I actually don’t eat any type of potpies…not my thing.
OK so I went here expecting to have this place flipped upside down and that wasn’t the case. I thought it was going to be all froufrou and it was far from that. In fact, it was kind of reminiscent of the old days. Obviously things have changed and I wish the old wyb was around. The clientele seemed unchanged but I was there early and got a happy hour drink and the 3 course special for 21.00
Corn chowder =very good, nice hearty size bowl and served very hot. I can’t stand warm soup. Good starter.
Bread= pretty decent. I am not a bread expert but I would classify this as a classic “no frills” baguette. Great herb infused butter accomopanied it but came out rock hard…a pet peeve of mine. Why can’t restaurants get this right? Hell my office can even get this right on bagel day lol.
Cheese and crackers= not the old port wine cheese trough we loved but they are keeping the tradition alive. I liked the fact that they paid homage to a classic spot.
Hanger Steak= nice cut and temp but the taste was just off. I am almost sure this was grass-fed beef but it was hard to tell over the mushroom sauce. I didn’t really connect with it. It tasted kind of earthy/funky. I ate it all but would not order again. I was pretty hungry. The Brussel sprouts were small (not a bad thing,) diced, bland and very dry. This side needs help! ANYTHING would have jazzed these up…butter, evoo, garlic, bacon crumbles, panchetta, etc. I didn’t even finish them. The potato pave was enjoyable and a dense, hearty side. Everything came out nice and hot…except the butter lol.
Dessert= carrot cake. This was a decent size slice and I took it home. I hope it tastes as good as it looks.
Bartender was very good.
Onto the decor…they didn’t do that much imo. One thing they did to change up the look a little was to add white linens. These linens actually work pretty well for me. The dining room is till on the darker side but the white table tops seem to add a better balance for the look they are going for. Don’t get me wrong; I miss the dingy old wyb but to me they didn’t totally trash this place like I anticipated. They took some old tchotchkes off the walls and painted the support post/beam in the middle of the bar ad far as I can tell. A new picture or two is up but they are subdued and it took me a little time to notice the large new pictures.
Overall I spent 25.xx with one pint of beer (excluding tip)
I will try it again but won’t be rushing back tomorrow. For 21 bucks I would like to try another dish or two. Fyi, the 3 course runs until 6. Happy hour drinks run until 7.
In summation, I miss the old wyb. I’m glad to see they kept a historic building intact and only made some slight decor changes with no major structural renovations. Who knows, maybe this place will one day revert back to its saltier, dingier days
Ps…not sure if dingier is a word. let’s ask @joonjoon lol