Starr Quality

Sat. night dins at Starr Place: sumptuous mussel pot with Calvados, bacon, and a kiss of cream. Ooh baby, addictively good. Don’t forget the side of crisp frites.

And if you don’t dunk your bread in the broth and suck it up, you are truly lame.

Normandy Mussel Pot

We also had killer Tuscan chicken liver crostini (don’t like liver but I looove this stuff), sweet clams in zesty chorizo broth, tender lamb chops cooked perfectly, fluffy wheat bread with good unsalted butter (gratis), and tuna tartare atop avocado (or was it the other way around?).

Love that Starr seems to have mastered weaving Mediterranean goodness (next time have to try the baby octopus risotto!) with the kind of stuff everybody likes, like buffalo wings, calamari, and carefully chosen beers, wines, and cocktails. Check out the menu at http://www.starrplace.com.

Service was perfect, too, just the right amount of attentiveness, and not only can you sit outside on sultry nights and watch all of Rhinebeck go by, but there’s some great music downstairs, too. I can’t wait to go back for more.

Starr Place hosts Elizabeth Smyth and Larry Bank