Trudie’s, a Winning New Neighborhood Tavern, Opens in Carroll Gardens   

Trudie’s is located at 525 Court Street, at the corner of Huntington Street, and is currently open on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 4:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., and on Friday and Saturday from 4:00 to 11:00. Brunch service starts later this summer. 

Nate Adler, who’s been opening restaurants in New York City since he was 24 years old (Huertas in the East Village [RIP] was his first), seems to have a thing for taking over spaces from beloved neighborhood institutions.     

His last three ventures, which he runs with his wife and business partner Rachel Jackson, as well as COO Emily Tripp, have been the “Jew-ish” bistro Gertrude’s, filled nightly with locals in the one-time James space in Prospect Heights; the reconceived and relocated Gertie, a bagel-forward deli with a lovely backyard that occupies the former home of R&D Foods on Vanderbilt; and, as of a couple of weeks ago, the “grown-up” (but still quirky) tavern Trudie’s, bringing new energy to the end of Court Street in Carroll Gardens where Buttermilk Channel once reigned. Taken together, the trio make up Adler, Jackson, and Ripp’s newly formed RAD Restaurants group.  

“Trudie’s is definitely our most ambitious restaurant,” Adler tells BKMAG. “It feels like my homage to Keith McNally. Like the Odeon. An old-school American tavern. A perfect neighborhood restaurant. Because that’s what I’m always looking for. There’s something about that hospitality, that approachability… I don’t care what neighborhood it’s in, I want to go to the favorite restaurant there.”

Crucial to becoming both a neighborhood favorite and a destination restaurant, of course, is the quality of food you’re putting on everyone’s table. In charge of Trudie’s kitchen are exec chef Mike Cain and CDC Eli Friedman, the former a longtime RAD hand from both Gertie and Gertrude’s, the latter from Edith’s and Mile End. Based on a feast we had here on opening week, this place is going to be a hit on both counts. 

The menu emphasizes the classics, but there are fun touches everywhere. In the snacks section, for example—and, by the way, Trudie’s totally works as a “grab a drink and a bite at the bar” kind of place—you can get a plate of excellent pigs in a blanket, the dense and funky Meat Hook hot-dogs encased in an everything-bagel-esque crust. Instead of the expected mustardy dip, these piggies come with a crock of cocktail sauce.

The bread service is a giant soft pretzel, served warm with some good salty butter, a few pickled radishes, and an additional dip that vibes like creamy Italian dressing. It’d be foolish not to order this. Our third starter was Trudie’s “one big potato pancake,” which is like a less crackling, more layered latke topped with fancy seafood.

There’s also a whole raw bar situation that we didn’t even get to the other evening, starring the likes of salmon tartar, oysters, and crab claws in dijonaise, which Adler calls “the most Jewish food there is” because of his grandparents’ love for Joe’s Stone Crab on Miami’s South Beach.

Trudie’s entrees are, as Adler put it, “dialed in, down the center, playing the hits.” There’s a cheeseburger with thick-cut fries, a New York strip with bone marrow butter, and a grilled swordfish steak. But on your first visit here, you, like me and apparently most people, will probably be too tempted by the rotisserie chicken dinner to get anything else. It’s a beauty, too, the well-seasoned, well-charred bird getting some extra oomph when dredged through the gravy boat of chicken jus. Schmaltzy potatoes with mayonnaise and Adler’s grandmother’s (aka Gertie/Gertrude/Trudie’s) zingy cucumber salad come with. 

The pairings section of the menu is inspired by how they do things at Via Carota, Adler says. “The idea was to have this robust section of vegetable and grain dishes that could function as starters, salads, or sides.” Among the highlights here: schmaltz fried rice, rancho gordo butter beans, creamed greens, and wedges of rotisserie cabbage dripping with anchovy paste.

Desserts skew nostalgic. There’s a layered coconut carrot cake served as a slab big enough for at least two, a riotous banana split, and a gooey chocolate lava cake topped with halvah ice cream. Cocktails average around $17, with a couple of “minis” priced at $10. Most of the beers are also 10 bucks, and glasses of wine are priced in the upper teens. 

“This is a New York City spot,” Adler says. “This is New York City food. If there’s a way to describe what our company does, we’re just trying to be the best versions of classic New York City spaces.” So far, that means a deli, a bistro, and now a tavern. Next up for RAD, hints Adler? A family-style red-sauce joint, à la the Carmine’s of his childhood on the Upper West Side.

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