The Harrison's New Lunch Special | Tribeca, New York
A San Francisco import that has nothing to do with the seasons
Considering New York's clinging embrace of the produce plot, you might think the Bay Area has had no other pertinent culinary contribution than the farm-to-table movement.
But try the Joe's Special ($10) on the new lunch menu at the Harrison and you'll witness the limitations of New York's appropriation of northern California-style vegetable worship.
When Jimmy Bradley launched lunch at his Tribeca fixture last month, he knew he wanted to feature an egg preparation. So he turned to Joe's Special, having sampled the Bay Area staple on a trip to the West Coast.
The dish is deliriously simple: Eggs are scrambled with mushrooms, spinach and ground beef. At the Harrison, the eggs are silky, the mushrooms are cremini, the spinach is broadleaf and the ground beef is the same Pat LaFrieda mixture used for the restaurant's hamburger.
Ducking the hype surrounding LaFrieda beef, Bradley says, "No need to talk about that."
The rest of the Harrison's lunch menu is similarly disenthralled with trends: A liverwurst sandwich ($12) jolted with pickled peppadew peppers; chicken-liver dip ($7) rendered gossamer light with crème fraîche; radishes ($6) wallowing in a zippy anchovy sauce.
Lunch at the Harrison is new; its dishes, like the Joe's Special, transcend the moment.
The Harrison, 355 Greenwich St. (at Harrison St.); 212-274-9310 or theharrison.com