the buzz about
is that it's got the hot new schnitzel in town.
{what's that sound? oh that's the sound of seasonal zooming to the top of my places to try list...}
and after a walk up to midtown from the village,
mum and i deserved it!
the amuse bouche set a high precedent:
taleggio cheese,
potater soup,
spec,
dill powder
how cute is it that it was made to look like an egg??
this picture makes it look like it was huge,
but really,
it was about two bites
of creamy, smokey, dill-y goodness.
next,
mum and i got our fork and knife,
flexed our muscles,
and got ready to dig in to some thick and juicy
meat!
except,
what i got when i dug in was something much much less satisfying...
the sound of a fork hitting the plate prematurely.
and,
"ma, where's the crunch?"
...
it became clear why this schnitzel is
"the hot new schnitzel"
it's diet schnitzel.
refer to the above photo to see what is the thinnest piece of meat i have ever seen in my life.
with a crust that was more like a helium balloon encasing the meat,
that refused to stick to the meat,
even though i begged.
whaaaa???
i looked around.
i looked to my size 0 waitress.
is she going to shout april fools?
are these people kidding?
gustav mahler did not eat his schnitzel in a balloon.
authentic, my derriere.
i mean,
the crust wasn't soggy,
i'll give it that.
and it was seasoned well.
but
a paper thin veal slice plus a paper thin coating of breading does not a schnitzel make.
i get it, schnitzel is supposed to be thin and pounded out.
but, no no no, not like this.
also what was frustrating was
the way the lemons were cut into circles as opposed to wedges,
which made them impossible to squeeze.
the spätzle didn't help much either.
it was watery.
and unhot.
the dessert was tasty.
it was a chocolatey and hazelnutty.
but i mean,
it wasn't a donut.
actually one of the best things was the little quark cheesecake {on the left} at the end of the meal.
the truffles on the right were coffee flavored.
i enjoy little amuse bouches and little second desserts.
...
oh dear,
i feel like i'm a h8er.
i'm not, i promise,
i just had a certain expectation for my schnitzel.
and this was just a whole new take on it that i simply wasn't ready for.
it's like when fancy restaurants put mushrooms in mac and cheese.
overall it was a nice experience.
the atmosphere was lovely,
and all of the wait people were very nice.
but,
if i can have a crispier, meatier, piping hot schnitz for a few bucks from the schnitzel truck,
there's no point in going back to seasonal to drop 30 on some skimpy meat that's about to fly away.
good thing i have 38 restaurants to go...
xoxo
yeh
seasonal is located on 58th between 6th and 7th