Blue Ribbon Brasserie

American.  When the restaurant debuted in 1992, few could expect it would still be here today.  Longevity like that isn’t just impressive, it’s nearly nonexistent.  But know what’s even better?

After more than two decades, the Blue Ribbon Brasserie doesn’t phone it in for one single second.  They take their service, the menu and even their music as seriously as if they opened an hour ago.

Here you will find matzoh ball soup, tofu ravioli and escargot mere words away from fried chicken, hummus and paella.  And while the offerings may seem purely random, the execution is unequivocally not.

Allow me to speak to the hummus as it surely spoke to me.  It’s one of the best I have had, encircled on the plate by chopped onions, olives, tomatoes, endive and an over the top portion of pita.  The hanger steak, delicious in its own right, is made even more so by the onion rings and countless wild mushrooms that accompany it.

I was compelled to try two of their specials, which totally lived up to that billing.  If you’re a fan of fried rock shrimp, your devotion will multiply while dipping it in lemon cayenne mayo.  And the branzino (steamed, cherry tomatoed and sweetpea pureed) is yet another inspired combination.

Then there’s Chocolate Bruno (flourless, chilled and tag teamed by three scoops of ice cream).  Don’t ask.  Just taste.  So there you have it.  The Blue Ribbon Brasserie.  Thankfully here today.  Blissfully far, far, far from gone tomorrow.