Merkato 55

4/28/2008
Meatpacking District: 55 Gansevoort (and Greenwhich) - (212) 255-8555
Price: High End
Rating (1-10): 7

The quick and dirty:
Merkato 55 is a solid restaurant and a welcome infusion of African cuisine to NYC. I would absolutely go back, maybe for a date or with people visiting town or with friends before a night out. That's not something I'd say about many restaurants here. It's a fun atmosphere in a hip neighborhood and makes you feel like you're exploring when you read the menu. Although the space doesn't seem to match the comfort-food type style of cuisine - hip, cold, Meatpackingly impersonal - it's nice to see an underrepresented cuisine showcased with flare in a new, stylish light.

The food is full of deep, rich, biting flavors and the key here is spice - spices you can't name, spices that are bold, spices that make you anxious to get another bite. The dishes overall demonstrate strong command of flavors with, again, a particularly impressive integration of spices which make a statement. Because Chef Samuelsson utilizes spices so well, Merkato 55 offers a refreshing alternative to the heavy feeling you get at many restaurants whose food is most heavily enriched by butter, fat, and marrow. Best dishes I tasted were the guinea hen and the fried chickpea dumplings. Desserts were ok and the ice creams were good but the strength is in the savory items.

Biggest weakness was the clumsy and seemingly inexperienced service; they need to focus on training and especially on the timing when they bus plates so that it doesn't feel rushed or like it's interrupting the dining experience.

There's plenty of reason to go here - it's different food and usually well-executed. Can be the beginning of a fun night or simply a fun night on its own.


Full Review:
Tonight's visit was to Merkato 55, the much celebrated Chef Macus Samuelsson's newest venture in the Meatpacking District. Chef Samuelsson greeted us with a broad smile and warm handshake shortly after we were seated at our table - and it appears that his friendly and genuine demeanor have found expression, at least in part, in this restaurant. At Merkato 55, the food is full of deep, rich, biting flavor and the key here is spice - spices you can't name, spices that are bold, spices that make you anxious to get another bite.

Some might be confused by the pan-African theme or laugh at the idea of trying to combine all in one. Yes, it's a little confusing when you try to define what makes up the cuisine at this restaurant. But to me the point is not to create a single pan-African palate but rather to pull out various elements from around the continent. So at the end of the day, who cares about cohesion if it's delicious and exposes you to fun combinations you might not tasted before. The guinea hen was best - the bird is served in a reddish jus and covered in a dry spice rub - the seasoning was delicious, not overly salted, and fit deliciously with a tart mix of carmelized onions, roasted cherry tomatoes, lemon rind, and bitter greens. It's been a while since I've tasted a dish with such strong, harmonious flavors that lit up in your mouth. The dish demonstrated a strong command of flavors and an ability to dance on the adventurous and unexpected without being gimmicky/pretentious.

Also good was the fried chickpea dumplings served as spicy nuggets mixed in with various differently textured garnish. The taste of the garnish paled next to the fried chickpeas, which melt in your mouth and, as one of the people at our table remarked, a spicy saag. I'd get it again.

The chicken doro wat dish came recommended by the server but oddly, her warning that it was very spicy turned out not to be true - in fact, the flavor was flat and the meat portion was lacking. The slightly sour injera bread was nice though, and when used to scoop the sauce and chicken, made for much better bites. The rack of lamb entree was beautifully cooked but perhaps also not that different taste-wise, from a lot of racks of lamb - after tasting the guinea hen, the lamb was less exciting and not as hard hitting as the hen.


Desserts were tasty as well, and again spiced in interesting ways. The creamy ice creams were quite nice and generally melded well with the rest of the dessert - in my case, the pineapple tart which was too sweet but had a nice, thin, crunchy crust. The chocolate samosas were the most original that I saw, with melting, hot, spicy, bitter chocolate flowing out of pockets of chocolate dough (kind of like an empanada). It's actually only mildly sweet and more spicy than anything so it's not for everyone, but if you're looking for the unique, this would be your selection.

Service at the restaurant was definitely clumsy and a bit disorganized, though polite. One of my pet peeves is when a server takes or tries to take a dish prematurely - there's a timing to taking bussing tables and if done wrong, it can make you feel rushed or even feel bad about wanting to keep your plate a bit longer. In this case a server interrupted our conversation mid-sentence to take two of four plates, try to take my dish, which I still wanted, and leave only one that clearly wasn't finished. If only one person is left eating, I think it makes that person feel awkward and maybe embarassed to be the only one with food. Being watched while eating isn't that fun. There should have been no hurry especially given that it was a slow night at the restaurant. Other gripes: we requested tap water but bottled water was served; 3 of the 4 entrees were presented first and then the 4th came trailing afterwards; my water glass had a sharp chip on the rim; despite being a slow night, I saw a couple patries arrive to no one at the host desk. Additionally, I like it when the server can give some suggestions or opinions with some authority, when solicited. I find it helpful to hear a couple words to gauge the kinds of foods that are strengths on the menu or the server's knowledge of it. After all, they are there a lot more than I am and should know. That isn't to say I want someone telling me what to get right off the bat, but if I'm asking for it, I want it. The server we had was fine - knew the menu, ingredients, and descriptions - but had few assertive suggestions. That's a let down - take a stand; sure there's a risk of suggesting something I won't like but I'll take responsibility for that, if that happens. The food was surprisingly good - but the service was surprisingly amateur.

