Climb the stairs at Reeds American Table, past a wall festooned with family portraits and school pictures. On the second floor is a small wine cellar. It’s a telling juxtaposition: Somehow, the restaurant manages to balance both the homey and the haute.
Habitués of the late, much-mourned Home Wine Kitchen will recognize the old digs. You’ll find the same benches, barn-wood walls, and open-door kitchen. Upstairs, it’s loud, though less lively than downstairs, where a bar stretches nearly the entire length of the space.
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By now, you’ve acquiesced to the idea that “small plates” are dining’s emoticons: relentless, unavoidable, and ubiquitous. Order two or three to get started. The roasted cauliflower is sprinkled with a garlic-citrus gremolata and fragrant with curry. Green beans are fried in a beer batter and accompanied by a sweet onion aioli. And though just the word “scrapple” might give some chills, try the Reeds version: a smoky, tender kind of pulled pork mixed with polenta and fried into a crispy brick. Served with a poached egg, shredded Brussels sprouts, and sage aioli, it’s astonishingly delicious.
Among the larger offerings, a lovely “butcher steak” is plated on a tumble of vegetables. Massive chops, apparently sliced from some sort of mega-pig, are served with sautéed greens, potato wedges, caramelized onions, black walnuts, and a superior mushroom-studded Marsala cream sauce. A potpie that arrives in a cast-iron cocotte is covered with an airy, golden puff pastry that melts into buttery goodness on your tongue. The spaghetti Bolognese is a little better than ordinary, but the rough bread that accompanies it is excellent.
For dessert, a chocolate pot de créme is a parade of sweet textures: mousse, cocoa nibs, and shortbread. Roasted pears, with mascarpone and ricciarelli biscuits, are gloriously extravagant.
Reeds’ beverage program boasts a resident expert in every category: cocktails, beer, even coffee. The wine list is gilded by recommendations from an advanced sommelier. He’s good; take his advice (though may I suggest the Meddersheimer Riesling with Reeds’ bacon-fried cornbread?).
The clientele provides much of the atmosphere here. Reeds American Table is a neighborhood joint that’s surprisingly upscale. It’s loud in a convivial, unpretentious way and has the kind of service that you’d expect at a diner. Just don’t let any of that fool you. This is a seriously good restaurant.
The Bottom Line Enjoy native fare and an elegant wine list in a relaxed setting.
