Bar Q

Bar Q is definitely not your Dallas BBQ. A hyper stylized, white space, it seems more of a boutique than an Asian-fusion barbecue house as it is billed. Further underlining the boutique look, the restaurant is made up of two combined premium West Village store front spaces, which split the restaurant into two sections. One side has the bar nook along with an oyster bar. The other section has small square tables with white-leather high-backed booth seating along the main wall, horseshoe shaped booths in the front window nook, and light maple wood finishes all around. There is also an exterior space covered in glass panels resembling a greenhouse.

The cocktail menu, ranging in price from $11 to $13, is filled with fun Asian-inspired drinks: pickletini, bubble tea on the rocks, lychee cocktail, Filipino spritz, etc. A yuzu cosmo, which tasted pretty much like any other cosmo, was easily downed as no more than a spiked sweet fruit juice. A shiso julep was basically a mint julep made with the Japanese mint, but was good nonetheless.

For appetizers, the menu features many unique items; of particular interest were the lobster spring rolls, eel and scallion fritters, baby back ribs, grilled squid salad, and spit-roasted pork belly, which was my immediate favorite. I’ll take pork belly any time. The pork was roasted to the point where the skin was ultra crackly, but the meat was a bit dry and under seasoned. But it was redeemed and nicely complemented by kimchee, takuan (daikon radish pickle), and a silken tofu dipping sauce. You assemble all the components by stuffing them into a steamed bun wrapper and then stuff them into your mouth like a taco.

I generally do not care for miso at all. The smell of miso soup bring about dry heaves, but to put caution to the wind, I tried my friend’s eggplant dish, a soft and succulent grilled eggplant glazed in miso. It made use of, to me, an undesirable ingredient in a good way. And there’s really no wrong way to prepare eggplant. My dish of the Australian lamb, the most expensive item on the menu, was a grilled loan served with the specialty of the house, battered and fried garlic infused milk alongside a heap of bok choy sautéed in garlic. The waitress said that no one can resist ordering the fired milk. The loin was marinated in chili, which made it sour and tart, disguising the natural taste of lamb in a good way, especially for those averse to the taste of lamb, which can sometimes be gamey. The lamb was cooked medium—the waitress did not ask how I wanted the meat prepared—and I thus found it a bit dry for my taste. If you like silken tofu, I think you would like the fried milk. But the texture can be off putting for some. It is offered as a side dish too. I recommend eating it on its own, because too me it seems like a dish that shouldn’t compete with the flavors of other bites taken. Other quite sensationally sounding dishes on the menu include tea-smoked chicken, tea-smoked duck, and stuffed spare ribs.

For dessert, there are many unusual items including a cold coconut soup and a warm walnut one, but the desert that immediately caught my attention was the chocolate peanut butter tartelette with pandanus ice cream. The dessert is rather small and simple. It is one layer of chocolate wrapped with another layer of peanut and wrapped like a Ho Ho and sliced. Made from pandanus—a prickly globe-shaped fruit like a pineapple—the ice cream was a clean tasting refresher, like pickled ginger is to sushi. It made a good counterpoint to the chocolate-peanut combination. It was served on a bed of ground graham crackers, taken altogether with the chocolate and peanut butter swirls, the dessert reminded me of Reese’s peanut butter cups on an elite scale. Yum, yum, I’m already looking forward to my next visit.

Bar Q
308-310 Bleecker Street, between Grove Street and 7th Avenue South
New York, NY 10014
212-206-7817
Open Monday through Saturday from 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Appetizers range in price from $8 to $16 and entrees from $19 to $29.

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Jean Georges

From the minute you walk in Jean Georges, Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s namesake restaurant, expect nothing less than pure perfection from the service to the cuisine. My dream has been to dine at Jean Georges, one of New York City’s most expensive restaurants. But it was not because of the price tag that I wanted to eat there, but because of its acclaim. Only three restaurant establishments in New York have the distinction of having been named three-star Michelin restaurants. I had previously visited Nougatine, which shares the space with Jean Georges, during restaurant week in February and I was not let down then and I was not let down again.

The two rooms of Nougatine and Jean Georges differ in design and menu, where Nougatine retains a casual French bistro quality of what Jean Georges used to be, the redesigned Jean Georges is instead contemporary with a monotone color palette of white, gray, and dark wood finishes. The interior of Jean Georges creates a soothing environment with elegant undertones. You cannot have a three-star Michelin restaurant without a little bit of showcase, here most evident in the leather sofas, large silver service trays, and push carts, which adds a bit of old-fashioned charm. So for an unforgettable dining experience I made reservations for lunch the day before for my mom and me.

On entry we were warmly welcomed by one hostess and soon taken in to the dining room by another hostess. We were seated comfortably in a corner, which afforded a bird’s-eye view of the dining room and its patrons. I kept noticing all throughout our two-hour lunch that many of the restaurant patrons were twenty-year olds, which left me very intrigued. Soon after being seated, our suited waiter, who seemed to be one of two main waiters, asked if we wanted to take a look at the wine menu. I gladly looked through the wine menu, and after noticing some of the exorbitant prices, ordered glasses of the 2005 Ringbolt Cabernet Sauvignon from Australia and the 2006 Fritz Hag Riesling. The Riesling was light and sweet, while the Cabernet was a perfect red color and tasted of berries. Both wines were good complements to our courses to follow.

