For awhile now, I’ve been curious to try Dan Barber’s farm-to-table food at Blue Hill. When my wife made reservations, it was time to finally get the experience once and for all. Impression on first entering? Quaint Greenwich Village brownstone that feels more like a home than a restaurant. But after we passed the buzzing kitchen to a quiet back room set up for dining, I was pleased that we were away from the busy dining area in the front.

Service was really good. And when the wait staff didn’t know how to answer a query on wine, they brought the beverage director to help me out. Not till after eating and snapping photos throughout my meal did I look at the menu’s fine print where it read; “no cell phones.” Sorry, Mister Barber. So here is what we had and excuse the fuzziness at the end. The lights were dim, but the food was local and bright.