Boulud Sud: Better-teranean Food

Why did the Pants cross town? To get to Boulud Sud!  Unfortunately, “sud” does not refer to southern Manhattan,  but rather Meditteranean flavors, so our journey to “Sud” began with us heading North, to the UWS, right across from Lincoln Center.   It’s no secret that Daniel Boulud is worth traveling for, and there is nothing like some “South” in your mouth. The vibe here is definitely indigenous to the UWS- it is high-brow, but not stuffy in an UES side way, and even though it is the plat du jour,there is not the attitude that would come with the territory downtown.  The lighting is low and glowy, and the space is nice and airy, with large windows and a large open kitchen, filled with boys.  The noise level is polite and not hushed, and I was surprised how dressed up the crowd was in this khaki-plagued area.

The menu is divided into three categories, fish, vegetables and meat.  There are small plates, appetizers and main courses for each, except for the vegetables, which has a section for sides. For three people, we ordered a ton of food, see the list below.  The small plates were a good size, enough for everyone to try everything and then some, and the appetizers were ample. The wait staff is not bull-shitting you into ordering more than you need, you can believe their suggestions for what quantity to order for your group size.  This is a great place to go and just try a lot of things, so tell your fussy friend to buck up. It is also worth killing Atkins to try the oven fresh breads and flat breads that are brought to the table, life is too short to skip this shit.

The night that we were there Boulud himself was there, working the room and working the line. I have had the pleasure of meeting him at Daniel, and he is as charming as he is talented. Everything that we ordered was delicious; fresh, well arranged flavors done in an honest way, not fussy or complicated.  While there are dishes on the menu that might seem simple or common (hummus, Horiatiki salad), just remember what Boulud did to the burger at DBGB- he has a knack for taking seemingly simple dishes and making them extraordinary, without rendering them unrecognizable. Everything listed below is recommended…Sud is good…

Falafel and hummus- the hummus is green, and the falafel are a perfect consistency, not too fried or dense…great flatbread accompanies and the table bread is a good option for sopping that deliciousness up

Eggplant and Tabouleh- this eggplant arrives in a nicely constructed square with all sort of small chopped yummy surprises, and the tabouleh just tastes authentic; these are served with yet another kind of delicious crispy bread

Soup de poisson- Sister ate this pretty quickly and quietly; the one sip I tried was authentic and delicious

Horiatiki Salad

Braised Lamb- my favorite way to eat lamb, it fell off the bone and tasted like it was cooked in a traditional tangine

Scallops in a Romesco Sauce- so fresh and perfectly cooked, just about every table had an order of these

Although our buttons were bursting too much for dessert, there was a dish served in a grapefruit that seemed to be quite popular…