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Charivari - fine Eastern European fare in the heart of Midtown
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Look at that Escargot!
Charivari. French for a lil bit uh this, a lil bit uh that. “This and that” in this case being of course - deliciousness. The food was matched in greatness only by the service, giving the place the feel of a home cooked meal in some awesome Romanian's house.
Not Dracula's house, of course, because the home cooked meal would be you! Ah ha ha! I want to suck your blood!!!
Pardon me, that was ridiculous. The head chef is Transylvanian, however. There are no vampires in Transylvania, he assured me.
To start they give you some nice sliced wheat and sourdough bread and some hummus spread to go with it. For an appetizer, I ordered the Escargot. That's right amigo, snails. I don't know if they're a mollusk or what, but they're actually the bomb diggity wiggity, even though they don't look like it when they're crawling up the side of your house.
They came with a beautiful lemony garlic butter sauce that was perfect for dipping the bread in. I must've had about ten pieces of the stuff. It was like snail heaven. It was like a buttery garlicky, snaily symphony. They were tender and moist and not rubbery, which I'm told they can be if not prepared in a delicate fashion.
Before the appetizer, they brought a complimentary snack on the house. It was a lovely beef and potato concoction served on a crispy cracker. It tasted like potato salad with little beef morsels in it. Very nice. And free. I don't know who invented the potato, but they're awesome.
My fellow diners indulged in some fresh figs with melted gorgonzola served with prosciutto and balsamic vinegar. I had never had a fig before, and I'm glad I did, because now if anybody ever asks, "What the hell is a fig?" - I'll be able to tell them. I must admit, the combination of warm, tangy figs with melted Gorgonzola, or Gorgo as I like to call it, can be intoxicating.
Speaking of intoxicating, I had a nice whiskey cocktail while the others had glasses of White Zin, Pinot Noir, and Tempranillo, which I imagine is some sort of wine from Spain. No complaints on their end. My drink however, was strong like Bull! Lots of booze in there, which is nice. For once, an establishment in Midtown that pours a decent drink.
Before the main course arrived, the lovely and gracious staff of mostly Eastern European servers brought us some ethereal lemon sorbet to cleanse the palate. What consideration! I have never had the experience of a palate cleansing sorbet before the entree. It was exhilirating. It was like an explosion of lemon fireworks inside my brain. It made me want to get up and breakdance. I would have too, but the music was a bit too light rock for b-boying. I also can't breakdance.
The soundtrack was actually a delightful soft rock instrumental medley of some classic tunes – including "I'll be there" by Michael Jackson, and the theme song from Forrest Gump. Run Forrest! Breakdance!
For my entree, I had the Wagu filet with Chanterelles and Potatoes au Gratin. Wagu is some fancy offshoot of Kobe Beef, so it was tender and marbled and flavorful and juicy. Those cows have the life. Up until, well, you know, the end of it. They just get massaged all day and drink vitamin smoothies. Jealous!!! It was served with a Cabernet Reduction that added a nice little dimension to the dish.
My fellow diners had the Chicken stuffed with dried prunes. It was good as well, but a little fruity. I guess that's to be expected however, since it was stuffed with fruit. The chicken was white meat, but still moist and savory, meaning whoever cooked it was a superstar. If you like prunes, this is the dish you were born to eat.
For dessert we had apple streudel with vanilla ice cream, dobesh – which is a cakey, caramelish concoction that is famous in places like New Orleans, and a rich lemon tart. They were flaky and textured and sweet, just like me. The coffee was strong and a great cap to an exceptional meal. My brother even poured some on his vanilla ice cream. He's crazy!
This place really made us feel welcome. Our every need was attended to and there was no pretentious hoyty toyty Midtown attitude to deal with. I don't think pretense even exists in Eastern Europe, by the way. We came in at 10:15 after a show and we were pretty much alone in the restaurant, so we got plenty of attention from the waitstaff and the head chef came by twice. He's from Transylvania, by the way.
He talked to us about the different themes and seasons of foods that they serve and showcase at the restaurant. Right now is mushrooms. Yummy. Next up is Texas game. Not so long ago they had white asparagus. Who ever heard of such a magic vegetable!
They weren't anxious to get us out the door so they could go home, they were merely anxious to please. And please they did. These days service often falls by the wayside cause nobody gives a hootnanny about anything, so it's nice to come across people who still do.
The food was different and well prepared and excellent. The service was top of the heap. Check out the menu here. I will definitely be back to this place more than once. Long live Transylvania!
For more info: Map, Zagat Ratings
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