Good Drinks and Great Times at One mile House​

Originally published on FoodGem.com (no longer an active site).

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“You gotta be a special kind of crazy to do it, and I guess I am,” said chef Robert Wilson, explaining what it takes to be a cook. I got the chance to meet him this past week and experience first hand how that craziness translated into delicious food at One Mile House, a restaurant/ beer haven located in the Lower East Side at 10 Delancey Street.

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To Wilson, cooking for One Mile House is a welcome change. He used to cook for large corporations and created meals en masse; now, although it took some adjusting, he enjoys cooking in much smaller portions. Cooking on a smaller scale gives him limitless creative control over every aspect of the menu; he changes it whenever he gets bored, or whenever anything new and exciting is in season. At One Mile House all the ingredients are fresh and local and Wilson frequently changes the menu to reflect what’s available and most tasty at the time.

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Another factor that greatly influences the menu is beer. The owner of One Mile House, Gerard Leary, is a huge beer aficionado and he has truly brought that passion into his restaurant. With more than 30 rare and artisanal beers on tap, you can say that beer is definitely an important part of this restaurant; so important in fact that it is often the centerpiece of parties and special dishes. Wilson often creates dishes specifically to pair with a certain kind of beer and he can easily recommend a beer to go with any of his creations. Together Wilson and Leary work to create an amazing culinary and drinking experience. ”Overloading [customer’s] senses is something we strive for,” said Leary.

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My senses were definitely overloaded when I got to try some of the amazing dishes at One mile House. Chef Wilson prepared a variety of dishes for my colleague and I including house made pickles, duck jalapeño poppers, Thai curry lobster tortellini, winter gnocchi, and the Inwood flatbread (the flatbread is made with butternut squash so it’s named after the northernmost neighborhood of Manhattan which had the last functioning farm in the city).

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Every dish we tried was incredible, but my favorite was definitely the winter gnocchi. The gnocchi was delicious, you could taste the richness of the duck fat in which it was cooked but still detect the sweet notes of apple cider, which created a perfect savory combination. The pasta itself was cooked perfectly, soft but still giving you something to bite into and really enjoy. I also loved the duck jalapeño poppers, which chef Wilson said took approximately 5 different tries to perfect. They were baked so they weren’t greasy like typical poppers, the duck flavor gave them a special little punch and the cheese wasn’t overpowering so it complemented all the other flavors. Not to mention the cheese grits that the jalapeño poppers were served on were nice and creamy and brought out the spiciness of the poppers.

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The food and the drinks are reason enough to pay a visit to One Mile House but the ambience definitely has a big draw as well. Leary’s mission when he opened the restaurant was to have a good place to host people, and that is exactly what he has created. With its exposed brick walls, dark furniture and tin ceiling in the bar area the place is cozy and has an old timey feel to it, throwing it back to a time when friends and neighbors would meet up at the bar and share a drink and some laughs together. If you’re looking for a place to hang out with some friends and grab a unique brew and some spectacular food, One Mile House is the place to go.

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Publication Name: FoodGem

Date of Publication: November 24th, 2014