Last week, I had a friend date with a pal I hadn’t seen in eons. This dude and I used to be two peas in pod, but with life getting in the way, it has been difficult to nail dates down. Anyway, we finally made plans and hit up Tartinery in Nolita.
Tartinery is a French bistro that offers a basic, yet finely tuned menu or small plates, tartines, and more substantial dishes. Imagine croque madame with the gooiest béchamel sauce. Or risotto cooked to perfection with just the right amount of cheese for saltiness. (Yes, I know risotto isn’t French, but if it were, this would be it.)
From the outside, Tartinery offers minimalist design, alluding to a small yet quant establishment, but upon entry you’re hit with two levels of expansive space. It’s like when an elevator has a small door suggesting only 4 of the 15 people waiting can fit, but as you enter you’re able to turn; providing room for everyone, like a clown car. I’m not sure if this deceit adds or takes away from the décor, but it is, what it is.
We sat street level, backed by the bar and surrounded by a life-size blackboard menu. For as dark as the room was, the offset outside paneling offered crisp natural light to seep through. None of the tinged yellow light that discolors everything in view. Service was fine, if not a tad slow, but we also went during the lull of happy hour. So, no real need for the rush.
I started with the crab 7-grain toast with avocado, radish, cilantro and lime, while my friend started with the salmon and avocado tartar served in a bowl with cucumber, radish, cilantro and lime. The flavor of the crab toast really popped when you squeezed on the fresh lime, while the tartar, to me, was bland with or without it. Keep in mind, I prefer ceviche to tartar, so may have thought the worst from jump. As for the entrees, the croque madame on sourdough with ham, gruyere, béchamel an organic sunny side up egg and the shrimp risotto with parmesan and upland cress, both were a hit. There’s something about stumbling upon a dish that is cooked properly. Not even the look can keep you from devouring every morsel. Had we not been in public, I would have been licking the plate clean. My partner in crime enjoyed every bite of his madame, the runny yolk mixing with the béchamel was a dream… yum!
Now that I think about it, I wonder what the béchamel yolk mixture would taste like with risotto. Already sounds like perfection!