Bond 45 for Pre-Theater Dinner & Breakfast too!

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Bond 45 for Pre-Theater Dinner & Breakfast too!

The tempting antipasto display grabs your attention as you enter Bond 45.

          I don’t plan to hang out at Bond 45 now that it’s moved to 46th Street in the throbbing heart of the theater district.  I didn’t hang out there when it was on the east side of Times Square. I live a short walk from Fiorello, so I can get a serious antipasto fix on a whim and there’s even a booth with my name etched in brass on it (along with 22 other people who apparently share the booth, some of whom I know).

Bond 45 for Pre-Theater Dinner & Breakfast too!

Owner Shelly Fireman proudly claims the original bronze sculpture done on his vacation in Pietrasanta.

          But the new, relocated Bond 45 is definitely on my pre-theater dinner list. And I’d meet you there, if you insist, on a Monday, when most theaters are closed.  If you, like me, are also a fan of Shelly Fireman’s feeding style, you already know what to expect. Do you remember Shelly’s New York? (Click here to read post ) How about Shelly’s Tradizionale? Although Brooklyn Diner is nothing likeTrattoria Dell’Arte and the Redeye Grill won’t remind you of either, Bond 45 has a Fiorello vibe.

Bond 45 for Pre-Theater Dinner & Breakfast too!

A selection of antipasti makes a great starter for the table or pre-theater dinner for two.

           You’ll be fired up by the signature display of antipasto bravura as you step inside. You might recognize a familiar cast of characters in the Fireman troops running the show. And when a manager passes by mid-evening with chocolate chip cookies, warm from the oven on a baking sheet, you’ll know you can go home again and you’re in Fireman territory.

          The new Bond definitely looked familiar on my first visit. It was during Friends-and-Family previews and Shelly himself, seeming besieged and a bit anxious, was seated at the next table with his wife Marilyn and friends of mine who’d just returned from Italy. Dinner was on the house, and I longed to taste almost everything on the collection of menus the waiter dropped at our table. “Prix Fixe with our compliments,” the flyers read.

Bond 45 for Pre-Theater Dinner & Breakfast too!

The Tuscan-style ribollita soup – vegetables and bread and not much liquid – can be very filling.

Bond 45 for Pre-Theater Dinner & Breakfast too!

Nonna’s short rib meatballs are rich and fatty and delicious: you get three to an order in tomato sauce.

           But after polishing off an order of ribollita soup (which I didn’t like as much as I expected to because it was so bready) and just one of Nonna’s maniacally rich short rib meatballs, I didn’t have room for pappardelle with eggplant Parmesan, Brando’s lasagna Bolognese, or a “gooey Margherita pizza.”

Bond 45 for Pre-Theater Dinner & Breakfast too!

The chocolate blackout cake is Bond 45’s homage to a vintage Brooklyn classic.

           I certainly didn’t intend to put away more than a smidgen of Chocolate Blackout Cake. Until I tasted it. And then resolution vanished. That darkness refers to the World War II blackouts that inspired the Ebinger Baking Company’s chocolate-pudding-filled icon. I know because I was married to Don Forst, another Brooklyn icon, who insisted 45 years ago that I must try it.

Bond 45 for Pre-Theater Dinner & Breakfast too!

The new Bond 45 on 46th St. is surrounded by Broadway theaters but you can’t miss it.

           More to the point, the previews gave me a good idea of what I wanted to order next time. Two weeks later, a pair of us recruited a couple of guys we could count on for appetites to justify the dishes we hadn’t been intemperate enough to work into our freebie tasting: a pizza, the pastas, the chicken pepperoni parmigiana.

Bond 45 for Pre-Theater Dinner & Breakfast too!

Pizza “with a lot of pepperoni” the menu promises. It also has the heat of ‘nduja and a touch of honey.

           It might seem redundant to order a pizza, as the menu describes it, “with a lot of pepperoni,” and the chicken pepperoni parmigiana, too. But the pie filling my mouth with the heat and saltiness of ‘nduja and the sweetness of honey proves to be essential. (That’s a pizza combo I would never have imagined.) And the layered parmigiana, though similarly paved with pepperoni, is a totally different animal. It’s dinner all by itself, oozing rich explosions of burrata, enough for four to share.

Bond 45 for Pre-Theater Dinner & Breakfast too!

Chicken pepperoni Parmigiana is made even richer with explosions of burrata and guanciale bread crumbs.

Bond 45 for Pre-Theater Dinner & Breakfast too!

Pastrami spaghetti carbonara with a poached egg and everything-seed mix. Oy vey, the menu warns.

