Kutsher's Tribeca - Jewish Comfort Food

Many of the best pastrami peddlers in New York are also tourist traps, so we're used to being overcharged for our favorite deli classics.

As a result, the price point at Kutsher's didn't surprise us. The quality of the food, however, was quite a shock.

To wit: The best bowl of matzo-ball soup we've ever spooned was not at the table of a gentle bubbe, but here, on a swanky corner in Tribeca. So delicate and tender–it's a wonder the balls didn't dissolve into the rich broth in which they were buoyed.

This elegant bowl ($11), filled out with fresh vegetables and strands of spaetzle, is the handiwork of chef Mark Spangenthal, a veteran of New York kitchens (he's worked under Tom Valenti, Alfred Portale and Clark Wolf). He was drawn to this project for personal reasons: This is the food he grew up on.

He treats those childhood flavors with his bountiful cooking chops in other dishes as well.

Pickled herring ($11) is a side-by-side old-to-new time line, half treated with a dab of sour cream and red onion, the other half given a turn with yuzu and wasabi. Flanken beef short ribs ($24) come adorned with a schmaltz-laden side of mashed potatoes–it's pot roast in a nicer outfit.

Finally, Jewish food for the locals.

Kutsher's Tribeca, 186 Franklin St. (between Greenwich and Hudson sts.); 212-431-0606 or kutsherstribeca.com