It’s a Red letter day on the Upper West Side of Manhattan…Ed Schoenfeld’s RedFarm, the delish West Village dim sum restaurant, has opened on the culinary deficient Upper West Side in the old Fatty Crab location.
Naturally, it is packed and does not accept reservations, but you can stroll Broadway in the 70′s, browse the new Luluemon or grocery shop at Fairway…it is worth the wait. It seats 79 people and come spring there will be room for 28 at the sidewalk cafe.
The food is scrumptious and adorable. The new location is farmhouse charming. It is designed by Jun Aizaki of Brooklyn’s Creme Design.
We kicked off football Sunday at RedFarm before heading to the New York Giants football game. (Please note and raise the roof, the NY Football Giants beat the Green Bay Packers and won their 4th game in a row…3 interceptions and JPP had one for an interception. Eli is still struggling).
OK, back to food…the 4 pack of Pac-Man dumplings ($12.50) are so cute you want to place them on a shelf and use them as display piece. The Pac’s are filled with lobster, shrimp and snow crab. You will delight in their adorableness and kids will dig in, thinking they are eating colorful playthings. The platter is adorned with a tasty sweet potato wonton and fab guacamole.
We then munched away on crunchy vegetable and peanut dumplings with a ponzu and scallion dipping sauce (4 for $10). They were delicate with a perfect sear and the sauce was a great compliment.
The tuna salad is gloriously beautiful and delicious with ruby red fresh ahi tuna, crispy noodles, edamame and fresh blueberries ($17). Chef Joe Ng is adding a few new items to the Upper West Side menu (the original RedFarm is in the west village on Hudson Street). It is a fantastic addition.
In the past I have indulged in the decadent Katz’s Pastrami egg roll ($7.50) and the Benton bacon and egg fried rice…ample and amazing ($16).
The bok choy dumplings (4 for $12) were surprisingly flavorful.
Crispy mango and shrimp dumplings (4 for $12) were difficult emotionally too eat because they are so cute and have those bright eyes imploring you not to bite too hard.
A lovely UWS couple sat next to us. They ordered meat and poultry items and graciously allowed me to invade their space and snap photos of their decadent pastrami egg rolls and enticing Kumamoto oysters with Meyer lemon and Yuzu ice (2 for $7). We became fast friends and plan on having drinks soon…only in New York!
Our server, David, was a true take charge New Yorker who guided us effortlessly through the menu. He is a writer/director and is off to Seattle for the premiere of his play, “Nirvanov” about Kurt Cobain’s obsession with Frances Farmer…such a mingling of great talent and fun personalities. BTW, the play opens in Seattle on March 4th at the Balagan Theatre.
RedFarm is a must do and a fun place to indulge your food fantasies.
RedFarm, 2170 Broadway at 76tth Street. No reservations, credit cards accepted. Open Monday-Thursday 5-11pm, Friday and Saturday 5-11:45 and Sunday 5-10:30. Lunch daily from 11am and weekend brunch 11am-3pm.