           Pasta is imperative tonight, too. “Don’t forget, I’m Italian,” one of the gentlemen chides. I order the super rich pastrami spaghetti carbonara – “Oy Vey, poached egg and everything seed mix,” the menu teases. “Oy Vey,” whatever that means, is right!

Bond 45 for Pre-Theater Dinner & Breakfast too!

Romaine, chickpeas, almonds, avocado, strawberries, soft pecorino and yogurt are tossed into chopped salad.

          Of course, we can’t deny the guys those outrageous meatballs. And even if no one else cares about veggies, I must have the chopped salad with asparagus, chickpea, cucumber, purple radicchio, Marcona almonds, avocado, strawberries, and poppy seed yogurt.

Bond 45 for Pre-Theater Dinner & Breakfast too!

When I’m not in the mood for a Negroni, I might start the evening with a classic Campari spritz.

           Our table is already caught up in the pepperoni fest when an unexpected house gift from the antipasto table arrives: fried cauliflower, charred broccoli, puff pastry vegetable tart and many colors of roasted carrots posed on a yogurt sauce. Not everyone seems interested but I, as always, taste everything.

Bond 45 for Pre-Theater Dinner & Breakfast too!

I think Fireman’s strawberry cheesecake is better than Junior’s. Try it and see if you don’t agree.

          The manager wants us to check out the dining room downstairs but I can scarcely move (not even toward the elevator).  And besides, I’m focused on dessert. I want to introduce my pals to Shelly’s New York cheesecake with fresh strawberries — it’s the best in town. Sorry, Junior’s.

Bond 45 for Pre-Theater Dinner & Breakfast too!

I sent back the boring dark bread and the chef quickly replaced it with a pile of rosemary pizza bread.

Bond 45 for Pre-Theater Dinner & Breakfast too!

The chef Brando de Oliveira started as executive chef at Fiorello. He’s in Bond 45’s kitchen now.

          A few weeks back, my niece had a date to meet an out-of-town friend staying in Times Square. Fortunately, it’s Monday and the traffic going east on 46th Street is only a little bit slow. But Bond 45 is filling up. The Winebill looks like a blowup of Playbill, with one page devoted to mugshots of the cast, Who’s Who at Bond 45. Cute. But cocktails are taking rather long to arrive.

Bond 45 for Pre-Theater Dinner & Breakfast too!

The painting, found rolled up in a flea market, came from a Hollywood bar. Guests try to identify the stars.

          I make the waiter take the tasteless bread away.  “You need better bread,” I find myself saying, even though, as a restaurant critic, I’m not supposed to be available for consultations. Apparently my critique hits the kitchen, because out come triangles of white, rosemary flecked pizza (slathered too sparingly with olive oil). And then chef Brando himself. I want to suggest he sample the sensational brown bread at Union Square Caféin case he’s forgotten what bread should taste like. I button my lip. The Fireman Hospitality Group is one of my advertisers. My unabashed affection for their restaurants is already compromising.

Bond 45 for Pre-Theater Dinner & Breakfast too!

I find it impossible to resist the fried artichokes in the Jewish style (alla Giudea).

Bond 45 for Pre-Theater Dinner & Breakfast too!

Fried calamari with vinegar peppers is another staple of my dinners with Shelly, at Bond 45 and Fiorello.

           I like that the place offers breakfast all day. Breakfast is one of my three favorite meals. But not tonight. Suddenly the waiter is moving things around on the table to make room for the crusty fried calamari with vinegar peppers, fried artichokes alla Giudia, and that huge $39 Shareable Antipasto platter of something for everyone: tiny Brussels sprouts, roasted Romanesco, grilled red and yellow peppers, chickpeas with pecorino, cauliflower Milanese and eggplant two ways. The multigrain salad with root vegetables on a smoked chili aïoli gets its own plate, as do the heirloom carrots. We’re not vegetarians but we sure love vegetables.

Bond 45 for Pre-Theater Dinner & Breakfast too!

Tonight the four of us are sharing this $39 antipasto platter with many of our favorites from the big display.

Bond 45 for Pre-Theater Dinner & Breakfast too!

Multigrain salad with root vegetables on smoked chili aïoli gets its own separate plate as part of the $39 deal.

          It’s too late for the pappardelle with eggplant Parmesan I’ve chosen as a main course. We’re too full. None of us can even speak of dessert. “Our desserts are made with very little sugar,” the menu says. Even if I believed that…I couldn’t do chocolate mousse tonight.

Bond 45 for Pre-Theater Dinner & Breakfast too!

Pappardelle pasta with eggplant Parmigiana.

