Dinner, Lunch, Manhattan, Quick Post, Revisited, Upper East Side, YorkvilleKerry Alaric CheeseboroJune 27, 2012Applejack, bacon, battered, beer batter, bitters, Cheddar, cheese, cocktail, Dinner, fried, green onions, Irish, Lunch, mac & cheese, macaroni, mayo, mayonnaise, onions, Oyster, oysters, Quick Post, revisited, sausage, scalions, skillet, The Penrose, ues, Upper East Side, vinegar, Yorkville2 Comments

A Rosy Outlook

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I GIVE MYSELF THREE, FOUR weeks tops before my new covert "me time" space is compromised. It almost already has, and on only my second visit to new local gastropub, The Penrose, as I arrived for a Tuesday afternoon lunch—which is the dinner menu starting service at 3 p.m.—and sat at a table by a wide-open street-side window for a gorgeously-weathered afternoon.

Having been so impressed with the grub from my very first visit just days previous, I decided to take a much needed break from an overwhelmingly busy week to have a quick bite of some of the other yummy-looking items on their menu.

An instant fan of the fried oyster sliders since my first bite, I don't think I could ever avoid an opportunity to have them again. Beer-battered Irish sausages are exactly the kind of "outré" menu item that always catches my attention, and there was no way I was going to let any Mac & Cheese escape my attention a second time.

Again, both new dishes were successes. If a beer-battered Irish sausage—fried to a light crispy exterior and an airy and aromatic interior—wasn't enough of a reminder that it's a Irish-inspired creation, the kicky vinegar mayo that comes with it is compelling convincing in united tastiness. And though I'm usually just about the food, I couldn't pass up a much-deserved cocktail, this signature one called a Jack Rabbit Club, made with Applejack, pear cordial, and baked apple bitters, and refreshingly smooth yet bracing with sweetness and bitterness. The mac & cheese—cheeses being Irish cheddar, muenster, and gruyére—was smooth, creamy, cheesey, made more aromatic with green onions, and served rustically in its own skillet, still hot and bubbling on top with toasted, melted cheese.

During my lunch, I was spotted by a handful of friends and neighborhood acquaintances, happy and not too surprised to see me out of my usual elements. They were also kind enough to offer brief salutations and rapport before continuing on with their own agenda, leaving me alone, gastronomically sated, and contently at peace, if only briefly. The Penrose will find me a frequent patron, as I look forward to having this refuge so readily available to me (at least during lunch hours; I hear the nights have been mad busy), to have a place where I can take a breath, have a bite, and leave in a better mood than when I walked in.

The Penrose

Beer-Battered Irish Sausages

Jack Rabbit Club

Mac & Cheese

The Penrose

Bun Apple Tea!

KACnyc

Kerry Alaric Cheeseboro