The restaurant features a two-course $28 prix-fixe lunch menu, and with each additional plate for $12. Lunch is the best time to experience the restaurant for less than third of the dinner price. For a first course we both ordered fish and for a second course we ordered meat. We enjoyed delicious breads of brown sourdough and white rolls with soft butter while tasting our wines before receiving our amuse-bouches. We were served a small glass of edamame soup, a grilled shrimp skewer, and a mango cube. The edamame soup was just that, liquefied soybeans and topped off with lemon foam. I was expecting a cold soup but was pleasantly surprised to find it warm, which brought out a complex and herby flavor. The shrimp on a skewer with a sliver of fennel and garnish of fennel frond was a perfect crunchy morsel. And I especially liked the small cube of mango, which was dusted with dehydrated black olive crumbs.

Soon after we began the first course, a fish course. The arctic char was topped with sautéed onions and thinly sliced green asparagus with its skin fried separately and presented vertically on top of the dish, which was finished tableside with a dressing of ginger sabayon. The skin was a perfect chip, seasoned well and crackly, and the fish was perfectly cooked and complemented nicely by the vegetables and sauce, lending a faint Asian flavor. The flavors were subtle enough for the most non-adventurous eater too; thus the dish was perfect for my mom who shies away from sushi, ceviche, and tartare. I had the red snapper crusted with ground nuts and seeds, served over a sweet and sour jus that included red and yellow cherry tomatoes, pearl onions, and potatoes. Once again the fish was perfect, the skin was crispy underneath the coating, but soon softened. The fish was served in a multifaceted cubist bowl, which made it seem even more unique. When ordering I could not make my decision between the snapper and the steamed halibut with mushrooms and lemongrass consommé, but the waiter recommended the snapper for its boldness of flavor over the subtle Asian flavors of the halibut. I like the trend of serving fish with unusual broths, but I do not go for mushrooms with fish, so my decision was made easier. I did like the sweet and sour jus, but found it to be a bit too sweet after a while, maybe a bit more sourness or acidity would have made its boldness more to my liking.

If you are in for an indulgence, the new summer menu features a terrine of foie gras with strawberries, strawberry syrup, and a twenty-five-year-old balsamic vinegar reduction. It is pure decadence. The terrine is covered with a caramelized crust that melts in your mouth, while the the liver is as smooth as silk. The sweet strawberry and vinegar provide a counterbalance to the richness of the fatty liver.

On to the second course, the meats: the confit of chicken leg was crusted with Parmesan and served elegantly on a bed of white asparagus spears in a basil and butter sauce. The chicken was tender and full flavored while also pleasingly homey and cosy. I enjoyed the spare rib, which the menu specifies as ‘spare rib vinaigrette, spring pea puree, and baby carrots.’ It seemed the spare rib was marinated in a barbecue-type sauce that they named a vinaigrette. The spare rib was one of the best pieces of meat I have had in a long time. I do not usually use the word wielded by many gourmands, but I will use it here, the spare rib was superbly unctuous. (In her book The Tenth Muse, Judith Jones used the term to describe her consumption of a fried beaver’s tail.) The peas tasted purely of peas, reminding me, in fact, of mushy peas served commonly with fish and chips in Britain. I used to hate peas as a child, and the pureed peas brought back to mind the reason why: they are mushy when overcooked, but these were not. (It would be interesting to taste pea caviar à la Ferran Adrià.)

We went on to order two $8 dessert tastings, of which there were four to choose from: rhubarb, cherry, chocolate, and citrus, each consisting of two desserts. I had a very hard decision ahead of me, and was caught between the rhubarb and cherry. The cherry includes the rhubarb clafoutis with a whipped strawberry crème fraîche and the rhubarb ricotta, red sumac sablé (a thin cracker-like cookie), and pickled rhubarb. The cherry tasting was a recent addition and I chose it for that reason. It included a cherry and crème fraîche sponge cake with sangria-soaked cherries, garnished with pine-gel droplets and pine needle snippings and then a scoop of half pistachio ice cream, half cherry sorbet served on top of chopped pistachios, garnished with freeze-dried cherries. The ice cream and sorbet was by far my favorite because I love pistachios. But I also was impressed by the concentration of flavor in the freeze-dried cherries and the pine gel, which tasted as best I can describe, of Christmas, made from what else but pine needles. I highly recommend the cherry tasting over the rhubarb, which I ate at a later date and did not enjoy as much as the cherry. We also ordered the must-have signature chocolate tasting, which included the molten chocolate cake with vanilla-bean ice cream, and then a gianduja (chocolate-nut paste) gnocchi rolled in toasted hazelnut flakes, served on top of a grapefruit and vanilla-bean gel. And on the heels of our dessert tastings we were served complementary dessert: a wide selection of macaroons, petits fours, and marshmallows.

I don’t think there is anything unpleasant that can be said of Jean Georges. Jean-Georges has put his unique stamp on French cuisine, Orientalizing it a bit, and making it interesting, lighter, more flavorful, and simpler, what I would call a paring down of fussy French food to the most simple and elegant purist substances. But to demonstrate this involves new procedures or ingredient combinations, e.g. experimental cuisine, that produce complexity in flavor. I think that almost any of the choices on the menu achieve this. With its many exceptional menu offerings, airy and comfortable dining room, and knowledgeable and deft wait staff, there is more than enough reason to go back to Jean Georges countless times, if you can afford it.

Jean Georges
Trump International Hotel and Tower
1 Central Park West
New York, NY 10023
212-299-3900
Open daily for dinner from 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. and for lunch Monday through Friday from 12 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
The three-course dinner tasting menu is $98, and the Jean-Georges menu and seasonal menu are both $148.
The two-course lunch tasting menu is $28, with each additional plate at $12, and the lunch dessert tasting is $8.

