06.22.08

Review of Falai, Friday June 2008

Posted in Italian, Lower East Side, New York City, New York City Reviews, rated 8 to 8.5 at 19:28 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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