          I have saved my chocolate chip cookie for this moment. Our waiter brings broken pieces of solid chocolate and chocolate crunch from the hospitality bowls near the door with the check, $45.60 per person plus tip.

Bond 45 for Pre-Theater Dinner & Breakfast too!

The keeper of the antipasto table also sends heirloom carrots with freekeh on a yogurt sauce.

          I’m going to see The Band’s Visit at the Barrymore Theater on West 47th Street November 29th. I guess I don’t need to say where I’ll be for an early supper that night. I’m reserving at Bond 45 right now because even with 268 seats, I predict the main floor will be fiercely in demand.  

221 West 46th Street between Times Square and Eighth Avenue. 212 869 4545. Breakfast 7 am till 11:30 am. Lunch Monday through Friday 11:30 am till 4:30 pm. Brunch Saturday and Sunday 11:30 am to 3 pm. Dinner Monday through Friday 4:30 pm “until late.” Saturday and Sunday 3 pm “until late.”  Bond Bar Below late night happy hour 9 pm “until late.”

In her role as restaurant critic of New York Magazine (1968 to January 2002) Detroit-born Gael Greene helped change the way New Yorkers (and many Americans) think about food. A scholarly anthropologist could trace the evolution of New York restaurants on a timeline that would reflect her passions and taste over 30 years from Le Pavillon to nouvelle cuisine to couturier pizzas, pastas and hot fudge sundaes, to more healthful eating. But not to foams and herb sorbet; she loathes them.

As co-founder with James Beard and a continuing force behind Citymeals-on-Wheels as board chair, Ms. Greene has made a significant impact on the city of New York. For her work with Citymeals, Greene has received numerous awards and was honored as the Humanitarian of the Year (l992) by the James Beard Foundation. She is the winner of the International Association of Cooking Professionals magazine writing award, 2000, and a Silver Spoon from Food Arts magazine.

Ms. Greene's memoir, "Insatiable, Tales from a Life of Delicious Excess"(www.insatiable-critic.com/Insatiable_Book.aspx )was published April 2006. Earlier non-fiction books include "Delicious Sex, A Gourmet Guide for Women and the Men Who Want to Love Them Better" and "BITE: A New York Restaurant Strategy." Her two novels, "Blue skies, No Candy" and "Doctor Love" were New York Times best sellers.

Visit her website at: www.insatiable-critic.com

Gael Greene

In her role as restaurant critic of New York Magazine (1968 to January 2002) Detroit-born Gael Greene helped change the way New Yorkers (and many Americans) think about food. A scholarly anthropologist could trace the evolution of New York restaurants on a timeline that would reflect her passions and taste over 30 years from Le Pavillon to nouvelle cuisine to couturier pizzas, pastas and hot fudge sundaes, to more healthful eating. But not to foams and herb sorbet; she loathes them. As co-founder with James Beard and a continuing force behind Citymeals-on-Wheels as board chair, Ms. Greene has made a significant impact on the city of New York. For her work with Citymeals, Greene has received numerous awards and was honored as the Humanitarian of the Year (l992) by the James Beard Foundation. She is the winner of the International Association of Cooking Professionals magazine writing award, 2000, and a Silver Spoon from Food Arts magazine. Ms. Greene's memoir, "Insatiable, Tales from a Life of Delicious Excess"(www.insatiable-critic.com/Insatiable_Book.aspx )was published April 2006. Earlier non-fiction books include "Delicious Sex, A Gourmet Guide for Women and the Men Who Want to Love Them Better" and "BITE: A New York Restaurant Strategy." Her two novels, "Blue skies, No Candy" and "Doctor Love" were New York Times best sellers. Visit her website at: www.insatiable-critic.com

1 Response

  1. Ellen Schultz says:

    I worked for Shelly Fireman way back in around 1976 or 1977 when he was building out Fiorello. Before it opened I worked upstairs in Marilyn and Shelly’s apartment, waiting for the restaurant to open. I loved working for Shelly and learned a lot back then. I was attending night classes at the hotel/restaurant program on Jay Street in Brooklyn, so working there was fantastic. Shelly taught me about more than food and beverage, although he did teach me how to switch on the huge coffee maker as soon as I got in. He then taught me how to make a seriously good cappuccino. About ten years ago I ran into Shelly at the Brooklyn Diner, when I went to pick up a slice of their amazing chocolate cake. I went over to say hello to him and started to remind him that I had worked for him over 30 years ago. He replied “yes, you left us to move to California.” Sometimes when I read about his restaurants I wished I had stayed in NYC and continued to work for him.

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