Rosemary’s Review - West Village - New York - The Infatuation
"Rosemary’s is essentially Meatpacking, but for the West Village. As for the food? It’s OK. This is more a place you come to hang with friends and have some wine than anything else. The wine list is well-priced, and serving sizes are small, which is fine because most of the clientele here have a 7am SoulCycle class to go to in the morning. We’d recommend going heavy on the pastas and sampling an entree or two. The more impressive element of this place is that they run a tight ship. The intimidating line to check in (they don’t take reservations) and raucous bar area makes this place look like an absolute zoo, but things are kept in order. You’ll most likely be sitting at a table before your allotted wait time is up. And if not, the bar area is vast and populated. Go make some new friends. Food Rundown Verdure Being that they pride themselves on vegetation here at Rosemary’s, it’s no surprise that they lead off the menu with a section dedicated to the stuff they grow on the roof. We could have done without the Caponata and Sicilian Eggplant and Cabbages, Pecorino & Chilis - skip those. Instead, get the Radishes, Zucchini Crudo, and the Beets with Dandelion and Hazelnuts. Meats & Cheeses These things pair well with wine, this much we know. There’s something for everyone on this list, just keep in mind that the serving sizes are really small, especially for the cheese. So make sure to over-order if your dinner is just wine and cheese. Rosemary’s Focaccia A freshly baked plain focaccia bread with thyme, rosemary, and salt. We swallowed this in a hot minute. Caprese Focaccia Simple and well executed. The puffy, warm bread is topped with tomato, mozzarella, and basil. No complaints here. Definitely order one for the table. Chopped Salad Siciliana We were generally unimpressed with the salads we sampled here. This one is a nice mix of greens, nuts, cheese, and tomatoes, but the dressing was crazy acidic and incredibly salty. If they fixed up the dressing, they’d be in business. Roof Top Garden Herb Salad OK, this made no sense. They essentially threw every green that they grow on the roof into a bowl and called it a salad. Some of those leafy herbs aren’t meant to be eaten as lettuce. Our waitress told us to get it since she picked the greens herself, but don’t fall for the same trick. She’s a terrible picker. Spaghetti Al Pomodoro A totally serviceable, somewhat small bowl of homemade spaghetti. It’s not going to compete with the best pastas in NYC, but it’ll hit the spot after a few of glasses of wine. Orecchiette An excellent fresh orecchiette with homemade sausage and broccoli rabe. This is absolutely delicious and should to be ordered. One of the best dishes we’ve had here. Skirt Steak Another winner, though this skirt steak can be a little bit salty. If salted medium rare steak in a vinegar sauce with fried potatoes sounds good to you, go for it. Lamb Leg This dish was a little sloppy and didn’t look or taste like much. Our lamb was a overcooked and neither the sauce nor accompanying greens did much to enhance the meat. Market Fish Our sea bass was simply prepared and pretty damn delicious." - Andrew Steinthal
