The restaurant accompaniment to Williamsburg's classy new music venue National Sawdust made its debut performance on Friday evening. Chef Patrick Connolly (Bobo, along with restaurants in Boston and St. Louis) composed Rider—named for the hospitality contracts given to venues by musicians—a bi-level restaurant offering gourmet renditions of classic American dishes. As befits the current hospitality climate, there's no tipping on a dinner of chicken nuggets and steak tartare.*
Connolly's menu designates the dishes are sharable; as such, it consists mainly of entree plates, though there are a few snacks like Mushroom Toast ($8) and Gougers ($6) that'd be good finger food before a show at the venue. The chef's Chicken Wings ($14) are tastefully deboned and lacquered with a sweet and spicy sauce, his French Dip ($18) is open-faced and served with a roasted marrow bone, and Mortadella ($12) gets griddled and artfully arranged atop ricotta and sunflower puree over toast.
There's a small bar in the downstairs portion of the restaurant, where Colby Zito presents cocktails ($15) like the Mitch Hedberg nod "Koala Infestation" (Jamaican rum, Pisco, thai basil, curacao, peanut, lime and pineapple) and "Bernie Sanders Rookie Card" (apple brandy, white rum, vanilla, grenadine, lemon and sparkling wine). Perch there on the bar stools (with backs, mercifully) or over by the large window that spans the length of the restaurant along North 6th Street.
80 North 6th Street, (718) 2103152; website
*Note: Rider is no longer a tip-free restaurant.