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Bar Room at The Modern

From the entrance of The Modern, it is evident that you are entering a sophisticated place. With its classically modern Bauhaus design, the restaurant is very inviting, not at all cold or austere as one might imagine. Sitting down and eating a meal at the Bar Room becomes a joy; the restaurant invites its patrons into its realm, in such a way that it is like joining an in-crowd rather than being set apart from it. The Bar Room is very busy with its usual crowd of business lunchers and the smattering of Europeans taking advantage of the exchange rate, but this crowdedness does not take away from its charm. In fact, we are ourselves coworkers were seated between two businessmen on one side and two European tourists on the other. This closeness in the restaurant creates a feeling of commonality among the patrons, a closeness that even allows for chatting with table neighbors.

The Bar Room menu is very unique and features mostly appetizer-size dishes as well as entree-size dishes. The note at the bottom of the menu advises patrons to choose as they please. We did just that, selecting four Alsatian-inspired appetizers to share between the two of us. The waitress helped us plan which two dishes we should have first, and what two should follow. Meanwhile I ordered a Zweigelt wine, a beautiful ruby red Austrian wine, fruity in taste and inky-red in color. It complemented the dishes perfectly. While waiting for our first foods to arrive, we munched on fresh, crusty oblong rolls and soft, hearty sourdough bread.

Our first two dishes arrived: the Tarte Flambee, which we noticed that others in the restaurant were eating as well, and the Modern Liverwurst. We immediately dug into the tart to eat it before it cooled. The menu describes it as an Alsatian thin-crust tart with creme fraiche, onions, and applewood-smoked bacon. If I had to describe it in one word it would be amazing. The tart crust is as thin as a crepe, but much more crispy, and is permeated by the apple wood smoke. The cream gives the top a slight creaminess, while the white onions do not overpower the tart as one might initially believe. Next, the Modern Liverwurst, which was the first item on the menu to catch my eye. When we asked what made it “modern,” the waitress told us that it was Chef Gabriel Kreuther’s special blend of beef, veal, and trumpet mushrooms. It had the flavor I expect of a very good liverwurst, not too beefy, but just right without being mediocre. It was accompanied by whole-grain mustard and a small sampling of pickled vegetables: sliced pickles, mushrooms, carrots, and beets; served with toasted sourdough bread, which was wrapped nicely in a crisp white napkin presented on a plate. We finished off all the bread before finishing the liverwurst, so we had to flag down a waiter for some more.

Among our next selections we enjoyed the homemade Alsatian country sausage with turnip choucroute and whole-grain mustard. The sausage burst with juice on slicing it and its sweetness was complemented by the sweetness of the melt-in-your-mouth choucroute. The dish was everything one would want in sausage and sauerkraut. For our final appetizer-size dish we had the Baekeoffe of lamb, conch, and tripe, prepared just like a cassoulet and baked in a mini cassoule. The unusual combination of proteins made for a unique dish in tomato-based gravy with a crumb topping; however I found the lamb to be tough and the tripe had an antiseptic flavor.

Ah dessert…we had been eyeing others in the restaurant eating beignets for dessert, so immediately after our table was cleared we were ready to order this dessert without looking at the dessert menu. Popularity reigns supreme at the Bar Room. We made good choices in ordering the tart and the beignets. The beignets, served like the bread before (wrapped in a napkin), were accompanied by caramel sauce, maple ice cream, and mango marmalade. They were an airy, sugar-dusted delight—perfect in every which way. The three accompaniments were great, the mango marmalade being the most interesting: tart, sweet, gooey, and tasting more of peaches than mangoes.

The service at the Bar Room is excellent: our waitress was always cheery and smiling. With every one of our compliments she showered us with grateful thanks. The servers are also very attentive, making sure to wait until patrons are finished with their meals before bringing out other dishes or courses. Also new plates and cutlery were also brought before every section of our meal. Here I noticed the restaurant uses silverware was by Georg Jensen. But what were most unique and unusual to me were the steak knives, which appeared to be folding knives. But no matter how hard we tried we couldn't fold them. (Later I found out that the knives were replicas of Laguiole knives.) Our time at the restaurant ended up being around two hours, overdoing our one-hour lunch break, but really I have no complaints because the service was consistent and reliable.

The Bar Room was a great adventure, from the design of the restaurant and the fully stacked bar, which is displayed prominently, to the excellent service and magnificent food. The restaurant does not disappoint—it is obvious from the great number of guests that it is the place to be. And the only way to get in to the restaurant without waiting an insane amount of time, which some groups do on the couches made available for that reason, is to make a reservation in advance. We originally had tried to get into the restaurant a week before without reservations and were unsuccessful in doing so. With or without reservations, the restaurant is worth a wait.

The Modern
9 West 53rd Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues
New York, NY 10019
212-333-1220
Open Monday through Saturday from 12 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
Small plates range in price from $11 to $24 and large plates from $15 to $28.

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Lunetta

You can easily miss Lunetta, as we did, walking right by it at first. The Italian restaurant, an offshoot of the Brooklyn location, here in the Flatiron district, does not brandish large signage, but instead has its name and phases of the moon design painted across the top of each of its large pane-glass windows. The space looks and feels more like a French bistro, set somewhat like a theater, where on entry one walks through velvet curtains. The space is shaped like an "L" with booths of tufted brown leather lining the inner walls and outer walls beneath the windows. Simple dark brown, slightly chipped bistro chairs and tables dot the restaurant elsewhere. All the tables are topped with white marble, and the floors are blank-and-white checkered linoleum. All this gives the restaurant a throwback look.

For an early dinner the space was almost empty except for the wait and bar staff. I had originally made reservations for 5:30 p.m., but the host let us in a half hour early. We were seated at a booth set for four. It felt a bit awkward having so much space for only the two of us. The booth was not far from the bar, where a few friends of the staff were hanging out. And placed toward a corner against the mirrored wall, it offered a good vantage view of the entire restaurant and the street outside. The windows are lined with bistro curtains, which the staff keeps drawn, creating an aura of mystery for the outside passersby who constantly peak inside.

