Prior to catching a showing of Belladonna of Sadness [Fn1] we decided to try, Commissary, the restaurant at the Metrograph.
The menu, while not cutting-edge, does offer some interesting highlights, like a chilled borscht or fluke crudo (both appetizers) to even a dedicated vegetarian entree to, of course, a kale Caesar salad [sigh].
In any event, our steak frites was very good, steak was perfectly pan-fried rare (as requested) and the frites were of the proper shoe-string type, and was properly salted with a nice crunchy exterior and pillow-y like interior. My only quibble? It came with chimichurri sauce. So much for tradition, I suppose. But I guess it is a nod to Argentinian chef Norberto Piattoni, who consulted on the menu.
The other dish we tried, the trout, looked like anything you might find at a nice restaurant on the UES, nicely plated on a bed of asparagus, with a good crispy skin. The fish was light and delicate and the butter-parsely sauce did not overwhelm the fish.
All and all, it was a good meal.
Metrograph Commissary
7 Ludlow St.
Lower East Side
- [Fn1] By the way, if you go, you can catch a screening of Radiohead’s new music video, A Moon Shaped Pool, before any of the theater’s showing.