Beecher's New York

I discovered this restaurant on this website, and decided to give it a try when my nephew visited earlier today on business. (A denizen of Maine, his home office is in the relatively immediate area of Beecher's.) There was a reasonable wait time for seating (always a good sign) but a less than reasonable bar tab for the wait. $25 for a half glass of wine and a bottle of hard cider is a tad dear, in my opinion. Even for Manhattan. The cider, "Original Sin", proved that even possible absolution comes at a cost. Once seated, however, our Beecher's experience kicked into high gear. Speaking of dear, our server was a real sweetheart. She was sassy, classy, and extremely well-versed, menu-wise. She recommended dishes with a confidence and care that went beyond salesmanship or service. She wanted us to enjoy Beecher's and, largely because of her, we did. Immensely. Although I have not worked in the hospitality industry for decades, I have managed restaurants and nightclubs across the country and intend to open a modest family bistro in the Midwest later this year. I rather doubt she would be willing to relocate to such a remote farming community but hers is the work ethic I will be teaching my servers.

I came here for happy hour in the Cellar with a friend. We didn't even know there WAS a happy hour (5-7PM), but we were pretty happy about it! We each had a full serving of their amazing macaroni and cheese for half price, plus we split a cheese plate and had a couple glasses of wine. Everything was reasonably priced and tasted delicious. The vibe in the Cellar is also nice, though I can imagine it would get noisy if it were really crowded. We'll be coming back!