We were handed simple paper menus and offered the usual selection of waters. We soon noticed that the table was dirty, with an especially sticky spot right between us. We pointed it out to the waiter, and he cordially cleaned it up. After the bread and, in this case, a very good flowery olive oil, we were ready to order.

With many excellent antipasti to choose from, we decided upon the fried artichokes, a most unusual dish. I thought we would get a whole or half battered-and-fried artichoke. But instead it was fried artichoke leaves and sliced hearts, in chip form, fried along with a branch of rosemary and served with a slice of lemon. These artichoke chips, like potato chips but vastly better, were crunchy, salty, and permeated with rosemary. For $12 they better have been good and they were worth it. Just as a certain chain steakhouse seems to have cornered the market with the must-have fried blooming onion, so has Lunetta, I believe, with its fried artichokes. Or, I have yet to see it offered elsewhere.

Anther thing to note: I had also noticed that there were some artichoke chips on the floor between the booth and table. I guess I can consider this a sign that the appetizer is a popular item; that whoever was here before us ordered it and made a mess. I didn’t mention it to the waiter, but I simply can’t forget the lack of cleanliness of the restaurant. Looking beyond these negatives, you do notice that the restaurant’s menu has a wide selection of unique Italian offerings.

Going outside of the confines of the menu courses of primi and secondi, I chose two primi, one to share as a sort-of-second appetizer and one for myself. So, for the second appetizer, I chose the risi e bisi, a risotto with fresh peas, pancetta, and, of course, finely grated parmesan cheese. The rise e bisi, served in a bowl for easy consumption, was very interesting: the rice was a bit too al dente and the addition of the pancetta, unfortunately, made the entire dish too salty. But it was a good attempt. For our main course, we ordered the tagliatelle with braised pork and short rib ragu (from the primi) and the special of the day, sautéed monkfish with acqua pazza, which translates to “crazy water.” The tagliatelle was also slightly too salty, but had wonderful ribbons of fresh pasta covered in a subtle creamy sauce. The pork seemed a bit too dry and sometimes tasted slightly of liver, which I had to wash down with my glass of red wine. The wine, which I later looked up on the restaurant's Web site, was the Luciano Landi, Lacrima di Morro d’Alba. The wine was great, very fruity and slightly sweet; I highly recommend it. The monkfish special was very unique, first, in that, it was served in a bowl like the risotto before, served with simple vegetables like green beans, potatoes, and green peppers; all poured over with the crazy broth. The crazy water had the subtle sweet taste of a good seafood stock, and the fish was tender and meaty, sautéed in a very light batter.

Onto what I believe is the part of the meal that should never be left out, the dessert. It was very difficult to choose, with such offerings as panna cotta, ricotta cheesecake, chocolate torta, tiramisu, tartufo, crostata, and sorbet and gelato. I couldn’t choose, so I asked the waiter for his recommendation; it was the ricotta lemon cheesecake, drizzled with honey, and sprinkled with pine nut brittle. The cake was a large square, a pretty hefty size from what I was expecting. So far all the dishes were small manageable sizes made for multi-course dinners. The cheesecake was surely designed to please: it was thick, creamy, rich, and dense with that hint of lemon, all nicely complimented by the sweetness of the honey drizzle and crunch of the brittle.

If you look beyond the cleanliness issue, Lunetta offers a good time with good service. To give a fair review I would have to try the Brooklyn location, which I eventually hope to, but until then Lunetta in Manhattan needs a bit of work.

Lunetta
920 Broadway at 21st Ave
New York, NY 10010
212-533-3663
Open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Antipasti range in price from $6 to $15, primi from $14 to $18, and secondi from $15 to $26.

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Spice Market

The over-the-top Southeast Asian decor of Spice Market would not be out of place on an Indiana Jones movie set. The attention to detail follows through from the pajama-like outfits of the waiters to the wooden “grand staircase,” a phrase that the waiters emphasize. The spare modern touches in the light fixtures and stainless steel utensils remind the eater that we are still in New York City. But of course you won’t be eating on the floor out of banana leaves using your hands in lieu of utensils. Get ready to lounge on upholstered white leather sofas or unique Asian chairs.

We entered the restaurant on a lovely early afternoon and were seated right by the open floor-to-ceiling doors. The restaurant is elevated from the street and offers a good view of the street below. Right outside some of the restaurant staff were setting up bistro tables and chairs, unloading them rather noisily from a truck for the rest of our time there. A long while later, we were finally given what in other restaurants would have been the bread and butter, but are here the pappadam, a fried paper-thin bread made from lentil flour, and kasundi, a tomato and chili condiment or jam—it was very spicy. We are also handed hot towels—I wish they would do that in other places too. Soon after, one of our many waiters tried too hard to get us to order cocktails and iced tea, but I ordered myself a glass of Gewurztraminer, which was a good choice considering that a few of the dishes to follow needed a sweet drink to combat the super spiciness.

The menu features a good variety of choices family style, dividing its main courses into seafood and meats. The meat dishes do have more noticeable Southeast Asian influences than the seafood with such items as pork vindaloo, red curried duck, and Vietnamese chicken curry. Also offered are many appetizers, soups, and salads. For an appetizer I ordered the shrimp tod mon pla, which turned out to be little shrimp and scallion pancakes served with a cucumber peanut relish. They were crunchy and tasted simple and cleansing. For our entrees we ordered two seafood dishes, the striped bass with wok-fried napa cabbage and water chestnuts and the steamed red snapper with sauteed wild mushrooms and an herb and ginger gremolata. The waiter also recommended a vegetable side dish of snap peas and shitake mushrooms. On second thought we realized we shouldn’t have ordered two fish entrees, since it was family style.

