11.18.09
Posted in Indian, Midtown East, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, rated 7 to 7.5 at 13:36 by Dominique
246 E.51st St. & 2nd Ave., 212-644-8330
Great for: a nice quiet meal of upscale Indian food in a pretty townhouse
I earned this meal by walking thirty blocks from the Upper East Side. Lunch is quite a good deal – I got the North Indian one for $11.95. There are tons of apps and entrees to choose from, maybe fifteen to twenty in both categories, which is very unusual. I got the Indo-Chinese chili shrimp on the waiter’s recommendation. The soft, breaded shrimp in super spicy and a little bit sweet sauce could have been cooked a bit less with crispier breading, but overall they were pretty good. I think the sauce quickly made them limp.
I got my lamb rogan josh (an onion-based sauce) made spicy. The portion was quite small, I think because it was lunch – I remember things being bigger at dinner a couple years ago. There were good cuts of meat and the sauce was not too heavy, nor was the meat drowning in it. I was surprised that the rice that comes with it was normal and not basmati. The accompanying naan (bread) and dal (mashed lentils) were both lovely. I found it a good amount of sides for the size of the main. The strength of this dish bumped up the restaurant’s overall rating to 7.5, from 6 for the app.
My waiter helped me a lot and was attentive. Initial incongruous salsa music soon gave way to soothing Hindi instrumental music. I like the décor; it looks well taken care of inside, not rundown as so many Indian restaurants seem to be.
Rating: 7.5 / 10
My cost: $15 (lunch special. Entrees are about $24 on average I’d guess.)
Noise level: hush
Chance of walking in: decent.
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05.24.08
Posted in American, Greenwich Village, Indian, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, eclectic, rated 6 to 6.5 at 03:10 by Dominique
33 W.8th St. & Macdougal St. (between 5th & 6th Aves.), 212-677-3833
Great for: fancy cocktails, cilantro and cardamom fanatics, kitchen watching
My best friend E (the one who finished culinary school recently) and I were wandering around the East Village looking for somewhere to eat, when she remembered that Elettaria had just opened. Chef Akhtar Nawab from Craft and some bartenders from Freemans and Death & Co. united to create a ton of foodie buzz. The space is in the middle of that stretch of 8th Street I used to call Stripper Street, which was mainly super-slutty shoe and clothes stores. We’d heard such good things about this place we were really excited. I guess a lot of people had the same idea, since even at 9pm on a Wednesday we had to wait 25 minutes.
E and I both love to eat. We felt hungry enough to get three appetizers to share. The fried quail with pomegranate molasses, bacon and a fried egg over frisée salad was juicy, tender and crispy like wings. It didn’t taste particularly of quail, though. It could have been chicken, ostrich, cuckoo, pheasant – any bird. It was not at all quail-centric. The breaded quail egg on top was good too, but we were expecting more from such a ballyhooed chef. The crab meat resala over gnocchi, turmeric-onion soubise, basil seed and fried herbs was great. As I said to E, it was crispy meets tasty meets lovely crab. The gnocchi of just flour and water were amazingly crisp. Though it could have used some salt, I loved the soubise.
The pork ribs with garam masala and snow peas strips with a dollop of yogurt did not live up to expectations. I have no idea how they managed to make the meat fall off the bones while being a little dry. It was also unevenly salted and had an embarrassment of cardamom. I disliked the yogurt as I expected I would. I’m not much for sourness.
For a main I had the mahi mahi over fried rice with saffron, cipollini onions, poppy seeds, lima beans, and chives. The rice was the best part. The fish by itself was a little bland and dry, much better mixed with a lot of veg. I never thought the day would come when I would want lima beans on my fork. E was persuaded to have the duck slices with keema (a duck leg made into ragout), nettles and yet more cardomom. It tasted like they dumped a whole bottle of the stuff on the duck. A pity, because the non-encrusted pieces were pretty good and tender. The keema was tasty, the nettles buttery, saucy and delicious. Yes, I was surprised too. All I know about nettles is that they sting, and I believe I read a book years ago where someone was beaten with a fistful of nettles. Such a versatile weapon; good for punishment and sustenance. What seemed to be croutons in the sauce may have been crispy duck skin. I liked the texture of the meat but again, it could have been anything. It was just more meat with cardamom.
I know, Elettaria is a genus of cardamom, blah blah – doesn’t mean you have to smother dishes in it. I am aware of the restaurant in which I am eating, I don’t need the food to remind me. Speaking of which, the place could have called itself Cilantro, which came with everything. That excess actually kind of worked though.
I am very happy to report positively about the drinks. I have not had the pleasure of visiting Freemans or Death & Co. (perhaps I should post on Craigslist for a date there before the SLA kills it), so I can’t compare with those establishments, but we had some pretty darn good drinks. The Electric Ladyland of pisco and champagne was somewhat sweet, with a bit of a tang. The Rita Hayworth kind of tasted like a margarita, and we could definitely taste the sage in it. The bartender said it was better before dinner and she was absolutely right. I liked the Ginger Rogers, which was slightly bitter and packed a yummy punch. E’s Navy Grog came in an enormous glass. It was a crazy combination of three rums and some juice and tasted like black cherry if a black cherry went on an epic three-day drinking binge. If I hadn’t had to work the next day I probably would have got the absinthe-including Zombie Punch next.
We had a very friendly and knowledgeable waitress, who felt no need to ask us if we needed anything at any point. It was weird. She was so nice and attentive otherwise. It was as though she was trying to make a point. I liked the cool book-like menu, hardwood ceilings, and spacious bar and dining areas. In the back, the kitchen is totally open – you could practically walk in without realizing you were there.
