The Bar @ Etats-Unis

The Bar at Etats-Unis has been one of my favorites restaurants on the upper east side for several years now. I say restaurant but it's really the wine bar across the street from the actual Etats-Unis restaurant. While the restaurant has a very interesting menu, we have for some reason never gone. However, we've been to the bar several times to enjoy their duck confit and their chocolate souffle.

Since we were going to be on the east side for my daughter's orthodontist appointment, we decided to try to have an early dinner there. Since the Bar doesn't take reservations and only has seating for 18 plus 6 at the bar, the wait can become pretty hefty. We arrived at 6:30pm and managed to get one of the last tables. One of the benefits of eating at the Bar (as opposed to at the bar) is that you can order from the bar menu or the restaurant menu. While there are items on the restaurant menu that are appealing, including a seared foie gras and a white truffle gnocchi, the bar menu is significantly cheaper.

We started with a tempranillo (can't remember the vineyard), a nice medium bodied red with blackberry flavors and a touch of spice. We also ordered the hummus which had toasted pine nuts and chile de arbol infused oil. The accompanying hot pita bread gave us a nice start to the meal. We've always liked the hummus at Etats-Unis and last night was no exception. A little more pita bread and I wouldn't have had to lick the plate. :)

The three of us then ordered the macaroni and cheese (cheddar and parmesian), the chilaquiles (a chicken, tortilla, and poblano chili casserole), and the beef stew. I would have liked the macaroni to come with a better combination than cheddar and parmesian but my daughter was well satisfied. The beef stew was just satisfactory. Reasonably tender and seasoned but it was not the duck confit that I was expecting to order. Unfortunately, the weather has not gotten cold enough for the duck to reappear on the menu....soon. The chilaquiles was very nice....a good combination of chicken, pepper, spices, cream, and tortilla in a stone pot. An excellent winter dish...again wondering where the duck was.

Finally, for dessert, we had both the chocolate souffle for two and the date pudding. The souffle, as usual, was outstanding. For me, last night, it was too rich since I'd already overindulged in the rest of the meal. The date pudding (actually a bread pudding) was perfect. Not too sweet, a nice date flavor, very moist, to die for. They've only two desserts on the bar menu and they'e both winners.

I cut through the dessert and food with an espresso while my daughter had a glass of milk to offset the chocolate and we were off. Another satisfying dinner knowing we'll be back again when I need to kill myself in duck fat and chocolate.