The striped bass was the first dish brought out, followed about ten to fifteen minutes later by the two remaining entrees. It was batter-fried and lost under a heap of napa cabbage and a sour and spicy red sauce, which was absorbed into the water chestnuts. The waiter did forewarn me that the bass dish was very spicy, which was fine, but at least we would have had the opportunity to eat everything in order of spiciness, because we had finished the bass by the time the two additional dishes arrived. By now our palates were inundated with the heat of the bass dish, making it difficult to discern the subtle yet antiseptic flavors of the snapper, which was what I would consider an unmemorable middle-ground dish. We had imagined that the snapper would be the whole fish or at least the filet, but instead it was a center cut and it was not plated family style, for example the striped bass filet was cut up in pieces, but here the snapper was just the center cut placed on top of a bed of mushrooms. Also the menu called for an accompaniment of sauteed corn, but there was no corn to be found. The small plate of snap peas and mushrooms was sauteed in a sweet sauce, very similar in flavor to most Chinese food take-out. It’s price at $8 would be the price of a main course elsewhere. I liked the striped bass the best out of the three entrees because I think it was unique, but it could have been less spicy and presented differently. Each fish entree was served with a small bowl of dryish Jasmine rice.

Up to this point I would describe the service as medium-slow but steady. We were served by three different waiters and it seemed that one was finishing his shift before he gave his tables to the waiter who took over by dessert time. Once we had ordered the dessert to split between the two of us, it came in record speed. The Ovaltine kulfi was basically a frozen stick of Ovaltine sprinkled with seeds and spices, plopped onto the plate with four warm banana slices, and dressed with whipped cream and Cracker Jack-like caramelized popcorn. The waiter assured us that this was the restaurant’s signature dish. I had read that the restaurant also specialized in durian ice cream, but unfortunately that is no longer on the dessert menu—I would have tried it. I had originally thought to order the coconut creme brulee, but since the waiter said the kulfi was the signature dish I decided that I should try the dessert most representative of the pastry chef’s vision. My assessment: the kulfi was an O.K. dish. After a few bites or spoonfuls it got boring a little too quickly. What I have since heard is that Ovaltine is very popular in India, so I guess this dessert was a unique way of representing that fact. But without this knowledge in hand, it’s easy to think that the dessert is just out of place.

We left the restaurant even before a crowd would have gathered. On arrival we only saw four people, and by the time we left there were ten people. It would be nice to see the place busy in the evening, just to see how different the decor looks in evening light and how the service adapts to the busyness. The quality of the service was good, with many attentive people, but I thought it was confusing to have three different waiters. I wasn’t sure at first if one was the beverage waiter while the other was the regular waiter, but in the end it did not make sense. In the near future I would like to go back and try the meat dishes to see how they fare against the seafood dishes. I think the restaurant comes close to creating that sense of Southeast Asia, but in the end it’s really the influence that comes through, which I guess is the goal. If you bear that in mind you will find not much at fault. Just make sure you insist that all entrees come out at the same time, and ask to know the spiciness of each dish.

Spice Market
403 West 13th St at 9th Ave
New York, NY 10014212-675-2322
Open daily for dinner from 5:30 p.m. to 12 a.m. and for lunch from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Appetizers range in price from $9 to $14 and entrees from $17 to $35.
There is a bento box lunch special for $16.50.

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Le Zie

A charming neighborhood trattoria, Le Zie slowly reveals itself to be more than just that. From the outside the restaurant appears to be a small unassuming hole in the wall, but from inside, just beyond the small front room, there is the side bar, back room with another bar, and a private dining room upstairs. Our group of five was led to the back room overlooking what appeared to be a garden courtyard and fountain. The garden theme followed through to the bar, which had an urn full of fresh blooming cherry blossom branches. The darkness of the room was somewhat dispelled by romantic candlelight that took a little getting used to. The high wood-beamed ceilings, clay-tiled floors, and thickly painted brick walls create a true Italianate aura, which contrast nicely against the modern art and black and white photography hung on the walls of the restaurant.

Our tables were two bistro tables pushed together for the five of us—a bit crammed but somewhat manageable. We were offered bottled water, but asked for tap water, which was served from a vintage soda bottle with a lightning stopper. The waitress then rattled off a very long list of specials that she had almost thoroughly memorized except for the last two, for which she had to consult her note pad. After talking for a bit to reacquaint ourselves with each other’s goings about and at the same time turning away the waitress a few times, we were ready to order by the third approach of the waitress. Along with ordering our appetizers and entrees we had asked to see the wine menu, from which I ordered a bottle of Umani Ronchi Sangiovese Medoro. The wine was light, fruity, not too tannic, and enjoyed by even the one of us who does not usually like red wine.

We were provided with two types of fresh bread, soft focaccia-like bread and traditional crusty bread, along with a plate of olives and roasted garlic in oil, of which we quickly asked for a second plate. We ordered one of the many special appetizers: the fava bean and radish salad with pecorino chunks and lemon vinaigrette and, from the regular menu, the baked goat cheese with tomato sauce and garlic bread. The salad was clean, crunchy, and evocative of spring. The baked cheese in tomato sauce was really a creamy tomato soup in a creme brulee dish that was good enough for soaking the bread. All that was missing from the presentation was a chiffanade of basil, which would have made for a nice finishing taste.

