Last year, a "legal technicality" shuttered Harold Moore's beloved Commerce restaurant, but the chef is back with a new restaurant inside the sleek Arlo Hotel Hudson Square, channeling the Southern tradition of the "meat-and-three." Appropriately dubbed Harold's Meat + Three, the restaurant serves a version of the Nashville-based tradition where customers select a protein and then choose three sides to accompany it. Unsurprisingly, Moore's version takes the humble, cafeteria-style offering and turns it all fancy-like.
Fancy as in "Lobster in Citrus Crust" and "Filet Au Poivre" fancy, both of which appear in the $39 section alongside a Prime Rib ($16 supplement) and a Grilled Lamb Chop ($20 supplement), a far cry from the meatloafs of Tennessee. Probably unusual to find Thai-Inspired Pork Ribs and Whole Branzino with eggplant (both $29) down South either, but the Fried Chicken ($19) is a staple of the format, and the Plat du Jour menu ($29) also boasts a Ham Steak (Thursdays) and Smothered Pork Chops (Tuesdays) that wouldn't be out of place in their city of origin either.
Macaroni and cheese, grits, french fries and potato salad share the "and three" space with quinoa, elote corn, an herb salad and Japanese sweet potatoes, another mingling of tradition and gourmetification. Moore's also offering a rare-outside-the-deli salad bar, a la carte ($25) or as a supplement to a meal ($17).
Inside the Arlo Hudson Square at 2 Renwick Street, 212-374-2632
Harold's Meat + Three menu by Nell Casey on Scribd
