Beef With Champignons Baresand Souces Hollondais
DINING OUT
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February 11, 1979
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GREENWICH AT Berkley's Wine Bar & Restaurant, the music comes from a guitar, and it makes a pleasant live accompaniment to one of the finest meals we have had dining out recently. Berkley's (pronounced Barkley's), has five other wine bars in England, but this first American one has been ensconced in Pickwick Plaza just four months.
Berkley's exists on two levels — literally and figuratively. The wine bar is below, with cozy booths around a circular brick room. The menu is informal, service quite fast, and the recorded rock music seems to play continuously. Prices rise with the stairs. The upstairs dining room is quieter, more formal, with a French menu and slower pace. Tables are placed comfortably far apart.
The menu is not a large one, but thoughtfully chosen, with a number of items not frequently found in our Connecticut peregrinations. Prices too are unusual; hors d'oeuvres cost as much as entrees in more modest local establishments. But in fairness we must note that each appetizer could reasonably serve two — or could function as a main course for many diet‐conscious diners. In fairness, too, one must say that one is paying for top quality. There nothing stingy about Berkley's, neither in food nor in service (which is young, helpful, attentive and properly trained).
As each course is served, there are many pleasing touches: chopped hard‐boiled egg garnish for several of the appetizers is served in a leaf of fresh Belgian endive; several strips of fresh chives adorn the top the filet de boeuf vinaigrette; the leafy bed for the beef and the pâté consists of delicate and tender ruby lettuce.
Certain of the dishes we encountered at Berkley's on two recent visits were superlative. In fact, the general level is easily two stars plus, with every indication that Berkley's can, with little effort, become three‐star establishment in no time at all.
Far and away the best of the appetizers sampled was the filet de boeuf vinaigrette — four too‐generous slices of pink, beautiful beef, decorated with chives, capers and chopped hard‐boiled eggs in delicately balanced vinaigrette sauce. The beef was perfection — tender but with texture, marinated the gently pickled sauce so that the full taste permeated without obscuring the meat's natural flavor.
Another exceptionally well‐prepared dish was the veal citron with mushrooms. The quality of the meat was superb, and the sauce was made with a light but firm hand. This is one of those deceptively simple dishes, dependent on first‐rate ingredients, obviously in use here.
Seafood fares less well. Though such dishes as cioppino Berkley and assiette aux fruits de mer froide are abundant in the extreme (at $6.50 and $7.50 respectively as appetizers, they should be), with luscious variety of lobster, scallops, crab, shrimp, mussels and, in the cioppino, even fresh frogs' legs, much of the shellfish is tough, though obviously fresh. Seafood crepes thermidor suffered from the same weakness. The crepes were temptingly thin, the sauce rich and pleasing, and the portions more Germanic than French in proportion. But again, the shrimp and lobster had a rubbery quality.
An exception was the paupiettes de sole aux crevettes in a Choron sauce, an exquisite marine "sculptures" ip a subtle, tangy blush of a sauce. This entree arrived accompanied by broccoli Hollandaise and second vegetable, chopped celery root, all on the same plate. Both vegetables were fresh and tasty, but the Hollandaise melted into the Choron sauce. separate side dish would have preserved the character of both fine sauces far better.
Another weakness was an order of supremes de caneton en salmis. Though the duck was well‐sauced, the bird itself was tough, with a thick, rubbery skin, Far better was the carre d'agneau Provencale. The lamb might have been a bit pinker for our taste, but was impeccably seasoned and generous in serving.
Desserts are minimal at Berkley's, but uniformly good. We liked the creme caramel, and the gargantuan pear tart with a thick but meltingly crisp crust.
Dinner for four came to $158. It included appetizers, salads, entrees, desserts, three glasses of house wine (a French chablis), and a bottle of Bordeaux ($22), two glasses of Perrier water, tax and tip. should be noted that this was far too much food. Servings here suggest an entree and dessert would be far more ample. ■
⋆⋆Berkley's Wine & Bar Restaurant
1 Greenwich Ave., Greenwich. 622‐8901.
Atmosphere: Light, airy, classically modern, muted colors, well‐arranged on several levels.
Service: Young, friendly, helpful, impeccably trained.
Recommended Dishes: Filet de boeuf vinaigrette, pate maison en croute, escallopes de veau citron aux champignons, paupiettes de sole aux crevettes sauce Choron, noisettes d'agneau au Madere, carre d'agneau Provencale, spinach salad, Berkley salad, creme caramel, gateau du fromage douux, tableau des fromages et des fruits.
Credit Cards: American Express, Diners Club, Master Charge, Visa.
Price Range: Lunch upstairs, entrees $4.50 to $10.50; dinner upstairs, entrees $9.90 to $14.90. Lunch in wine‐bar entrees, $3.50 to $6.90; dinner, $5.90 to $9.90. Wine‐bar lunch special $5 (includes entree, salad, glass of wine).
Hours: Monday through Thursday, noon to 2 P.M., 6 to P.M.; Friday noon to 2 P.M., 6 to 11 P.M.; Saturday noon to 2 P.M. (in wine bar only, no lunch upstairs), to 11 P.M.; Sunday brunch noon to 3 P.M., dinner wine bar only, 6 to 8:30 P.M.
Reservations: Recommended.
What the stars mean:
(None) Fair to poor
⋆ Good
⋆⋆ Very good
⋆⋆⋆ Excellent
⋆⋆⋆⋆ Extraordinary
These ratings are based on the reviewer's reaction food and price in relation to comparable establishments.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/1979/02/11/archives/connecticut-weekly-dining-out-from-london-to-greenwich-berkleys.html