WILLIAMSBURG
There are only four Michelin-starred restaurants in Brooklyn, and two of them are directly across the street from each other. They couldn’t be much more different, though. One is Peter Luger, the cash-only steak house where the testosterone is as thick as the porterhouse and the place seems lighted for an interrogation scene on 24. The other is Dressler, which rivals Vinegar Hill House (page 204) for the unofficial title of Most Atmospheric Restaurant in the Borough.
That’s partly because Dressler’s owner, Colin Devlin, did a two-and-a-half-year stint as a bartender at Balthazar, the most artfully lighted restaurant in New York, where Keith McNally taught him plenty about flattering his guests. Everyone’s gorgeous at Dressler. But it’s not just lighting. The seventy-seat restaurant’s high ceilings, towering flowers, and multiple mirrors make it feel a lot bigger and grander than it is. Unlike, say, Vinegar Hill House (and many other restaurants in this book), there’s nothing homemade about Dressler. This space is designed to within an inch of its life. There’s a metal-filigree motif that runs throughout: the backs of the bar stools, circling the mirrors, behind the bar, along the booths. Dressler is a sexy and festive restaurant, the kind of place that can make an ordinary Tuesday feel like New Year’s Eve.
The restaurant opened in April 2006, five years after Devlin’s flagship restaurant, DuMont (page 50). Like DuMont, Dressler was conceived as a neighborhood place, but one with more culinary ambition. Chef Polo Dobkin, who oversees all three of Devlin’s kitchens (the third is DuMont Burger), is a traditionalist who excels at striking a balance between comfort and creativity. The artichoke salad (see page 119) is a signature dish, a deceptively hearty creation with an addictive dressing that’s as good sopped up with a roll as it is on the salad. One night we were blown away by a crispy duck cooked medium-rare and served with a Swiss chard tamale, braised celery, and cipollini onions. Another evening, we capped our meal with an impossibly moist gingerbread that came with Seckel pear, a very rummy butter rum sauce, and crème fraîche; the gingerbread itself had a crunchy, porous crust that gave way to a soft center. This is high-end restaurant cooking, but without the pyrotechnics. “Everything’s very straightforward,” says Dobkin. “No foams, no smears.”
About that Michelin star. As soon as Dobkin got word that they’d earned it (this was back in the fall of 2007), he sent Devlin a text with the news: “Dude, we got a Michelin star!” Devlin’s response: “Is that good?” He knew about the Michelin guide, of course, but since this was the first time the company had published a New York edition, he wasn’t really up to speed on the ranking system.
Well, only one other Brooklyn restaurant has earned one since. So yeah, Colin, that’s pretty good.
SERVES 6
For the sauce bordelaise
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 small carrot, peeled and cut into ¼-inch dice (about ¼ cup)
4 celery stalks, cut into ¼-inch dice (about 1½ cups)
1 Spanish onion, peeled and cut into ¼-inch dice (about 2 cups)
6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 cups dry red wine
4 cups homemade or prepared veal stock, such as D’Artagnan Veal DemiGlace
1 fresh thyme sprig
1 bay leaf
6 whole black peppercorns Coarse salt
For the whipped potatoes
1½ pounds russet or Idaho potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced ½ cup heavy cream
½ cup milk
1 tablespoon crème fraîche
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
“I like classically prepared food, classic technique,” says chef Polo Dobkin. “I’m a big believer in classic reduction sauces.” And it doesn’t get much more classic than bordelaise, a concentrated sauce that rewards the patient cook. This is a crowd-pleasing plate of straightforward, satisfying food—and what’s not to love about that?
1. To make the sauce bordelaise, heat the canola oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the carrot, celery, onion, and garlic and sauté until the vegetables are caramelized, about 15 minutes. Add the wine and reduce until almost all the liquid is evaporated, about 20 minutes. Add the stock, thyme, bay leaf, and peppercorns. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until the sauce is lightly syrupy and coats the back of a spoon, about 1 hour. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean pan, season to taste with salt, and set aside.
2. To make the potatoes, place them in a large pot and cover with cold salted water. Bring to a boil and cook until tender, 12 to 15 minutes.
3. Combine the butter, cream, and milk in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low, cover, and keep warm.
4. Drain the potatoes in a colander, then immediately pass them through a potato ricer into a large bowl. Slowly add the warm milk mixture to the potatoes and stir to combine. Fold in the crème fraîche and horseradish and season with salt and pepper. Keep warm.
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 shallot, peeled and finely diced
1 pound spinach, coarse stems discarded, leaves washed and drained
½ cup milk
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
Kosher salt
Pinch of cayenne
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Six 10- to 12-ounce hanger steaks, trimmed of fat, sinew, and center connective tissue
5. Meanwhile, make the spinach. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the shallot and sauté until translucent, about 2 minutes. Raise the heat to high, add the spinach, and sauté, stirring, until wilted, about 3 minutes. Set the spinach in a colander to drain for 10 minutes.
