Bonnie Vee

Bonnie Vee

5 words or less: dark, cozy; cocktails over food

Date visited: 2/4/16

Location: Stanton at Chrystie

Quick Breakdown:

• Interesting cocktails that don’t take too many liberties with my taste buds: Alcohol forward, but balanced flavors.
• Semi-confusing food for cocktail bar that ranges from Croque Monsieur to the now-ubiquitous Avocado Toast to Lentils with Yogurt…

After class/work on a Thursday night I met Ca at Bonnie Vee for a pre-weekend catch-up, some snack, and wine. We didn’t drink cocktails but now I can’t remember why. In previous visits I have and they are lovely. The owner gave us a free round of wine though, which was quite gracious of him.

The upside

BLT was plain and simple and lovely. Spiced Beluga lentils were cooked well and the mint was a welcome bit of freshness.

The down

My toast points with the lentils tasted like they came out of this box. In fact, I’m not thrilled about toast and lentils together in the first place; it makes me thirsty to think about.

Anxiety Provoking?

Not really. I might come up with a scale for this, but I haven’t yet. It’s a weird spread of New York craft cocktail bar food with items added for creativity points without a discerning eye for menu cohesion or matching the vibe.

Menu Glossary

Most of the time I don’t know what every item on a menu is or means. And I spend most of my waking hours thinking about food. I brave the annoyed or condescending looks I sometimes get when I ask my server what certain items mean– in fact, it’s a compulsion that I do. I’ll tell you what I find out (or if I happen to already know, but think it’s not super obvious) in the glossary. So when you go, you don’t have to ask.

Beluga Lentils: Big oval-shaped black lentils named because they look like heavenly Beluga caviar when cooked. They are earthy, soft, and take on other herbs and flavoring well.

Polpette: Means meatballs in Italian. Which is fine, but this isn’t an Italian restaurant and it says meatballs directly below.

Pullman Loaf: A Pullman Loaf is essentially a term for sandwich bread. It was used before sandwich bread meant bread stripped of its nutrients, concocted by machines, then refortified and packaged with red and yellow bubbles (link). A Pullman loaf is made with white wheat and cooked in a long thin pan with a lid; it is where the shape of standard sandwich bread comes from. In France this bread is called Pain de Mie. It was known as a Pullman Loaf it was the pan used exclusively in Pullman train cars because to maximize oven space and efficiency. More on that here.

In this context, I don’t think Bonnie Vee is baking their own bread in a Pullman bread pan; I think it’s just Lower East Side for white bread. But, I could be wrong. Then I would feel badly. I will double check on this.

More Menu Stuff

“Fare” bugs me. Who says “fare”? “Oh, excuse me sir, what kind of fare are you offering today?” I recognize that it’s hard to be creative or unique in this massive city, but I always recommend a menu err on the side of simplicity. For instance, don’t tell me it’s a Pullman Loaf if it’s also, more accurately, generic sandwich bread from Baldor.

This menu is all over the place. It confuses me. I don’t eat avocado toast at night; I don’t know many people who do. The BBQ Pulled Pork sandwich is too messy for the cocktails and atmosphere (sounds great for brunch tomorrow though).  I am not greatly opposed to a Truffle Grilled Cheese on any moral grounds; but some people are. I think it’s good to know that truffle oil contains no truffle, but there is no shame in enjoying some 2,4-dithiapentane every once in a while. We’ve certainly eaten worse.

In the End

Come here for the drinks, atmosphere, and very friendly service. If you happen to get hungry while you’re having drinks at 9pm on a Thursday, they have some options. They won’t blow your mind, and you might be a little disappointed, but you’re not there for the food. So you shouldn’t be. Get the BLT or if you’re feeling vaguely skinny (apparently I was) the lentils are pretty good (minus the toast). On a second glance, the small bites look fine, since drinking is the goal.