06.09.08
Review of Azul Bistro, Wednesday June 2008
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.
