11.15.07
Review of Naima, Saturday November 2007
513 W.27 St and 10th/11th, 212-967-4392
Great for: eating before clubbing, planning an attempt on Bungalow 8, slutty outfit watching
We had tickets to the 8pm New York Philharmonic concert at Avery Fisher – we just wanted somewhere on the west side, not too far up so we could avoid the pre-theatre rush. I had Naima on my list from when it opened and off we went. It is eerie walking down “Club Street” when it’s so early. It could equally have been 5am or post-apocalypse. We saw several huge rats, which was yucky, but Naima itself was pretty. The bar was packed with what seemed like one group of people and maybe two other tables.
We shared the baked zucchini starter which was like a lasagna made with zucchini instead of pasta. I don’t like zucchini – for some reason I thought it’d be in fritters form which I do like, but it was really good. If you want to convince someone that squishy vegetables can be yummy, that dish would be a great introduction.
We went with the specials for our mains. The Boyfriend got the veal shank and I, pappardelle with crab. His came on a bed of creamy, cheesy risotto Milanese, in a sauce of cubed carroty goodness. I kept sneaking little bites as he tried to parry my fork. The bone seemed surprisingly large, although that could just be me because I rarely order osso buco and don’t know much about it. My pasta was in a light sauce of cherry tomatoes – a bit too light – with baby arugula on top. The crab was lovely and fresh, but it was somewhat bland overall. That may have been because I asked them to go easy on the actual tomatoes. I did say I like lots of sauce though.
Our waiter was very nice and attentive. He made sure our food came out quickly as we asked, and generally took good care of us. The space had kind of a warehouse/industrial vibe, probably partly to do with it being empty at such an early hour. If I’m in the area early again I’ll definitely try the much-vaunted cocktails.
Rating: 7.5 / 10
Noise level: Quiet, but I imagine it gets somewhat noisy
Our cost: $80 (teetotaling)
Chance of walking in: Medium, depending on how late
