The Smith

Tonight I happened to be in the East Village when the mood for dinner struck, and so I dropped by The Smith on 3rd Avenue. My previous visit there with wife and child had not gone well, but based on repeated recommendation from friends I decided it would be worth going by myself to see if it was better the second time.

On this visit I settled on the pumpkin salad to start, and then the hanger steak. I decided to forgo the included sides of fries or greens with the steak and instead went with the brussel sprouts listed in the sides section of the menu for just a couple dollars extra.

I wasn't sure what to expect from the pumpkin salad; the menu lists it with blue cheese and cranberries so initially I envisioned a sort of fall harvest twist on traditional potato salad with cubes of pumpkin tossed in a cranberry-laced dressing. I inquired to the waitress about the composition, and she indicated that no, it was an arugula salad with pumpkin seeds and topped with slices of pumpkin. This was confirmed when the salad arrived; the pumpkin effect was subtle and the very thin slices of pumpkin were just the right texture to compliment the crunchy seeds and crumbled cheese. One of the better salads I have enjoyed recently.

When the entree arrived, I was impressed by the large chunk of hanger steak, but was dwarfed by the enormous pile of brussel sprouts next to it on the plate. Definitely a generous portion; no question I got my money's worth.

The hanger steak was very good; exactly medium rare just as I had ordered with an impressive crust on the outside. The surprise star was the pile of brussel sprouts, though. As I found myself drawn to eat more and more of the sprouts (even more so than the steak), I thought to myself, how can it be that I am more compelled to eat these brussel sprouts than the steak? Brussel sprouts are not that good in general. Certainly I like them well enough, although perhaps somewhat of an acquired taste. Yet here I was all but willing to cast aside this perfectly prepared steak in order to eat more of them.

I started to examine the brussel sprouts more closely to see if there was something unusual about them, and then it struck me; they looked as though they had been deep fried. It seemed implausible at first; surely they weren't making "freedom" sprouts? Wouldn't they have advertised them as such if that were the case? The more I looked, though, the more convinced I became. They were either deep fried or else they were sauteed in so much oil that it had the same effect. The outermost leaves were browned and crispy, while the inside was cooked through but not overcooked and mushy. I'm skeptical that effect could be achieved through roasting; easier to believe that the secret is a vat of hot oil.