Two Mondays ago, we treated Lou to dinner at Wallsé for his birthday, which was actually the following Monday. His next birthday will be a milestone one.
We were way overdue for a dinner out with Lou, mostly because he'd been so busy performing in shows and spending time out on Fire Island. He had e-mailed to see how we were doing and to ask whether I'd seen any new restaurants that appealed to me. And he told me he had made a variation of my chicken corn chowder the previous Friday.
I e-mailed a list of suggestions in the West Village—including the new Manhattan outpost of Frank Castronovo and Frank Falcinelli's Frankies restaurants, called Frankies 570 Spuntino, and Monument Lane, which I've passed by many times while walking Rudy and which looks so inviting from the outside—to Lou and Tony and asked for any suggestions they had. Lou replied that he had had a "pretty good" lunch at another one of my suggestions, dell'anima, before it stopped serving lunch and added that he was "up for anything that Tony can stomach." Tony thought Wallsé was the best bet for his being able to eat gluten- and dairy-free.
I enjoyed the Wiener Schnitzel that both Lou and I had for our entree—even though it was too salty, it was wonderfully flavorful and as tender as buttah—but my favorite thing I ate was the Quark Spätzle that Lou ordered for his appetizer and that he gave me a generous amount of to try. Tony and I thought the meal was a little too spendy* to justify going back really soon, but I have to have those spätzle again at some point. They were divinely rich and creamy and utterly satisfying—something your momma would have made for you growing up if you'd grown up in, well, Wallsé.**
My main objection to the cost of the dining experience was the wine list. There were only two bottles—one white and one red—that were priced under $50, which made me feel cheap when I asked the sommelier about ... those two wines. I opted for the 2008 Nigl Zweigelt because Tony and I tend to enjoy zweigelts; the sommelier said it was light to medium bodied, so it was bound to go down easy for Lou, who usually isn't into reds; and the white was a pinot gris from Germany, which seemed like an odd place to grow that grape, and, when in doubt, I usually go for a wine made from a grape that's associated with the place where the wine was produced. We all enjoyed the Nigl, so it turned out to be an OK choice.
For his first course, Tony got a plate of sauteed vegetables, as he is wont to do, and for his entree, he got the Steamed Halibut With Cucumbers, Dill, and Chanterelles. He said he thought everything was well presented and the ingredients were of high quality.
Lou chose the superior dessert, just as he'd picked the superior starter. (I'd gotten a delicious salad, but it couldn't compete with those spätzle.) He let me try his Champagne Soup With Elderberry Mousse and Fresh Market Blackberries, and it was awesome. I enjoyed my Quince and Pear Strudel With Salted Caramel Ice Cream. Tony's trio of sorbets were served on a log of ice that carried traces of their pretty colors after Tony had finished eating them.
The evening before, Tony and I had gone to City Winery to have dinner and hear one of his favorite singers, Al Stewart. I wasn't too familiar with Stewart, but I enjoyed the show—once the friendly British guy next to me and I told the annoying straight couple to our left (between us and the stage) to shut up and listen to the musicians we'd all come to see. The guitarist who played with Stewart, Dave Nachmanoff, was extremely talented, and Stewart had a wonderful stage presence.
Tony and I enjoyed City Winery's house wines. If I remember correctly, we got carafes of the sauvignon blanc and the pinot noir. To eat, Tony got the Roasted Monkfish With Escarole, Peppers, Maitake, and Piri Piri Sauce, which inspired us to make the monkfish when Mark visited. I got a delightful vegetarian pasta dish with Sun Gold tomatoes, summer greens, and ramp pesto. To start, I'd gotten the Roasted Baby Beet Salad With Herbed Goat Cheese, Mache, and Candied Walnuts and Tony had gotten some sauteed arugula. For dessert, I got, fairly predictably, Chocolate Orange Mousse, which was satisfying but not overly orangish.
CW has a program where you can make your own wine. And Lucille Ball is apparently involved:
Here's a shot of the barrel room, behind glass, in the basement:
*That's not, of course, meant to be a commentary on having paid for Lou too. :-)
**You have to scroll down to the bottom of the text under Information.
