Artisanal: Eat Fondue, Stay Warm

In case you haven't noticed, winter is here and it's cold outside! There are really only two good things about winter I can think of: skiing/snowboarding and cheese fondue, of course! And who would make better cheese fondue than Artisanal, a Murray Hill restaurant that specializes in cheese? I dragged my Cannes Film Festival trip ladies Alisha Rutledge and Heather Johnson for a fondue fix.

Artisanal is a bustling fromagerie, always crowded with hungry New Yorkers craving stinky cheese or just a good ol' steak frites. It has that typical French bistro décor and an open feel with very high ceilings. It's a very loud restaurant so don't go here if you're looking to have a serious intimate conversation.

We were seated immediately when we arrived for our 9pm reservation. I've been to this restaurant a whole bunch of times and it's rare that you have to wait if you have a reservation. If you do have to wait for your friends to show up, since no one is on time in this city, there is a bar where you can sip on one of many glasses of wine served by the glass.

It turns out the three of us are all big oyster lovers so we started our meal with a dozen oysters to share. There were only three kinds of oysters that day according to the waiter - two from Massachusetts and one from Minnesota. Oysters from Minnesota?! Yes, it sounded shady to us too but we decided to give it a shot. When the oysters arrived, we asked the waiter to tell us which ones were which. He then pointed at two kinds saying they were from Maine and that the other kind was from the West coast. Huh?! We reminded him that he had said two were from Massachusetts and the other from Minnesota, and he tried to brush it off as if the West coast and the Midwest was the same thing. So we don't really know where our oysters were from but they were all very fresh and didn't disappoint at all.

We also got the mussels which I swear are the best mussels in NYC. The mussels are always plump and the white wine and garlic broth is absolutely addictive. I dipped bread into it but I'd drink it right out of the pot if I could. Yes, it's that good.

For our wine, Heather picked out a Chilean cabernet sauvignon. Yeah I know, we're in a French restaurant so why didn't we have French wine? I'm not really sure why, but our Chilean cab was a winner - not only was it delicious (very bold and aromatic) but it was only $32 a bottle! Highly recommended.

We selected the Artisanal blend for our fondue. I'm not sure what's in this blend, but it's definitely the best fondue I've had in NYC. It's perfectly creamy with a slight stinky hint which I love! The fondue comes with cubed pieces of bread but we also ordered some apples and beef tips as well. These beef tips are cooked medium rare and are so tender they just melt in your mouth with the cheese. Mmm, I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.

I forgot to say that Heidi Bressler from the second season of the Apprentice was sitting at the table right next to us with her two friends. They sat down around the same time as we did so we got to observe Heidi's transformation from Apprentice-hopeful to sloppy drunk throughout our dinner which was pretty entertaining.

As tempting as French desserts are, we were so full that we had to skip dessert. That cheese and bread just expand in your stomach. For my next review, I'm going to have to leave room for dessert because I think this might be the third review in a row where I can't comment on the desserts because I got too full on the appetizers and the main course.

Despite the waiter who lied about the oysters and practically ignored us during the whole meal, we had a fabulous time. The meal came out to $65 per person and was definitely worth every penny. So if you are feeling blue about the cold weather, head uptown and check out Artisanal - I promise you'll feel warmer afterwards. Bon appétit!

Artisanal

2 Park Avenue

(32nd Street between Park & Madison Avenues)

(212) 725-8585

www.artisanalcheese.com