12.10.09
Posted in Flatiron, Latin, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, rated 8 to 8.5, small plates at 19:04 by Dominique
31 W.17th St. & 5th/6th Aves., 212-675-7223
Great for: dates, trying something new (and delicious)
I was supposed to go out with P ages ago but I broke my shoulder, and he was busy, then I was busy, and it just ended up happening six months later. I gave him a couple choices and Aldea emerged the winner, in more ways than one.
His appetizer of shrimp alhinho could have been cooked less, but it was nice, with smoky sauce and a generous four shrimp. Despite the presence of mushrooms I was delighted with the peas and bacon. And not just because I love bacon; the peas were tasty and firm, and all the flavors went together very well.
His arroz con pato was terrific. We loved the cracklings and chorizo, though not so much the apricot purée, and the duck was totally addictive. I would be so happy if the little Chinese restaurants near me would make fried rice this way! My Niman Ranch pork loin over corn and bacon with potato cubes was also great. There was lots of pork and something pickled that sharpened the taste of everything else. I liked how the meat was quite tender. It could maybe have come off the fire a tad earlier but overall it was really impressive. For once, I found the entrées better than the apps. It is usually the other way around.
To finish we got the strawberry tasting. I loved the mousse-like semifreddo and the sorbet. The black pepper biscuit was funny but actually quite nice with the strawberries & cream. I was very glad we ordered it.
The service tends toward the crazy attentive; they told us everything in every dish as it was set it down. Our waiter was very nice, patient and friendly while also leaving us alone enough. Plus the restaurant is decorated in the most tasteful blue and silver – it looks so carefully designed I was afraid to knock into things. If this is what Portuguese cuisine is like, I can’t wait to go to Lisbon. (Although my understanding is that this is more fusion than traditionally Portuguese.)
Rating: 8 / 10
Our cost: $110
Noise level: low, especially upstairs, and the music is a good volume
Chance of walking in: probably not high. It’s delicious.
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09.07.09
Posted in American, Flatiron, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, Union Square at 00:00 by Dominique
10 E.16th St. & Union Square West/5th Ave., 212-243-1616
Great for: lunch, eating around Union Square if everything else is full
My actor friend V, who’s been really helpful to me (thanks V!) suggested lunch one day around Union Square, and as much as I love Republic, I also wanted to branch out. I take my bloggerly duties quite seriously.
I couldn’t resist Uncle Red’s Addiction, which is just fried chicken. I didn’t find it quite as lovable as he did. There was a bit too much honey and skin. I did love the gravy and smashies, even the cauliflower and carrots, which were good with gravy. V thought his catfish sandwich was good, not amazing. It was very big at least.
We had a nice waitress, and the walls are interesting to read and look at, but I was a bit disappointed. I wonder if we should have ordered other things, although I suspect the fried chicken is a specialty from its name, and maybe it’s just not my style of food.
Rating: 6 / 10
Our cost: $35
Noise level: it’s not quiet
Chance of walking in: probably pretty good.
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06.20.09
Posted in Flatiron, Gramercy, Italian, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, rated 8 to 8.5 at 18:05 by Dominique
46 W.22nd St. & 5th/6th Aves., 212-206-0555
Great for: taking the parents, a grown-up and quiet night out
I met some guys at a snowboarders’ meetup and this one asked me out for a proper date. Not really my type, but I figured I’ve got to try people out or I’ll never like anyone. He was kind of boring, but dinner was quite good.
I actually ate some of the starter bread. It was like an olive brioche; salty with lots of olives, and very enjoyable. I loved my terrific special app of tagliolini with king crab, crab jus, snow peas, scallions and pea shoots. It had nice thin noodles steeped in crab flavor and peas that were a crunchy contrast to the just-chewy-enough noodles. It looked small in the plate but was actually a nice amount. The sweetbreads app is great too. The snow pea sauce is delicious, while the nuttiness of the sweetbreads was amplified by the pine nuts sprinkled on top. All that went very well with yummy vegetables scattered around the plate. I was glad I had some bread left over to mop up more of the sauce.
I liked my rascasse with shrimp, fish and a little calamari in gravy with vegetables. It was a nice big dish, kind of like crab cake in the way it’s held together except in a pretty star design. I didn’t even mind the calamari, as it was only barely rubbery. His sea bass with a triangle of latke and artichokes was also good. The potato was my favorite part, since the fish was not as tender as mine.
