Sascha

Days and days ago, maybe even months ago, Carebear and I decided to grab dinner. I had read about Sascha on Eater and the idea of eating anywhere that is even remotely connected with Pastis (the chef of Sascha used to be the chef de cuisine there) made it jump out at me. I'm a sucker for anything with Keith McNally's stamp on it.

We took a stroll from her West Village apartment, passed by many charming restaurants I someday would hope to try (and live next to ;), before we made it to the Meatpacking District where we found Sascha.

It's a two-level, three-part restaurant. One part brasserie on the ground level, one part formal dining room upstairs, and one part bakery. We chose to eat in the brasserie with the bar in closer proximity to our table. There were several tables outside (they took doors/windows off the hinges so it was almost like eating al fresco), but as it was getting a little chilly we opted for inside.

The hostess told us it would be a short wait so we sat at the bar for one drink. The bartender was a bit gregarious, throwing circular coasters at us, giving us all the wrong menus, and enticing us with his cocktail skills, we could have sat there all night and have been perfectly happy. Funny, as we were getting up off our bar stools, I specifically mentioned to Carebear, "I hope we sit on that side." That side referring to the side of the divider closer to the open windows. Well we weren't so lucky. We sat on the side kissing the bar stools but I guess that's why we were downstairs in the first place anyway, right?

Our first cocktail was a Bellini, and it was everything a Bellini should be: crisp, refreshing and just a little bit of icy foam. When we got the cocktail menu we decided we would branch out and try something different, at least I did anyway. Big mistake. I got this lemon drink that tasted like lemonade and moonshine. Just avoid anything with lemons on the cocktail menu.

Carebear and I looked at the one-sided menu and found there wasn't a huge variety of stuff to try if you didn't feel like big hunks of meat or seafood. But with a little searching, we each found something. To start we tried the fried oysters with cole slaw. This was my second favorite thing the whole night, second to my entree. There were about six small fried oysters sitting on top of an elegant cole slaw. I couldn't decide which I liked better the cole slaw or the oysters. But the combination of both made Sascha a shoe-in for my going back.

Carebear chose the trout with lentils and mini potato balls as her main course, and I went with a special, which I don't often do: braised pork shoulder in a red cranberry sauce over polenta. I'm worried this may have been a once-in-a-lifetime dish. I would call Sascha before going to see if they would still make it. The pork was melt-in-your-mouth tender and the sauce... mmm... the sauce! I've never had pork with so much punch. The polenta wasn't as thick as I like, it was a little on the thin and watery side, but I didn't let it bother me because I was too busy with the pork. It was the Meg Ryan at the diner in "When Harry Met Sally" kind of meal for me, if you catch my drift.

Our server was a delight. She was very friendly and helpful. When we asked her for something, we got it. When we asked her about things to try she gave us the appropriate recommendations, even saying, "Nah I'd skip that."

Sascha was a hit. And you won't believe me when I say this but we ate there the weekend right before it showed up in good ol' Bruni's column so, needless to say, we were two proud kids. Don't ya love it when that happens?

55 Gansevoort St
212-989-1920