Once I heard that branzino was a special of the day, I could not help myself from ordering it. As I have come to read elsewhere about this restaurant, it seems that branzino is the special everyday. The salt-encrusted fish was deboned tableside and drizzled with olive oil and lemon juice, and served with sauteed escarole. It was beautifully done, subtle in flavor, and very delicate. But I was a bit shocked to discover that the fish was billed at $25. Other dishes that were ordered included, linguine, pici, tortelli, and what the restaurant claims is the most famous spaghetti and meatballs. The linguine featured tender manila clams in a clear clam sauce. The spinach and ricotta filling of the tortelli was a bit salty but otherwise well dressed in a sage and brown butter sauce. The pici was a very unique and freshly made hand-rolled ricotta pasta, gnocchi-like in texture but worm-like in shape, tossed with string beans, asparagus, and fava beans in an herb sauce. The spaghetti did not live up to its hype: the meatballs were too beefy and did not taste Italian at all, but the fresh and homey sauce just about redeemed the dish.

After anesthetically filling ourselves to the brim, we decided to share two desserts. I ordered the tiramisu with the logic that a good Italian restaurant should have good tiramisu, but many do not. So I feel it is always a good idea to test the tiramisu, but opting for this Italian mainstay dessert turned out to be an expected let down. It lacked the flavor, texture, and creaminess of a good tiramisu. Nothing can beat a homemade tiramisu. On the other hand, the second dessert, the ricotta cheesecake with a creme brulee top, which was a bit burned, was well received among the group.

Other than a few caveats with the food, the restaurant could improve upon the cramped tables and the coat racks stored in the hallway, which should be devoted to a room, but I can understand that since it is a seasonal aspect, a coatroom is not practical for a small restaurant. All in all, the restaurant does not fail to deliver reasonably traditional Italian food with a Venetian twist as it claims is its focus.

Le Zie
172 7th Ave, between 20th and 21st Streets
New York, NY 10011
212-206-8686
Open daily from 12:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.
Appetizers range in price from $6 to $14 and entrees from $11 to $18.

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Bar Boulud

From the actual oak wine barrel restaurant sign hanging above the entry door to the cavern-like barrel vaulted ceiling, you immediately know Bar Boulud is about wine. Ever since this wine bar and charcuterie haven opened in January across the street from my workplace, I have aimed to eat there. After unsuccessfully trying to make dinner reservations in February, I finally decided that lunch was as good of a time to go. Growing up in a Hungarian household where eating butchery products is second nature, I felt ready to partake of the charcuterie. Both my German coworker and I looked forward to it.

The restaurant decor creates a beautiful play between modernism and symbolism with its unique interior design, where everything is made to remind patrons of a wine cellar, from the vaulted ceilings to the stone floors. On one side of the restaurant the walls are lined like an art gallery with framed wine stains of different types of wine, where each is indicated in a caption. On the other side, the walls appear to be metal, but with closer inspection are in fact made of gray gravel behind stainless-steel scrim—described as symbolic of vineyard terroir by the restaurant’s Web site. Further plays on winemaking include the furniture and bar, which are made of the same white oak as wine barrels. The bright orange napkins and furniture cushions offer the only bursts of color other than the framed wine stains on the gallery wall.

We were seated near the back in the rather straight-backed chairs, the kind that encourage leaning forward with elbows on the table, which may or may not be a good thing depending on the situation. But the booths or benches do have sloped backs. The restaurant was partially full when we arrived but was soon to fill by the time we departed about two hours later—so much for a quick lunch break. There is a circular table at the back of the space called the tasting table, which features an upper shelf that holds wine glasses. For special occasions and parties that table can have a sommelier stand in the center pouring wine and doling information. This table also functions as the dot to the exclamation point that is the shape of the space.

Browsing through our slim parchment-paper-like menus, emulating the slimness of the space, we were astonished by all the wonderful available selections. In the meantime we were served the most crusty and fluffy French bread with creamy butter. Hypnotized by the bread and the many offering of the menu we had difficulty selecting dishes and we ended up sending away the waitress many times. By the time she returned for the third or fourth time, we were ready to order. We began with the small degustation de charcuterie tasting at $22. A large degustation is also available for $46.

The charcuterie tasting was a simple small sampling of one piece each of pulled rabbit terrine with vegetables, chicken liver and pork pate, Guinea hen terrine, and jambon de Paris (country ham) along with marinated mushrooms a la Grecque, carrots with coriander, cornichons, pearl onions, mustard, and a plate of earthy brown bread. All the non-pork charcuterie had nice mellow flavors with the Guinea hen terrine having a more complex flavor with such ingredients as wine, bacon, onions, and mushrooms. In the end, my coworker and I both agreed that the mustard was the best and most distinct.

The wine menu offers a good selection of regional French wine and is printed three times—in the menu, in a separate wine menu, and a specials card. I was between ordering the Beaujolais or the Cabernet Sauvignon, but ended up ordering the Beaujolais, which, due to my apparent indecision, the waitress said she was going to recommend as a good pairing with charcuterie.

Upon ordering our entrees, we were once again in the same position of having to choose from many options. The menu for lunch and dinner is the same except for an additional menu at lunchtime called the Menu Bouchon Lyonnaise, which allows patrons to order any entree with the choice of either an appetizer or a dessert for the same price, or a three-course lunch with a supplement of $7. Going for the pappardelle aux olives from this menu, I was pleased with its heartiness. It was filling and featured freshly-made pasta and sumptuous pieces of braised lamb, cherry tomatoes, and taggiasche olives; garnished with ribbons of parmesan and a chiffanade of basil. The raie forestiere (stuffed skate), ordered by my coworker from the regular menu, was tender with an almost meat-like texture. It was served with earthy mushrooms, placed on a bed of silken sauteed spinach, and drizzled over with a syrah glaze. For dessert we shared the gateau Basque, really a custard pie not a cake, served with three lonesome brandied cherries. It was simple and homely and reminded me of a traditional custard pie served on Easter in many European countries. Though we were left wondering whether the cake was representative of the French or Spanish Basque region.

