Bromberg brothers Eric and Bruce, the prolific restaurateurs behind the Blue Ribbon Restaurants, debuted their newest, Blue Ribbon Federal Grill, this month, serving as kind of a "Best Of" tour of their different restaurant concepts. Set across from the Federal Reserve, the sleek dining room's part of the AKA Wall Street hotel and thus the entrance is somewhat hidden from William Street. Persevere for the Brombergs' signature elevated comfort food, which was unsurprisingly wonderful on a recent press preview.
Broken down into type of food, the menu spans fancy steaks and chops to hearty salads. Prices are left off the online version—a now-common trope amongst restaurants of a certain price level—but there's enough range that one could eat reasonably well for either $15 or $58, where the prices top out for entrees. Serious Ballers Only need apply for the 30 grams of Ossetra Caviar for $175.
This blogger was very pleased with the small but richly flavored Peekytoe Crab ($16), which tops two halves of soft boiled egg seasoned with a tarragon aioli like the best deviled eggs you'll ever have. New Zealand Cockles ($19) arrive in a ginger and cilantro-scented coconut milk broth fortified with chilies (take their offer of bread for dunking).
The Burger ($18), a stomach-friendly six ounces of ground chuck on homemade English muffin, is made even better by adding the house-made pickles on the side. The accompanying waffle chips are outstanding, but don't sleep on the Leek and Manchego Gratin ($12) to accompany one of the larger protein dishes.
84 William Street, 212-337-0404; blueribbonrestaurants.com
Blue Ribbon Federal Grill Menu by Nell Casey on Scribd
