The restaurant is located in Greenwich Village, on Bleeker. We went there to meet our friends Jen and Chris on a Saturday and the restaurant got reasonably crowded. The setting was modern, with an outdoor space in the back enhanced surprisingly by a small waterfall! The service, although courteous, was very, very slow. At some point, they completely forgot our order and they offered us a round of beers to apologize.
The principle of the restaurant is derived from the Moules Frites (Mussels and fries) concept: mussels are served with French fries; you then either dip the fries in the sauce or in mayonnaise. You would typically drink beer with it.
Few years back, I use to go to a restaurant called La Tour on the Upper East Side that was serving mussels and fries all you can eat. I remember that I went one time with my Dad and we ordered four servings, each of them made with a different sauce. Unfortunately, the restaurant closed. Today, I enjoy all you can eat Mussels and Fries at Bin 14 in Hoboken (Tuesday night only). At the Mussel Pot, it is not all you can eat and they do not serve the mussels with fries: just with a piece of bread. If you want fries, you can order a side. I was a bit surprised about it, especially considering the price ($20 to $26).
In term of beer, The Mussel Pot has quite a big list of beers from the US, Europe...
They have Amstel, Heineken, Hoegaarden, Sam Adams,...
The restaurant offers close to twenty different types of mussel dishes, inspired by international cuisines: Thai, Italian, American, French...There is only one traditional recipe that is the Provencal one (white wine, shallots, cherry tomatoes, garlic and basil). The rest is pretty interesting, but I am not sure all of them suit to this type of dish.
Anyway, before eating the main course, we ordered some appetizers. We started with a white bean soup served with carrots, leaks and escarole (broad leave endive), celery and croutons.
The soup was good and it had been a long time I did not have escarole. However, I do not think I would order it again: it was missing some pizzaz!
We also shared a caesar salad.
Pretty standard....
For the mussels, I had a taste of different specialties! The first one was the Italian Posillipo.
It was made with tomato sauce, olive oil, white wine, garlic, and basil. Kind of similar to the Provencal one. The tomato sauce had some chunks of tomatoes. It was ok: I would have liked a bit more flavors.
Then I tried the Valenciana mussels.
It was composed of saffron sauce, fresh clams, shrimp, chorizo, peas, tomato, white wine, olive oil, lemon juice, butter and bay leaf. There was a lot of flavors. Good, but the sauce was also missing flavor.
The last one was the New York.
It was served with buffalo sauce, carrots, celery and blue cheese crumbles. It was my favorite: surprising and delicious; but quite spicy! I am not sure I could have finished an entire pot of it!
Besides mussels, we also tried the fish and chips.
At first, they looked a bit overcooked. But they were in fact perfect! The fish was succulent. I think that, with the New York mussels, it was my favorite dish! They served it with fries and with tartare sauce, ketchup and vinegar.
Of course, we ordered a side of fries as, as I mentioned, they do not serve fries with the mussels.
The fries, served skin on, were just ok. Sorry but I like them crispy!
Then came desserts! Yes, we were still hungry after that. We first tried the Tres Leches.
This was fantastic! It was gooey and had the perfect amount of milk! There was really no problem to finish it!
We also tried the gelato.
They offered to give half chocolate and half hazelnut. I am not sure what the brand was, but it was pretty good and creamy.
We had a nice time with our friends at The Mussel Pot. I am not sure I would go back though or recommend it: the service was slow, the prices a bit expensive for what it was and the food average.
Enjoy (I did for part of it)!
Few years back, I use to go to a restaurant called La Tour on the Upper East Side that was serving mussels and fries all you can eat. I remember that I went one time with my Dad and we ordered four servings, each of them made with a different sauce. Unfortunately, the restaurant closed. Today, I enjoy all you can eat Mussels and Fries at Bin 14 in Hoboken (Tuesday night only). At the Mussel Pot, it is not all you can eat and they do not serve the mussels with fries: just with a piece of bread. If you want fries, you can order a side. I was a bit surprised about it, especially considering the price ($20 to $26).
In term of beer, The Mussel Pot has quite a big list of beers from the US, Europe...
The restaurant offers close to twenty different types of mussel dishes, inspired by international cuisines: Thai, Italian, American, French...There is only one traditional recipe that is the Provencal one (white wine, shallots, cherry tomatoes, garlic and basil). The rest is pretty interesting, but I am not sure all of them suit to this type of dish.
Anyway, before eating the main course, we ordered some appetizers. We started with a white bean soup served with carrots, leaks and escarole (broad leave endive), celery and croutons.
The soup was good and it had been a long time I did not have escarole. However, I do not think I would order it again: it was missing some pizzaz!
We also shared a caesar salad.
Pretty standard....
For the mussels, I had a taste of different specialties! The first one was the Italian Posillipo.
It was made with tomato sauce, olive oil, white wine, garlic, and basil. Kind of similar to the Provencal one. The tomato sauce had some chunks of tomatoes. It was ok: I would have liked a bit more flavors.
Then I tried the Valenciana mussels.
It was composed of saffron sauce, fresh clams, shrimp, chorizo, peas, tomato, white wine, olive oil, lemon juice, butter and bay leaf. There was a lot of flavors. Good, but the sauce was also missing flavor.
The last one was the New York.
It was served with buffalo sauce, carrots, celery and blue cheese crumbles. It was my favorite: surprising and delicious; but quite spicy! I am not sure I could have finished an entire pot of it!
Besides mussels, we also tried the fish and chips.
At first, they looked a bit overcooked. But they were in fact perfect! The fish was succulent. I think that, with the New York mussels, it was my favorite dish! They served it with fries and with tartare sauce, ketchup and vinegar.
Of course, we ordered a side of fries as, as I mentioned, they do not serve fries with the mussels.
The fries, served skin on, were just ok. Sorry but I like them crispy!
Then came desserts! Yes, we were still hungry after that. We first tried the Tres Leches.
This was fantastic! It was gooey and had the perfect amount of milk! There was really no problem to finish it!
We also tried the gelato.
They offered to give half chocolate and half hazelnut. I am not sure what the brand was, but it was pretty good and creamy.
We had a nice time with our friends at The Mussel Pot. I am not sure I would go back though or recommend it: the service was slow, the prices a bit expensive for what it was and the food average.
Enjoy (I did for part of it)!
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