Bone Broth Alchemist Marco Canora Opens West Village Brodo Dispensary

Chef Marco Canora’s hit bone broth stand Brodo now has its very own brick and mortar outpost. The new, standalone Brodo opened yesterday at 496 Hudson Street, nearly two years after the broth shop first popped up as an annex at Canora’s Hearth. Robert Sietsema stopped by yesterday, here's his dispatch:

With the opening of Brodo as a free-standing restaurant in the West Village, along wildly expensive Hudson Street, Marco Canora takes his place among the most daring -- or perhaps nuttiest -- chefs of the modern era. The place only sells steaming cups of broth, which are hooked up via a daunting roster of ingredients from a sprawling menu. There are no noodles, croutons, pieces of chicken, etc, etc. Indeed there is nothing that might make these so-called "bone broths" into something you might call soup. Nothing sticks to your ribs, or qualifies these broths as an actual meal. One finds oneself paying $8 plus tax for a modest-sized cup of hot liquid.

This is food fit for invalids close to death on a liquid diet. It would be popular with flu sufferers if they could only drag their attenuated asses there. Nevertheless, at least one of the two broths I tried from the list of 11 "Combinations We Love" were delicious. The Texas Two Step (a rather unfortunate name, since it refers to having the runs) is deeply opaque and filled with liquid bone marrow, with an almost curried flavor, though perhaps too salty to be considered health food. By contrast, the Deeply Rooted was raw tasting with ginger and turmeric, both rhizomes that are considered to have medicinal properties, and not really very good.

If you happen to stop by the new Brodo, do let us know what you think.