review
Gabrielle's Brasserie + Wine Bar
Quick Summary
Not exactly a brasserie and not quite a wine bar, this stylish place certainly is a recommended restaurant.
Photo credit: Newsday / John Paraskevas | Gabrielle's Brasserie and Wine Bar, at 44 N. Park Ave. in Rockville Centre, has a new chef and a new menu. (Oct. 8, 2009)
Tom Schaudel and Michael Ross, fast becoming the Batman and Robin of L.I. chefdom, join forces once more. They land in Rockville Centre after adventures at Jedediah's in Jamesport. And again, this duo is doing good - very. Gabrielle's Brasserie + Wine Bar is their current mission. If it isn't exactly a brasserie and not quite a wine bar, the stylish place certainly is a recommended restaurant with Ross in the kitchen. The previous occupant, 22 North Park, sported bold stained-glass panels, a saltwater fish tank populated with even more color, and a busy, welcoming bar area. They've been kept. The food: much improved.
THE BEST
Gabrielle's offers a bar menu, appetizers, small plates, large plates, more. A round of yellowfin tuna tartare refreshes. And an opener of meatballs in red sauce capped with a dollop of ricotta works in any category. So do lamb chops with "gyro" spicing on greens, with yogurt sauce and grilled flatbread; and the aromatic steamed mussels sparked by shallots and brown butter. Butternut-squash ravioli finished with prosciutto, pancetta and pecorino, capture fall. Mellow, Chianti-braised short ribs ready you for winter; likewise, very tender "osso buco" of pork with a pearl barley spin on risotto.
Gabrielle's sends out satisfying steak frites, too. The big fish: pan-roasted striped bass in tomato-fennel broth. A delectable olive oil-almond cake, with orange-vanilla syrup and mascarpone gelato, a standout at Schaudel's A Mano in Mattituck, stars here. The sweets also include lush blueberrybrioche bread pudding, orange "risotto pudding" with vanilla-bean syrup, and a little ice- cream sandwich paired with a root-beer float. The respectable cheese plate features Catapano Farm chevre, and Oregonzola, a Northwest riff on the classic Italian.
THE REST
Pasty fritters, whether Parmesan and prosciutto, or clam; so-so seviche; overorchestrated pasta "handkerchiefs" with goat cheese and shrimp; overcooked pan-roasted salmon and roasted shrimp.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Successful rescue.
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