TCFL 16 // Visit to Small Batch

Tom Collichio recently opened a new restaurant, Small Batch, at Roosevelt Field Mall in Garden City, NY. This was the mall of my childhood and I spent many nights there as both a typical teenage suburban mall rat, and as an over-the-summer employee selling sneakers at Dick's Sporting Goods.

On a recent visit home, Mrs. Commish and I, along with brothers Renato and Matt decided to try it out for lunch. In interviews, Tom has described it as the most approachable of his ventures, and that is definitely how the menu reads. Nothing too crazy/adventurous/out of the ordinary, but everything we had was solid. While it's not my favorite Top Chef-related restaurant (that distinction belongs to Stephanie Izard's Girl and the Goat), it's worth checking out if you are local to the area, and will be a fun option for Mrs. Commish and I whenever we are home. Check out pics from our visit and a couple of guest reviewers below.

Open kitchen in the dining area. Cameo by Matt.

CEL-YAY TONIC

spiced celery, lemon, lime, soda

AGAVE GINGER REVIVER
ginger, agave, rosemary

BEE STING
tin cup bourbon, ginger, cardamom-honey

GRILLED SPANISH OCTOPUS

with chorizo, fresno chilies & cranberry beans

EGGPLANT "PARMESAN"

with burrata

TUNA TARTARE

with ginger, sesame & soy

LONG ISLAND DUCK CONFIT

with autumn squash, swiss chard, fig syrup & black garlic

PORK CROQUETTE

with lentils & fried egg

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Guest Review by Matt: The pork croquette itself was great. Crispy crunchy texture round the outside. Soft tasty pork on the inside. The lentils were good too, not too soft compared to other times I’ve had lentils. The egg on top was kinda lacking cause the chefs overcooked it ever so slightly. The yolk wasn’t runny, it was solid. Because of that, the dish was a tad dry. Could’ve used some sort of sauce.

TC'S WAGYU BURGER

with balsamic onions, tomato jam, truffle pecorino, pickles & fries

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Guest Review by Renato: Sup Eaterz! Shits was good.🔥 homemade ketchup. Deadass have had better burgers though. idk what a wagyu is but sounded fancy. Shoutout to the eggplant "parm" though. I would also like to add that I panicked and requested my burger be cooked medium well instead of well done and I knew if I corrected myself I'd be judged by the table. (Commish's note: True, he would have. And thankfully, they didn't listen to him and cooked the burger medium. I consider this a positive for the restaurant, not a negative.)