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For "Butter" That Can't Be Beat





















Well another one bites the dust. I can cross Butter off my 2012 to do list! (http://thequeenoff-ckingeverything.blogspot.com/2012/04/for-year-2-2012-nyc-to-do-list.html )I have finally gone to this restaurant that I have been dreaming about for years on end. Although the thing about a good meal is once you have had it, you crave it daily. At this point I miss it more and more each day. I am hoping that writing it down will get it out of my system. Revisiting the pictures doesn’t help much though.


As anyone who watches the Food Network will know, Chef Alex Guarnaschelli is a genius. This is my favorite recipe from “Alex’s Day Off”: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alexandra-guarnaschelli/homemade-butter-recipe/index.html for what else but butter!


She creates some of the best recipes you will ever eat and shares her favorite tips and places to go on several different shows. I first saw her on “Best Thing I Ever Ate” and took her advice and went to Ferrara’s Bakery in New York City. She couldn’t have been more on point. To read more on that adventure: http://thequeenoff-ckingeverything.blogspot.com/2011/10/for-ferraras-pastry.html


Now I religiously watch Chef Alex on “Best Thing I Ever Made”.


Everyone who knows that I went to Butter this past Friday has been coming up to me and asking how it was. They want to know what I ate, was it worth it, and did I get to meet the infamous Chef. I am writing this blog to answer all of these questions once and for all and share my delightful dinner with you all.


It all started with this summer’s restaurant week. For the last few years, every winter and summer, N.Y.C. has had a restaurant week special where restaurants that are normally too expensive to eat at have special price fix menus for either lunch, or dinner, or sometimes even both. This promotes extra revenue for the city and generates great excitement for us residents who have come to count down to the tradition. Each year it seems to get longer and longer. This summer it was from July 16, 2012 to August 10, 2012. To see the complete list of restaurants see the link below.


As I mentioned I went to Butter this past Friday and I did so to kick off a particularly good evening as I was seeing Memphis on Broadway again. My blog on Memphis will be next. I was so looking forward to Butter that I had checked the restaurant week menu so many I had memorized it. But when I got there that all went out the window.


As you can see from the pictures above, Butter is pretty non-descript from the outside. I have actually been on this block before and never noticed it. Even on the day I went, my friends and I had to look around for a few moments before it popped out at us. But looks can be deceiving. On the inside it is completely gorgeous! It is dark, chic, and shimmers by candlelight. The atmosphere is sophisticated but friendly and warm. We had a great table on the side, which had booths with high backs that looked great and were comfortable. It was like sitting in the most beautiful version of a living/dining room.


While I was there hoping to see Chef Alex, she was not there that night. She was at her restaurant, Darby. But I know how devoted she is to Butter. She even held her wedding here! (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/20/fashion/weddings/20vows.html)


However since she is still the executive Chef at Butter I knew I was still in for a treat. 


First of all I had to settle in and get my bearings. Then of course I started taking pictures. Then the most important after asking for the Chef, was the moment of the tasting of the butter. The soft and special butter I had so longed for could never be undersold. It was sweet, rich, and creamy. I debated eating it with just a spoon but I didn’t want to be thrown out. I wonder how many people have wanted to do the same thing. Just as good was the bread and corn bread on the table.


For the appetizer, instead of getting the salad I planned on, I got the soup of the day, which was the shrimp bisque. My friend got the mussels. The soup was lighter than any other bisque I have ever had. It was a wonderful combination of sweet and hot spices. There were even small pieces of shrimp in it that were the exact right size for a light soup, not too big or chewy. I have never had mussels before so this seemed like the perfect time to try. They were amazing. I never knew anything so small could be so tasty. I hope this doesn’t ruin me for future mussels.



For the entrees, we went with the seared flatiron steak with braised scallions and romesco sauce. I don’t even know how to describe this flavor. All I can say is that it doesn’t even look half as good as it tasted. With each bite I tasted something different. I loved that the steak was cut thin and cooked perfectly, not too much and not too little. I can’t eat anything that looks like its still mooing. For side dishes we went with the spinach and crispy potatoes.


Then it was time for dessert. Now at this point I couldn’t breath but I didn’t care. I was too excited for this course. This is the one I never had a doubt about. Since I have been to Coolhaus I have been in a ice cream sandwich state of mind. Apparently so has the universe. Butter had ginger snap and vanilla ice cream sandwich with spiced pecans. Boy was that incredible! It was so incredible I could not finish it and believe you me I tried! That is the biggest compliment I can give to Butter, I couldn’t take another bite even though the food in front of me was taunting me.



I also loved how they served their coffee a French press pot and they left it on the table. In true high fashion they had heated the milk so that it would not alter the temperature of my coffee when it was mixed and they had actual sugar cubes. Not one detail was overlooked or missing. It was a flawless meal.


There is a reason why this restaurant is so good. It is the same reason most people like Paula Deen’s cooking. It is the same reason I can eat a whole loaf of fresh baked bread. It is what makes everything better. It is Butter. You should get to it so that it can get inside of you, the sooner the happier you will be.

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