07.21.08
Posted in Asian, Japanese, Meatpacking District, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, rated 8 to 8.5 at 4:18 am by Dominique
111 E.18th St. near Park Ave., 212-260-2020
Great for: cocktails, splurging on beef, meeting people for drinks in a lovely lounge
I met Hedge Fund Guy here for our second first date (long story), and had to wait about 20 minutes in the lounge because he got stuck in traffic. Fortunately for him it was a very pleasant place to pass the time, with lovely cocktails, a whole lounge area with couches besides the bar, and one waitress so friendly I started to think/hope she might be hitting on me. I hate to be the yucky presumptuous customer though, and didn’t follow up on that before HFG arrived finally.
Our first appetizer was the rock, a thinly sliced marinated New York strip on a hot stone. The slices were surprisingly thick - I was expecting carpaccio width, so that was nice. I enjoyed the quality of the meat and the yummy, spicy, salty sauce. We also tried the sakana carpaccio of three kinds of fish. The lean tuna in chef’s special sauce with black tobiko and fluke in ponzu sauce topped by spicy radish were good but nothing special. I really liked the soy-marinated salmon in garlic sauce with spicy tobiko.
Although a lot of the other apps looked good, we stopped there to save room for the 12 oz. Akaushi (a kind of Wagyu) ribeye which is marinated in togarashi (chili pepper) and comes with a generous helping of uni butter and satsumaimo pommes frites. I can’t recommend this dish enough. The meat was fantastic, soft yet perfectly charred outside with a delicious marinade highlighting its flavors. The fries were a bit like yam fries, which I usually dislike, but they were actually pretty decent with the sauce. I loved the creamy crazy uni butter too. I calculated (completely without basis, or even numbers) that sharing 12 ounces instead of eating the whole thing myself made it ok to spread the butter all over every piece of meat I ate. Even if that’s not true, I was so happy devouring it I’m sure it all evened out.
HFG also got some sashimi, two pieces to an order, of kanpachi (a Japanese amberjack or wild yellowtail), chutoro, wasabi tobiko, otoro, zuke (soy-marinated salmon) and hamachi. He also got some nigiri with unagi and ikura. I helped him finish the fish when I was able to tear my attention away from the ribeye, and it was all very good.
The drinks are quite as tasty as the food. The Japonais caipirinha was on the special cocktail menu that day - I don’t have a note for why it was special, it may have had an interesting fruit juice. As a proud science geek, I had to try the special cocktail with Moët and watermelon molecular foam. Watermelon and Champagne should be put together more often. The great thing about the foam is that it gives you fruit flavor without the actual pulpy fruit. I also liked the Moulin Rouge - fresh muddled strawberries, Bacardi, Navan (vanilla cognac) and lime juice.
The service was very nice. Our waiter always asked how things were and told us when things were about to come out. He had an uncanny sense for that, and it couldn’t have just been acute hearing, because I think I only wondered where the next dish was aloud once. I appreciated his patience very much, too. We took a really long time to order, since we were too busy talking for quite a while, and he checked on us just enough to remind us of what we should have been doing but not so much it felt like nagging. Everyone in general was nice and seemed more or less happy to be there. And as much as I try to go only to unreviewed restaurants for you, dear reader, I might have to be naughty and sneak off to Japonais again sometime soon.
Rating: 8.5 / 10
Our cost: $300 (3 cocktails, $72 ribeye)
Noise level: noisy but tables are spaciously placed which helps
Chance of walking in: medium, just because it’s so big with two floors.
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07.08.08
Posted in Flatiron, Gramercy, Italian, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, rated 7 to 7.5 at 1:28 am by Dominique
37 W.17th St. & 5th/6th Aves., 212-366-0888
Great for: pasta, cocktails
My dear friend E and I try very hard to carve out time in our busy schedules to eat out together. We generally manage to do that once a week. She was impressed with this place last time she came so I was excited to try it myself.