The baba dessert was good, the cake a tad dry but the fruit a gooey, scrumptious mess. Even though I was totally full, I kept pecking at the rhubarb and strawberries. The service is lovely, almost as much as the décor. There’s a small fireplace that looks as though it may have been a pizza oven once, nice big bathrooms and a very friendly waitstaff. The place itself is also quite large, with a bar area that would be great for a rainy day or a heart-to-heart.
Rating: 8 / 10
Our cost: $145
Noise level: loud conversations
Chance of walking in: it’s quite new, you should call ahead.
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06.04.09
Posted in Asian, Flatiron, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, Southeast Asian, rated 7 to 7.5 at 02:14 by Dominique
30 W.24th & 5th/6th Aves., 212-727-7026
Great for: very hungry people, specials, large groups
This was the second (main) dinner of the night for my date with the Marketer. It’s an offshoot of the same restaurant in Williamsburg – I can see why they were successful enough to have two places. The menu is huge, but I stuck with the specials and wasn’t disappointed. I was, however, with him. Plus he said something really offensive and racist a few weeks later, giving me an excuse to stop talking to him entirely.
M got the special app of clams in Thai chili vinaigrette. The sauce was way too vinegary. Fortunately, my special of spicy tataki with tuna, mango, tobiko, eel and avocado made up for it. It looked lovely with tri-color tobiko on top and was fun texturally with crunchies inside. Everything was all chopped together and just the right level of spicy. (It might be too much for most people though, as I generally prefer my food on the blistering side.)
M had 15 pieces of sashimi and sushi which he said were good. My special entrée of pan-seared tuna with soba noodles was very spicy and great. The tuna steak was huge and there were lots of vegetables too. I loved the combination of spicy mayo and teriyaki on the tuna, though some of it had that chewy gristle. Actually, the dish overall may have been a tad too spicy, even for me. It was somehow less so the next day when I had the leftovers.
I liked the cool square pot in which my green tea was served. The waitresses were friendly but dopey. The place is crazy-looking, with a big, warm, aqua blue kitchen (yeah, I don’t know how blue can look warm either) and enough Ghost chairs to populate a haunted Starck mansion. There is an enormous thing above the bar that can best be described as a candy mountain made of colored lightbulbs. I liked the music. I wasn’t drinking that night, but they have a very long cocktail list with lots of fancy drinks that I’d definitely try another time.
The resto is huge. People started coming in around 8:30, and M said usually it’s packed. It seems to be popular for groups. I’d probably come again if I were nearby.
Rating: 7.5 / 10
Our cost: $60 + $40 tip
Noise level: it echoes
Chance of walking in: good.
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09.19.08
Posted in Flatiron, Gramercy, Mediterranean, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, rated 7 to 7.5 at 16:56 by Dominique
35 W.20th St. & 5th/6th Aves., 212-463-7890
Great for: introduction to Greek food, a nice quiet date
I was too stressed out to pick a restaurant, so Midtown Hedge Funder said he’d give me a shortlist and I could pick from there. The sheer number of restaurants in Manhattan is quite overwhelming. Narrowing it down to five or so for a given night is the best balance between overabundance of choice and the guy surprising me with a place I’ve already reviewed or been to and hated (I’m pointing the finger of shame at you, Rayuela, The Smith and Peasant).
MHF had a strawberry champagne cocktail waiting for me when I sprinted in 15 minutes late. I promptly spilled some of it on him. Thankfully, everyone was very kind about getting me to the table without further mishap. For apps we tried the keftekadia saltsa, Greek meatballs stewed in tomato sauce, which were five small crumbly bundles of tastiness and abundant sauce. The calamari was good as well. It came in crispy, small rings with a yummy dipping sauce and a nice salad. We cleaned both plates.
MHF’s lavraki plaki (striped bass) baked with tomatoes, vegetables and garlic could have been cooked less. We both liked it but he felt the spice overpowered the flavor while it wasn’t spicy for me. My kouneli stifado, rabbit stewed in tomato with red wine and pearl onions, was absolutely delicious. I was puzzled to find the rabbit on its bone though. Other than at Falai, I’ve never seen a rabbit dish with any bones. The meat was soft and very similar to chicken, though more tender. I really liked the sauce and there was enough of it for once.
