Craft

2/25/2008
Gramercy: 43 E. 19th St (between Broadway and Park) - (212) 780-0880
Price: High End
Rating (1-10): 8

Given the hype that has built up around Craft and its chef/owner Tom Colicchio, Craft invites a higher level of critique than most other restaurants. At the same time, with the prices being what they are – around a $100 tab for a full meal – high expectations are a given. And when you jump into the TV limelight like Colicchio has, it is understood that his flagship restaurant is gonna be under greater scrutiny.

That said, Craft is a restaurant that would please almost anyone. The atmosphere is a relaxed, casual kind of formal with a balance between sleek, clean design and homey warmth – perhaps echoes of Colicchio’s experiences at Gramercy Tavern. Classic rock and more modern hits bump at a comfortable volume and the dishes are presented in the middle of the table to promote a “family-style” meal. All of the food was at least good and came in pleasing portions – and the desserts were a particularly nice end to the meal. However, the service was an obvious weakness and lacked the soul and spirit of both the surroundings and the food. If you can get past an attentive but potentially way-overserious server, then Craft is a fun place where you’ll be treated to satisfying dishes and feel comfortable and cool in the process.

The food is strongly seasoned (pretty heavy on the salt) and representative of Colicchio’s locavore, simple style. It takes a good deal of culinary intelligence and understanding to know the kind of subtle twists to make uncomplicated dishes outstanding, memorable, and unique. Colicchio has made a career out of his ability to do this and commands respect the food world over, for this reason. Our sweet potato agnolotti was a great example of this – sweet potato filled pockets of pasta in a butter sauce. The server described the pasta as pillows, and this turned out to be an excellent description of this incredibly soft, fluffy pasta. The sweetness of the potato was controlled perfectly and a crispy, salty starch crusted on top the pasta added exactly the desired kick of salt.

If you’ve got a spending appetite, the guinea hen ravioli with black truffle is an extravagant appetizer featuring two large ravioli, served in a jus, and topped with a healthy serving of truffle shavings. The gamey flavor of the hen takes precedence over the black truffle, which nonetheless adds an irreplaceable earthy aroma and subtle irreplaceable flavor. Is it luxurious? Yes, and I think that’s why you should order it; it just doesn’t get that much more lavish. Sometimes it’s important to just let go and say, ‘when in Rome…’

The best value items were the vegetable sides – for example, the hen of the woods mushrooms sides: a surprisingly generous portion of crispy, yet meaty pan-fried mushrooms. It seems like this quantity (one order was enough for two) and quality of these raw mushrooms alone would cost this much in a store. I’m not complaining.

Sweetbreads entrée is served as one giant, crusty, pan-fried piece in a huckleberry jus. There’s something satisfying about seeing the sweetbread presented in this way, like a fat steak; often, sweetbreads are served as a bunch of smaller nuggets, but the big hunk of sweetbread just looks bolder, gutsier (no pun intended). The sweetbread is juicy and tasty although the huckleberry sauce is somewhat flavorless. The diver scallops entrée features a few large, seared scallops which works fine but not anything to write home about. The shallot butter sauce is nice but otherwise, Colicchio doesn't give you a particularly compelling reason to orde it. Scallops are scallops and the most important part is the sourcing. These were good enough but something the home cook could execute these just as well. Meh.

Desserts at Craft were utterly satisfying. The blood orange sorbet hits with powerful essence of the fruit, strong tartness, and controlled sweetness. I loved this sorbet. Chocolate soufflé isn’t a new creation of course, but you kind of have to tip your hat when a dish of this delicacy is nailed. Consistency is so important to a soufflé and in this case, it was perfect: fluffy, soft and substantive and not foamy or 99% air. Again, this dessert is not oversugared, and so you get the true flavor of the chocolate.

The service at the table was for me, the lowlight of the experience. The servers were well-dressed, quick, attentive, and extremely knowledgeable about the menu – but unflinchingly rigid and borderline unfriendly. Our main server explained that the “paradigm” of ordering off the Craft menu was for each person to get an appetizer, main course, and side dish. Not only was his guidance somewhat obvious, “paradigm” seems like a word better saved for discussions about the political world order or solutions to the financial crisis. Our servers just looked like they weren’t having any fun. Hamsters in a wheel. One of our servers did not crack a smile once, which wasn’t so much rude as it was strange. Fortunately, they’re good at doing their jobs efficiently and invisibly, so you don’t have to get pulled down into their own personal gulag. I’d chalk this up to an aberration because a restaurant of this quality would never last in New York if the service and the atmosphere were always so badly mismatched.


As of late, Tom Colicchio has become a superstar in the culinary world thanks to the hit tv show TopChef and his ever expanding restaurant empire, which includes a steakhouses (CraftSteak), high-end sandwich restaurants (‘Wichcraft), and several Crafts across the country. I certainly can’t blame him for cashing in on his fame. He has paid his dues and worked hard to get to the top of this brutal industry. At the same time, you wonder if the individual establishments take a little bit of a hit in quality; dilution of the top chef’s attention usually does that.

Since I did not go to Craft in its early days, I can’t say whethere there has been a decline. But it seems that Craft, despite its strengths, doesn’t have the excitement or energy of a restaurant gunning for #1 in NYC. It’s good but not great and there are newer restaurants of a similar style that I’m more excited about. Granted, these are restaurants that might owe their existence to Colicchio and the culinary trends that he helped foster: well-seasoned, seasonal, ultra-fresh food; simple but difficult cooking; and emphasis on a few elemental ingredients in each dish. But I can’t help feeling that Craft is no longer on the vanguard of this movement; rather, it is a solid restaurant amongst a growing crowd. Colicchio has expanded into other business lines and avenues to promote his food philosophy; Craft has reached cruising altitude, which most any restaurant would certainly envy.

