#36 – THE WHOLE MISHPUCHA at MILE END

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…

Time Out has done it again! This list, as good and exciting as the dishes are, is next to impossible to complete. This is the third list item that has not been available since the list was released in October. I understand if you’re just documenting the past, but the magazine challenged readers to eat their way through all 100. It’s like a bad reality show being staged for the contestants to fail and for drama to ensue.

Well, the only drama that ensued here is that we finally got to try Mile End’s dinner menu – even though the Whole Mishpucha is no longer offered. According to our waitress, the large format dish was one of the creations of a former chef who has not been at the restaurant since last year.

Instead we decided the matzo ball soup would be a fine substitute since The Whole Mishpucha was basically the same thing just as a larger portion and with more ingredients like chicken liver stuffed kreplach.

We just got one hefty ball in a rich and toothsome chicken broth. Now I’ve had many matzo ball soups in my life. I prefer my balls a little mushier than this. Still it was soft and tender with loads of buttery flavor (thank you, chicken fat!) and a healthy helping of dill. The broth was so rich it almost tasted like beef broth, but I appreciated the addition of carrots and celery to lighten it up, not to mention some crispy croutons for a quickly softening crunch.

The other dishes we were served were also rather stellar: some crispy, fried sweetbreads that were lightened and enlivened with maple butter and apple cider; a beautifully smoked chicken, rich and earthy from rye gnocchi, mushrooms, and schmaltz; and a special of hake wrapped in lamb bacon (still kosher, thank you!) with celery this and celery that.

All in all, it was another great meal at Mile End, which is my favorite spot for brunch and might quickly become my favorite spot for dinner too. Mishpucha or no mishpucha!

Would Mile End’s The Whole Mishpucha make Top 100 of the Year? A smaller version of that minus the chicken liver kreplach’s was a nice take on matzo ball soup. Maybe a little more refined for my tastes, but the flavors and textures earn it an 8 out of 10.