I started with an appetizer portion of farfalle with lightly smoked salmon, sugar snap peas and tomato in tarragon grain mustard cream sauce. It was a little sour but I liked it. The chopped up peapods were quite raw and crunchy. The nice and flaky salmon was a bit lemony and was not too salty. Overall, I found it tasty. E had the tonno fresco scottato (prime tuna tataki) with original wasabi tartare sauce, potato, okra and cucumber in orange saffron sauce. Apparently Basta Pasta is kind of a Japanese-Italian fusion. We thought it was interestingly spicy and good. I even liked the vegetables.
My main course of charcoal-griled Naiman Ranch pork loin (lombata di maiale) with mustard greens, paprika paste, prosciutto pangrattato and olive flakes was pretty good but sometimes dry. The overly sweet dollop of reduced balsamic vinaigrette on top didn’t add anything to the dish. It was a really big hunk of meat, and I got tired of sawing through the dry bits so I didn’t finish it. E’s appetizer size of spaghetti with Parma prosciutto in a half wheel of parmesan reggiano was better. Watching the waiter construct the dish in front of us was fun. He first filled the cheese wheel with a thin layer of pasta, then carefully arranged prosciutto and basil on top of that and tossed it all together. It was pretty much worth all the fuss.
We both tried the pear martini first, which subtly snuck in quite a lot of vodka that we couldn’t taste but could certainly feel after a few sips. We enjoyed its yummy pearness. Next I had a decent but unmemorable bellini.
I noticed they didn’t bring us bread plates or bread. I’m not sure if that was restaurant policy or forgetfulness. Our waiter seemed very busy but generally took pretty good care of us. As for the decor, I couldn’t decide if I was more disturbed or unmoved by the weird bandaid rainbow-colored paintings on the wall. They were kind of interesting but completely out of keeping with the restaurant’s ambience. Generally the experience was ok. I would happily recommend only the pasta.
Rating: 7 / 10
Our cost: $115 (2 cocktails each)
Noise level: somewhat loud
Chance of walking in: medium to low.
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Posted in French, Midtown Central, Midtown West, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, rated 8 to 8.5 at 12:03 am by Dominique
9 W. 57th St. & 5th/6th Aves., 212-829-0812
Great for: crab cake, very civilized meals, relaxing after couture shopping, exciting trysts
After a very satisfying morning of shopping at Chanel, it was time to relax with a lovely lunch. I never got to try this place when I lived on the Upper East Side so I was glad to finally have the chance.
To start with, there was the excellent Maryland jumbo blue crab cake with artichoke salad, Dijon mustard sauce and red onions. The crab came in big lumps, slightly spicy, with minimal breading. The mustard was the perfect level of sharpness. My only caveat was the slightly chewy artichoke leaves.
The chicken salad “Chinoise” with tropical fruit, Napa cabbage, cashews and honey ginger dressing was chopped very fine and arranged to look like a giant crab cake with artistic flourishes of the nuts. I was pleasantly surprised at how delicious I found it, considering how much I hate fruits and sweets mixed into savory foods. I even thought the sugary cashews were a good accompaniment. The angel hair pasta with lobster Bolognese, basil oil and Parmesan crisp was not quite as good. Creamy, but a bit bland, pepper improved it. I liked the tender small pieces of lobster.
I would definitely recommend trying the fruit-flavored iced teas. I was also very pleased with the unobtrusive, attentive waiter, as well as the lovely decor. Try to get one of the spacious leather booths if you can, which even have glass dividers for privacy between them. I imagine a lot of affairs (or just exciting dates) are discreetly conducted here. The tablecloths cover a lot. And the place is so elegant and beautiful, it’s equally appropriate for a business lunch or a princess mood (that was me).
