Your average restaurant menu is a pretty good read. But some nights, well, it's just a little predictable. So we thought we'd tell you what's new in off-the-menu options—those little secrets chefs reserve for regulars, connoisseurs, big spenders, VIPS…you know, people like you.
A 12-ounce prime sirloin, one of the stars of Jerry Kleiner's latest velvet-draped extravaganza, is perfectly respectable. But look closer at the menu—down where it says, "ask about our reserved meats"—and your server will initiate you into a world of 33-ounce, dry-aged, tomahawk steaks (a bone-in rib eye), also known as the meat version of obscenity.
This tiny Italian storefront opened quietly this summer, but has become a full-fledged, under-the-radar hit. But not everything's out of the bag just yet. Take those spicy duck meatballs—stewed in a tomato sauce with braised fennel, and served with mascarpone, creamy polenta and Parmesan. Sometimes they make the specials list, but if not, just ask to see if there are any rolling around in the back. Your pasta will thank you.
The current craze for chefs butchering whole animals has resulted in some unusual treats. For instance, when an older Polish couple started requesting necks, Nightwood chefs obliged by developing an off-menu secret: they roast the neck meat from whatever animal was butchered that week—from suckling pig to lamb, goat and poultry—and serve them with seasonal vegetables. Proving once again, of course, that it pays to put your neck out.
When you butcher a 200-pound hog, there's going to be a lot of food—even the Bristol's large menu board can't list it all. So it's worth asking what's not there: maybe it's pig heart tartare or—when you're lucky—it's the fried pig tail, seasoned with dried, medium-heat pepper on a wooden cutting board with a steak knife alongside homemade kimchi and limes.
You come for the insane burgers, but your date…well, we don't know how to break it to you: she's toying with vegetarianism. But Michael Taus has your back: just ask and he'll whip up seasonal vegetables en papillote (basically French for cooking in a sealed bag), sprinkled with lemon zest and topped with fresh truffle puree and oil. You owe him one.
