For years I’ve heard friends and colleagues rave about Fred’s at Barneys. Well, I FINALLY went this week after I heard for the 100th time that Fred’s is the best lunch in ALL of New York City. Fred’s has been featured in countless magazines and media outlets as THE place to ‘see and be seen’ and where ‘ladies lunch.’ These descriptions do Fred’s justice and I felt like a celebrity as I was seated at a prime table in front with Donny Deutsche seated to my left and ladies dressed in their designer finest to my right…
With the exception of the obvious orders such as sandwiches and pastas, the menu is naturally very gluten free. The menu is also HUGE, and it is hard to go wrong with anything you choose. To order, I HIGHLY recommend the chopped chicken salad, lobster salad, grilled shrimp on fava beans, omelette of the day, grilled calamari, sea scallops, broccoli rabe, and truffle fries. The grilled calamari is lightly breaded, so make sure you ask for the calamari grilled nobreading. The truffle fries at Fred’s are phenomenal; they are cut in thick rectangles and full of potato with just the right amount of truffle. Careful- these fries ARE subject to cross contamination in the fryer so if you are ultra sensitive I would avoid. Fred’s is famous for their Mark’s Madison Ave chopped salad, which has 17 different ingredients & italian tuna in every bite. If you are a fan of tuna, you cannot come here and NOT order this salad.
I never believed that restaurants at department stores could be anything special, but Fred’s has COMPLETELY dispelled this belief. I will go ahead and say this is absolutely one of the best lunch’s in New York City, and to date, my best salad in New York City. Everything on the menu looks incredible, the entrees are naturally nobread approved, and the portions are huge; success.