I noticed the 3-course prix fixe lunch menu had completely different items from the rest of the menu, which was a bit odd. I thought perhaps they might be dishes only otherwise available on the dinner menu, but they’re not on that either. The dessert menu was also a little crazy. It was two pages long with something called a “Show of Dessert” on one of them. All of them look delicious though. I would love to come back here - there were tons of good things on the menu I didn’t get to try.
Rating: 8 / 10
Cost: $95 (2 passionfruit iced teas)
Noise level: low hum
Chance of walking in: medium at lunch. I think it might not be too bad on weekend nights either.
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07.01.08
Posted in Asian, Japanese, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, Queens, rated 4 to 5.5 at 2:15 am by Dominique
7208 Main St., Queens, 718-575-8700
Great for: Orthodox Jews, giant entrées
I found myself in Queens with some friends, and they’re Jewish so they decided to show me how good kosher food can be. I wasn’t exactly blown away. I enjoyed the company and watching the waiters scurry around inefficiently much more.
We shared a bunch of appetizers, beginning with the sushi special, a volcano of tobiko, spicy mayo, scallion, jalapeño, tuna tartare, avocado roll and tempura flakes. I had very high hopes for the resto based on this dish, which was yummy and extremely spicy. I really liked the combination of textures and flavors. Unfortunately, I got excited too soon. Do not get the dumplings of beef and chicken ginger. They were dry, with a weird jalapeño sauce. El bomba, avocado and sundried tomato eggrolls with tequila lime sauce, wasn’t that impressive either. I didn’t actually eat it, there was too much avocado and I find sundried tomatoes yucky. My friends said the sauce didn’t complement the dish at all.
The Jerusalem (imitation) crab cakes with crispy panko crumbs and creamy unspicy jalapeño sauce were done very well; I could barely tell it wasn’t real crab. In my defense, the panko and “meat” were thoroughly mixed up. The agedashi tofu was pretty decent too, lightly crispy outside and fairly soft internally. I found the pink-orange sweet sauce unworthy of it. The kalbi (short ribs) were almost bite-sized. They had a bit of slightly sweet glaze which brought out the flavor of the crispy yet tender meat.
For an entrée I tried the enormous Bangkok sizzle, thin pan-seared slices of beef with onions, baby corn, bamboo, chestnuts, mushrooms and lemongrass in spicy chili sauce. It was oversauced and the meat could have been more tender. The sauce was quite basic, not spicy, and too sugary. The huge sea bass fillet with vegetables was a little better. We liked the tender, flaky fish, though some bits were a bit bland. Another friend got some rolls. The black dragon roll with American caviar on top of avocado and tuna was overpowered by the avocado and still bland. I did like the ikura and the cooked salmon and tuna roll with scallions though.
The Metsuyan kalbi fillet of mediun rare char-grilled boneless rib meat started out good, though they quickly became cloyingly sweet and too saucy. The sauce was as red as the blood oozing out of the many, many slices of meat. The Kobe short ribs were a bit better, but also very sweet and soft. The slightly charred steak Polynesia was the best thing I tasted. I later realized that I was lucky to have had a good piece - the rest was a bit overdone.
We had some pretty good sides. The French fries were well seasoned and quite good. They could have been crispier but that was a minor quibble. The others told me the cole slaw was very spicy; I didn’t try it (I hate cole slaw). The mashed potatoes came with the skins, and tasted better than they looked. I think that was from the liberal use of butter.
They don’t serve hard liquor, so I contented myself with cold sake. One friend had a glass of red wine and the others had fruity iced teas. My sake was ok. The service was forgetful but friendly. I imagine they were so scatterbrained because the place was crazy busy. Definitely make reservations. At 9pm on a Sunday night we still had to wait almost 30 minutes.
The decor walks a fine line between tacky and tasteful. I think mostly it stays on the good side. There’s lots of wood, one wall is a long aquarium, and another one is a white tropical frieze. It is an expensive (steaks are about $35), kosher place, but my understanding is that it’s pretty good for Queens.
