Tartine

I was looking for a place to eat on a Sunday night (not every restaurant operates on Sundays, so I was thinking quite hard), then I recalled my friend's recommendation of Tartine as a great brunch place. In fact, the place is so popular for brunch that a long line forms outside on weekends. I thought that a great brunch place shouldn't disappoint for dinner, so I went to check it out. I was wrong. It was just ok for dinner...average at best. Sadly, I don't have any decent pictures to share with you because it was pretty dark in there.

Tartine is in the West Village and serves French bistro food - it has your usual French onion soup and escargot on the dinner menu. You can bring your own wine, and there's no corkage fee. There's a nice dessert display, filled with delicious looking fruit tarts and such. My mind was fast forwarding to dessert once I saw that, but I had to focus on dinner, not dessert.

There were many specials that night, and I ordered everything from there. I had a pastry tart of tomoato, onion, anchovies and goat cheese for appetizer, followed by roasted halibut for my entree. Our server had raved about the halibut, so I was really looking forward to it.

When my appetizer came, I became worried. The portions were very generous, so I didn't know whether I could finish my meal. I bit into my tart, which I thought would be a buttery flaky crust, but it was almost like a crunchy flatbread...anyways, it was extremely salty. I thought it was the anchovies, so I took them off and tried another bite. It was better, but still salty.

Then my halibut came. It was nicely seared, but it was really flaky...kinda like red snapper. The halibut I'm used to is usually moist, rich and smooth. Not this one. The fish sat on these Chinese spinach that I love. They were nicely prepared; probably my favorite thing on the plate. Overall though, my entree was tasty, but the fish wasn't what I had expected. I also had a bite of my fiance's spicy chicken - it was overcooked and tough. The best thing on his plate was, I thought, fries.

I was hoping to get an apple tarte tartine for dessert, but I was too stuffed. Perhaps I'll try Tartine again someday...for brunch.