Bathhouse Williamsburg

A Chef’s Tasting in a Bathrobe, at Bathhouse Kitchen | The New Yorker

"Bathhouse, a ten-thousand-square-foot restaurant and underground spa that opened in Williamsburg in 2019, is not a Turkish hammam, a Russian banya, or a Korean jjimjilbang, though it integrates elements from all three. [...] For the restaurant, Bathhouse Kitchen (where, on a heated patio, you can eat without purchasing entry to the spa), Goodman hired the chef Anthony Sousa, a veteran of Chez Ma Tante and Eleven Madison Park, and instructed him to design a menu that would leave eaters feeling 'alive.' [...] My first course featured Nantucket Bay scallops—sweet, warm jewels glazed in a compound butter with Calabrian chilies and lemon zest, presented with delectably briny sea beans, and potatoes boiled in seaweed stock. Then came pork cheeks braised in Cognac, sherry vinegar, and mushroom bouillon and dressed in a chunky parsley oil—a triumph. Lastly, a perfect cut of duck arrived—which Sousa had aged for a week, rubbed down with a black-garlic and sherry glaze, then roasted—atop a bed of foraged mountain huckleberries. [...] The four-course meal was whimsical and excellent. [...] (Dishes $8-$37. Chef’s Tasting $85.)" - David Kortava