The whole meal was a lot less creative than we expected it to be. More importantly, some of it just wasn’t very good. E did not even finish her duck, the cardamom was so off-putting. It would be one thing if the restaurant opened a few days ago, or even a few weeks. But I know they opened at the beginning of March. 2.5 months ought to be long enough to get your act straightened out, especially when you’re charging this much. We would only come back for drinks.
Rating: 6.5 / 10
Cost $165 (2 cocktails each)
Noise level: fairly noisy
Chance of walking in: very low. Waited 25 minutes at 9pm on a Wednesday. It will probably get better though.
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05.16.08
Posted in Gramercy, Indian, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, fusion, rated 7 to 7.5 at 18:31 by Dominique
11 Madison Ave. & 25th St., 212-889-0667
Great for: Goan sausage and poached egg, outdoor seating, vegetarians
I’ve always heard great things about Tabla, but never got to try it. So I was happy that we managed to get a reservation for seven one Friday night when we wanted to catch up with some friends. There’s ample outdoor seating as well, which will be nice when the weather finally improves. They serve food as well as drinks out there.
I noticed that half the things on the market tasting menu (amuse plus 6 courses, $89) were not available on the regular menu, which I thought a bit odd. Maybe they do that to encourage more people to order it. And I wonder why they have prix fixe for the rest of the menu as well – three courses for $64 – when the dishes are all so different. It must makes things difficult financially. Also, what if people want to order a bunch of appetizers?
To start, we all had a tasty amuse-bouche of salty broth that may have been beef and tomatoes. We found the fluffy naan and thick papadums with green and red sauces addictive. The appetizer of Goan sausage and poached egg over bucatini, heart of celery, fava beans and botarga (like lettuce) was spicy, with crumbly delicious pork, a lovely soft egg and perfectly-made bucatini. The sauce gave me an excuse to have more naan so I could scoop it up. The Rawa crisped soft shell crab with snow pea salad, Thai basil and mango-maple coulis was similarly good, with a nice crunchy salad.
For the main course I had roasted Yorkshire pork three ways with French lentils, spring garlic, local carrots and sour yet tasty chickpea ramp velouté. The sausage was tender and yummy; the loin slices were a bit tough around the edges but not bad; and the crackling was chewy with an inch of fat and a half inch of meat which was salty wrong goodness. The Boyfriend’s pan-roasted sea scallops with roasted cauliflower, coconut-taro purée, roasted bok choy and citrus glaze was slightly too sweet, otherwise decent. We liked the crunchy bits too.
The flourless chocolate cake with cassis coulis, yogurt sorbet and chocolate tuile was fine, not great. Three of the four sorbets in the selection offered – pineapple, lychee and passionfruit – were good. The pineapple was super sour and no one could eat more than a bite of it. I preferred the free chocolates afterward.
They have a lot of tasty cocktails here. We tried the Thai basil bliss, Hang Thyme, Tablatini, and Lots o’ Passion. The last two were the best. When the waiter knocked over some of my cocktail, he said he would come with a refill for what he spilled – he didn’t, but it was nice of him to try anyway. Despite slowness with drinks, I found the service very polite in general. The ambience and decoration are lovely. I liked the judicious use of mosaic in narrow bands along the walls and as art. The whole place is rather regal looking in an understated way.
We had fun with our friends, and the food was pretty good, but we felt it was a bit overpriced for the quality. It’s also less Indian than I expected – definitely more of an Indian-American fusion. From our experience, it was yet another place with better appetizers than anything else.
Rating: 7.5 / 10
Our cost (for just us two): $230 (4 cocktails)
Noise level: low hum
Chance of walking in: medium.
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05.13.08
Posted in Gramercy, Indian, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, rated 7 to 7.5 at 18:12 by Dominique
126 E.28th St. & Lexington/Park Ave., 212-213-5742
Great for: upscale Indian, lunch buffet, leisurely meals
Next to Tamarind, this is probably my favorite Indian place in New York. The $9.95 lunch buffet is good and dinner is even better (and much less expensive than Tamarind). Plus it’s pretty, they play club music softly, and it has an intimate nook upstairs for dates. I can see why it’s Michelin guide-recommended.
The chicken 65 appetizer is made of small, succulent, red-gold delights. The pieces of chicken are all juicy and spicy. The Boyfriend took a phone call when they arrived, and I must confess I took advantage of his distraction to steal a few more than my share. The Jhinga kurkure garlic shrimp had an interesting texture and were yummy, salty and tender.
For the main course, we shared medium-spicy chicken tikka masala and saffron shrimp in mild cream sauce with black pepper. I know tikka masala isn’t traditional Indian fare, but it’s so scrumptious. They make it here with nice big chunks of chicken and sauce that’s nicely balanced between cream and tomato. I thought the shrimp was pretty good too despite my dislike of saffron. Oddly, it was spicier than the tikka masala. The garlic naan was delicious; I wish we’d had more than four quarters of it. (Yes, I actually ate bread!) The more I ate the sauces, the more I liked them.
The Boyfriend enjoyed his beer, while I tried two house specialty cocktails. The Madras rose was good and a bit sour. The candied ginger Collins was lemony goodness. Our service was glacially slow and sometimes inattentive, but friendly. I wonder if it’s just one of the waiters who’s incompetent – this time and last time we were here I noticed at least two other tables that sat down after us who moved through their meal much more quickly, so it didn’t seem a restaurant-wide issue. In any case, I like their cooking a lot and sometimes it’s nice to slow down and enjoy my food.
Rating: 7.5 / 10
Our cost: $86 (2 cocktails and 2 beers) + 14 for slowness
Noise level: kind of quiet
Chance of walking in: medium, seems to get busy later.
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