Great meals are sometimes the most difficult to review. No matter how eloquently expressed, all the tiny delights of a dish that send taste buds into a tizzy can’t always be accounted for in words. My meal at Henry’s this past week posed such a dilemma.
Last Monday, my destination was closer to home than I’d normally go for a wholly satisfying meal. Henry’s is located on 105th and Broadway. Honestly, it’s a seemingly over-sized restaurant I’ve passed a million times but never bothered to visit. With its hardwood floors and dark wooden accents, it simply looks too expensive for my college budget. Postulations aside, Henry’s hosts a variety of events and specials designed to make dining accessible and affordable for all.
The event I attended last Monday was “Sing for Your Supper,” which takes place at 10pm on the first Monday of every month. Steven Blier, co-founder of New York’s Festival of Song, accompanies his most talented students on the piano for a lively evening of musical entertainment. The event goes nicely with Monday’s $19 spaghetti-and-meatball special, offering a three-course meal featuring pasta and homemade meatballs along with a variety of specials ranging from pork tenderloin to seafood chowder to half-priced wines.
I started with the chef’s famed raw kale salad, packed with hazelnuts, grapes, and Parmesan cheese. The seared tuna rolls, smokey on the outside and tender on the inside, were rolled in a thin wrap rather than rice, and garnished with a delicious chipotle cream. The headlining dish featured a rich tomato and ricotta sauce, worth an extra order of bread to savor every last drop.
Chef Mark Barret lived in Italy for years and worked as Mario Batali’s sous-chef, indicative of the authentic Italian influence present in every dish. The striped sea bass, served on a bed of capers, shrimp, roasted red peppers, garlicky spinach, and roasted potatoes was flawless—I’d go back for it in a heartbeat. Additionally, calorie-counters can appreciate the substitution of healthy alternatives for the cuisine’s traditionally heavier ingredients, such as the use of natural oils that reduce the intake of trans-fats.
Overall, Henry’s does classic cooking in an outstanding fashion. Uninterested in avant-garde interior and a pretentious attitude, the restaurant is kid-friendly and welcoming to Columbia students. Recommended for a date or a meal with the family, the atmosphere is comfortable and pleasing to many crowds.
In addition, treats like Monday’s “Sing for Your Supper” come at no added cost. Other specials worth looking out for are the “Square Meal” at lunchtime, which includes soup, salad, ½ sandwich, and dessert for $20. Saturday’s Jazz Brunch and the Family Meal which features a three-course menu for children and adults are other noteworthy specials worth checking out for yourself. The next “Sing for Your Supper” will be on April 5th. All special events can be found on the website’s calendar.
2 Comments | Posted on March 8, 2010 | Categories: Dining, From the Blog, Upper West Side
I thought it was going to be some boring old post, but it really compensated for my time. I will post a link to this page on my blog. I am sure my visitors will find that very useful