Attended the thought-provoking and educational “Three Eleanors” written by Karen Wurl and Dorothy Chansky at Stage Left Studio in Chelsea before heading to the West Village for dinner at Monument Lane. 
The production featured a cast of five, playing multiple parts, including Eleonora Duse, the actress; Eleanor Roosevelt, the controversial first lady; and Eleanor of Aquitaine, wife of King Henry – and what made each a celebrity.
After the show, we had dinner outside at Monument Lane as it was a perfect late summer cool evening. The wine list only offers American wine, I tried a glass of the Northern California Vermentino ($11), and found it unremarkable.
Tried the special, as the waiter’s description was enticing; sadly the dish was not. It consisted of tempura duck so overcooked, I thought
the morsels were hard nuts. The duck was served over sliced olives, past-its-prime watermelon, pickled ramps and parsley ($11). Avoid at all costs!
The escarole and black kale salad ($12) with a soft egg, American grana topped was better, but had too many croutons and much too much garlic-anchovy dressing. That and the kitchen neglected to remove the hard ribs from the most of the kale.
The best of the night was the perfectly cooked Crescent Farms duck breast ($29) sitting a top Swiss chard and a tasty fois gras leek puree topped with sweet cherry compote and cipollini onions. Only that is worth the visit.
– bonnie
Monument Lane
103 Greenwich Ave
(at West 12th)
New York, NY 10014
(212) 255-0155
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