As I passed by a ham ready to be sliced on the counter bar while leaving the restaurant, I thought of all the charcuterie that I had not tried—definitely for next time. The restaurant’s decor and menu do not let down. The attention to detail carries through from the decor to the menu, including the tall silver breadbasket, the heavy but well-balanced silverware, and the “EST. MMVII” logo plates. The plating of the food is elegant and simple through and through. The only criticism I can make is that there was a manner of friendliness missing from the hostesses, but in general the service was good with our cheerful, polite, and attentive waitress. Bar Boulud indeed met my expectations and I look forward to going back and trying more and more charcuterie.

Bar Boulud
1900 Broadway, between 63rd and 64th Streets
New York, NY 10023
212-595-0303
Open daily for dinner from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. and for lunch from 12 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Charcuterie, soups, and salads range in price from $9 to $17 and entrees from $20 to $33.

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Merkato 55

With a nondescript dark frontage, Merkato 55 delights on entry. The restaurant is a beautiful mix of modern, dark finishes with an African vibe. The second floor is especially beautiful with large booths, oversized blooming branch arrangements, and window treatments brandishing African faces. I am left wondering who those faces are and what significance they hold in the history of the continent and its culture. On arrival of the waitress we are greeted and handed menus that are mahogany boards. Unique cocktails and wines were pointed out to us. I later learned that the cocktails are named after African dances. A very unique one in particular is the "agbekor," which the waitress had recommended. It was a blend of vodka, grapefruit juice, and a floating hot pepper. The wine menu is limited with only one African wine on the menu, which I ordered. The South African Shiraz was served in a stemless wine glass, no different than the water glasses. Interestingly the water was served in a quart-size milk jug. Our visit happened to fall during Tap Project Week, in which $1 donations for tap water are made to UNICEF to bring clean water to children around the world, but unfortunately the restaurant was not participating.

We began our dinner by ordering appetizers that the restaurant has coined "kidogos" or small bites. We enjoyed a wonderful array of African breads with an apple coconut dip. It would have been preferable if the breads were complimentary just as the eight olives were. Still, the breads were excellent with a selection that included pita, whole-wheat pita, sesame bread, za’atar bread, a nan-type bread, and an African-spiced cornbread of which unfortunately there was only one piece to be split between the two of us. The menu offers about four choices per dip, chutney, and sambal, well over-priced at $4 each for only about two tablespoons. It would have been nice to order more, but we were pinching our pennies for the main course. We decided to forgo the enticing small plates for that same reason.

For the main course I chose the berbere grilled rack of lamb served with grains of paradise sauce and an eggplant stew. The lamb was perfectly prepared, tender, blackened, and crispy, but I found the three-rib portion to be a bit small for my appetite. But about six side dishes are available as add-ons for those with larger apetites. The grains of paradise sauce was good enough to mop with the African bread, and the eggplant stew was simple and flavorful, but also a small portion. The dish reminded me of steak au poivre, leading me to find out later (through internet research) that grains of paradise was used as an inexpensive pepper substitute in the Middle Ages. At $32 the lamb is the second most expensive main dish. Also exceptional was the jerk-style pork belly with a mango and radish slaw. The pork was served with a mole-style sauce and was succulent, fork tender, and crispy. The plating was very simple with the slab of meat placed on the sauce, topped off with the slaw. I was a little confused as to why there would be a dish prepared with Jamaican seasoning in an African restaurant, but it seems the conceit here is that the restaurant covers the entire African Diaspora, which I felt was a bit overreaching. Nonetheless the pork was a well-received experiment in fusion.

For dessert we both ordered the espresso chocolate cake, but it turned out, according to our waitress, that either the restaurant had run out of the cake or the menus were printed incorrectly. We weren't all too pleased with the other offerings that we were left to choose from, but ended up ordering the crushed-cashew-battered-and-fried bananas served in a wax paper sack with a small plate of chocolate, coconut, and tamarind sauce. Unfortunately the sauces were layered on top of each other on a small dish and could not be enjoyed separately. Taken altogether it was an unremarkable dish of inconsequential proportion. The fried bananas did not taste much like bananas and the taste of cashews was indiscernible. The waitress too had recommended this. Looking back I now think it is not always best to follow recommendations from the wait staff. The menu does not mention the crushed cashews, so those allergic to tree nuts should be aware. The waitress mentioned the cashews only after I had taken my first bite, but luckily I am not allergic.

I think the restaurant still needs to work out some finishing touches. The menu could be tweaked to showcase a stronger African influence. I expected to be overwhelmed in a good way with African influences in the food, but instead I found it underwhelming with the usual: pork, lamb, chicken, beef, fish or whatever protein with a simple African influence. I think that the preparation of the meals is biased; it is being filtered through a colonial European view. The countries or flavors that are represented in the dishes are allusive and need to be made explicit.

Some caveats of the restaurant include the appearance of what looked to me as unfinished plastered walls, restrooms that are so dark that they can double as caves with tiling that appeared to not have the grout completely washed off, makeshift paper coat room tags, and receipts handed over without the use of a folder. The restaurant manages to accomplish what I think it has set out to do, that is beautiful decor in the main rooms and bar, excellent service from the minute one walks in, and exceptional food of the highest quality.

Merkato 55
55 Gansevoort St
New York, NY 10014
212-255-8555
Open daily for dinner from 5:30 p.m. to 12 a.m. and lunch on Saturday and Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Appetizers range in price from $4 to $13 and entrees from $10 to $35.

