Black Tree on Orchard Street Rebounds as ‘Raw Material’
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Christmas come early for team Black Tree.
The sandwich shop closed its Orchard Street location earlier this month in anticipation of a December reboot. Well, chef-owner Sandy Dee Hall just reopened on Friday as something called Raw Material. And as the sandwich board notes, it’s in soft launch mode.
Raw Material, according to the website, is “resourcefully-made food and design.” If, like us, you’re confused about what the hell that means, here’s more copy. It reads like an artisanal brochure, hitting all the usual foodie platitudes.
“RESOURCEFULLY MADE FOOD & DESIGN” refers to the methods & ethics in our approach to making the things us humans consume. Ethically harvested materials go into our menu, interior, cocktails, & retail space. One day we could be foraging for mushrooms, ramps, or fiddleheads, the other day we could be digging through discarded building materials, natural clay deposits, or broken shards of marble as the basis for the current menu or retail items.
Born in Crown Heights as a pop-up, the farm-to-table Black Tree debuted its first brick-and-mortar at 131 Orchard Street in May 2013. The Brooklyn outpost on Metropolitan Avenue remains open.
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These types of quick, suspicious revamps rarely work these days, oftentimes resulting in total closure shortly after the rechristening. We’ll see what happens with Raw Material.
Below is the menu for Raw Material:
OYSTERS
Served w/ the House Cocktail Sauce
East Coast
Montauk Pearl (LI) // Standish Shore (MA)
$2.75 p / pc
West Coast
Treasure Island (WA) // Eagle Rock (WA)
$2.75 p / pc
Choice of Granita
Blueberry Pepper // Pickled Kumquat // Chocolate
CEVICHES
Red Snapper
Husk Cherry / Blackberry / Raspberry Vinegar / Tequila / Roe
$21
Grav’ Lax’
Tuna / Ricotta / Mustard / Plum / Cider Vinegar
$18
Shrimp
Chili / Coconut / Peach / Pinapple / Sherry / Flowers
$21
PLATES
Burrata
Salmon Roe / Ciabatta / Green Pepper
$16
Tuna Tartar
Ginger / Shallot / Curry / Soy
$12
POKE IT
Wheat Berry / Ginger / Tuna / Soy / Orange / Herb / Scallion / Cucumber / Roe / Pickled Blackberry Hot Sauce
$+3
PATE
Cherry / Fresh Herbs / Butter / Habanero
$13
Green Heirloom Tomato
Lime / Orange / Ricotta / Honey
$16
Steak Tartar
Blueberry / Shallot / Garlic / Chive / Cured Egg Yolk / Rye
$18
Burger
Oyster Mushroom / Alpine Cheese / Pickled Cherry Tomato / Onion / Squashup
$16
COCKTAILS
$14 Each
Mezcal (Smokey,Spicy,Sweet)
Fidencio Classico Mezcal / Strawberry / Cinnamon / Lime / Blood Orange / Clockwork Orange
Rum (Dry,Smooth,Pithy)
Due North Rum / Brovo Jammy Red Vermouth / Bitterman’s Citron Sauvage / Grapefruit
TEQUILA (Bright,Acidic,Tart)
Tequila / Blueberry / Lemon / Currents / Bitterman’s Orange Bitters
RYE (Nutty,Sweet,Rounded)
Rough Rider Rye / Bravo Amaro #14 / Mole Bitters / White Cherry
GIN (Floral,Herbal,Chewy)
Gin / Day Lilly / Amer Di Picon / Raspberry / Sparkling Wine
VODKA (Clean,Hot,Cool)
Oola Vodka / Poblano Pepper / Black Berry / Chocolate Mint / Soda
Classics Available
SANGRIAS
$8 Glass / $26 Pitcher
WHITE
Rum / Roses / Strawberry / Mint
RED
Brandy / Peach / Plum / Lemongrass
ROSE
Mezcal / Hive Amer / White Cherry
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