Foul Witch

[GerryOlds2TheReturnofGerry]

But not really...

Went to the Foul Witch x Danny Bowien pop-up last Friday and found it kind of hot and cold (but not in a good way like Mirarchi's fire & ice straciatella/nduja dish). Most of the menu was Bowien's (he seemed to be the one running the kitchen for the night), with a few FW dishes thrown in the mix. Best were probably sweetbreads with white pepper and lime, just really nicely balanced, and the fry was light and greaseless. Both large-format entrees were kind of a letdown: an otherwise very tasty dry-aged lamb saddle that was unfortunately mostly fat, and a yellowfin tuna collar that was overpoweringly oily and fishy in a way that needed the accompanying chili and scallion condiments (which were delicious) to make it more palatable. The one straightforward Italian dish we had, a celery salad with anchovies and cave-aged pecorino, was fine. I would maybe be interested in trying more of the regular FW menu, but my table walked away kind of underwhelmed.

Has anyone been for the regular menu?

[MitchW]

50 minutes ago, GerryOlds2TheReturnofGerry said:

Has anyone been for the regular menu?

Yes…it’s been a few months since our last visit, but I quite like Foul Witch. Expensive, though.

[sourbroughten]

Had a 7:30 PM dinner post Thanksgiving weekend. We requested/reserved counter seats, but were told on arrival only a table would be available. Once sat, we found out that three of our top choices (out of a short menu) had been 86'ed.  I believe that left only two proteins left to order, capon or a large format dish. Were given a minute to decide, but then told we would have to put in a our full order including dessert so the kitchen could begin closing.

What we did have was very good, but the experience was less than optimal overall.

[backyardchef]

Pass. 

[AaronS]

I ate there a few weeks after blanca closed and thought it was a lot better than my previous visit, which was probably about nine months ago. they were out of at least one of the mains listed on the website that day, but it wasn't hard to put a good meal together.

I've been meaning to ask if the new mission chinese is worth going to.

Edited June 18, 2025 by AaronS

[small h]

We had dinner there last Christmas Eve. I remember liking my pasta and my drink very much. My sister and her husband had super meaty stuff and enjoyed it. 

[MitchW]

52 minutes ago, small h said:

I remember liking my pasta

The pastas are quite good, albeit small (though I could definitely do without that veal tortellini with amaretto, one of the strangest pastas I've ever had (and I've had a few).  Yet it is still on the menu, so I may be the only one in denial.

We've sat at the bar most times we've been - only once at a table.  As is usually the case, I prefer bar seats.

[GerryOlds2TheReturnofGerry]

2 hours ago, AaronS said:

I ate there a few weeks after blanca closed and thought it was a lot better than my previous visit, which was probably about nine months ago. they were out of at least one of the mains listed on the website that day, but it wasn't hard to put a good meal together.

I've been meaning to ask if the new mission chinese is worth going to.

I went to Mission Chinese at Cha Kee last summer and enjoyed it well enough. I would bet it's an even better experience since cocktail wiz / Momofuku vet John deBary became GM a few months ago.

[SethG]

3 hours ago, GerryOlds2TheReturnofGerry said:

I went to Mission Chinese at Cha Kee last summer and enjoyed it well enough. I would bet it's an even better experience since cocktail wiz / Momofuku vet John deBary became GM a few months ago.

Mission / Bowein has been one of the most inconsistent dining experiences for me. The highs have been very high…but other nights the same dishes would be drastically under-seasoned or inedibly over-salted, seemingly at random. During the Dimayuga era on East Broadway it seemed to be the most consistent. 
 

Curious about the latest iteration, though I think I’m more excited about the new Hakata Tonton next door. 

[SethG]

3 hours ago, MitchW said:

The pastas are quite good, albeit small (though I could definitely do without that veal tortellini with amaretto, one of the strangest pastas I've ever had (and I've had a few).  Yet it is still on the menu, so I may be the only one in denial.

We've sat at the bar most times we've been - only once at a table.  As is usually the case, I prefer bar seats.

I got the idea behind the tortellini… I’ve seen squash and sweet potato stuffed pastas with amaretto on multiple menus. It’s a thing, though the origin I’ve no idea. Never caught my interest. Tried it once at The Orchard (“The Orange Submarine”) when a date ordered it… too desserty for me.
 

So, doing a more savory take on it, sure… but it still didn’t work for me. Meaty desserty. And I’m not inherently against cookies or other sweet elements in savory dishes. 
 

They are small, though. Like I get they’re not meant to be main courses but some were barely more than a few bites. 

[small h]

I am the first one to complain about small food (and salty food, and expensive food), but I thought my pasta at Foul Witch was acceptably sized. Here it is. I can't remember what was in it - obviously hot peppers.

 

[Orik]

On 6/19/2025 at 5:02 AM, SethG said:

I got the idea behind the tortellini… I’ve seen squash and sweet potato stuffed pastas with amaretto on multiple menus. It’s a thing, though the origin I’ve no idea.

A typical autumn dish from Mantua to Modena.

[backyardchef]

On 6/18/2025 at 9:55 PM, SethG said:

Mission / Bowein has been one of the most inconsistent dining experiences for me. The highs have been very high…but other nights the same dishes would be drastically under-seasoned or inedibly over-salted, seemingly at random. During the Dimayuga era on East Broadway it seemed to be the most consistent. 
 

Curious about the latest iteration, though I think I’m more excited about the new Hakata Tonton next door. 

Had the worst, oversalted, poorly seasoned, ill-conceived food and drinks in my life at MCF. 2 utterly regrettable experiences. 

[MitchW]

5 hours ago, Orik said:

A typical autumn dish from Mantua to Modena.

Amazing what happens in that 70km stretch!

[MitchW]

We went to Foul Witch last night, for a sorta popup dinner, which featured Jackie Carnesi and Sam Short and Carlo. While the web site reads thusly:

Saturday Only: Carlo x Jackie Carnesi

The menu read:

Anyway, they were all there. 

Everything we had was quite good.  Including the sesame focaccia (I guess they're charging for bread now, or was it just last night?) , finocchiona, grilled chicories, chitarra con bottaraga and lumache pomodoro (and yes, the pastas seem to have gotten a bit bigger):

Great dish.  And even though, at this point my wife is kinda full, we "shared" the fish:

Beautifully cooked and delicious.  And while we probably should have ordered dessert (Sam Short, again), there wasn't any way I could convince Significant Eater of that fact.

So we had a couple of amari instead.

A fine dinner, great service as I've always had here, and I look forward to going back.

[small h]

Thanks for that report! I got the email from them announcing this dinner - glad to hear it was a winner.

[Orik]

We had an off-menu steak that came from a 7 year old cow, as well as some pancetta Carlo made with his dad

[Wilfrid]

RIP.

I see Eater corrected the spelling of the restaurant within the body of the news item, but not everywhere...

[mongo]

i guess our eating there in october was the last straw.

i did wonder given how easy it was to get seats and how very not full the restaurant was that sunday evening. still, it was a good meal and i'm glad we had a chance to eat there.

[small h]

I ate there one Christmas Eve and liked it fine. But I'm not surprised it closed. 

Edited December 6, 2025 by small h