Rating: 5.5 / 10
Our cost: $340 (6 people)
Noise level: raucous
Chance of walking in: very low. But it’s kosher, so if you’re Orthodox and hungry in Flushing, there you go.
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06.22.08
Posted in Italian, Lower East Side, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, rated 8 to 8.5 at 7:28 pm by Dominique
68 Clinton St. & Rivington St., 212-253-1960
Great for: pici, game meats, trying glasses of wine, design enthusiasts, bread lovers
Mr. Ko and I have kind of been on a Lower East Side restaurant tour, since we both live in the area. I’d heard such rapturous things about Falai (and he hadn’t been in a while), we just had to try it. I’m glad – it was lovely.
I made a point of trying one of the breads from the bread menu, knowing that baked goods are a specialty of Chef Falai’s. The onion one was tasty, though a bit tough. I absolutely loved the amuse-bouche of rosemary honey gelée, mustard seed and sweet potato soup. The flavors and textures went together very well. I am fairly certain that was the first time I ever liked anything made from sweet potatoes.
For appetizers, we both got their homemade organic pasta. Mr. Ko’s flower ravioli (scrambled egg-stuffed cocoa tortelli) with stracchino fondata (soft cheese sauce), Bottarga and sea urchin was interesting. He liked it, but I found the pasta a bit bland while the Bottarga, tiny chunks of cured roe, was super salty. I did like the other ingredients and the creamy sauce. On the other hand, my pici (hand-rolled egg-less pasta) with fennel sausage, broccoli rabe sauce and Tuscan pecorino cheese was without question fantastic. The noodles were thick, mainly round, and nicely al dente. The sauce seemed to basically be delicious puréed broccoli rabe. I thought the bitterness of the vegetables was a great balance for the heartiness of the rest. I’m no sausage expert, but there didn’t seem to be any filler. Though a bit difficult to eat gracefully, the whole dish was so incredibly good I pretty much didn’t care.
My rabbit composition of braised leg, roasted loin, roasted ribs, sweetbreads, raspberry red radish, carrots and sweetened carrot purée was nearly as mind-blowing. It was fascinating to compare the texture and flavors of all the different cuts of meat. The succulent loin was probably my favorite; the leg came in crispy strips, and the tiny ribcage was simultaneously crisp and tender. (Those PETA Nazis would have had a fit. It wasn’t exactly easy for me to eat either, and I am of the “animals should run faster if they don’t want to be eaten or worn” camp.) I was pleasantly surprised to like the firm liver and tiny, not-too-strongly-flavored kidneys. I’m glad I was brave enough to try them. There was a shredded rabbit-and-vegetable patty wrapped inside a leaf of cabbage, which was good and a bit salty. I didn’t care for the radishes, though they were not as sharp as they usually taste. I did love the purée and the simple carrots strewn about it.
His venison strip steak on celery root purée with grapes, Brussels sprouts, a venison truffle and verjus du perigord sauce was also well executed. The truffle was weirdly delicious, essentially venison tartare covered in cocoa powder on pastry crumbs. We really enjoyed the impressively tender venison. I was not so sure about the inordinately crunchy, unseasoned sprouts. The slightly sweet sauce balanced the heaviness of the meat well.
We were much too full to get anything else. The little desserty things they brought anyway were yummy; you should definitely try to leave room for them. I had a glass of Lambrusco “Corleto,” a sparkling red wine. I generally don’t drink red wine – it’s the only alcohol that will sometimes give me Asian red face – but I have to say, I quite liked this. It was bizarre to sip something blood red and fizzy. Mr. Ko liked his glasses of white Traminer and Chianti classico. And we found the port-like Reciota del Valpolicella a perfect dessert.
