Dan Kluger joins a roster of restauraters taking their talents to Long Island City with Penny Bridge, a take on the classic American diner.
Part of the neighborhood's relatively new Jacx development, Penny Bridge is Kluger's second brick-and-mortar after the critically beloved Loring Place in Manhattan's Greenwich Village. The James Beard award-nominated chef also launched Washington Squares, a New York grandma-style pizza delivery concept, last year.
Dishes served at Penny Bridge are mostly cooked using produce sourced from local farmers' markets. Go-to comfort foods include the PB nachos ("refried" butternut, creamy cheddar, roasted butternut-Poblano salsa and crema), the fried chicken breast served with mashed potatoes and the Albacore tuna crudo "melt" on warm toast.
But it's the restaurant's exciting mozzarella sticks that truly stand out. Made with mozzarella, fontina and Parmesan-panko, they are feasts of cheese served with—get ready—smoked tomato sauce. Almost counterintuitevely, the re-invention of the diner classic tastes better than the original.