Our half bottle of retsina Malamatina was sour but pretty good. The waitress was nice and helpful. Interestingly, though this is a supposed to be a Greek place, they played all bellydance and Arabic music. Plus the menu seemed kind of Mediteranean/Mideastern, not specifically Greek. I don’t know much about Greek food though. I liked it, and if you’ve not had much Greek food either, I think this is a lovely introduction.
Rating: 7.5
Our cost: $115 ($16 1/2 bottle of retsina)
Noise level: quiet
Chance of walking in: good.
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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 01:28 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 managed to do that once a week in June. She was impressed with this place last time she came so I was excited to try it myself. She’s a chef and very picky.
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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05.17.08
Posted in Flatiron, Italian, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, rated 8 to 8.5, small plates at 19:29 by Dominique
928 Broadway & 22nd St., 212-780-5100
Great for: sharing lots of fantastic little plates, feeling like you’re outside NYC without leaving
Poor Boyfriend was sick, and I’d spent all day blogging and taking care of him, so we were a little stir-crazy. When B said he wanted Italian and small plates, Stuzzichini immediately leapt to mind. I wasn’t expecting a whole lot, since I think this every-cuisine-in-tapas-form craze is just that, a craze, but I was very pleasantly surprised.
We started with the misti (mixed) choice of 5 appetizers. The mozzarella di bufala was creamy and at the same time light and wonderful. The polpette (meatballs) were crispy outside and juicy no-filler goodness inside. I think they were even better than the polpette at Bellavitae. The baccalà fritti (fried salt cod) tasted like proper fish and chips, according to my Englishman - moist and tender with very crisp salty batter. The gamberetti (grilled prawns) were two succulent plump shrimps in spicy oil begging to be eaten. The soppressata was spicy slivers of soft deliciousness. The only objection I can raise is that each dish came in very small portions.
I ordered the gnocchi all’amatriciana with guanciale, tomatoes and onions for my main course. It was spicy and very salty with crisp cooked onions. The gnocchi were tiny, fluffy and cooked evenly the whole way through. I was leaning toward the lemon crispy chicken instead, but our waitress said this was better. I’m really glad I listened to her. B’s orecchiette with cauliflower & breadcrumbs was weirdly delicious. It was the best cauliflower either of us have had without cheese, which is lucky because the dish is a cauliflower extravaganza. The “little ears” are small and it feels like a very healthy dish.
For dessert we had mucca marrone (brown cow). It’s an ice cream float on San Pellegrino Chinotto, a horrible tasting soda that I do not recommend adding to the glass. Though it was fun sucking the ice cream through a big straw, especially the fudge layer. We also enjoyed a glass each of Turliner (I think that’s how the name sounded), which was a blend of Chardonnay, sauvignon blanc and pinot blanc.
Our waitress was great. She patiently waited for us to make up our minds about everything and was friendly and attentive. She steered us well with all our questions, and not to the most expensive items. The place itself is decorated nicely too. It’s a lovely, spacious restaurant that has a very out-of-town feel – it seemed like we were in Chicago. I liked the lightbulb chandeliers and the pictures of graffiti. The restaurant was oddly unbusy for how good it is, though I think we were a bit early. I hope I can go back soon.
Rating: 8.5 / 10
Our cost: $115 (2 glasses of wine)
Noise level: silly tourists weren’t too loud
Chance of walking in: medium.
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05.14.08
Posted in American, Flatiron, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, rated 7 to 7.5, seafood at 15:18 by Dominique
21 W.17th & 5th/6th Ave., 212-691-8888
Great for: lobster, basic seafood
I like the juxtaposition of a super-casual fish shack on the ground floor and a seafood temple one level up. I’ve been to both; the “temple” is better, but the shack is really fun too. This time we got there early, around 6:30, and were lucky enough to snap up the last available table.
I started off with the special appetizer of fried Ipswich clams and their sauce trio of Meyer lemon mayonnaise, wasabi aioli and tartar. They were surprisingly tasty, though not the clam strips I for some reason expected. The round clam bodies made it unfortunately obvious that I was eating mollusks, but they were good anyway. The Boyfriend’s jumbo shrimp cocktail had nice giant shrimp with vinegary cocktail sauce. His reaction to “How are they?” was a decided nodding “Mmmmmmm.” After tasting them, I concurred.