I had a bit of a crush on our lovely friendly hostess. Not so much our waitress, who was competent but distant sometimes. I’m not sure how to explain it – I guess it was that much of the time she didn’t just leave us alone, she seemed either really stressed out or overly uninterested in us. There is a gorgeous garden that we didn’t manage to sit in, though you can reserve a table there. I liked the lacy plastic doily for placemat, which was ironically kitsch and pretty at the same time. I was also partial to the serious-looking knives with the faux-switchblade accoutrements.
From a design standpoint, in my layman’s opinion, the very white, oblong room was a success. The open kitchen takes up a bit of space toward the back, and there are interesting chandeliers over the bar consisting of a line of suspended glass trinkets. I still have a discouragingly long list of good restaurants I haven’t visited, but hopefully I’ll get to come back here soon.
Rating: 8.5 / 10
Our cost: $190 (4 glasses wine, espresso)
Noise level: not bad
Chance of walking in: low.
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06.18.08
Posted in Italian, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, West Village, rated 8 to 8.5 at 8:50 pm by Dominique
359 Bleecker & Charles St., 212-929-8727
Great for: skinny people, simple good food
My foodie friend A is thoughtful and articulate, so our discussions are always interesting and she can frequently help me figure out what flavors are and such. We decided to be each other’s Friday night date and August was on both our lists so she managed to get us a reservation.
A started with the special of veal tongue salad, bone marrow toast, mustard, capers and escarole with fennel seeds sprinkled all over everything. Confusingly, the thinly sliced tongue had a little iron skillet to itself. It tasted like cafeteria meat. I actually can’t think of an adjective to describe the flavor, it was that nondescript. The bone marrow had the texture of butter and was also blah. We liked the escarole with creamy vinaigrette though. Fortunately my tarte flambé abundantly made up for it - made with Alsatian onion, very fatty bacon and crème fraîche, it was deliciously creamy. It didn’t look like a proper tarte so much as a pizza without cheese, which was kind of funny.
My main dish of oven-roasted whole orata, a white fish, with Sicilian salmoriglio (a sauce with olive oil, fines herbes and garlic) was tender and flavorful. It was also a tad salty, but very enjoyable. A went for the charred minute steak with julienne salad and crispy potatoes, pickled shallots and horseradish strips. The meat was soft and lovely with olive oil and balsamic sauce. Though it comes pre-sliced, you’ll probably have to do a little more knife work as the slices are quite large. We found the steak perfectly seasoned to bring out its flavors.
We thought we were too stuffed for any dessert, until our handsome waiter unexpectedly brought us a free dish of gelati because we didn’t like the veal tongue. Both flavors were delicious - the ricotta almond was hard and mildly sweet, while the anise was not as strong-tasting as we thought it’d be. Our champagne cocktails were good too. They come in lavender or rhubarb. The lavender was quite sweet, I think because of added honey, and we liked the rhubarb as well.
The restaurant is very narrow, with a back dining room. We sat in the front section - it’s a good thing we’re both slender, or we would have had trouble. The table was so small that might have been why we didn’t get bread plates. We could barely fit our dishes at the same time as it was. It’s cozy though. They’re definitely going for the quaint wooden farmhouse look. We were less impressed with the forks, which had tines as messed up as redneck teeth, but overall we had a good experience.
Rating: 8.5 / 10
Our cost: $125 (2 champagne cocktails)
Noise level: quite loud, but easy to have your own conversation
Chance of walking in: very low.
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06.11.08
Posted in Gramercy, Italian, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, rated 7 to 7.5 at 3:21 am by Dominique
41 Madison Ave. & 26th St., 212-545-8555
Great for: pasta, simple menus (at least at lunch), people-watching outside, feeling sophisticated
The Producer is fun to eat with. He’s up on his foodie buzz, and so far has suggested places that are actually on my list. The list is about 400 restaurants long now - technically I don’t cross them off once I’ve gone if they’re good, but I like the feeling of “been there, accomplished that.” I of course love other extracurricular restaurants but I’m a very organized, finicky person and being able to check things off is hugely satisfying.
