The menu is designed so that you order too much food, so that you can feel full in a proper Midwestern manner. It's not just appetizers and main courses. There are bar tastes, spreads for pita, appetizers, vegetables, and mains. Something for everyone. No warning from the waiter about too much food.
The waiters were very helpful and friendly in the Midwestern style. The hostesses were all smiles. The bus boys were much too efficient at removing plates and were reprimanded by the waiter. We then guarded the table. Food came out at a nice pace. The bar snacks were all quite good: little bits of lamb with salsa verde, burrata, a layered potato with shallots, and a bread salad we did not order but the waiter was pushing. It was nothing special and they were very nice about the error.
The crab risotto appetizer was the best dish: spicy and crabby, we devoured it. Lamb pizza came recommended but we found it overrated, filling, heavy. But we are pizza snobs, spoiled by Di Fara, Roberta's, and Motorino.
The three mains we ordered were two for three. The chicken was perfectly cooked with crisp skin. You get a breast and a thigh and it was relatively interesting. The charred beef with blue cheese was excellent: you could taste the perfectly cooked strip and enjoy the complex sauce. The pork chop was fatty, filling, and ultimately unappealing.
Crowd features loud groups of four women having their picture taken by the waitress and loud groups of men ordering beer. There were a lot of women at the bar.
Wines by the glass were good, served well, and reasonably priced. We had no room for dessert, though Bruno managed to eat a donut from Donut Plant when we got back to terra firma in Brooklyn.
Grade: C+ (B- for food, D for atmosphere, and A- for service)
Gato (dinner only)
324 Lafayette Street
(212)334-6400
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