Peachy Picks AOA Bar and Grill
AOA pizza consultant Salvatore Olivella
We keep telling you it's not who you know, it's Whom You Know.
The Peachy Deegan cocktail is at 15 restaurants in Manhattan that pursue excellence, and we are pleased to bring you the very first review of an establishment that had Star Vodka before we arrived! We told you years ago this brand was the one to watch. And of course, people other than us are noticing as well now. AOA Bar and Grill opens officially tomorrow, Tuesday, December 13th 2011 but we wanted you to be the first to know about it! Peachy Deegan even made a pilgrimage to Tribeca, and every bite of everything she sampled made it worth it!
And you know that AOA stands for Avenue of the Americas...
If it were more English (you know Peachy is English and has lived in London) we would call it a gastropub, but it is clearly American which in our book is even better.
AOA was previously featured in Tasty Tidbits:
Today we are pleased to announce it has graduated to Peachy's Picks.
Its versatile culinary talent, its caring, professional ownership and its absolutely perfect taste in vodka (of course, Star Vodka) has won it its place here.
We began with the margarita pizza.
It was pure perfection, and you know we have eaten A LOT of pizza.
The crust was light and flaky.
The crust was light and flaky.
The ingredients were fresher than fresh.
It was so gorgeous we knew you wanted to see its close-up!
And, as we mentioned, since they have Star, they were nice enough to make a proper Peachy for the panelists. We also hear a cocktail with honey will soon be making a debut onto the cocktail menu, with Star of course. We are huge proponents of eating while you are drinking and we can positively assure you your culinary options are tremendous and we also have high hopes that someday you will also be able to eat Star Vodka there too.
Salvatore does not fool around one bit with his pizza.
Committed to excellence, he made the mozzarella right in front of us.
It was simply fantastic and you have to try the pizza. You might not want to eat for a couple of days before going to AOA because once you start you are going to want to try everything.
Clearly, Salvatore is serious about his mozzarella and you can tell when you taste it too.
The best-seller at AOA we think will be the AOA burger.
If you know Peachy and her pal Lucy, they for years - before Peachy was Peachy - have gone all around Manhattan in search of the perfect burger. This absolutely is in the running.
It was grilled medium as requested and Peachy sincerely hoped that her mouth was not that big, but we have to admit that it actually is because she was able to eat this.
12 ounces of house blend ground beef by Pat LaFrieda, Vermont White Cheddar, Bacon, Crispy Onions Strings, and AOA sauce will entice you tremendously.
From Alex the floor manager who graciously greeted Peachy to Jeremy the owner that we met to Executive Chef Eric Dougherty, each person we encountered was extremely enthusiastic, which they should be as they've got a great thing going; pleasantly professional; and genuinely caring about executing their respective duties with excellence.
We also liked the decor which was quite classy from the black and white squared floor to the suede booths to the fantastic televisions which will show off the latest football game or NASCAR race...we have a lot of readers in Daytona Beach so note this on your next visit to New York!
You know Peachy is quite the carnivore, so she also tried the Steak Frites:
The salad was perfectly dressed by Chef Eric, who truly believes in the joy of eating.
The steak was delicious, as were the housemade pub fries.
The grand finale?
All-American Peachy of course picked the apple cobbler, which was the ultimate in comfort food:
And Salvatore made something special with Nutella inside.
Even if you don't like Nutella like picky Peachy, you will like these:
Clearly, the only problem with AOA is that it is so fabulous that Peachy is wondering if she will be able to zip up her cocktail dress and actually fit in it before the big opening tomorrow!
But that is a great problem to have...
Our esteemed panelist adds:
Unlike any "SportsBar" I've ever been in, AOA is large enough to accommodate a serious fanbase for any team showing on their multiple screens (it sits 150) placed strategically around the entire interior. With entrances on the corner, or directly through the Hilton (39 Avenue of the Americas), the vast space takes on an intimate quality, not just because of the excellent decor. The Danish designed interiors include lush suede banquettes, with palms separating each space into islands. Lighting fixtures are modern, and copper silk curtains are hung across a vast wall of casement windows. The owner promises the Spring/Summer season will bring a new French door, open onto the sidewalk to provide an outdoor dining experience.
