Craft
43 East 19th Street (between Park and Broadway)

After last week's fine meal at craftbar, I decided to give the "mother" restaurant a shot. Not easy to get a table there, but the conspiracy of the Oscars and a snowstorm got me in for a late supper. Turns out lots cancelled, and I was given a nice, big end table for myself.

The decor of Craft is a lighter version of craftbar, and rather relaxing -- I guess that's needed once you see the prices on the menu. This must be one of the most expensive restaurants in New York, and that's saying a lot. I don't mind if it's worth it, but...

The service was top-notch this evening, but that didn't help. I had skipped the starter because I had been told the main dishes are of a nice portion -- especially if I order vegetable sides. So I did that. Sadly, there was no venison (the main reason I wanted to dine there), so I chose the rack of Berkshire pork -- which was highly recommended.

As I waited the nearly half hour for the roast, I enjoyed a nice bottle of Tyrolean red and waited in anticipation. When it arrived, I was not very pleased. The meat was dry and bland. Roasting pork is never easy, as I've commented before, and it is a telling sign of how good the kitchen is. And sadly, Craft totally failed this test. The meat may also have been somewhat undercooked (I couldn't really tell then, due to the low lights). But it was boring. Something you get at a family get-together when everyone's asking for double gravy...ugh...

The 2 sides were mixed. The hen-of-the-woods mushroom was excellent, probably the highlight of the evening (sad as that may be, but still shocking at 16 dollars for a dollar's worth). The baby carrots was ridiculous -- half were way overcooked, and half were undercooked (and 12 bucks for this insult). With the pork being nearly 50 bucks, this was turning into a major rip-off... Again, I don't mind paying if it is good, but...

I voiced my concerns to the waiter, who was very helpful. I then ordered a dessert of roasted pears (boring), tangerine sorbet (not bad), and coconut sorbet (uh...this was totally an ice cream...how can they mislabel this is beyond me...). With some tokaji and coffee I was ready to leave, unhappily, of course.

I can't believe this place gets so much praise. Its sister restaurant craftbar is easily 10 times better. These prices does not justify this poor quality of food. I am very disappointed in this experience. I was even more disappointed when I felt signs of food poisoning after my 25 block walk home in the storm...my stomach was killing me. That damn undercooked (but dry) pork. Ugh...avoid, avoid, avoid...

Food: C-
Atmosphere: B+
For Lone Diners: B-