Decor and atmosphere are generally fun at Merkato 55 but there's a soul to this restaurant and its food that I think is betrayed by its somewhat cold, impersonal surroundings. It seems better suited to a cozy or warmer feeling place but then again, it is the Meatpacking District, and moreover, I can appreciate Merkato 55's effort to present African cuisine in a new way, at a new level. All in all, it's a stylish, fun place to hang out without the crazy prices - and it's not uncomfortable like so many exclusive places. I would go back to this place, maybe for a date or with people visiting town or with friends before a night out.

It'll be interesting to see if this restaurant sticks around given the challenges of operating such a large space in a chique area. They'll need to shore up their service and tweak a couple dishes but it's hard not to root for this one to succeed.

The Palm

4/26/2008
Midtown East: 837 Second Ave (btwn 44th and 45th) - (212) 255-8555
Price: High End
Rating (1- 10): 2

The quick and dirty:
The Palm is a silly use of your money and a restaurant I would never recommend. Be prepared to spend a lot on mediocre to standard food, accompanied by decent but ordinary service that is typical of a chain-restaurant. I walked out thinking about a number of steakhouses that I would have rather tried or how many non-steak meals I could have had that would have been as fulfilling. The food is so ordinary and uncreative that there's really no need to describe it in detail: steak, creamy spinach, baked clams, etc etc...I couldn't help but think, "this is bar food." The Palm is probably more "New York" feel than a Smith and Wollensky's, Capital Grill, Morton's, or other chain steakhouse, but it's as predictable and boring nonetheless.

This is a place that might have been good back in the day - and had some genuine charm about it - but it's now nothing but a nationwide chain that rests on its laurels like a crutch and absolutely juices every shred of whatever history it had. The decor, the food, and the service is all so self-aware and gimmicky; there's no soul here anymore. Leave it to the conservative old timers, the old boys clubs, and the tourists, and find a truly great steakhouse among the many that you have in NYC.


Full Review:
The Palm is a dining experience that is unsurprising, unoriginal, overpriced, and justified all of my apprehension going into the place. Put simply, there are way too many better steaks or meals of any kind to be had for your money. The Palm is a steakhouse that might have been good back in the day - and had some genuine charm about it - but it's now nothing but a nationwide chain that rests on its laurels like a crutch and absolutely juices every shred of whatever history it had. It's got cutesy drawings on the walls of famous past patrons with little quotes - as if to make you feel like you're steeped in tradition, a NY institution. But the sincerity is as thin as the paint. The decor, the food, and the service is all so self-aware and gimmicky; there's no soul here anymore.

My NY strip steak was decent - not bad - but not worth $43. Let me buy the same cut for $15 and cook it better at home. All the steaks at the table were cooked fine but nothing special was done with them - so it's actually work that any home cook could do. It's seared and cooked to a certain temp, and if you've been around as long as this restaurant, you damn well better be able to do a simple preparation like this. Our appetizers were akin to bar food - simple, overbattered fried onions; ordinary creamy spinach; baked clams heaped with (a tasty) bread crumb topping; seared tuna which was completely cooked thru and resembled imitation Asian fast-food; and a puzzling dish of sliced tomato and raw onion topped with salt, pepper and olive oil - literally a 6 year-old could have bought these veggies at Gristedes and prepared this. At the end of the meal you're left with a hefty steakhouse-esque bill that just isn't worth what you get, not even close.

The service is courteous and friendly enough but not particularly warm or hospitable; I got the feeling they were just trying to drive up the bill. The menu had a selection of four types of sauces that I could get with my steak but I wasn't ever asked which one I'd want. So when my steak came out with no flavor, I asked the waiter if I could get the classic bearnaise sauce. His reponse was that if I don't ask for the sauce when I order, I don't get it. This type of entitled service and "this is the way it's done in a steakhouse" attitude may be what they call tradition and it's something The Palm sticks to. I wasn't impressed.

I'm sure there are some who still consider this a great restaurant but I'm convinced it's the pomp and circumstance that they're into. They've made up their mind that its their Cheers of steakhouses, the place where they will return and feel at home, feel like a man. It's this feeling, not the food, that they like and that they pay a premium for. (I'd love to see a blind taste test of The Palm's food, because I'm certain that it would be indistinguishable at best.) I say: to each his own, but if you haven't made The Palm a personal tradition yet, then there's no reason to start now. Leave it to the conservative old timers, the old boys clubs, and the tourists, and find a truly great steakhouse among the many that you have in NYC.