Quick Bites: The Elm Has NYC's Best "Fish'n'Chips"

[Pigging by Wilfrid:  October 28, 2013]

I raved about The Elm when it opened in the summer.  Most people I know have continued to rave about it. Sure, I can see how the slightly tense services, and the you're-in-a-hotel room, made it look like a two star restaurant to the Times.

But I find it hard to see it--food-wise, at least--as anything other than the best opening in New York for years. Even when it's doing casual!

Yes, I went back to sample a couple of approachable dishes recently added to the menu, fish and chips and a burger. Doubtless these dishes will encourage more traffic at the bar: I have to say that abandoning the unnecessary "share plate" entrées--dishes designed for two people--would encourage more traffic overall.

So how does Liebrandt (or his team--he wasn't present) cope with comfort food? Brilliantly. Like the chef, I'm British. I remember as a child eating fish and chips wrapped in newspaper.  It was one of the great treats of my youth. And The Elm is serving the fish and chips of my dreams.

Sure, you can get scrod in a thin batter, and thick-cut French fries, in English eateries and Irish pubs all over town. Forget about that. I grew up eating haddock or cod in rigid, rugged, crunchy batter--thick pieces of flaky white fish.

The Elm has taken beer batter and super-charged it.  Thick, but not heavy, it shatters under your teeth. The fish--hake of all things--forks apart into big white flakes.  This is fish and chips, done better than I remember.

Well, the fish anyway. The chips are very different: a mélange of sweet potato fries and thin beet and sunchoke chips. The smart part, the gossamer slices of sweet pickled vegetables as a garnish, conjuring the sweet pickled onions with which the British accompany the dish. 

And there's more. A charming, cumin-scented aïoli under the fish.  A different aïoli, I think, under the chips. 

I didn't need the cheeseburger to be great after those delights. But of course it was. At $18 (with fries), it moves straight into competition with the Minetta Tavern "Black Label" burger ($26) and the burger at The Brindle Room ($12) for the best dry-aged patty in town. Short rib, brisket, and chuck in this case.

For me personally, the Minetta patty is just too mousse-like in texture to be truly enjoyable. The Elm cooks the burger medium-rare (I wasn't asked), which means it's soft and creamy in the center, with a strong beef tang, but they do get some firmness around the surface.

The cheese? Wow. I had to ask. The kitchen, it turns out, is not simply melting cheese over the meat: it's actually making a Welsh rarebit topping, which means cheese and beer. In this case, Brooklyn Lager and white cheddar. It makes for a rich, velvety blanket. More finely slice house pickles complete the picture.

One gripe. Everyone seems to be wildly over-salting fries these days, and The Elm is no exception.

A half-bottle of chunky Cahors ($20) helped things along. And dining at the bar, I still received all the courtesies: a warm baguette with butter, a black olive/yuzu aïoli financière to kick off, and (I thought I heard) smoked cookie financière to finish.  Smoky it was.  Oh, and a Pimm's Cup gelée too.

Note that the burger and fries is not a small plate: it's quite hefty. The fish'n'chips is perhaps not full-scale, but it's quite hearty too ($22). Yes, The Elm is still absurdly cheap, given the quality of ingredients and cooking.