Green Spaetzle w/ Sweetbread

by Celia Sin-Tien Cheng
December 14, 2005

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

It’s been three months since I last visited Thor, and my experience this time was not much different than the last. Bottom line: The food is excellent, the service is tremendously lacking, and the crowd, though it’s dwindled in numbers, is still bizarre.

Let’s focus on the good thing, the food. The menu has changed slightly, and one of the new additions in the warm appetizers is a huge winner: green spaetzle with sweetbread. Kurt Gutenbrunner makes spaetzle like no one else in the city, and whether you are at Wallsé, Café Sabarsky or Thor, it’s a must-order. (I have yet to try his latest Austro-German bistro, Blaue Gans, but it’s definitely next on my list.) So of course, the green spaetzle is good, but not just good, because it is made with spinach and asparagus, then sautéed with chopped up morsels of sweetbread and asparagus, topped with crispy shallots. God, I could have that as a main and be so happy. This dish showcases the best sweetbreads I’ve had this year because you get your fill of tender sweetbreads but in small doses, interspersed with delicious spaetzle, just thinking about it makes me want more.

Overall, the food at Thor is great. My favorite thing on the menu still remains the one-bite chocolate lolli-pops and malted shake. The lollipops are breaded, and filled with chocolate and hazelnuts, and a little side glass of malted shake accompanies. I wrote this up in September, but I just want to say that I was just as fascinated and satisfied as I was the first time I had it. I did try other desserts, but none will make me crave as much as this one.

The food seems to bring me back, but each time I’m at Thor I swear I will never suffer through the experience just to have the food. I need to try Blaue Gans and hopefully cure myself of this oxymoron of bittersweet dining experiences.

Also in American, Austrian, LES, Spaetzle