New York Times' Pete Wells Visits The UWS White Gold Butchers

When a restaurant is tucked inside a butcher shop, you know the menu will focus on meat. And when April Bloomfield is behind the restaurant, you know that the meat will be expertly prepared.

White Gold Butchers, an all-day restaurant, opened back in October, and Pete Wells recently dedicated a good portion of his review to the wasteland that is Upper West Side dining. In fact, he wonders why no one had tipped him off to this "hidden" gem:

In all this time, I've never heard from Upper West Side readers either attacking me for ignoring their neighborhood or tipping me off to a gem I'd overlooked.

No one asked me, but I would put good money on the thought that New Yorkers loved being able to walk in and get a table — something that will immediately change after this praise-laden review. No matter the meal, Wells finds a favorite dish: the egg sandwiches for breakfast, the savory pastries for lunch, and nearly everything from the rotating dinner menu. 

The high point of that dinner was beef carpaccio. White Gold now makes my favorite version of this classic Italian dish in New York. The toppings are sliced white mushrooms, parsley leaves and pickled broccoli stems. I'd never given much thought to pickled broccoli stems before, but now I think their highest use is with darkly lush sheets of raw beef furred over with fine white horseradish gratings.

The only critique Wells has is of the treatment of the whole animals that are broken down and sold at both the retail butcher shop and on the menu.

I have to admit that the White Gold of my dreams would serve not just chicken liver mousse but gizzard confit; not just grilled lamb leg but sautéed kidneys; not just pork shoulder but stuffed trotters.

Sorry, Upper West Siders: Your secret is out.