Double Crown
I just came back from this new restaurant in Bowery called Double Crown. The Bowery is an up and coming area and in my opinion, has true potential for becoming the next Meatpacking District and this is the Bowery's first start. Brad Farmerie is the executive chef and prepares British/Pan-Asian cuisine. First off, DO NOT go any earlier than 7:30 PM for dinner, if you do you will walk into a nearly empty restaurant and will not get the full effect. From 7:30 and later, you will realize why I said Double Crown belongs in the Meatpacking District. Designed by the firm AvroKo (also the designers of The Stanton Social, Omido and European Union), the restaurant is gorgeous (well, not Buddakan gorgeous, but definitely up there). There are 3 dining rooms and one bar area. The first dining room is next to the bar and is more for friends and social outings. The next dining room is more quiet and elegant as the classical white walls set the mood for relaxing and wholesome conversation. Then downstairs is essentially a quieter version of upstairs. Two of the dining rooms contain a communal table (which in my opinion, is unnecessary for the upstairs space as it takes room away from the bar area). Now for the food. To be blunt, Double Crown has good food. It is intriguing and you can definitely taste the Asian influences in most dishes. The sharing snacks are very small and are not to be confused for appetizers. The duck steam buns are quite tasty as well as the braised pork belly. For appetizers, the crispy drunken quail (essentially fried chicken, but with quail) was a good choice. The yellowtail sashimi is good, but small portioned. For entrees, the short ribs are just the opposite of that. They aren't short ribs, but instead you get one giant rib with meat so tender it falls of the bone. The elk wellington tasted good but was tough, but then again what do you expect of elk meat? As for desert, the bitter chocolate trifle is a winner. The Double Crown chocolate plate is way too small for $12 and the cheese plate, while good, can easily be purchased at Dean & Deluca for the same price, and you'd get at least triple the portion. The service was impeccable. The staff is very kind and attentive and knows what they're talking about. Also, they were quite attentive to my peanut allergy which has been a big issues at other restaurants (such as China Fun), but our waitress as well as the rest of the staff, told me what was in each dish and what I could and couldn't eat. All and all Double Crown was a good experience and if you happen to be in the Manhattan area, should definitely try it out!
