Comfortably Yum

Arielle, Flatiron, Gomen Kudasai

by Brian K. Mahoney and photographs by Jennifer May, November 24, 2008

It’s probably no accident that the restaurants I’ve found most appealing in the past few months serve comfort food. The anxiety of the election season, coupled with the uncertain economic climate, has activated a yen for simple, uncomplicated things. I’ve been drawn to eateries whose primary motivation is pleasure without pretense or hard work. Food that doesn’t require anything of me but to be present for its enjoyment. No fusion cuisine. No elaborate preparations or layered sauces. No molecular gastronomy. And leave the big, kick-you-in-the-teeth wines in the cellar as well. All I require is a simple grilled fish, or a steaming bowl of noodles, or an order of steak frites—and a sturdy table wine.

Three restaurants—a bistro in Rhinebeck, a Japanese noodle house in New Paltz, and a steak house in Red Hook—have satisfied my need to comforted. Though their menus are as diverse as their décor, they share some similarities. All opened in the past year, all are run by a couple, and they don’t skimp on seriousness of purpose, quality of ingredients, or attention to service despite their studied casualness. They also reflect the desires of their owners—what and how they want to eat—as much as the perceived need of the market. These restaurateurs have created places they wished existed. As Nick Rebraca, co-owner of Arielle told me, “We wanted to create a restaurant that suits our own tastes, and we hope everyone else follows.”

And while—with the exception of Gomen Kudasai—they can’t truly be called inexpensive, that’s to be expected. Comfort, after all, has its price.

The Steak House
On a busy Saturday night, my party of three arrived early for our reservation at Flatiron in Red Hook. We had a drink at the bar, but were then stranded 20 minutes past our reservation waiting for a table to clear. A suboptimal situation, but one that’s going to happen occasionally. The hostess (who turned out to be Jessica Stingo, who co-owns Flatiron with the chef, Craig Stafford) handled the situation with professionalism and aplomb, offering to buy us a round of drinks for our trouble. We humbly accepted, charmed. Stingo’s attention to our contentment was mirrored by her staff and set the tone for our meal.

Flatiron has been a going concern since August, and having eaten there, it’s unsurprising that the place was mobbed on a Saturday night. Flatiron bills itself a steak house in an almost hesitant way. Yes, there are five different steaks on the menu, and they do serve creamed spinach, but this is not Peter Luger’s. (Thank goodness!) Flatiron takes the basics of the steak house tradition—beef served with a variety of sides (try the pecorino-truffle fundue on top), oysters on the half shell (we had creamy, briny Beausoleils from Nova Scotia that were the best we’d tasted in years)—and then takes off in more interesting directions. Like the duck burger: ground duck with a fried egg on top, sprinkled with duck cracklins. Like the lobster bisque, which substituted truffle oil for an over-reliance on cream to a satisfying, earthy effect. Like the suckling pig special: strips of juiciness pulled from three spots on the pig, with fried skin to boot. This is a meat lover’s Mecca, and a number of the steaks are available in half portions, an ingenious innovation which allows you to explore the various sides (cheddar mashed potatoes are a winner) and appetizers (molasses braise pork belly, anyone?).