Subsequent conversations confirmed that the trio shared a vision for the restaurant that would become gertrude’s just six months later, in June. “We wanted to describe it as a New York City bistro,” Sussman told me the other day. They pulled inspiration from institutions such as Prune, Diner, and Minetta Tavern, as well as from their own backgrounds: “We talked about a menu that, if you had grown up eating specific dishes at your grandparents’ house on specific Jewish holidays, would seem really nostalgic and familiar to you,” Sussman said. “And, conversely, would be appealing even if you had no interest in Jewish cuisine. There’s a chicken, a fish, a hamburger.”
The result transcends expectations you might have for a neighborhood restaurant while also resisting gimmickry—though not humor. The half chicken is brined, cleverly, in dill-pickle juice before it’s roasted. The excellent hamburger is sandwiched on a tall, shiny braided challah roll, which can also be ordered on its own, with a schmear of duck butter. All entrées, including a beautiful whole trout—stuffed with lemon rounds and showered with chopped green olives and herbs—come with a choice of fries, greens, or latkes. The latkes are available as an appetizer, too, topped with celery crème fraîche and trout roe—as elegant as a dish of thin-sliced coins of beef tongue, both tender and crispy, drizzled in a persillade made with parsley, garlic, capers, anchovies, and Fresno peppers.
