Dish Of The Week

The other night I visited my favorite restaurant in the West Village Deborah. I realized that I have never really blogged about it so I will now. For those of you who still haven't been there, Deborah is a tiny gem with an open kitchen, brick walls and long banquettes - a perfect setting for a Fall night in the Village. Chef Deborah Stanton (formerly of Galaxy and Woo Lae Oak) helms the kitchen and breathes new life into her reasonable priced New American comfort food. Throughout my years of eating at Deborah I have always ordered the same way - find a dish I LOVE there and then stick to it until I either tire of it or discover has replaced on the menu. Since the later was the case on this recent visit, I decided to venture with the Alaskan halibut “en papillote” - a gorgeous piece of flaky white fish crisped on the outside and served with herb infused sweet mashed and caramelized brussel sprouts. And this, my friends, is the D.O.T.W. As is the case with most items at Deborah, it was Phenomenal! I ended up have a conversation with Deborah about the brussel sprouts and she filled me in on one of her cooking philosophies - she like to pairs items that people THINK they don't like (i.e. the brussel sprouts) to items that like to try to get them to try something new. She also prepares them in a way that she hopes that people will love - in this case, I certainly did. She kinds of keeps that mantra with all aspects of the restaurant. Another instance was the Chianti - Deborah herself doesn't really like Chianti so she tried them until she found one that she did like so that it could be included on the menu. Overall, this place is never disappointing. Some other of my favorite dishes there include the Cobb Salad, the Mac 'N Cheese with turkey kielbasa and the mussels. Brunch there is fun too - the shired eggs are out of this world. So if you haven't been to Deborah yet, will 'ya go already? !?!?!?!?!?!