Breaded 1-Bite Chocolate Lollipop

by Celia Sin-Tien Cheng
September 10, 2005

THOR
107 Rivington St
(Essex & Ludlow Sts)
New York, NY 10002
212-796-8040

The Lower East Side is the new Meat Packing district, and I don’t mean that as a compliment, nor is it news. What I mean is that it’s hip and trendy with too much development going on and that this is detracting from the neighborhood’s original charm. My point being, in judging by location you can usually tell what you are going to get or at least the kind of crowd you are going to run into.

Thor is located inside the new chic and hip Hotel on Rivington — negative points already. It’s a place to be seen, but who is seeing whom? I never quite get it. Okay, enough negativity.

Chef Kurt Gutenbrunner does not disappoint. The food is fabulous! The menu is not strictly Austrian like at Wallsé or Café Sabarsky, but I would call it more creative American with Austrian influence. With all the hype and craziness going on in the restaurant I wasn’t sure if the food was also going to be an attempt to be crazy, but Kurt maintains the integrity of his reputation by serving delicious dishes that are also aesthetically gorgeous, and I really mean gorgeous! My red beet terrine was a piece of art that could have been on exhibit at a gallery — slices of red beets were thinly layered between the mousse of the terrine to create a very modern design. The tomato mousse with heirloom tomatoes was stellar as the mousse was light and fluffy and the tomatoes so fresh and juicy. For dessert, the breaded one-bite chocolate lollipop was amazing! Three lollipops stick out of a square wood stand as a piece of sculpture. It is not too sweet and just the right size. It is truly the perfect way to end a meal. And the final factor considered resulted in a plus for the restaurant: The price point is reasonable.

The service is scattered. Our waiter was extremely professional and pleasant, but there wasn’t much communication amongst the staff since with every course served, no dish was properly matched with the person who ordered it. Not to mention that we were drinking sparkling water and they then came around and mixed tap into our glasses. I love tap water but just not mixed in with sparkling. When I pointed this out I received a haphazard apology but no replacement for the now flat mixture. And next, since we sat at the first seat from the kitchen servers kept bumping into my seat each time they came out.

Ultimately, my conclusion is that Thor is a good restaurant and a significant addition to the neighborhood. The diners are lucky as they really are getting top quality cuisine at reasonable prices. I prefer the elegance and maturity of both Wallsé and Café Sabarsky, but I recognize that Thor too is elegant — it just caters to a younger and more contemporary crowd. The interior space, the décor, and the design of the menus are beautiful in a dark nightlife kind of way. I don’t see myself returning to Thor any evening soon, though. The thought of trying to crawl through the nightclub crowd hanging out in the lounge at the front in order to get to my seat at the back is just not my ideal dining scenario. However, I would like to try their breakfast and see how the restaurant looks and operates during the daytime. I bet the experience is drastically different and I would venture to say that it’s probably better. Let the hipsters sleep while I enjoy my breakfast and the neighborhood. Afterall, the LES and Meat Packing district are much more bearable in daylight.

Also in American, Austrian, Chocolate, LES, Sweets