Gray and Grizzled Food Fan

I hadn’t been to Switzerland in a while, so last week I decided to go to Siberia, in other words, 24th and 10th, in Chelsea. Over in those nether reaches of Western Manhattan I found the best Swiss wine selection in the City and some of its best Swiss food. Better still, I didn’t feel like a third-class colonial subaltern beaten senseless by European currency exchange rates.

I also found further hope that the Children of Danny (Meyer) will keep on going out to spread the word. Having thoroughly enjoyed such Meyer-inspired restaurants as Hearth and Spigolo at the opposite Manhattan antipodes of Yorkville and the East Village, I was pleased to see the magic in effect in Chelsea as well. Of course, it helps that Chef Ralf Kuettel’s wife, Juliette Pope, is close to the source: She’s the reigning beverage genius at Gramercy Tavern.

Below are the high and lowlights of a recent meal at Trestle:

1) Pizokle: Fun to say, delicious to eat. If St. Bernards switched out their little barrels of booze for a hot bowl of Pizokle, the slopes would be safe at any temp. This cheesy spaetzle-like dish is super-rich, super-pungent and just about perfect this time of year.

2) Budget Booze Cruise: Adventure, value and focus are everywhere on the wine and spirits list, even if a red Rhône was served closer to mulling temp than might be advisable for anyone not seated right in the gulfstream path by the front door. After dinner drinks are fun—and intentionally warming—especially, the bourbons.

3) The Rarest of Birds, Perfect Roast Chicken: Textbook perfection and great control of temp, moisture and texture made this afterthought a standout. Crystalline consomme was a lovely little tour de force of technique. This dish, just as Trestle does it, should be on all the culinary schools’ exit exams.

4) Pork Crépinette: Everyone talks it up. Everyone’s right. This cabbage wrapped pig patty is as tasty as it is ugly. Easy to share, if you’re a generous sort. Easy to scarf if you’re not.

5) Glutton’s Salad: At this temple to all things adipose, even the greens are fatty in name if not in nature. Butter lettuce with buttermilk dressing and bacon chunks makes for a great closer to a meal. Good for the soul, bad for the arteries. Skip the desserts and grab a warming drink at the bar before heading home. It’s a long slog to the subway and there’s nary a St. Bernard to save you if you slip.

A few notes from a recent visit.

1) Quirkily Divergent Upstairs/Downstairs Clientele: On the first floor, seersuckered Atticus Finches drank red wine and fiddled with their bowties. On the third floor, a micromini twentysomething drank cocktails and fiddled with her nostrils. Befuddled golfer tanned tourists kept their eyes on their porterhouses. On the way out, the various crowds converged peaceably at the bar for a last drink before closing or starting the night.

2) Generous Parade of Proteins: Gourmet groaning board of a Chef’s menu included scallops on grits, foie with stewed apples, a delicious suckling pig, Big Eye tuna, and a large helping of rare beef. Spot on cooking temperatures proved the grill station’s acumen. Southern starches, herbs and greens were deftly and delicately deployed as “unders” and “overs”—no superfluous sides.

3) Masterful Southern Service: Waitress had a lovely lazy tongued Mae West way of speaking, but it was her perfect pacing of the meal and intuitive wine suggestions and service that will have us coming back. Barkeep and maitre d’ were equally affable and accomplished. This front of house can work anywhere and chooses to work here.

4) Dull Dessert Was Bitter Closer: A lone disappointment in an otherwise splendid meal. Chocolate mousse and raspberry confection was on the wrong side of La Maison de la Casa House, Continental Cuisine circa 1983: pedestrian idea and execution. How about some local fruit, and how about a pair of dessert tastes or courses? Perhaps a four/two savory sweet balance instead of five/one? That said, regular dessert menu options looked to be as good as the savories.

With a nod to Gramercy Tavern, the Meyer inspired Hearth is producing some of the most compelling dining in the City. It’s not the food, wine list or service alone, but the power trio combination of the three, like Rush before they got old.

1) Tom Colicchio in the kitchen: Canora makes deft and delicious use of butter, seasonal vegetables and hearty meats. He also brings a gimlet eye to colorful, attractive and unfussy plating. In other words, he does a great impression of Tom Colicchio in the early aughts at Gramercy Tavern. That said he finds his own voice even in reworking GT classics like black bass with morels and peas in butter sauce.

2) Danny Meyer at your table: Paul Grieco brings the best of Gramercy service to Hearth, much as Mary Mraz has done at the North Fork Table and Inn. Hallmark emotional intelligence, flawless pacing and deep knowledge of food and wine are all on ample and much appreciated display.

3) Three-ounce wine servings: The short pour lets you play all night in Grieco’s exotic wine harem, but leaves you with only the merest hicky of a hangover the next day: enough to remind you of a great evening, not enough to leave you with any regrets.

4) Wine list I’d take to the beach: Other than Josh Wesson, no one writes and talks about wine with Paul Grieco’s excitement, humor and wit. That Best Cellars’ top tippler was dining at Hearth on my last visit suggests that he and Grieco recognize each other as kindred spirits.

5) Bar stools with amazing kitchen views: For those who like the art and sport of kitchen theater, there are few better places to watch and eat. Smellavision at its best.