[Pigging by Wilfrid: April 23, 2012]
I know some people will never reconcile themselves to a restaurant called Traif, no matter how nice the owners, no matter that it's not even a new idea (there's been a Traif bike shop in the neighborhood for years).
But crowds of people obviously don't care, and regularly pack the little dining room to bursting. I walked by a couple of times on a recent evening, and finally spotted a seat at around 10.30pm.
Service nevertheless aspires to correctness and even a modicum of elegance in the glasses and tableware. The menu currently boasts some 23 savory entries; you can judge the size by the price ($7 to $17). Given the crowds, I was surprised nothing was sold out.
I kicked off with some grilled asparagus topped with slices of burrata. Then, as a sort of bridge to the foie, some slices of toast dotted with bacon and a pot of chicken liver spread.
The foie dish is the most expensive thing on the menu, and is really good. A tranche of liver appropriate to a main course, neatly seared, served beneath a fried egg and over al dente fingerlings with ham chips. The neat touch: a gently spiced maple sauce which pulls it all together. I don't care how soon I eat this again.
Note: Urban Spoon got to photograph it with some light, but it honestly looks nothing like this when you're sitting in the restaurant.
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