I had dinner last night at the new Upper West Side location of the East Village's Mermaid Inn. My meal was reasonably priced, delicious, and served in pleasant, refreshingly quiet environs. Owner Danny Abrams, an Upper West Sider himself, has brought his own neighborhood the kind of place we'd all like to have on our corner.
The grilled oysters with sausage were a fine starter, though $11 for three oysters and three sausage discs seemed a little expensive to me. A salt-cod cake was crisp, greaseless, and not too fishy. I had the grilled chicken, which was crisp golden brown on the outside and tender and juicy on the inside. It came with a pile of sautéed spinach tangified by Parmigiano-Reggiano.
My friend Bob had a perfectly cooked flatiron steak charred pitch black on the outside that arrived at our table juicy medium-rare as ordered. A little blue-cheese butter and some fine mashed potatoes completed this elemental plate of food.
For dessert, everyone gets the obligatory Mermaid Inn gratis chocolate pudding, which was a little sweet for my taste. Welcome, Mermaid Inn, it's good to have you in the 'hood.
Address: 568 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10024 (88th Street; map)
Phone: 212-799-7400
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