My fish, shrimp and onion strings (instead of fries) combo with cream-stuffed jalapeños was pretty good. I liked the sauces, the flaky fish, and the plump shrimp – just the batter was medium thick and kind of soft, so not really my style. I prefer my batter very thin and crispy. B’s 1.5 pound steamed lobster, on the other hand, was one of the best either of us have ever tasted. It was juicy and tender and scrumptious all on its own. B kept making yummy noises until I got annoyed, but I forgave him once I tried some. It was worth the $45 price tag. The accompanying roasted potato was also very good, though the non-existent corn on the cob was a little annoying. It turns out they’d run out, as our waiter never saw fit to inform us until we asked him where it was.
To finish, we had a slice of key lime pie. It was so good! It was white, as I’ve heard good key lime should be, and creamy loveliness. That may have been the first time I liked pie. We were too full or we might have ordered another slice.
The orange creamsicle cocktail was not as artificial as I’d hoped – it tasted like fresh orange juice, which I hate, so it probably wasn’t the best choice for me. It was still pretty good though. Drink it quickly, as it’s made with oj and heavy cream and I think those things separate after a while. I liked the red cherry and vanilla gin fizz better. It’s less sweet than you’d think it would be.
The hostesses were quite hot and very friendly. Our waiter, however, was dopey and inattentive. At first we thought maybe he didn’t understand English very well, but he seemed to speak it just fine. He was really slow about checking on us, so we kept ourselves occupied by studying our helpful lobster-eating tutorial placemats. They were also full of useful facts. Overall, we had a pretty good experience, and hopefully we’ll get a smarter waiter next time.
Rating: 7.5 / 10
Our cost: $138 (2 cocktails, $45 lobster) + 20 for being a dummy
Noise level: party, but not too crazy
Chance of walking in: mid-to-low in the Fish Shack, low upstairs as I recall.
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05.08.08
Posted in Flatiron, French, Haute Cuisine, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, rated 7 to 7.5 at 17:31 by Dominique
5 E. 20th St. & 5th/6th Ave., 212-460-9100 (now closed)
Great for: excellent service, getting daintily drunk on copious amounts of wine
The Boyfriend and I had heard great things about this place, plus we wanted to be in the Flatiron area one Saturday night. Luckily, I managed to snag a reservation in the morning. We waited about 10 minutes for our table, which was not at all annoying because we got “free bubbles from the chef” (two flutes of champagne) and an excellent corner table. We also enjoyed the sexy librarian – I mean, beautiful hostess.
The prix fixe is $89 for just food, $145 with the wine pairing. Each of the six (or seven if you count the amuse) courses has a choice of two dishes and wines, so we got both options all the way down. Be careful – it is a lot of wine. We were quite hammered by the end of the meal.
The initial canapé of sea bass, eggplant and caviar wrapped in zucchini with basil and lemon oil was pretty good, though I couldn’t taste the caviar. It was the first time I didn’t hate eggplant.
We started with a quail and foie gras terrine with smoked almonds and apple purée next to a salad of snow pea slivers with a slice of toasted baguette so thin it could almost be used as a knife. The whole thing was good, but very liver-y. I liked the salad a lot. The Maine lobster in black truffle mayonnaise with Asian pear may possibly have been the sweetest savory course I’ve ever had but it was oddly good. The pairing was a 2006 Riesling and a sauvignon blanc.
Next we had crispy frog’s legs with sweet garlic purée and parsley coulis, which tasted like chicken and was surprisingly good. A nice first experience for me with frog. The escargot and polenta gâteaux in red wine sauce topped with a crisp sheet of parmesan was also praiseworthy, and we don’t even like snails that much. These came with an Austrian weiss and a white rioja.
Sadly, the meal did not live up to its early promise. The pan-seared wild striped bass “aux poivre and thyme” with roasted parsnip in lobster vanilla saffron jus was good but a bit overcooked. The Maine sea scallops with curry-glazed (Bugs Bunny-size) carrots, honey gastrique, grapefruit and taro chips were too sweet. We liked the Spanish Valdeorras pinot grigio and the Tocai Friulano from Napa, though.
