01.31.08
Review of Asia de Cuba, Wednesday November 2007
237 Madison Ave. and 37th St., 212-726-7755
Great for: romantic trysts, delicious cocktails, sophisticated debauchery, incredible food
I’d wanted to try Asia de Cuba for ages, but somehow never got around to it. The Boyfriend and I decided to have a hedonistic night in Murray Hill and this seemed like the perfect place. When I pulled up in the cab, even though I’d been there before for drinks, I almost couldn’t find it, the door is so low-key. Inside I was greeted by three hot hostesses who fussed over me in a most welcoming manner. One of them led me upstairs to where Boyfriend was waiting. There’s something very naughty about the open-plan top floor, where you can look down on the larger tables in the middle of the first floor. It almost felt like I was meeting a lover for a secret rendezvous.
After a preliminary drink at the bar, we started with seared scallops on habanera corn crema with sweet and sour plantains and raisins. Despite my usual hatred of fruits and sweets in savory food (and specific dislike of plantains and raisins) I thought it was great. The Boyfriend and I looked at each other after our first bites – we could tell this was the start of something special. Restaurants seem to frequently mess up scallops by overcooking or not getting the freshest ones. A scallop that is even slightly not tip-top tastes very clearly fishy. These were perfect. Even the plantains were an interesting yummy texture. Our other appetizer was Asian pesto grilled shrimp atop wok-charred mango and pineapple and fried lotus root. The pesto is made of chives and garlic and is absolutely delicious, as are all the other parts of the dish. At this point we were so happy with the food, we couldn’t wait to see how amazing the entree would be.
We weren’t disappointed in the least. The waiter told us that the entrees were family style, and definitely large enough to share. So we just got the char sui short ribs with chili orange mojito-flavored rice and black beans on congre tostones (fried plantain discs), and couldn’t resist adding a side of lobster-boniato mash to that. Every bite we took was accompanied by an “Mmmmm!” It was amazing in every way. I was again pleasantly surprised at how well sweet things can add to a savory dish, even when I would normally hate them. Boniato is a tropical sweet potato that tastes much better than ordinary sweet potato, which I detest, or maybe it’s just that they have a magical way in the kitchen here. The mash was addictive; even when we were full and really couldn’t eat any more, we kept nibbling at it. Actually we kept nibbling at everything within reach until finally I told the waiter to please take away the temptation.
We couldn’t possibly fit any more food in, so we had to skip dessert. The cocktails more than satisfied my sweet tooth though (the Boyfriend stuck to vodka sodas). I had the mambo king, dragonfly, and coconut club martini – they’re all good, but the best is definitely the lovely, pink and delicious mambo king. It’s Champagne and Stoli Razberi in a very tall stemless flute with grenadine anchoring sugar to the rim.
As if the amazing food and drink weren’t enough, we also had one of the best waiters ever. He was attentive without crowding us, made sure we had enough drinks and generally made us feel extremely welcome and looked-after. He did a great job explaining the menu and what we would want to order. I love the ambience of the place as well – it feels very sexy and sophisticated, but not pretentious. It’s the kind of place you could go in designer jeans & a slutty top before hitting the club, or wear an evening gown and not feel out of place (I went the dress route). The lighting is dim enough to make it romantic without requiring glasses and flashlights to read the menu, and the music is appropriate and unobtrusive. We had one of the best meals ever and we can’t wait to go back.
Rating: 9.5 / 10
Our cost: $180 + $50 tip because of awesome service
Noise Level: not loud
Chance of walking in: medium, seems pretty reasonable.
