Beauty and Essex is one of the hottest restaurants on the Lower East Side. The food is amazing, but the atmosphere steals the show, making it the perfect restaurant to grab dinner and stick around for a couple more drinks.The front of the restaurant looks like a pawn shop, but behind the bouncer is a door that leads to a beautiful dining area with several rooms and bars that are always FULL of people. B&E always has an awesome scene, too, and with dinner options ranging from steak to seafood, I’m happy to report that there are a lot of amazing NOBREAD options to choose from…
My girlfriends and I went for a little Girls Night Out at Beauty & Essex last week, and kicked off our meal with the chili salted shishito peppers, served with fresh mint and a lime wedge. The menu is creative, but sadly some of the more unique and popular dishes like the grilled cheese dumplings are not gluten free (tears). While my friends enjoyed their dumplings, I distracted myself with oysters and the salmon ceviche! For my main I ordered the scallops, which are served with roasted tomatoes and sweet corn risotto. My friend ordered the seared tuna with black rice and it looked delicious, as well. Next time I go to Beauty & Essex I definitely plan to order the brick pressed chicken because the sides sound so delicious! Mascarpone polenta and blistered tomatoes… sign me up! This dish is normally served with breadcrumbs, but the chef is happy to prepare it nobreadcrumbs to make it gluten free. Lastly, you CANNOT leave without ordering the salt and vinegar fries. My friends and I ordered these to share, but being the fastest eater in the bunch, I demolished these by myself! (Oops.)
I was totally impressed by the amount of gluten free options at Beauty and Essex and how flexible the kitchen is about making menu modifications. B&E is a great place to bring out-of-towners, or restaurant to hit for your next Girls Night Out. They are also famous for their champagne brunch on Sundays; lobster and chorizo hash and a glass of champagne sounds like the perfect motivation to get me out of bed next Sunday!