The Ribbon - Oktoberfest & Halloween Special Menus - New York City Article
The Germans have their own ways of doing other things too. “Chicken Schnitzel,” for instance, is technically fried chicken - by that I mean, it’s chicken and it’s fried. But any relation to the product of Colonel Sanders is strictly coincidental. It has a lovely, chewy texture, and is deeply rich and juicy. It’s even better when you squeeze a little fresh lemon juice into it.
The German sausages are also unlike any American equivalent - I’m hardly the first to express the opinion that their so-called wursts are the best. The bratwurst, which came with sauerkraut, was delicious, but the other sausage, a house specialty made on the premises with bacon and cheddar - and served with braised kale - was the best wurst of them all.
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We actually ate in no particular order, after starting with the pretzels. Normally the soup would be served earlier, of course, but it was after digging into a few entrees that we made room for a delicious pumpkin chowder. Again, this hits me where I live, I am a long-time buff of “alternative” soups and chowders, pumpkin, squash, blueberry, etc. This pumpkin soup was topped off with a balsamic reduction and was just plain yummy.
And that wasn’t all: another recommended dish is the vegetable risotto, all decked out in Halloween colors. It’s pleasing to report that it tastes as good as it looks. And there were beverages as well. The Chef kind of blanched when we inquired about a German wine (I’m not enough of an oenologist or a sommelier to fully understand why) so they brought out some fine German lager, served in an authentic beer garden stein, instead.
There also was a particularly sweet cocktail, a Halloween special that was essentially a re-imagined Brandy Alexander, laced with tiny bits of a ground-up chocolate bar on top. You might think that it was as much a dessert as a beverage, and, thus, eliminated the need for a separate dessert. However, we concluded the meal with a succulent bread pudding topped with maple ice cream.
The Ribbon at 20 W. 72nd St, itself is a lovely venue, with all the charm of its Times Square counterpart but much smaller and more intimate - and the rooms are also decorated with vintage imagery and chock-a-block with tchtochkes, such as art deco cocktail shakers shaped like Lindberg-era airplanes. The room we were in was decked out in headlines and photographs commemorating the 1919 World Series gambling scandal.
We’re glad that Manhattan restaurants are at least partially re-opened, and that there’s now 25% capacity available indoors. October and Halloween in 2020, as with the rest of the social calendar, are like, no other year, but thanks to the Ribbon, at least the season seems more like a treat than a trick.
The Ribbon
20 West 72nd St
Oktoberfest and Halloween 2020