Hotel Griffou @ NYC **

Lobster Thermidor

In the interest of finding restaurants to write about that haven’t already been widely reviewed, I’ve been seeking off-the-beaten-track recommendations high and low, the most intriguing of which have come from people like my friend Brian who are just that much cooler and more New York than myself.  Another great resource has been the the male-targeted mailing list UrbanDaddy, which is where I heard about Hotel Griffou.

My feelings about this place are mixed. Another friend of mine who works in the luxury haircare industry once told me that every high-end brand needs a history. If an establishment can withstand the test of time then something must be going right yes? In this particular instance, the branding strategy seems to be, “if you have no history, invent one.” Taking this observation into account explains a lot- how the restaurant came to have the word hotel in its name (after a 1870s boardinghouse owned by a Madame Griffou),  why Americana lines the walls and finally, why it all doesn’t quite seem to work. English hunt scenes, posters of the Wild West, a heritage American flag and vintage Playboys all jostle for attention in the room called The Library. Dishes like lobster thermidor  and duck confit poutine rely on the lazy French chef’s adage of “the more butter, cheese, and cream, the better it tastes.” The menu item Madame Marie Griffou’s Sauteed Pork Cutlets (from her 1892 recipe) is a mouthful before it even makes it to your table. Overall, like the waitress who wore a skirt just short of decent, one gets the feeling that this restaurant is trying a little bit too hard.

As in the case of luxury leather goods, knock-offs can take you 80% of the way, but nothing can substitute for a time-honored tradition of craftsmanship and service. If speakeasy chic is what you seek, Please Don’t Tell and La Esquina, should be the subterranean lairs of choice.

Details: 21 W. 9th St (btwn 5th and 6th Ave) New York, NY 10003 (+1-212-358-0228)