One great thing about working in the Flatiron district: proximity to No. 7 Sub, Hill Country, and my latest discovery, The John Dory Oyster Bar.
I can see people enjoying their meal at The John Dory from the window in my office, and I always think to myself, “damn I need to try that place…” so finally on Friday, I had my opportunity – work meeting! Kate, one of my colleagues at FM, suggested we go have coffee for this meeting; coffee turned into a glass of wine, and a glass of wine turned into appetizers and prosecco from The John Dory… I’ll allow it.
I didn’t get any pics of the inside, but there is a large oyster bar in the middle of the place (naturally, being that it’s an oyster bar), and the clean white tiles suggest high end fish market. We sat down and ordered two glasses of pink prosecco (so girly!), and we split the Vermont burrata with delicata squash, brown butter and sage. Have I ever told you how much I love burrata?? If you’ve never had it, you need to add it to your “to-eat” list immediately. It’s like a mozzarella shell on the outside, with a mozzarella and cream mixture on the inside, giving it a creamier and softer texture than traditional mozzarella. “Burrata” in Italian actually means “buttered” so you can see where the idea came from. Here, it is served on a crisp piece of toasted bread with nutty delicata squash and brown butter, and topped off with crispy fried sage leaves. Hello…I love you. I also loved the crackling of sea salt on the sage leaves…
Kate ordered the Maine Lobster Chowder, and I got the mussels stuffed with mortadella. Obviously, this was not only a working afternoon snack, it was also a healthy one. The lobster chowder was full of heavy cream, tender bits of lobster and chopped parsley. I took a piping hot bite, and even though it burned my esophagus on the way down, I enjoyed it.
The mussels were more my speed – I’m a sucker for salt. Mortadella is like salami, but incorporates more spices (I have seen a version with pistachios!) and in some cases, can be a little fattier. This only means more delicious things for your mussels. They were HUGE, and when they say stuffed, they mean stuffed. They come in a small bowl with a roasted tomato and red chili sauce that you can pour over the plump mussels. Yup I just salivated as I wrote that…
Now that I can finally scratch this one off my list, I still think I want more. I have been trying to get down with oysters more, so this sounds like a good place to try them. I’ll be back, Mr. Dory…
The John Dory Oyster Bar
1196 Broadway (29th Street at the Ace Hotel)
212-792-9000
No Reservations unless you are a guest at the Ace Hotel. Good time to go? When we went – 3-5 pm for an afternoon shnack!
