Raclette for the win.
Café Brume's new chalet vibes headline The Weekend Buzz.
It’s Raclette Weather.
Friends, if you haven’t been to the Alpine restaurant Café Brume in Brooklyn Heights yet, now is the time. First, the restaurant has an amazing new chef, Lucas Harrell, who was at Legacy Records and the exec sous at Francie. He’s added a number of stunning dishes, and at a recent dinner I was really blown away.
His Fall Vegetable Carpaccio is full of sweet earthy roots shaved thin so they almost look like they’re painted with watercolors, dotted with tangy fromage blanc, dressed up in a fennel pollen vinaigrette, with a shower of nutty toasted pistachios. His butter-poached Steelhead Trout tastes like something from Le Bernardin – so glossy and silky – with a bright onion-fennel relish, a delicate herb salad, and a vermouth créme. The honey-laquered duck, capped with a crispy skin, gets tucked into plump sweet figs, celery root, and a rich jus, and an Entrecôte Au Poivre Vert that is sure to become your new favorite with a lamb saddle and sausages, alongside triple-cooked frites, and a lemon caper aioli.
But the dish that’s calling me now as the weather gets chilly is his Raclette Service with marble potatoes, cornichons, whole grain mustard, cracked pepper, and espelette. The set comes out bubbling and hot and is scraped down onto the potatoes tableside, like some magical lava fondue. Add a bottle of wine and a cozy fall day and you’re all set. It’s $22 and it’s served at dinner, at lunch every Friday, and at Saturday and Sunday brunch all weekend!). Lucas is also doing a Raclette Burger at Brunch, Happy Hour and Friday Lunches: dry aged beef, onion jam, caper-lemon aioli, cornichons, melty Raclette on a brioche bun. It’s a real Pub Burger from the Alps, not to be missed either. Check it out and tell Lucas and Brendan I say hi!
Café Brume is located at 80 Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights.
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