Ok I TOFTT tonight, decided it’s been long enough so I went. First thing to notice stil have valet parking when you pull up. When I walked in I immediately noticed they “softened” the decor again from the brighter and whiter environment David Burke had created. I did not check out the dining room instead just going straight to the bar.
I looked over the menu and was dissapointed that they did not offer any raw seafood as appetizer, however they did have a nice escargot that I ordered. A traditional garlic and oil preparation with tiny individual pieces of toast with each snail, very good.
Second up was the Fromagerie salad, mixed greens with candied walnuts, cheeses and sliced apples in a creamy truffle dressing. Overall the salad was fine, the delicate truffle balance in the dressing was good, however at $18. the serving was ridiculously small.
I was dissapointed to see they didn’t have a NY Strip on the menu, porterhouse for 1 or 2, cowboy ribeye, tomahawk ribeye for 2, filet mignon. I ordered the cowboy ribeye after inquiring what the cowboy designation exactly meant. Nothing, just a regular rib eye so I ordered it. To my chagrin they do not offer bernaise sauce, only Lugers, not even a house sauce of any kind.
Steak arrived the perfect medium temperature as ordered with a side of homemade/ cut fries. The steak was excellent I don’t recall if it was described as prime or aged however it lacked any of the traditional woody, oaky, moldy flavor traditionally associated with aged steaks. Not taking away from the steak, just not sure if it was an aged piece or not, still very good. I had to try the fries and they were very good, a little well done as I like them and seasoned well.
Overall for $50. this is an awesome steak! For $60 it’s still pretty good…at $70 it’s “ok” at $80 it’s a f’king rip off!!! Seriously at $80 for a steak my night better end in a similar manner to Blinded By The Dashboard Light.
Any of you that know anything about me I’m not a frugal person especially when it comes to my meals, but there comes a point where you can’t keep pissing on my leg and telling me it’s raining. You know what pisses me off more than anything, there’s maybe 4 tables in the place 5 people at the bar (including myself) the Sopranos extra manager/owner is too busy making small talk with the 3 women at the bar to ever turn his head and even fake concern as to how my meal is. If I can smell your drakar noir from where I’m sitting then turn your f’ning head for 30 seconds and do your job as an owner/manager. 3 courses over an hour and nobody besides the bartender asked at any point how things were going. COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE at this level of dining.
I went to Stage Left over the weekend which is at a similar price point as this, I honestly didn’t enjoy my meal. There was nothing wrong with it, just didn’t match my taste, but I would go back tomorrow. The service and level of attention each staff member paid to our night shows the commitment to quality instilled by management. I respect that. That is completely lacking at Fromagerie.
Another thing that pissed me off, one of the women being entertained by the manager gets up walks around the corner of the bar past the 6 seats between us to take the candle in front of me to light her cigarette while standing directly next to me while still well inside the establishment. Like seriously WTF is that all about in today’s day and age?
Fromagerie was once a very good French restaurant that catered to their locals but also offered outsiders a fine dining experience for their high prices. You didn’t mind spending the money because you were able to find value in the overall experience. David Burke took that “value” away and substituted it with his “star appeal”, it no longer fine dining but it is celebrity dining 60 miles sth of Manhattan and the locals bought into it. Now you don’t have an excellent experience nor star appeal, will the locals continue to come? My guess is yes, but the place will continue to lose the Fromagerie aurora that the Peters family spent decades establishing.
Fromagerie is the Cadillac of the 1980’s.
(Typed on my phone I apologize for any typos I’m not proofreading! Lol)