little squid stuffed with tuna on a dark sauce with some fiery spicing going on.

I skipped the ice cream sandwich. No liquor here and no coffee of any kind; I finished with a plum-based sweet sake that was delicious. The Ardeche by the glass is great too.

The check nudged past $170 before tip probably helped by my BTG program. It was just enough food.

[MitchW]

36 minutes ago, Wilfrid said:

Penny is less of a raw bar than Acquagrill was

I kinda miss Aquagrill; they always had a fine selection of oysters, and a good shucker or two.

[small h]

 I more than kinda miss it. I loved it there.

[Wilfrid]

Thinking this over, I would go back for the setting, service and drinks. Is there any food here I would care about eating again? No.

Certainly there were repeat visitors in earshot and the lobster was being ordered. 

 

[sweatshorts]

Those pictures comprising a $200 meal for one person is so crazy to me. Maybe it's time for me to move out of this city.

[Anthony Bonner]

yes - truly wild. tho I gotta tell you paying the same price for a massive pile of sysco chicken/beef/pasta in the burbs isn't actually better.

[Wilfrid]

Bear in mind I started with a $30 glass of champagne and followed with two white wines and a sake. So the mark-ups on the beverages are probably more to blame than the food costs. At the same time, hardly a big meal.

[MitchW]

2 hours ago, Anthony Bonner said:

yes - truly wild. tho I gotta tell you paying the same price for a massive pile of sysco chicken/beef/pasta in the burbs isn't actually better.

True that - we recently spent some time in Richmond and Greensboro.  While certainly less expansive for meals than we pay in NYC, it wasn't exactly cheap.

[Wilfrid]

I thought Portland ME was staggeringly cheap. It didn't hurt that an Uber to a restaurant was about $7.

[MitchW]

I've managed to spend a decent amount at Fore Street, Scales, Twelve (where our meal this year was $306, before tip), but probably 25% cheaper than a similar meal might be here.

Ubers are one thing; weed is amazingly cheap (but then again, it's pretty cheap in California now too).