At Craft, you can reliably expect great food in a fun place – service not withstanding. I'd give it a try but at this price level, there's a lot of places in town to try too.

Wildwood BBQ

5/31/2008
Gramercy: 225 Park Avenue (nr 18th St) - 212-533-2500
Price: Mid-Range
Rating (1-10): 6

The quick and dirty:
BBQ is fun and eating BBQ should be fun. That's why Wildwood BBQ is a success. The food is good, the atmosphere is lively, comfortable, and relaxed. The menu is manageable and straightforward, not too many items but all the ones that you're looking for. It's good for parties of all sizes and the menu allows for easy sharing and sampling, as bbq should.

Wildwood's food is close to on par with its neighbor, Blue Smoke, but it doesn't have quite the same level of coziness or atmosphere. The decor and feel of the place is a slightly forced faux-western with stereotypical bbq-ish things. This is very Gramercy western. But at the same time, who really cares? It's fun if you go with it.

The Memphis-style baby-back ribs are smokier than any urban bbq I've tasted, and have a good carmelized sweet-spicy glaze. The meats I had were surprisingly dry though: the ribs, the Texas smoked beef brisket and the pulled pork. The food isn't head over heels amazing but the flavors are nice and the sauces are pretty good. Luckily, you have the caddy of sauces on the table to douse your food. The chicken is not bad but it's nothin' particularly notable so you might as well go for the things that truly reak of bbq like ribs, brisket, or even a burger.

Wildwood's strength is its service. Our server was unpushy and friendly but also attentive - just what you want to go with your slow cookin'. It was clear that they cared - almost seemed like they embodied the youth of the restaurant and were working hard to establish themselves.

You've got a solid barbeque option in Wildwood. The service is fun and relaxed. The food doesn't astound but it'll satisfy your bbq fix. Hopefully they can figure out a way to retain more juiciness in their meats and add better sauces on the table but all in all, you'll get your money's worth.


Full review:
BBQ is fun and eating BBQ should be fun. If it's not, there's a problem. That's why Wildwood BBQ is a success. The food is good, the atmosphere is lively, comfortable, and relaxed. It's good for parties of all sizes and the menu allows for easy sharing and sampling, as bbq should.

But Wildwood isn't stunningly original. The most obvious comparison that comes to mind is nearby Blue Smoke, the bbq joint that has probably rooted itself most deeply in the hearts of New Yorkers. Wildwood's food is on par with Blue Smoke but doesn't have quite the same coziness or atmosphere. The decor and feel of the place is a slightly forced faux-western with stereotypical bbq-ish things: lots of exposed wood, chalkboards with menus scrawled on them, mason jar cups, iron beams, etc. This is very Gramercy western and it's a little too manufactured and new to be believable as authentic wild west environment (something that Blue Smoke is wise not to attempt). But at the same time, who really cares? You're there to have fun and as long as the food is tasty, you'll enjoy yourself if you just go with it. Blue Smoke remains the gold standard but still, the city is far from saturated with good bbq options - at least of the non-Dallas BBQ variety. As this restaurant grows and matures, people might gush about this place the way they do about its top competitor and neighbor.

The food is good and it's affordable, especially when taking into account the overall experience you get. The Memphis-style baby-back ribs are smokier than any urban bbq I've tasted, and come slathered in a delicious carmelized sweet-spicy glaze: the heat of the chipotle goes well with the raspberry, which has a nice sweet-but-not-too-sweet balance. The problem is that the ribs are surprisingly dry, as is the Texas smoked beef brisket and the pulled pork. Luckily, you have the caddy of sauces on the table to douse your food in. Of the sauces, the chipotle-raspberry doesn't taste as good out of the bottle but the tangy bbq will do the trick with any of the meats. The pulled pork isn't your usual variety - it's not dunked in sauce or shredded too finely, and it's a little firmer in texture. It was tasty but it might not be what you picture if you're used to a more conventional pulled pork. The roast chicken is ordinary. The meat is juicy but the smoke and flavor don't penetrate the meat. Sprinkle the rib dust on the meat, however, and it's really tasty. Still, this bird doesn't hold a candle to other whole chicken preparations in non-bbq restaurants like Peruvian rotisserie chicken; if you're at Wildwood, you might as well go for the things that truly reak of bbq like ribs, brisket, or even a burger.

Wildwood BBQ's strength is its service. And it's important that they nail it because it's what the atmopshere hinges on. Our server was pleasantly unpushy and friendly but also attentive - just what you want to go with your slow cookin'. The restaurant management either has done a good job recruiting or they've done a great job instilling a warm and fun culture in only a few weeks of existence, or both. Some details were missed, such as empty waters or a lack of extra plates for sharing. But they did other things to "go the extra mile": they repeatedly brought fresh new mugs of good tasting coffee and nearly ran after us when we had left a magazine at the table. It was clear that they cared; it almost seemed like they embodied the youth of the restaurant and were working hard to establish themselves. Sometimes, the food takes a back seat (or a sideseat) when the people are so pleasant.

Bottom line is, if are you looking for barbeque then you've got a solid option in Wildwood. The menu is manageable and pleasantly straightforward, not too many items but all the ones that you're looking for. The food doesn't astound but it'll satisfy your bbq fix, and the experience is versatile so you can go there for a variety of non-vegetarian occasions. The service is fun and relaxed - just what you want when you walk in the door. Hopefully they can figure out a way to retain more juiciness in their meats and add better sauces on the table but all in all, you'll get your money's worth.