Out On the Town: Gramercy Tavern
"Smells like Halloween."
“Smells like Halloween.”
Tony Soprano: "You smell that? It's autumn. It's like the first fall night when you're a kid, and the air's all crisp, and you start smelling people's fireplaces."
Christopher Moltisanti: "Smells like Halloween."
Each October, the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens and Boerum Hill tend to go all-in when it comes to seasonal spirit with over-the-top Halloween decorations and spooky tableaux featuring countless skeletons of all sizes and species peering out of windows, perched on stoops, and climbing and hanging from edifices. It’s one of my favorite times of the year to soak up all these installations on my daily constitutionals but by the time Halloween itself arrives, like Christmas morning, there’s already a sense of sadness that after all the anticipation, we’ve reached the end. This fall season, in particular, is moving way too fast for me.
I voted at Borough Hall in Downtown Brooklyn on Saturday, October 26, the first day of early voting in New York City. While voting, rounds of applause filled the room on two occasions to honor first-time voters casting their inaugural ballots. The mood was good that day with “I Voted Early!” stickers adorning so many people at the Borough Hall Farmer’s Market. Yet, despite polls, predictions, plenty of hope, and even the unseasonably warm weather and the communal city-wide goodwill surrounding the New York Marathon couldn’t bolster the mood that these handful of days leading up to Election Day were meant to be savored because things were likely going to change for the worse. And the haunting reality of the results and the true horror of what promises to come hasn’t even begun.
So when I woke up on Halloween I made the spontaneous decision to treat myself to a nice lunch at Gramercy Tavern to ease my anxiety anticipating the havoc of what that next week was likely going to bring. And that day already seems like it was so long ago.
Out On the Town: Gramercy Tavern
Following the launch of Union Square Cafe in 1985, Danny Meyer opened his second restaurant, Gramercy Tavern, in July 1994 with then partner and opening Executive Chef Tom Colicchio, a few blocks north of Union Square Park on East 20th Street between Fifth Avenue and Park Avenue South. Michael Anthony has been the Executive Chef and now partner since 2006 and 30 years later Gramercy Tavern remains one of the best restaurants in America.
There are two dining destinations within Gramercy Tavern: the back Dining Room is a more elegant affair, with a fixed-menu, five-course tasting menu, while in the front of the building you’ll find the The Tavern, where toasty wood smoke from the open kitchen perfumes the air and a 60-seat bar spans the length of the room along with a host of tables, all of which are are in high-demand from lunch through dinner service. Both menus celebrate the seasonal bounty sourced from the nearby Union Square Greenmarket as well as area farms, producers, and purveyors.
I’ve had a few dinners in the Dining Room over the years but prefer the more bustling and casual vibe of The Tavern, with its high ceilings and rustic decor. There’s always a a striking tableau of fresh and dried flowers artfully arranged alongside a bounty of produce displayed on a big wooden table and cabinet that serves as a seasonal centerpiece to the room. The mood is always on point, whether it’s over lunch when the sunlight spills through the oversized windows and fills the room or an after-work drink at dusk or an even moodier late-night amaro.