Meritage Restaurant in Scarsdale is another one of those places that we’ve been to once, had a good meal, and never went back. This certainly wasn’t intentional and we often talked about going back, so on a rare Monday night out with friends we threw Meritage the mix of restaurants that were under consideration for dinner. It turned out that our friends had never been there and were willing to give it a try, so Meritage it was.
Before I get to the food, I have to mention that our waiter was definitely stoned. That normally wouldn’t bother me in the least except for the fact that he was obviously not on his game. Meritage stocks 4 or 5 bottled beers and I think he was only able to name one. He also came back at least twice to confirm our orders (better than getting it wrong) and when asked how one of the menu items was prepared, he asked to see the menu so he could read the description. If the menu had a description, we wouldn’t have had to ask! Needless to say, we didn’t take any of his recommendations when it came to ordering.
To start my wife had the duck confit. This is one of my favorites, but in this case I actually thought the duck leg was a tad dry. I also felt that the frisee salad with balsamic vinaigrette was a predictable accompaniment. Don’t get me wrong, this wasn’t a bad dish. In fact, it was quite good…better than my forgetable starter (I actually don’t remember what I had). But with duck confit showing up on nearly every “New American” menu, this is a dish that needs to be exceptional in order to separate it from the pack.
My entrée, Linguine Bottarga, was much more memorable than my first course. This dish is reflective of everything that’s wonderful about Italian cuisine – a few simple, yet flavorful ingredients combined to form a fabulous meal. In addition to the bottarga (dried roe), the pasta was dressed with garlic, fresh chiles and oil. Every bite was perfectly salty and spicy pasta. As I eating my last forkfuls of pasta, I was already plotting the next time I could have this dish. Since our dinner at Meritage, I’ve even tracked down some on-line gourmet store where I can buy bottarga, so I can make this dish at home. My wife had the Tagliatelle Bolognese, which was on par with her first course – it was good, but not specatular. There are probably half a dozen local restaurants where you can get the same meat ragu.
My review may seem a little negative, but there was nothing bad about Meritage. In fact, everything was pretty good and we had a really fun night out. I would certainly go back to share a few small plates ($5) and have an order of the Linguine Bottarga.
