Early American Aesthetics at the Commerce Inn | The New Yorker

"On a tucked-away corner in the West Village, I found a Shaker-inspired Early American tavern and cookery that feels faithfully themed—so much so that a diner at a nearby table squinted at his phone and complained, “I have no service in here. Literally no bars.” It’s the fifth restaurant from Jody Williams and Rita Sodi, the married chefs behind Via Carota and Buvette, and the space leans into Shaker furniture, spindle-backed benches, pegs with a broad-brimmed felt hat, mixed-case antique typefaces and hanging chalkboard menus that are a bit hard to read in eighteenth-century lighting; the aesthetic flirts with Epcot, but Williams and Sodi’s culinary chops and playful curiosity pull it off. I ordered both rarebit—a thick, soft slab of fermented porridge bread spread with a thick, soft mixture of melted Cheddar, dark ale, and dried mustard, scored and splashed with Worcestershire, more comforting for its mono-texture—and the jugged rabbit, which featured the real thing: a leg steeped in mulled wine, then confited with shallots, garlic, thyme, black pepper, juniper, and allspice before being slow-cooked in a Dutch oven and served with parsnips and prunes. Roasted bone marrow sent me back to a more recent era; the luscious marrow was in such spectacular conversation with the crispy mushrooms heaped atop it that I saw stars. I also loved the pickled oysters—creamy and piquant—paired with a spiced-rye clarified milk punch; was charmed by the spoon bread, a cornmeal pudding believed to have Native American roots, souffle-like and scooped tableside from a ceramic pie plate; and enjoyed tender, shaggy slices of salt beef piled with simply dressed shredded beets and red cabbage, and especially the leeks draped in a doily of horseradish cream and pickled shallots. A slice of warm ginger cake—pitch dark, dense, sticky-edged, charged with spice, and dolloped with unsweetened fresh cream—drove home that the way to pull off a place like this is to have the culinary chops and the playful curiosity of Williams and Sodi. (Dishes around $12–$42.)" - Hannah Goldfield