The pistachio-crusted venison loin with potato gratin (instead of the promised venison sausage gratin) was pretty good. We liked the Long Island duck breast with a roulade of swiss chard and trumpets royale with a dumpling on top despite the mushrooms. They gave us a cabernet franc-and-merlot combination Bordeaux and a syrah de grenache made of different Côtes du Rhône, both quite heavy but well-matched with the food.
For our penultimate course we had a selection of American artisanal cheeses with toasted raisin walnut bread, blackcurrants, walnuts in honey and poached cranberries. I found it odd that the cheeses were American and not French, since the place makes a big deal out of its fancy Breton cooking. The Gruyère was good; the New York chèvre was yummy, solid and tasted like bleu cheese; the Point Reyes (California) chèvre with green pepper was tasty; and the California bleu cow cheese was very strong, but surprisingly likeable considering my usual dislike of bleu cheeses. I am sad to report that this was the best course. We also liked the dessert wines, a Sauterne and a chenin blanc.
Dessert was a Navan (vanilla cognac) chocolate tart with chocolate sorbet which was alcoholic and delicious, and fleur de sel caramel with cocoa nib ice cream that tasted like a decent flan. I didn’t care for the errant salt crystal I found in the latter but I suppose it’s a hazard of that dish. Instead of the logical dessert wines, we had a Sauterne made of sauvignon blanc and sauvignon, and a red grenache. They were pretty good, as were the complimentary petit fours after.
It was quite an old crowd around us, which was mitigated by the attractive waiters and very attentive and knowledgeable service. In fact, the stellar service was better than the food. It seemed like a design vs. an execution problem. Everything was done very well, but the composition of each dish fell short in our eyes.
I have lots of good things to say about the décor, though. In the middle there was a lovely arrangement of flowering cherry branches and a Japanese bonsai tree trunk, while the room was perfectly and softly lit with squares of canvas over all the ceiling lights. It felt like a modern, elegant French farmhouse. The midget forks and giant spoons and knives were a little incongruous, and I discovered splinters in the underside of the table the hard way, but overall our booth was very comfortable. I also liked the free chocolate muffins we got on our way out.
Basically, the food was pretty good, and the service was exceptional. I would have rated the place slightly more highly, but it was a bit pretentious (especially in their promotional material), overly expensive and trying to be so much more that it really felt like a letdown.
Rating: 7 / 10
Our cost: $375
Noise level: quiet
Chance of walking in: low.
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12.06.07
Posted in Flatiron, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, Spanish, rated 6 to 6.5 at 03:53 by Dominique
35 W. 19th St. and 5th/6th, 212-229-2300
Great for: dates, sharing food, catching up with several friends
The Boyfriend and I had lots of double dates in November. This one was with my friend S and her boyfriend. A friend of ours suggested Sala, although it turned out that he meant the one on Bowery. This is a new branch. It’s a surprisingly huge restaurant – there are a few tables in front with a bar, then another bar about midway in before the rest of the tables. We’d made an 8:45 reservation because that was all we could get, but arrived at 8:15 to see if we could get seated earlier. They accommodated us about 10 minutes later. We had a cute corner table that would be perfect for a very romantic date, as it feels kind of sheltered from the rest of the restaurant.
We started with the tuna bocadillo, which came in 2 giant triangle portions of seared tuna with onions. They were really hard to cut – we ended up just eating half and giving the other to our respective boyfriends. They were ok, not great. The tuna was a bit chewy for my taste. The salad de la casa, which had romaine, tomato, white asparagus, tuna and olives, was very good, so that we were politely fighting over the last few scraps. We liked the shrimp al ajillo (in garlic) a lot as well.
From the larger plates, we got the chorizo and paella. We liked the chorizo a lot and wished there was more of it – I guess the grill plates are supposed to be medium tapas. It was savory & cooked just enough to be juicy without getting too dry. The seafood paella was all right, very average. It was big enough for the four of us after all the starters but nothing special.
We had a pretty attentive waitress who made sure everything went smoothly for us while we were obliviously chatting away. I really like the lighting and the way they set up the place as well. It’s very sexy and romantic, but also great for a bunch of friends. The food isn’t the greatest, but when you have enough drinks & dim lighting, it’s lots of fun.
Rating: 6.5 / 10
Our cost: $160 for 4 people (1.5 drinks each)
Noise level: good, considering how many people were in the restaurant.
Chance of walking in: Medium, although as people realize there’s a second Sala I’m sure it will get harder.
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