Hillel Make Blog

Toasted muenster, turkey and fried capers with mustard. #food

Close-Up Broccoli on Flickr.

High praise from Sam Sifton but a lot of mixed perception in the reviews made me a little weary of this place. One thing everyone agreed on: the service is terrible and so are the desserts.

I couldn’t ignore the service but I forewent the desserts. The service was fine. The maitre’d sat me and my girlfriend quickly and without pretense. I never felt the highbrow demeanor prescribed to the wait staff I had read about. It was late on a Wednesday night which explains the swift seating but the guy who brought me my beer and food hardly seemed like he would revert to a critical elitist on a busier night.

On the waiter’s recommendation I tried the pork chop. My girlfriend, the chef steak (read: hanger steak). Both were delicious. The pork chop was cooked correctly and the sweet bourbon glaze made all the right moves the best apple sauce could only dream of. It also had enough salt to kill an army of slugs but it paired well with the sauce and was perfect if you like a little intensity in your food. The hanger steak wore it’s typical chewiness well but could’ve used a sauce of some kind. It too was heavily salted but without any sweetness on the plate you needed your beer close by.

Grilled artichoke hearts with aioli came first though. And they set us up well for the meal we were about to have. They were just delicious. Interestingly, some of the foods are marked as taking 35 or 45 minutes to cook. So I could see myself sharing one of those dishes, probably the ginormous Saddle Lamb, and ordering all the grilled veggies and apps they have.

Also, the baked potatoes are a must. Lightly graced with truffle oil and cooked on one side in frying pan before serving, they are a combination of rich, pillowy potato and crusty potato latke. 

St. Anselm has a large menu. Pork, beef, chicken, fish and lots of vegetables make it an easy restaurant to bring people to. The prices are reasonable. The above described meal and 4 drinks stayed below $70. Considering the high-quality of the food, the decor and the location, it’s truly a spot worth trying.

Address:

355 Metropolitan Ave
(between 4th St & Havemeyer St) 
Brooklyn, NY 11211