BY TERESE LOEB KREUZER | Herman Melville took a bead on the island of Manhattan and its inhabitants when he wrote in the beginning of Moby Dick, “Go from Corlears Hook to Coenties Slip and from thence, by Whitehall northward. What do you see? — Posted like silent sentinels all around the town stand thousands upon thousands of mortal men fixed in ocean reveries.”
The lure of the waterfront persists and was the inspired theme for the Downtown Alliance’s first food tour of the 2011 fall season. The Downtown Alliance’s monthly food tours from fall to spring showcase some of Lower Manhattan’s most interesting restaurants and food shops, served with a liberal sprinkling of Downtown history.
On Sept. 24, culinary expert and tour guide Liz Young led a group of gourmets on a path reminiscent of Melville’s, starting at Gigino’s in Battery Park City’s Wagner Park, and then going on to Battery Gardens in historic Battery Park and from there to Pier 17 in the South Street Seaport, where Sequoia and Harbour Lights overlook the East River. From there, it was back to Battery Park City, where P.J. Clarke’s has an unobstructed view of the North Cove Marina.
Regardless of the conversation, a meal at Gigino’s is never boring. Diners look across the Hudson River to the Statue of Liberty and the domes of Ellis Island. Over lunch or dinner, they can watch sailboats and ferries, tugboats pushing barges up the river, kayakers and the occasional cruise ship. Coast Guard ships and fireboats pass by and vessels belonging to the Army Corps of Engineers, whose mission is to keep the harbor clean, dredged and ice free. Sunsets over the Hudson can be particularly memorable. One woman in the tour group was so pleased by the view, that she immediately booked an outside table for her 26th wedding anniversary.
At each stop during a food tour, the group samples food and sometimes a beverage such as wine, coffee or soda. At Gigino’s the offering was a crisp, spicy salad of mixed greens and summer-fresh vegetables. Then it was on to Battery Gardens at the southern end of Battery Park, also with panoramic views from its terraces. A large restaurant with private and public dining areas and a beer garden, the kitchen under executive chef Ari Nieminen prepares lunch and dinner daily and also caters many private parties and special events. The group ate jumbo lump crab cakes ($16 on the fall menu) before departing for the South Street Seaport. Along the way, they had a chance to see a stretch of the new East River Esplanade with its inviting, water-facing benches.
Sequoia has been in the South Street Seaport for 20 years specializing in seafood but with meat, pasta, poultry and greens also on the menu. Manager Todd Birnbaum served plates of two oysters, one a small, briny shellfish from the West Coast called a “Kumamoto,” and the other a plump, meaty Easterner — a large Bluepoint. Birnbaum advised nothing but a splash of vinegar on the Kumamoto. The Bluepoints stood up well to the cocktail sauces in which they were immersed. They were accompanied by a delicious Brancott Estate 2010 Sauvignon Blanc.
At Harbour Lights with views of the Brooklyn Bridge, the group sat down to fusilli pasta with Gulf shrimp and bay scallops, sauced with roasted plum tomatoes and basil — a special on the menu that ordinarily costs $21.95 — and a glass of wine.
The afternoon ended with a saunter up Fulton Street and across Vesey Street to P.J. Clarke’s where sous chef Marcello Perez came out of the kitchen with plates of cheesecake topped with blueberry compote, double fudge walnut brownies and warm apple cobbler paired with vanilla ice cream.
Downtown Alliance food tours cost $25. The next one will be on Oct. 22, and will focus on wine. The three-hour tours start at noon. To sign up or for more information, go to www.downtownny.com/programs/food-tours.
