#32 – GRILLED SARDINES at ST. ANSELM

For the third year in a row, I’m going to attempt to eat every single item on Time Out New York’s annual 100 Best Dishes list. In no particular order, here’s my take on their Top 100. Let the gluttony continue…

The first time we went to St. Anselm, we were hopping for fried bar food. Instead we got their new updated menu of simple grilled ingredients. We were disappointed only because we couldn’t get the now unavailable disco fries.  We were, however, pleasantly surprised by how good everything was – most notably the eggplant trio, shishito peppers, and Butcher’s steak.

We didn’t order any of those items on this second visit. And I sort of wished we had because only one item lived up to our mighty expectations. I still love this place. It’s warm, comforting, and smells absolutely delicious. The open kitchen gives off whiffs of smoke and fat and makes the salivary glands go wild. The service is helpful and the prices are surprisingly reasonable for this quality food.

This time around, we tried out some of their seafood options, some new sides, and their venison special. The venison was tender and flavorful (with a sweet pear fennel chutney), but I found it too thin and a bit chewy. I really missed the miraculous Butcher’s Steak and have decided from now on to order it every single time I come here.

The TONY list item was the grilled sardines. I’ve never seen sardines quite this large. Normally, I eat the bones and everything, but these were gigantic sardines and I wasn’t sure that the larger bones would go down well. These three fishies were served with some grilled toast points and pickled lotus root. The acidity of the latter helped balance the rich meatiness of the fish. However, these were mildly flavored with just hints of smoke and salt coming off the tender white flesh. I would have liked a bit more char and outer texture.

We also ordered the whole mackerel, which looked like an even larger sardine. It had more of that grilled flavor I was looking for with crisper skin and a floral bouquet of peppercorns as a garnish. It was in a lime butter sauce and at $15 was well worth it.

The sides proved fantastic as well. Bits of cauliflower charred and grilled reminded me of most restaurant’s success with brussels sprouts. But the non-grilled side of spinach gratin was nothing short of spectacular. Instead of a puddle of green cream, this consisted of large full leaves of spinach tossed in a wonderful rich cheesy sauce with some charred bits on top. It truly was the best creamed spinach (or gratin) I’ve ever had. You felt like you were getting your vegetables in the best possible way (don’t tell my doctor I said that!)

So the second time at St. Anselm might not have been quite as surprisingly delicious as the first go round, but this remains one of my new favorite spots in the city. And I love that I’m slowly getting to try their entire menu.

Would St. Anselm’s Grilled Sardines make my Top 100 of the year? They were the meatiest most tender sardines I’ve ever tasted, but I felt like they were missing just a bit of salt and smoke which could have put them over a top and higher than an 8 out of 10.