Liverpool House is the Perfect Complement to Joe Beef, Writes Lesley Chesterman

What a week for the Joe Beef group. In the wake of the flagship restaurant's nod from the World's 50 Best Restaurants, sister restaurant Liverpool House nabs three stars from the Gazette. Lesley Chesterman writes that with "all the hoopla surrounding the original restaurant and the new [Vin Papillon wine bar], Liverpool is a bit forgotten, sandwiched there between the two. Yet, for a while, it was the restaurant from this group that I enjoyed most." Indeed, as this 2007 Chesterman write-up of Liverpool attests.

With chef Ariel Schor and beverage manager James Graham-Simpkins at the helm, Liverpool House is in capable hands. The "Claire Underwood to Joe Beef’s Frank" is witty, fun, and "a great place to eat and be merry." Food-wise Chesterman finds few quibbles with the likes of a breakfast sandwich "with ham, a fried egg and foie gras topped with hollandaise and maple syrup." A fiddlehead tart scores but the best starter is an asparagus millefeuille. "Add some braised morels to the mix and — ta-da … spring!"

Of the main courses, only the quail falters. Halibut is "perfectly cooked" and rabbit two ways, with farfalle and mostarda, earns a "wonderful." Chesterman also reserves high praise for two desserts. "[A] Basque cake filled with custard and topped with the season’s first greenhouse strawberries. Yum! And second, perhaps the dish of the night, a frozen Paris-Brest made with crisp pâte à choux, light hazelnut cream and a huge swirl of soft serve ice cream overtop. And just when you think it couldn’t get better, they drenched the whole thing in chocolate sauce. Whoa." Add Liverpool's fun vibe, total lack of pretension, and sharp wine service to the mix and it amounts to a healthy three stars on four.