The chef, Eric Dougherty, has given us a menu that was painstakingly and lovingly developed. Tartar sauce is made here. The coleslaw is unlike any other you're had. Each leaf of lettuce is dressed with a special touch. There are two bars, and a pizza island, where Salvatore will show you just how he makes his mozzarella on the premises. A wood fire produces the lightest crust under the most perfect blend of ingredients. We tried the Margarita, which came with fresh basil leaves strewn on the top, and mozzarella melted into the crust. it works cold, too, for those of you who like to take things home for tomorrow.
AOA has it's own smoker, imported from Colorado ; cherry and hickory woods cook the chick and ribs for 4 hours. Chef Dougherty tells us that the ribs come directly from smoker to table, with a glazing of sauce the only stop in between.
Chicken and ribs aside, we had the Roasted Mushroom Farrow Burger. For those of you who are always looking for the perfect "veggie" burger, you now have a place to roost. The mushrooms in the burger are slowly roasted, then deglazed in red wine, with a blend of thyme, pepper, roasted corn, parmesan and "turtle beans", with the farro. It's a high cost item for the kitchen, but so worth the addition to the menu, and so worth the trip downtown for a treat. Served on a bun, with a salad of the house signature dressing (jerez & honey vinaigrette), this "burger" will make your meat eating friends envious.
My vegan niece will be ecstatic when I bring her here.
Next, I had the crabcakes: covered in panko for crispiness. Pan seared and finished in the oven, there is no oil in these crabcakes. The crabmeat comes from Delaware, and is perfectly blended in density: a breath of summer in your mouth. Coleslaw!!! With pickle, chives, scallions, cabbage, and nary a carrot in sight, this coleslaw will be a take-out preference for many a local office worker, I'm sure. The sides on this menu provide another chapter to the experience here, with pork sliders and pub fries right along side the truffled triple cheese mac, and buffalo wings.
This is a place to bring your entire family, with everyone happy . Or a great date spot, sure to be packed, especially when the Tribeca Film Festival is full on.
Who needs chocolate ? Not obvious on the menu, but order the "Blondie Skillet Stacker" if you're brave, and have an army to help finish it off. A mini-skillet comes literally stacked with a blonde brownie covered in ice cream, whipped cream and drizzled chocolate. It might be drizzled chocolate to some, but it's more like a frozen lake of chocolate, cold from the ice cream, and just heaven with the blondie. It's the modern answer to the ice cream sundae of malt shop days in the 1950's.
Please come hungry. And bring your friends who aren't usually at home in sports bars. AOA provides entertainment, (tv, and music to come) a menu that respects the art of eating, with ingredients that are local whenever possible. Their happy chickens come from a farm upstate, and the chef loves heirloom ingredients when in season.
The bar stocks Star Vodka, and the bartender gladly mixed up Peachy Deegans for us! They have dozens of beers on tap, and Fernando Lopez, the mixologist, will be concocting inventive combinations with beers and spirits. Be on the lookout for new additions to the menu. The soft opening this week brought in 250 covers in one day. The official opening is Tuesday, so make your plans, and hot foot it to AOA. It's going to be the new spot for Wall Streeters, Tribecans, and Hudson Square folk who have no where to go on a Sunday night.
Please make sure to say a warm hello to Salvatore, who will regale you with stories, and maybe even cook you up his special "mini zeppoli": nutella filled bites of baked dough drizzled with chocolate, covered in powdered sugar, and served in a margarita glass! It seems that everything in here is enough for 2!
Peachy Picks AOA Bar and Grill!
AOA Bar and Grill is Highly Recommended by Whom You Know
35 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10013
One block south of Canal-Even Uppereastsiders like Peachy will be able to find it with its bright red sign outside!
212 925 1600