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Porter House New York

In honor of restaurant week I wanted to test another restaurant, this time during lunch with a coworker. I've just come back from Porter House filled to the brim. The $24 prix fixe restaurant week lunch menu has excellent offerings. The menu is three courses with three options available for each course. I also discovered that the restaurant offers a very similar prix fixe menu all year round that they have coined the park-view lunch. So there really is no rush to take advantage of Porter House now during restaurant week.

The restaurant fits perfectly into the Time Warner Center, exuding an ostentatious largeness. I do find the restaurants on the fourth floor of the Time Warner Center to be imposing. For one reason they overlook Columbus Circle and Central Park, but for another, they are out of the average person's price range. Here I mean Per Se and Masa with their $250- and $400-priced per person menus respectively. Porter House is also out of an average-salaried person's range, but the lunch menu is completely affordable. I can honestly say that I didn't even bother to look at the rest of the menu.

Expecting to see a lunching business crowd, I was surprised to see average-looking people like us along with a smattering of foreign tourists. Maybe they heard it was restaurant week, but then again the prix fixe menu is permanent. I guess they know more than me. I'm sure the restaurant management uses the prix-fixe lunch menu to make up for usually slow business at lunch time.

To finally delve into the food, I begin with the first course. I had the Belgian endive salad with bleu cheese and walnuts tossed in light vinaigrette. There was also available the butternut squash soup or a Cesar salad. For the main course I had skirt steak au poivre and pomme frites. I ordered my steak medium rare, but found it much rarer and purple, but it was still delicious. Other options included the salmon with carrots and leeks or the grilled chicken paillard with spinach. For desert I chose the key lime pie with coconut crust. The slice was a bit too small and only the crust edge was coconut. There was also devil's food chocolate layered cake or raspberry sorbet. I usually go for chocolate, but the waitress recommended the pie. It was not a bad choice but I wondered about the chocolate cake. To accompany our lunch we chose the Rosenblum petite sirah and immediately noticed that sirah was misspelled on the menu. We mentioned it to the waitress, but when she came back with the bottle she was happy to prove us wrong. Later I learned by way of Wikipedia that this is in fact a type of wine. Some misgivings included a few unclean utensils and very fast service. It was as if everything was prepared ahead of time. There was hardly a wait at all. But this was all beneficial, because we did have to get back to work on time.

I must say that I enjoyed the entire meal with little objection. The service was good and the waitress seemed willing to join my coworker in snarky banter. I would recommend Porter House to anyone who wants to have a quick lunch with friends. It's also great for the business lunch, but for a dinner or a special occasion I would not recommend it. The food is not spectacular or plated uniquely, but it is good and hearty.

Porter House New York
Time Warner Center
10 Columbus Circle at 60th St., 4th fl.
New York, NY 10019
212-823-9500
Open daily for dinner from 5 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. and for lunch from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Appetizers and salads range in price from $10 to $16 and entrees from $17 to $52.
The park-view lunch is available all year round for $24, including choice of salad, entree, and dessert.

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Nougatine at Jean Georges

A gem of excellence, Nougatine is the front room of Jean-Georges's namesake restaurant Jean Georges. As its confectionary name suggests, Nougatine is a sweet morsel of delight. Restaurant week was the perfect opportunity to try Nougatine with a friend. Both of us opting for the $35 four-course tasting menu was the perfect way to familiarize ourselves with the restaurant's simple and elegant cuisine. With white wine for the lady and red wine for me, we toasted our good fortunes. The meal began with complimentary amuse-bouches from Jean-Georges, an hors d’oeuvre of a cooked shrimp topped with a parsley pesto and a petite cup of mushroom soup with gruyere and croutons. It was a perfect introduction to what was to follow.

The first course was a tomato soup with a sourdough crouton and shredded cheese. The soup was silky and smooth with just the right balance of sweet and salty and the crouton was crunchy and tasted of earthy caraway. The second course was a cod sautéed in maple syrup served on a bed of celeriac puree topped with celery slices, pickled onions, and drizzled with pink peppercorn vinaigrette. The fish was perfectly done with a hint of sweetness. The different textures of crispy and soft along with the peppery bite of the vinaigrette made for an interesting meal that did not quite follow through. The dish was a fair attempt at elevating an otherwise dull fish. The third course was a crisply baked chicken breast and thigh with sautéed onions and garlic, steamed green beans, and a spiced jus. Once again the crunchy and soft textures and spicy broth worked well together. I tried to eat the crispy skin as fast as I could because it began to soften due to the broth. But it was a benefit that the broth was the last addition made to the dish table side. My only complaint was that the thigh was undercooked. Quite filled by this point, I would have preferred only having been served the breast.

There is a saying in Hungarian, loosely translated, that there is no filled wagon that cannot fit any more. With this in mind I awaited the final course. Apt as is the restaurant’s name, it does not fail to deliver scrumptious desserts created by Johnny Iuzzini. A double serving presented on a rectangular plate was placed before us both; in one corner the apple tart with honey-ginger ice cream and in the other corner the molten chocolate cake with vanilla bean ice cream. Truly, I was as happy as a hog in mud when I tasted that chocolate cake. The tart was forgettable but the chocolate cake was simple perfection. We left the evening very content and very full.

Those who visit Nougatine after restaurant week will not find any of these dishes on the regular menu except for the desserts. I urge you to go now and visit Nougatine, if only for this wonderful dining experience. With its impeccable service, attention to detail, and great food you will not be let down.

Nougatine
Trump International Hotel and Tower
1 Central Park West
New York, NY 10023
212-299-3900
Open daily for dinner from 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., for lunch from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m., and breakfast from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m.
For dinner, appetizers range in price from $9 to $19 and entrees from $22 to $65.
The dinner tasting menu is $68 and the lunch tasting menu is $24.

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