A first impression:

Rustic, homey, like an old school house. Selling food staples (jams, coffee, cheese, etc.) and serving simple, comforting, tasty food. A small space with less than a dozen tables and a few bar seats.

Pickled eggs with onion and mustard/mayonnaise dipping sauce - vinegary, creamy, perfect way to start with a beer or glass of wine - gets the juices flowing like an aperitif.

Polenta - Wild Hive polenta with mushrooms, mustard greens, creme fraiche - creamy, a little chunky in a good way, woodsy, earthy, cheesy, delicious.

Lamb - red wine braised with red icicle radishes and baby spinach - soft, tender, fall off the bone, baby spinach may have been better wilted, but overall a rich tender warming winter dish.

Chicken - roasted Bobo chicken with natural sauce and lemon - crispy skin with moist, tender meat and a rich chicken flavor.

Mocha Layer Cake - moist, creamy, not too chocolaty, not too coffee, butter cream.

The wine list is not trying to do too much. It just provides wines that pair with the food - Muscadet, Malbec from Cahors - simple rustic wines that match the feel and food. They also have a number of draft and bottled beers and home-made seltzer (this must be the new thing).

On first blush, they seem to be doing the simple things right.

Chef & Owners Q & A

- Chef Q & A: Hadley Schmitt

- Restaurant Q & A: Northern Spy Food Co.

Recipes

- Crisp Pork, Mead Braised Fennel & Apple

- Pan Roasted Brussels Sprouts

City Guides

- New York | Manhattan: Download

- New York | Brooklyn: Download