6. Combine the milk and heavy cream in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer. Cover and keep warm.
7. Melt the remaining 1 tablespoon butter in a heavy-bottomed pot. Add the flour and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, about 4 minutes. Slowly add the warm milk mixture, whisking constantly, until it thickens, about 1 minute. Season to taste with salt, cayenne, and nutmeg. Turn the heat to low and add the thoroughly drained spinach to the pot. Stir to combine well and cook until just heated through.
8. Prepare the grill for cooking or heat a ridged grill pan over medium-high heat until hot. Grill the hanger steaks on both sides, about 10 minutes total for medium-rare. Allow the steaks to rest for 5 minutes. Slice the meat against the grain into ½-inch-thick slices.
9. Reheat the sauce bordelaise over low heat in a small, covered saucepan.
10. To serve, divide the potatoes among 4 plates. Top with creamed spinach and sliced steak. Drizzle with the sauce bordelaise.
Between the whole beans, the bean puree, the “turned” artichoke, and the creamy dressing, this dish takes some effort—but it absolutely pays off. This is a stunning salad with cascading flavors that synthesize into a rich, tangy freshness that’ll just blow you away. And the dish aptly captures the spirit of Dressler. “You eat with your eyes first,” says chef Polo Dobkin. “And I thought it would be a really nice visual presentation to have a beautifully turned artichoke to showcase the skill and the effort that went into the dish.”
1. To prepare the beans, drain and rinse the beans. In a large saucepan, combine the beans with the carrot, celery, onion, and garlic and add enough cold water to cover. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, until the beans are tender, about 45 minutes. Remove and discard the vegetables. Allow the beans to cool in the braising liquid. Drain the beans and reserve both the beans and the braising liquid.
2. To make the salsa verde, combine the parsley, capers, and garlic in a blender or small food processor and puree until smooth. With the motor running, add the olive oil in a slow stream and process until emulsified. Transfer to a bowl and reserve.
3. To make the white bean puree, combine ½ cup of the beans and 4 teaspoons of the reserved braising liquid in a food processor and puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper and set aside. (Reserve the rest of the beans and braising liquid.)
4. To prepare the artichoke hearts, place the stock in a large saucepan. Squeeze the lemon into the stock and drop the lemon into the pot. Set aside.
SERVES 6 For the beans
½ cup dried Great Northern beans, rinsed and soaked overnight in room-temperature water to cover
1 carrot, halved
1 celery stalk, halved
½ yellow onion, peeled
1 small garlic clove, peeled
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the salsa verde
1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, coarse chopped
1 tablespoon drained capers
1 small garlic clove, minced
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
For the artichokes
4 to 6 cups homemade chicken stock or prepared low-sodium chicken broth
1 lemon, cut in half
6 large globe artichokes, each 4 to 4½ inches in diameter
3 fresh thyme sprigs
1 carrot, cut in half
1 celery stalk, cut in half
½ medium onion, cut in half
1 garlic clove, peeled
For the creamy garlic dressing 1 large egg yolk
1 garlic clove, shaved on a Microplane or sliced as thin as possible
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar 1¼ cups canola oil ¼ cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Coarse salt
For the arugula salad
2 cups loosely packed baby arugula
½ cup shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano
5. To clean the artichokes, cut off the stems and remove the outer leaves either one at a time or by cutting the leaves only at the base of the leaf with a paring knife, taking care not to cut into the hard heart while exposing the yellow and light green interior leaves. Locate the top of the heart and with a paring knife cut off and discard the top of the choke. Scrape out and discard the fuzzy choke from the heart and immediately place the artichoke hearts in the pot of stock.
6. Add the thyme, carrot, celery, onion, and garlic to the pot with the artichoke hearts. There should be enough stock in the pan to cover the vegetables by 2 inches; add a little more stock or water if necessary. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer gently until the artichoke hearts are tender, 10 to 15 minutes.
7. Allow the artichoke hearts to cool in the braising liquid. Remove the artichoke hearts, set aside, and reserve the liquid.
8. To make the dressing, place the egg yolk, garlic, lemon juice, and red wine vinegar in a blender and blend well. With the blender on medium speed, slowly drizzle in the oil. It should look like loose mayonnaise. Pour the dressing into a bowl and whisk in the cream, pepper, and Parmigiano-Reggiano. Season with salt.
9. Place the artichoke hearts in a medium saucepan with 2 cups of the artichoke braising liquid over medium-low heat. Cook until heated through.
10. Meanwhile, place the remaining whole white beans in a small saucepan with 1 cup of the bean braising liquid over medium-low heat and cook until heated through.
11. Just before plating the dish, dress the arugula with the creamy garlic dressing. Set aside.
12. Place a dollop of white bean puree in the center of each plate. Top with an artichoke heart. Fill each heart with a spoonful of white beans topped with arugula salad and shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano. Drizzle the salsa verde on the plate around the artichoke heart and serve.