I was persuaded to eat some bread because of the delicious sheep’s milk ricotta that came with it. I believe it’s on the menu as an appetizer as well. We had to try the famous meatballs of duck antipasto with dried cherry mostada. They were juicy goodness. Though the sauce was initially a little sweet, it grew on me. I really liked the meatballs with the ricotta on top, which helped make them saltier.
The Producer went for the special potato gnocchi with wild mushroom and spring garlic. It was surprisingly good. The light pasta made the mushroom taste tolerable to me, and I can honestly say I liked it a lot. The foam on top was maybe some kind of reduction. My scampi ravioli with spicy shellfish guazzetto (basically stew), toasted garlic and Ligurian pesto with little breadcrumbs on top was also very good. The guazzetto consisted of fresh, succulent shrimp, calamari and mussels scattered around - it was a bit salty but I quite liked it. The interestingly triangular ravioli were just right, not too thick nor too thin. I think there were salt crystals inside. I’m not sure exactly why. That could be why the dish was slightly salty for me. We found that the two pastas went oddly well together. The subtlety and near-creaminess of the gnocchi balanced the saltiness and strong flavors of the seafood.
The menu was large type on one page. I love having lots of choices but sometimes it’s exhausting to figure out what I want when there’s too much to go through. With just four or five choices for apps, pastas and entrées, there wasn’t much difficulty. The waiter was very good, and though the decor is a bit corporate, it’s pretty decent for the area. I’d be happy to come here for dinner.
Rating: 7.5 / 10 (pending dinner visit)
Our cost: $120 (3 glasses of rosé)
Noise level: I imagine it gets a bit noisy at night - pretty quiet at lunch
Chance of walking in: low.
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06.09.08
Posted in Latin, Lower East Side, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, Steak, rated 6 to 6.5 at 11:49 pm by Dominique
152 Stanton & Suffolk St., 646-602-2004
Great for: sizzling steak platters, undercover meetings, Argentinean wine, semi-al fresco dining
My best friend E and I decided to have dinner locally. This place seemed as good as any, and was pretty reasonably priced. It is basically all French windows so it’s great for sitting outside without really being outside. Be careful of the bugs though, E got bitten all over.
We just got one appetizer, the camaroncitos, which were sizzling Patagonian whole baby shrimps with olive oil, white wine and parsley. They were pretty large shrimp and tasty, though the seasoning was wasted on their shells. That always annoys me. You marinate the shrimp in some lovely seasoning and then peel all that sauce off anyway. I wish people would fry them up without shells.
The marinated, grilled and sliced prime sirloin (cortada) comes in a portion for two but they agreed to halve it for us. It is marinated for twenty-four hours with rosemary, thyme, sea salt, black pepper, olive oil and brandy and accompanied by mesclun and French fries. We found the meat flavorful, of a medium firmness and sometimes tender. The fries were thin and crunchy. I liked the chimichurri too. We also got the Tuesday and Wednesday special of oven-roasted suckling pig (cochinillo pampeano) with Argentine-style potato salad (rusa). I was pleased to see a nice big hunk of meat on the plate. The rusa was yummy, just the right level of sour, and nicely vegetable-intensive (carrots and onions). The hard-boiled egg white bits were a little tough though. The meat was just good, not great, with a big layer of fat. I did like the crispy outside. It kind of tasted like chicken the more we ate it. We were also puzzled by the large, inexplicable bone very like a wing, which made eating difficult.
We thought it would be fun to get a bottle of champagne. They only serve wine and beer here. The La Linda bottle for $35 was not too sweet, and kind of reminded me of soda water. I liked it but E wasn’t as enthusiastic.
Unfortunately, our service wasn’t even halfway ok. The waiters were inattentive and rude despite the restaurant not being busy. They had an annoyingly long debate about whether we could sit at a table for four (I paid attention - they didn’t need it the entire time we ate), and never asked us how things were. That was probably because they stayed far away from us after they put down the plates. They only warmed up when they were serving the check.
