The Butcher's Daughter, That Pretty Vegetarian Cafe in Nolita That's Always Mobbed for Brunch, is Now Serving Dinner
SSPNY Tries Out the New Dinner Menu at the Pretty & Always Mobbed Vegetarian Cafe in Nolita, The Butcher's Daughter
It may sound like a match made in carnivore heaven, but don't expect to find any meat on the menu at Nolita's Butcher's Daughter. Despite (because of?) the meat-cleaving ways of her father, the eponymous offspring who runs the place, Heather Tierney (also and by the way the mixologist and co-owner of Apothéke and Pulqueria), is strictly vegetarian. And thus, so is her restaurant. Not that anyone seems to mind: the bright, homey spot has been packing them in for brunch since it first opened last November. Which is great and all, and I also appreciate that The Butcher's Daughter has a nice freshly-squeezed juice bar selection, because there's no question that this is a pleasant, comfortable place to hang out for a bit on a sunny afternoon. But the real test for The Butcher's Daughter--and an indication of whether it has any sticking power down there on Kenmare, which has become a bit of restaurant graveyard of late--is whether Tierney and Chef Joya Carlton (of the excellent West Village bistro Buvette) can deliver the goods at dinnertime, which they finally started serving in early February, and which I finally ate about a week ago.
The Butcher's Daughter dinner menu offers an appealing blend of fruits and veggies served raw and cooked, simply prepared or gussied up a little. But just a little: fans of Amanda Cohen's magical dishes at Dirt Candy--or even the prettily-plated vegan fare at Blossom Cafe--will not find a new contender to the creative vegetarian throne here at the Butcher's Daughter. Anyway, I went to the Butcher's Daughter on a fairly freezing night, ate in a mostly empty but nonetheless warm and cozy-feeling room, and left reasonably satisfied. This is not a destination restaurant by any means, but if you're looking for a neighborhood spot that's quiet, non-scene-y, and even a touch romantic, you can't do much better in Nolita than The Butcher's Daughter.
My companion and I shared a few items from all over the Butcher's Daughter dinner menu, starting with a bright and lively bowl of smashed avocado, a mix of mustard, curry, and lemon forked in, some decent toast upon which to slather the stuff on the side. Not bad. Our "charcuterie" selection, while not in any way bad, was somewhat lackluster: billed as Cashew Ricotta with Fig Mostarda, it seemed to be little more than a scoop of the fluffy cheese, a spoonful of fig jelly, a few thin slices of apple, done. Better was the soup, a thick, sweet corn concoction redolent with curry and served with a hunk of crusty bread. Order this, add a salad, and you've got a dinner with which you can be proud. Or heck, go for broke a get the meatiest-seeming thing on the menu, the Bangers and Mash, which of course aren't made from anything animal, but instead are a rich, hearty pair of white-bean and fennel sausages, plopped atop a pile of "rustic" hash browns, smothered in fried onions, mushrooms, and spicy mustard, paired with spinach. This, I would get again.
The Butcher's Daughter is located on the corner of Elizabeth and Kenmare Streets, and is open daily for breakfast, lunch, brunch, and dinner, starting at 8:00 a.m. and ending at 10:00 Sunday through Thursday, and at 11:00 on Friday and Saturday. The official restaurant website is still under construction, but you can find the complete Butcher's Daughter menu here.