08.06.08
Review of Fiamma, Tuesday June 2008
[Sorry posts have been so rare. I'm doing a summer intensive acting program and I barely have time to go out to dinner, let alone blog about it. School finishes this week so expect lots of reviews soon. And tell your friends about my site!]
206 Spring St. & 6th Ave./Sullivan St., 212-653-0100 (now closed)
Great for: lovely service and cocktails
E and I try to have dinner together once a week or so. We finally got a reservation here and were really excited, after all the lovely things we’d heard about it in the press. Plus I had a gift card so we figured with its help we could splurge a little bit on the tasting menu.
We were cautiously hopeful after the amuse of chilled tomato water with a toasted chip and smoked ricotta. I would have liked it more if I didn’t hate tomatoes. In fact, it was quite good. My first course was even better. I had the fantastic crudo of ahi tuna with Pine Island oysters, sorrel, and fior di sale marino (fancy sea salt). I loved all the spices and oils and the whole dish was just heaven. The chef constructed it well too, with alternating blocks of tuna and circles of tartare. E’s duo of Wagyu beef in carpaccio and tartare form with wild mushrooms, Parmigiano Reggiano and balsamico was also mouthwatering. The tartare was chopped with nicely contrasting anchovies and peppers. The poached quail egg on the carpaccio wrapped around tofu was a weirdly tasty combination. To my delight, I could barely tell that there were mushrooms. Raw beef can be so sensual and they really highlighted it here.
For the pasta course they mistakenly brought me aglio pasta with tomatoes and green market basil, and left it with me while I waited for my actual dish. They said I could finish it but I wanted to save room. It smelled better than it tasted, though it was still pretty good. The spaghetti chitarra in basil Genovese pesto with Maya prawns was similarly good, not great. The chef shaved black truffles liberally on top to make up for sending out the wrong dish, which was so nice of him. But there were only three shrimp halves and as much as I wanted to like the truffles, they basically seemed like funny-tasting potato shavings. On the other hand, E’s classic Le Marche region lasagna in bianchetto sauce was to die for, especially the milk-soaked veal. The whole thing was pasta pancakes surrounding veal delight. I am so glad she couldn’t finish it and I had to help her out.
Next I had smoked fingerling potato gnocchi with Maryland jumbo lump crab, spicy Calabrese chilies and chervil. The very fluffy, light gnocchi didn’t really match the salty sauce and tender crab, though the dish was still pretty decent. We liked it less after we had more of it. The slightly sweet sauce got annoying too. Her seared red snapper with roasted artichokes Romana and anise hyssop (tempura leaf) on top was much more impressive. The snapper had a nice crunchy top and I even liked the artichoke. E (a chef herself) was amazed at the inventiveness of the dish. I really liked it so we switched plates halfway through. It got saltier as I ate my way through it, though.
My main course of sautéed skate wing on littleneck clams, sugar snap peas, Sicilian fresh herb salmoriglio and slivers of baby chives was all right. The peas were super crunchy, like the skate. But I found the sauce salty again and the clams quite rubbery and chewy. E got the Emerald Farms baby lamb with a fricassee of spring vegetables (artichokes, sugar snap peas, squash and beans) and Tuscan mint nepitella with fiddlehead ferns. The lamb was a weird leg portion with lots of tendons and kind of tasted like liver, which was really disturbing. Her peas were better than mine and the fiddleheads were a little squishy. I know somebody long ago decided mint goes with lamb but adding it was a bad decision here, as it was very strong and numbing.
Each course was surprisingly large – I’ve seen actual entrées that were the same size, so definitely be hungry if you visit. For a dessert amuse they gave us liquid mango gelée shooters; yummy and fun to eat, like poached eggs. My warm chocolate crostata with toasted hazelnuts, brown butter ice cream and cherry foam redeemed the chef a bit in my eyes. I loved the ice cream especially. It tasted somewhat like chocolate. E enjoyed her cylinders of Amedei chocolate cream with ricotta sorbet and praline powder. We found it had a very subtle, light flavor. As if we weren’t stuffed enough at this point, we were also given scrumptious little Amedei chocolates. The square one is great, as is the very rich espresso-flavored teardrop.
They have some weirdly terrific cocktails here. The Balance - pear & white pepper vodka, Tanqueray Rangpur, Lillet and Moscato d’Asti – reminded me of the Vesper of Casino Royale fame, and I couldn’t resist. It is a great thing to order for your date if you think she (or he, let’s not be sexist) might need a really stiff yet delicious drink. E’s Paradiso combined rum, amaretto, lemon and white peach white pepper foam. I would love to meet their mixologist and be his or her drink tester.
The service here was fantastic. Every single person who interacted with us was lovely. I am truly sorry that I can’t say as much for the food. In the first place, I’m puzzled as to why there were so many mushrooms ruining the menu for me and so many of the sauces were far too salty. And only the apps, lasagna and dessert were anywhere near the level I’d expect from a restaurant this upscale and expensive. For comparison, 6 courses at Fleur de Sel are $89 (7/10), 7 courses at Tabla (7.5/10) $89 and the 8-course tasting at Bar Milano (7.5/10) is $85. It’s not really fair to bring in the 10 courses at Momofuku Ko (9.5/10) for $100, since the service and size of the place are not at all comparable to the others, but seriously – 5 courses for $105 here? No thanks. I’d only come back for cocktails.
Rating: 6.5 / 10
Our cost: $350 (5-course $105, 2 cocktails + 1 glass of nebbiolo)
Noise level: civilized hush
Chance of walking in: low – medium, though it clears out early. They’re closed Sundays and Mondays.
So far for NYC B. R. Guest restaurants, I’ve liked four (Blue Water Grill, Isabella’s, Primehouse, Vento) & considered mediocre or hated five (Atlantic Grill, Blue Fin, Dos Caminos except the guacamole, Fiamma, Ruby Foo’s). Plus they’re all really expensive, which just adds insult to injury when they’re bad.
Apparently NYC agrees with my assessment… Fiamma is now (January 2009) becoming just an event space.
