International Cuisine at Brasserie 214

I did a culinary tour of Europe without once leaving my banquet at Brasserie 214 in New Hyde Park. CEO Frank Marino and Executive Chef Armand Vanderstigchel have joined forces to create a continental experience in this restaurant located at the corner of the .

“People on Long Island come from all different heritages,” Marino says, “and so the food concentrates on dishes that people are familiar with from their ethnic backgrounds. The cuisine features dishes indigenous to northern and middle regions of Belgium, France, Tuscany, Germany, Holland and Scandinavia.”

We started our meal with a dish that pays homage to Chef Vanderstigchel’s Dutch heritage – bitterballen. These are croquettes filled with ground veal and béchamel served with a Dijon dipping sauce. Another appetizer was Polish pierogies, pan-fried cheese dumplings served with sour cream and sautéed onions.

Next stop was Belgium for a pot of mussels with frites. The authentic mussel pots are imported from Brussels and the fries are served in a cone of paper. The fries are cooked just right, crisp on the outside and creamy inside.

The bistro salad was a combination of mesclun greens, gorgonzola, candied walnuts and Anjou pears in a Vidalia onion vinaigrette.

Next it was off to Italy for the bone-in Tuscan rib eye. The Black Angus 22-ounce steak was finished with rosemary garlic butter and accompanied by roasted fingerling potatoes and broccoli rabe.

Moving on to Central Europe we concluded the entrees with a Bavarian sauerbraten. Sauerbraten is the restaurant’s number one seller, paying homage to the Brasserie’s former life as German restaurant. At Brasserie 214 they use eye round and top round for their sauerbraten, which makes for a tender dish. The chef says that he has one customer who comes in four times a week just for the sauerbraten.

With our entrees we selected excellent beer from the restaurant’s large selection of European beers.

At last, dessert: French profiteroles. These cream puffs were filled with vanilla ice cream and covered with Belgium chocolate. Marino insisted we try his special creation – deep fried cheesecake. A slice of cheese was dusted in flour, then dipped in egg and covered with toasted panko bread crumbs mixed with cinnamon and a touch of nutmeg. The cake was deep fried for just a couple of minutes. It was creamy and crunchy and delicious.

214 Jericho Turnpike

New Hyde Park, NY

516-354-7797