Chapter 4 - North Square Restaurant and Lounge

Last night my buddy Annette was in town, so since restaurant week is still chugging along (at least for some participating restaurants) I decided to have an extra club day this week.  Annette is a Cali girl, and for some reason she finds it really easy to get lost in Manhattan, so I found a restaurant in the village close to the 9th Street PATH station that was still participating - The North Square Restaurant and Lounge  We both decided on the prix fixe, and it was definitely a winner.

The first thing you'll notice about the restaurant is that it's very cozy and cute.  This picture doesn't really do it justice at all.  That table you see in the back there with the flowers has fresh flowers each night, and it keeps the by-the-glass bottles chilled in an ice bath (if white) or standing and breathing (if red).  I ordered the Sangiovese, and Annette had a class of Sauvignon Blanc that was actually a blend and not as "blanc-y" - that is to say a bit mellower than a true blanc.  Really nice.  Another nice touch, and reflective of the great service here in general, was offering the taste before the full pour when you order by the glass.  Many restaurants don't do this, but North Square takes its wine seriously and its service as well.  Drop a fork, and someone will whisk it away and a new one materializes within seconds.  Suggest that it's a little warm, and the temperature is adjusted for you.  Your waiter is attentive and knowledgeable.  Of course the restaurant is on the small side, which makes good service a bit easier to deliver, but even in other smaller restaurants you'd be surprised at how off the service can be.  No worries at North Square.

The Prix Fixe itself was what I think of as a totally committed prix fixe - that is to say, there are three choices of each course, and not just two.  The worst kind of prix fixe is, of course, the scam that the fancy schmanzys pull where they just offer two courses, and if you want the third you have to pay an extra 14 or 15 bucks for it, completely defeating the purpose of a fixed price dinner.  North Square does no such bait and switch - the restaurant week menu is interesting, varied, and the portions are completely equivalent to what they might be were you to order them a la carte.

Annette dove into the endive salad, and I went with a smoked salmon appetizer with the requisite drizzle of horseradish cream and dill.  Each slice was folded onto a thick, pressed homemade potato chip which, sadly, I couldn't eat because potato chips aren't in my current diet philosophy.  Nicely done and a healthy portion of five slices.

For the entree, I went after a halibut crusted with porcini atop a puree of cauliflower, while Annette chose what is usually my fave, the chicken au jus.  Both were excellent.  My fish was done perfectly, moist inside with crisped skin, salty but not overly so.  The cauliflower puree was lovely, although I'm sure it was because there was a healthy dose of cream inside.  Again, not on my diet regimen, but I let it slide and it was marvelous.

Dessert was a a success for the most part - I of course broke my one dessert a week rule and went for a creme brulee which, oddly, included blueberries.  Not necessarily a terrible idea, but it does make for a rather ugly-looking creme.  The sugar shell on the brulee was also a little bit impatiently rendered - and, for additional fuss factor, there was a pair of chocolate dipped milano-style italian cookies stuck into the top of it.  I think it would have been more effective if the brulee were traditional, sans cookies, and a teeny bit more effort had been taken with the blowtorch.  Brulee-ing something is not the easiest thing in the world to do, but heck, that's why I don't do it at home - I trust professionals.  And I can't imagine me and a blowtorch ever being a good combo anyway, given that I'm a klutz.  Annette's dessert was the wild success I have to say.  She's a chocolate freak, and chose the small frozen-chocolate mousse with a chocolate cookie-crumb bottom to it, topped by a scoop of bitter-chocolate gelato and accented with chocolate sauce.  Annette ended up eating every bit, and then wiping up the remaining chocolate sauce with my cookies which I've already said I found kind of superfluous.  Big success, was the chocolate.

North Square scores in every area - service, ambiance, easy to find, great food, good drink - they even have absinthe on the cocktail menu, so I know there's a creative hand at work here that understands the Village.  Definitely looking forward to another visit, although I'm not sure the prix fixe is a regular phenom.  If you're going to be hanging around the village, bypass the sushi joints, the student hangouts and the ubiquitous noodle shops and settle yourself down for a lovely dinner at North Square.  Trust me.