Having missed the grand opening, last week I got the chance to sit down with Kim from The Simple Treat to check out the latest venture from Vic Chistopher and Heather LaVine: Peck’s Arcade. (If you’ve already read Kim’s post on Peck’s you’ll recognize plenty of these dishes.)

I wanted to clear up some things that I’ve had some friends asking about: Peck’s Arcade is the same space that the Tavern Noodle popup was located, and is what was originally being called The Tavern. Peck’s sounds a little less generic and has a little more personality to the name (and I’m sure will ease some issues with social media and web searches for Vic and Heather). Peck’s is located on the Broadway side of their building near The Grocery, with Collar City Hard Pressed sandwiched between the two. Lastly, just because there is “Arcade” in the name it does not mean there are video games here, sorry. With that out of the way, let’s check out the pics of the night.

Food
We were seated at the kitchen bar (best seats in the house if you ask me) and just let Chef Nick Ruscitto lead us on our culinary journey that night. The kitchen is wide open and you can see Chefs Nick, Matthew Sciubba and the rest of the staff in action the whole meal. All of the dishes we had that night, and there were an excessive amount of them, were superb. The extremely tender pork cheek was a standout for me, as was the crispy, spicy patatas bravas, a dish I am a sucker for whenever I see on a tapas menu. I’m a bit of an egg fanatic so seeing the the cured, shaved egg yolks on the shishitos was very intriguing and likely a project I’ll try to tackle at home.

ricotta crostini | honey, chili oil, fried rosemary

shishitos | tuna conserva, cured yolk, smoked salt

pork cheek | salsify, herb aioli, crispy shallots

patatas bravas | fried egg, aioli

octopus | arugula, garbanzo, radish

cavatelli | all’amatriciana, pecorino

sticky toffee pudding

vacherin | meringue, orange sorbet

Drink
Beverage recommendations that night came from Jeff Keegan and bar manager Scott Colehamer. After a rather sweet first glass of wine, Jeff recommended a delicious bottle of a drier sparkling white French blend from Pepie Bulles of 70% Melon de Bourgogne and 30% Chardonnay made using the methode ancestrale. After dinner, Scott poured us a couple of glasses of Ledaig Single Malt of both 10 and 16 year age statements to compare the two. At first sip, I preferred the bold flavors of the 10 but after they opened up a bit I’ll admit I preferred the 16 that was the more balanced and finished of the two. Neither went to waste.

domaine de la pepiere pepie bulles vin mousseux

gordon & macphail connoisseurs choice ledaig single malt scotch

Atmosphere
I did not take any environmental shots here as the downstairs has not changed too much since Tavern Noodle with the exception of a lot more seating. If you haven’t checked out that post yet, take a look to get an idea of the vibe of the space. The upstairs bar is now complete (although the dim lighting makes photography without flash up there difficult. Another time perhaps) but you can tell they have more planned for the rest of the spaces on the second floor. Vic was doing his DJ thing for most of the night, and his exuberance while doing so shows. Hospitality of the entire staff was more than accomodating and, as always, on point.

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Needless to say the experience was nothing short of amazing. I’ve come to expect nothing less from this crew. Actually, I don’t think doing posts on any of Vic and Heather’s places are even necessary at this point, I’m probably just starting to sound like a broken record. Are they opening up a new space? Check it out. Are they having another big event or dinner? Reserve your spot. You just can’t go wrong. I’m anxiously looking forward to my next visit, and of course, what they have in store for us next.