The restaurant itself is quite festive though, with tiny little Christmas lights that don’t do much to dispel the darkness. It’d be a great place for spies to meet. Especially since the waiters will leave you severely alone until it comes time for the bill. To be fair, the food is decent.
Rating: 6 / 10 - half point deducted for abysmal service
Our cost: $101 + $15 because they barely served us
Chance of walking in: good, although it gets busier around 8:30
Noise level: hubbub.
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06.05.08
Posted in American, Lower East Side, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, eclectic, rated 8 to 8.5 at 7:12 pm by Dominique
50 Clinton St. & Rivington/Stanton Sts., 212-477-2900
Great for: adventurous palates, crazy good cocktails, a foodie date
I used to be afraid of WD-50. I enjoy science but the idea of molecular gastronomy always turned me off. Plus I’m fairly picky about food - aside from the slew of vegetables I don’t like, mixing sweet and savory is usually a good way to annoy me. Wylie Dufresne’s reputation as a mad scientist in the kitchen did not bode well for me… or so I thought. Mr. Ko persuaded me to give the place a try. I’m really glad I did.
The initial flatbread was a good sign. It’s paper thin, strangely addictive sesame salty bread. I tried to stop eating it but my hand kept breaking off pieces and putting them in my mouth. I was halted by the appearance of my popcorn soup with shrimp and lemon confit discs, tamarind-soaked jicama, shiso oil and ground popcorn on top. The soup was buttery like popcorn and the texture was thick as pea soup or something. The shrimp was almost sweet, cut into chunks and pressed together, while the lemon highlighted its deliciousness. The only jarring note was the jicama - it was so sour I gave the rest to Mr. Ko. He got the foie gras with fresh shavings of fennel, malt and sherry vinegar jam. He was “retraining his palate” after the orgasmic foie at Momofuku Ko. Fortunately, this one tasted so different it was not a letdown. We found it melded tons of flavors interestingly and deliciously. The malt balls were like crunchy ice cream, which was a good offset to the creaminess of the rest of the dish.
I was not as brave with my entrée. I got the lamb loin med over potato noodles, dijon mustard crumble, micro mustard greens and pretzel consommé. The meat was a bit chewy but delicious, with a thin layer of fat on top of each slice. I could only taste the pretzel when I had the broth by itself. The crumble was basically hard bread made of mustard. It was a good contrast to the other things, though I got tired of it. I liked the veggies too. Potato noodles are a great idea. They’re probably fewer calories than regular noodles. Mr. Ko’s Wagyu flat iron came with coffee gnocchi, cipollini onions, sylvetta (a shoulder cut of beef) and a sweet coconut emulsion. The gnocchi barely tasted like coffee and were an interesting combination. We found the meat really flavorful and pretty tender. The onions were great too. I could have done without the fluffy coconut slathered over half the plate though. It added nothing to the dish - it was just something to eat around.
Our unsolicited but welcomed pre-dessert was Greek yogurt inside an olive oil tuile (a straw we could eat) with rhubarb leather, sweetened rhubarb, toasted pinenut finish and olive oil marjoram jam was really cool. I liked the texture and flavor juxtaposition. The tuile was crunchy and sweet, contrasting with the creamy, slightly sour yogurt. The “leather” was kind of stringy in a good way and the rhubarb and jam were yummy.
Our actual desserts were wonderful too. They also reminded me of Murakami artwork. Mr. Ko’s warm gianduja chocolate with ice milk, hazelnut and fennel resembled a Smurf village. I loved the odd sacs of chocolate, while the ice milk plus random crumbly bits kind of tasted like a waffle. My passionfruit tart with black sesame, argan oil and meringue was a delicious Mandelbrot set. I enjoyed it, even its tartness. It was almost a shame to destroy the beauty of the dish.
