Chambers is in Tribeca, NYC and run by Chef Jonathan Karis, who previously worked at Gramercy Tavern, along with partners Pascaline Lepeltier (beverage director) and Jared David (general manager).  Together they re-did the space were Racines had been till 2021.   They opened the next year and serve an American style weekly changing seasonal menu with an emphasis on organic and natural wines.  It’s a long medium sized place with bar counter seating across from the tables.  There are also 4 counter seats facing the kitchen at the end of the space. Music is in the background, with colors mostly of gray and beige accented with blond wood which forms the back of the bench seating.  Lowered lighting and a good noise level give the place an elegant yet casual feel.  The menu focused a lot on produce with fun changing combinations and some dishes that have always been on the menu.  We enjoyed a number of their plates, which graduate in size on the menu, and they were happy to course it out so we could split everything.

Set-up

 

Food

They start everyone off with a sesame pizza blanca which is a focaccia bread.  The coating of sesame seeds added something different to the very tasty bread.  The first piece is free with your meal but you can buy additional ones if desired.

 

The Campo Rosso little gems salad also had radish and queso invierno.  The nice crisp lettuce was good, dressed with a Green Goddess variation of dressing then sparked with pickled ramps and radishes.  The crisp breadcrumbs were mixed in and the flavor was as wonderful as the texture.

 

The veal sweetbreads came with Tokyo turnips and garlic chives.  The tender pieces were pan seared and outstanding in a ramp butter sauce.  The turnips were quite good and nicely cooked  but I really loved those wonderful sweetbreads.

 

The Cavatelli were mixed with spring onions, shitakes, and lemon.  The mushrooms were cut in long pieces to match the nicely cooked pasta.   The sauce was rich but a bit slimy which put off my husband somewhat.  Texture was delivered by some mixed in crisp crumbs and the end result was pretty good.

 

The hanger steak came with garlic scape butter and was cooked a nice medium rare without even asking.  Unfortunately it was also quite tough.   The flavor was fine but it was too much chewing.  In their defense they took it off the bill and apologized profusely.

 

The mascarpone was in phyllo dough sheets with cinnamon and pistachios.  It was a delicious dessert with tons of texture in those crisp thin sheets.  The interior was quite sweet and it was the star of the two desserts.

 

The rice pudding was topped with Harry’s berries and lemon verbena.  They brought this to us in another attempt to make up for the tough beef which was a nice gesture.   The strawberries were outstanding  and the rice pudding part was mostly creamy.  It was another good sweet finish for a meal.

 

A final treat was a chartreuse herbed liquor pâte de fruits.   It was not too sweet but did have a stong flavor.