The Marrow

Chef Harold Dieterle used to work at Jimmy Bradley’s The Harrison before going on to win the first season of Top Chef and then leveraging his newfound fame to open Perilla and then Kin Shop in NYC.  Although those are worthy restaurants, Dieterle has validated the old cliché with his third restaurant, a meat-centric Italian and German triumph which far excels the previous two in quality and consistency.  Perhaps this is because the cuisine is deeply engrained:  Dieterle's maternal grandmother was Italian and his paternal grandmother was German.  The menu at The Marrow is literally split down the middle between Italian and German options. 

The signature bone marrow is roasted and comes slathered in sea urchin roe, fried potatoes and a Meyer-lemon aioli.  But other options, like a rich hand-cut fettucini with pork and sage sausage, acorn squash and crunchy baked parmesan, or a crispy braised duck with perfectly offsetting spiced huckleberry jus, should not be ignored.  The most popular item on the menu is the pan-fried duck schnitzel, served with quark spaetzle, hazlenuts and a fruit compote made with dried wolfberries, honey and cranberry jus.  But there is an excellent pan-roasted salmon with a warm mustard sauce, and a flavorful grilled wagyu culotte steak served with beerenauslese vinaigrette and a creamy cauliflower gratin.  The wine list is 60% German and Austrian and will serve as an ideal introduction for many to the pleasures of those wine regions.  The design of the restaurant is somewhat bizarre, with brown Victorian wallpaper, an obscured, opaque view into the kitchen and three semicircular plush booths that sometimes have the look and feel of a Disney ride.  No matter:  the cuisine more than makes up for these vertiginous design choices.