New York Magazine - USA (2019-12-09)

94 newyork| december9–22, 2019

the dish

Angel-Hair Francese

Chef Nick Anderer intended his new restaurant, Anton’s, to be a trib-

ute to the European-inspired foods of Old New York. Yet angel-hair

francese, one of the menu’s “macaronis,” is an invented pasta based

on an Italian-American meat preparation that can’t be found in the

Old Country. Chicken francese—or “chicken French,” as it’s sometimes

called—evolved from veal francese, a dish of lightly floured and egg-

washedcutlets sautéedina pananddrizzledwitha lemony, buttery

pan sauce. (The butter, apparently, is what makes it “French.”) Anderer

first dreamed up his francese-inspired pasta not in his own kitchen

but as a regular customer at Gene’s, the 100-year-old Greenwich Vil-

lage relic whose matchbooks once read “French Italian cuisine” and

whose well-preserved menu still offers escargot and vichyssoise.

Whenever Anderer orders the chicken francese,

which is always, he asks for angel hair in placeofthe

default spaghetti and some extra francese sauceto

dip it in. For his (cutletless) riff, says Anderer,“we

fuss it up but just a little.” r.r.& r.p.

I’m thinking of little twirls of Ibérico pork
cheeks (served as an appetizer dressed
with black vinegar and petals of baby
onion), the beef tartare (folded with
tomato confit and crushed hazelnuts as at
Chumley’s), and a perfectly cooked square
of tilefish that the kitchen recently dressed
with pats of gently charred uni. The tender
cube of lamb shoulder I enjoyed one eve-
ning was garnished with a Calabrian-chile
saucethatI hadtorestrainmyselffrom
licking off my plate, and if you call for the
exceptional (and, at $135, not inexpensive)
agedNimanRanchribeyefortwo, you’ll
find that it is seized in an addictive, faintly
candied glaze made with veal stock and a
dousing of beet juice.
It’s difficult to know how the old
Gotham diehards are taking these radi-
cal little changes, although on my visits,
the room was full with the usualmixture
of business suits, familiar faces from the
neighborhood, and slightly dazed out-
of-town tourists. There are still plenty of
things for an Old Guard to takecomfort
in, however, including a bowl of squid-ink
“spaghetti neri” (folded with a rich and
generous octopus ragù) and theporce-
let, which is one of the better new pork
dishes in town. There’s also a recogniz-
able and impressive roster of classic des-
serts, by Gotham’s longtime pastry chef
Ron Paprocki, which includes blocks of
caramelized pain perdu bolstered with
brown- butter ice cream; a beautiful, slim
raspberry vacherin decked with flower pet-
als and tiny caps of meringue; and a pear
soufflé that, in texture, taste, andappear-
ance, seems uncannily like something the
old master would have been pleased to
serve back in the day, when the restaurant
first opened its doors in the springof 1984.

scratchpad

High marks for the direction of Chef Blamey’s

new menu during this extended shakedown

cruise period, although the service could use

some work and it’s more clear now thanever

that the venerable old dining room needs

a radical makeover of its own.

bites

IDEAL MEAL: Yellowtail crudo or Ibéricopork

cheeks; porcelet or rib eye for two; pear

soufflé, vacherin, or pain perdu. NOTE: The

bar remains one of the best in the city, aslong

asyoucanafford theprices, andbeverage

.

OPEN:

nightly. r

additio

eyefortwo.

On the menu at

Anton’s; $18;

570 Hudson St.,

at 11th St.;

212

PHOTOGRAPH: NEW YORK MAGAZINE

Angel hair is so thin,

Anderer says, “it’s

30 seconds in the water,

30 seconds in the pan.”

The sauce is flavored with

garlic, Sicilian oregano,

and thyme; brightened

with lemon juice;

and enriched with butter

and Grana Padano.

Garlicky bread crumbs made

from panko and leftover

baguette add crunchy contrast

to an inevitably soft noodle.