Now I get to tell you about the drinks. I started with the pH: Absolut, raspberries, lychee and rose. It tasted very strongly of raspberries, and was tart, different and good. I was also pleased at the size of the glass - I have water glasses at home that are smaller. Mr. Ko went for the Son of a Preacher Man with Jim Beam, Canton ginger and lime. You must like rye and ginger to fully enjoy this drink but I still thought it was quite tasty. The Pumpernickel with Jim Beam and Brooklyn brown beer tasted amazingly like its namesake bread. My Old School was basically liquid, alcoholic peanut butter and jelly. The bartender gave us some extra Cabo St. Lucas which is a startlingly deep magenta color, but fortunately doesn’t taste as strong as it looks. There is an impressively extensive wine list too.
I found the decor interesting. The dining room walls are all different primary colors, which don’t really go together but somehow collectively shout “Lower East Side.” I liked the mosaic in the bathroom. It’s confusing in there; just push on the wider wooden panels, those are the stalls. It’s a good metaphor for the restaurant - forbidding and confusing, but when you give the place a chance and just go in, everything actually turns out well. I look forward to expanding my palate’s horizons again sometime soon.
Rating: 8 / 10
Our cost: $260 (2 cocktails each)
Noise level: fairly quiet
Chance of walking in: better earlier in the night. Apparently it’s less packed on weekdays.
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06.03.08
Posted in Asian, Chelsea, Japanese, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, Southeast Asian, rated 6 to 6.5 at 3:26 am by Dominique
143 8th Ave. & 17th St., 212-691-8600
Great for: eating & drinking cheaply, bathroom amusement, male waiter ogling
It was my friend A’s birthday, and sixteen of us came out to dinner. A’s friends who sat close to me know about the blog and very kindly shared bites of their dishes with me so I could review them. I love this (non-) job.
The Bangkok drumsticks - fried minced chicken wrapped over sugar cane skewers with sweet & sour sauce - were yummy, almost all meat and no filler. I liked them better with hot sauce than their only slightly spicy accompanying sauce. The crispy beef special was just well-done slices of beef with sriracha dipping sauce. We found them tasty, albeit a little chewy. The Thai chicken salad was a bit sour in a good way with lots of raw vegetables like onions, carrot and lettuce.
I rather liked my pad see oui enu (traditional fried chow fun noodles) with sliced beef, egg, giant pieces of cabbage, scallions and crispy garlic. I found the beef slightly sweet but the noodles scrumptiously soft and almost gooey. The stir-fried udon with black pepper beef was the best dish I tasted all night. The meat was done medium well and the noodles were lovely and tender. Considering it was practically the same dish as mine, it’s funny how much better the udon was. I wish I’d gotten that instead.
They have a huge menu of cheap cocktails, mostly $8 or $9. Champagne ones cost a bit more. I tried the special Hawaiian coco with green tea vodka, rum and lime, which was pretty good though very coconutty. You might need glasses to read the astonishing number of drinks crammed onto the one-page menu. They have a nice little bar in the middle of the restaurant, but we didn’t see any people come in just for drinks. It’s definitely more of a restaurant - though certainly a crazy, futuristic-looking one.
The waiters were super cute and nice. So much so that I wasn’t upset they forgot my entrée until they’d served everyone else and realized their mistake. They do tend to be a little slow, though that’s probably a kitchen issue, since the restaurant is not that big. I was amused by the funny LED scroll across the mirror in the bathroom showing pickup lines. I guess if you’re too drunk to come up with your own, you can go get some inspiration in the bathroom. If I’m in the area again I would definitely stop by for the black pepper beef udon. Nooch serves until 11:30 on weekends, and is fairly spacious for the area, so it’s a good choice if you’ve got a bunch of people out late and are hungry and/or thirsty.
Rating: 6.5 / 10
Our cost: $30/person (1 cocktail)
Noise level: dance music in the background, not too noisy otherwise
Chance of walking in: medium.
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