Hundred Acres, NYC
Here’s the good news: The staff at Hundred Acres was lovely, eager, helpful and everything came out right: no bread, no nuts, no fish, no diary—all good.
Here’s the less good but not necessarily bad news: my burger [yes, another one. I think I'm starting to get burger fatigue] was bland and under seasoned; I actually added some salt. (I wonder what burger Gael Greene's crew ate, cos they loved it. And what did Andrea Strong eat? Cos she loved it there too!)
***
The Hundred Acres backstory:
Hundred Acres is the newly refitted, refashioned, re-Fung Shui’d Provence space. I visited the new Provence just a year ago, during their third week of service. Again the servers/managers got the whole allergic girl sitch which was GREAT and was really appreciated. It’s more than appreciated; I worship at the altar of restos that get it. BUT, the food, although not killer, was, well, not killer. (Actually, I had inedible chicken that ended being comp’d.) So even though Provence in its new incarnation got it, I didn’t run back to dine; there wasn’t much on the menu that I could eat and there are lots of places to try in NYC.
But things are always changing here in Gotham and as Provence had some chef-y trouble from the start (see inedible roasted chicken in a French restaurant, not a good sign at all), the owners, in their infinite wisdom, changed it up. The owners are the folks behind Five Points and Cookshop who have proven to be pretty food allergy aware one the whole. So it seemed I should check out the new, new incarnation, hence my visit.
***
What does the former Provence, then redone Provence now Hundred Acres space look like now?
The three rooms are still there, the owners didn’t change the layout structurally but I swear the large middle room seems smaller somehow; fewer tables and I’m not a fan of the communal table in the middle filled with fruits and veg but none to eat. The colors in the front room are dark green for the walls and ceiling in the front room with white subway tiles for bar and backsplash. The back garden area still has lots of light and love as does the front but the flow, the flow, don’t know if I’m feeling the flow of the rooms now.
It’s definitely not Provence anymore.
The wine menu: they have a very clever little wine list, clever for a wine novice like this allergic girl and I might return at some point to check out their selection.
The menu menu: tight and focused which I appreciate, just...I wish there was more I could eat on there. Not a failing on their part, just a wish on mine.
So, the upshot: BIG points for being an allergy-friendly zone with a kind and conscientious staff. Fewer points for not having a great burger.
Would I run back immediately, probably not, I miss the old bar of the new Provence, I miss the old Provence even more. But given six months, I may check in again and see what's what.
Hundred Acres
38 MacDougal St.
New York, NY 10012
Here’s the less good but not necessarily bad news: my burger [yes, another one. I think I'm starting to get burger fatigue] was bland and under seasoned; I actually added some salt. (I wonder what burger Gael Greene's crew ate, cos they loved it. And what did Andrea Strong eat? Cos she loved it there too!)
***
The Hundred Acres backstory:
Hundred Acres is the newly refitted, refashioned, re-Fung Shui’d Provence space. I visited the new Provence just a year ago, during their third week of service. Again the servers/managers got the whole allergic girl sitch which was GREAT and was really appreciated. It’s more than appreciated; I worship at the altar of restos that get it. BUT, the food, although not killer, was, well, not killer. (Actually, I had inedible chicken that ended being comp’d.) So even though Provence in its new incarnation got it, I didn’t run back to dine; there wasn’t much on the menu that I could eat and there are lots of places to try in NYC.
But things are always changing here in Gotham and as Provence had some chef-y trouble from the start (see inedible roasted chicken in a French restaurant, not a good sign at all), the owners, in their infinite wisdom, changed it up. The owners are the folks behind Five Points and Cookshop who have proven to be pretty food allergy aware one the whole. So it seemed I should check out the new, new incarnation, hence my visit.
***
What does the former Provence, then redone Provence now Hundred Acres space look like now?
The three rooms are still there, the owners didn’t change the layout structurally but I swear the large middle room seems smaller somehow; fewer tables and I’m not a fan of the communal table in the middle filled with fruits and veg but none to eat. The colors in the front room are dark green for the walls and ceiling in the front room with white subway tiles for bar and backsplash. The back garden area still has lots of light and love as does the front but the flow, the flow, don’t know if I’m feeling the flow of the rooms now.
It’s definitely not Provence anymore.
The wine menu: they have a very clever little wine list, clever for a wine novice like this allergic girl and I might return at some point to check out their selection.
The menu menu: tight and focused which I appreciate, just...I wish there was more I could eat on there. Not a failing on their part, just a wish on mine.
So, the upshot: BIG points for being an allergy-friendly zone with a kind and conscientious staff. Fewer points for not having a great burger.
Would I run back immediately, probably not, I miss the old bar of the new Provence, I miss the old Provence even more. But given six months, I may check in again and see what's what.
Hundred Acres
38 MacDougal St.
New York, NY 10012
Comments
We were never offered refills of our cold beverages, which would have been nice, since it was a warm day and we had walked 3 miles to the village.
One of my party remarked on the way home that the best part of the meal was the donuts.