Socarrat

9/30/2008

Chelsea: 259 W. 19th St (near 8th Ave) - (212) 462-1000

Price Range: High End

Rating (1-10): 9

Soccarat is one of the most exciting restaurants I have been to in a while and I recommend it without hesitation. It's not often that I'm sitting at the table not even mid-way through my food and thinking, "I can't wait to come back here." Socarrat is a cozy, narrow restaurant with a long communal table down the middle, friendly service, classy, quirky interior design, and food you love to love.

Prior to this experience, I don't believe that I had ever had true paella, despite having ordered it off of numerous menus in multiple countries, including Spain. The great search is now over as this crusty pan of seafood-essence soaked rice lived up to the image I had always held for what it could and should be. The paella comes served in a large, circular black pan that is layered with rice (squid ink black rice also available) and mixed with various types of meats and veggies depending on your selection. It's quite a sight and the pictures on this website or the restaurants don't do the dishes justice. True to the name Socarrat, which refers to the cripy rice baked onto the bottom of the pan, there is delicious crunch, especially around the edge of the pan where it gets hottest. The rice has soaked up the seafood flavor which also is the smell you get as you walk into the wonderfully aromatic room. In terms of basic ingredients, paella is actually fairly simple - rice is the star of this dish. Just goes to show that sometimes, in fact, often times, the most basic thing done right is the most delicious thing.

Our "Socarrat Paella" came with mussels, clams, beef, chicken, cuttlefish, and squid. The seafood was somehow tender and not overcooked and rubbery like it often comes out with inauthentic paella. It's strongly seasoned, perhaps a bit on the salty side, but I found myself scraping the pan for every last bit I could scoop. Other mouth-watering varieties are also available and come in serving sizes that have a minimum of 2 people. It's filling and little heavy so you'll be happy with these generous portions.

The prelude to the paella is a "I want it all" selection of tapas that entertains and satifies while you wait for your paella, which takes 30 minutes to prepare (a good sign) . The Calamar a la Plancha squid dish with garlicky butter sauce and lemon is flavorful, tastes of the sea, and leaves you with a pool of sauce that you can clean off with a piece of bread, like you would with some great mussels. The Tocino con Datiles - braised pork belly with slices of green apple, date puree and roasted potatoes - is wonderfully fatty, hearty pork seared to a fox-brown color. The date puree and potato are perhaps a bit superfluous, or just fail to come thru, but the apple adds a nice fresh crispy sweetness to the savory pork. Usually in a menu, there are a few dishes that just don't seem that interesting or appealing, but that wasn't the case with this tapas - I'd put my money on any item.

Either there's someone at Socarrat with a design background or a great eye for decor, as this thoughtfully adorned restaurant incorporates art, rustic ornamentation, and also some sleek features like a mirrored table. (Only downside is that it's not good for large groups unless you can get the round table at the front.) If you look around and in the bathroom, you'll see evidence of a lot of attention to detail. This kind of conscientiousness is also a feature of the service, which is hospitable, and relaxed. At one point, a server came by to help us scoop out the paella, encouraging us to keep eating. There was no pressure, and instead just friendly staff occasionally checking in while bustling around this busy little joint. If you get a chance, look around for a portly gentleman named Lolo (real name: Jesus Manso) - he's the owner of Socarrat (as well as nearby tapas bar La Nacional). A quick conversation with him and how he got here 24 years ago from northwestern Spain will reveal to you where the warmth, character, and passion of this place come from.

On the cover of the menu, is a definition of the word soccarat and on the restaurant website is this description: "The delectable crust that forms on the bottom of the paella pan when the liquid is rendered and the rice reaches its peak of succulence." I couldn't have said it better. THIS is paella. Does this restaurant have soul? Yes, and it shows through in every facet of the experience.

Lucali

9/28/2008

Carroll Gardens: 575 Henry St (near Carroll St) - (718) 858-4086

Price: Mid-Range

Rating (1-10): 8

Lucali pizza is a top notch pizza operation with a cozy, fragrant, rustic setting. This is the kind of place that could easily be in the running for the oft-discusssed "best pizza in New York" distinction. In combination with the pizza itself, a very pleasant dining area, and it's one of the best pizza joints I've ever been to.

The bubbly, slightly burnt crust of the brick-oven pizza is fairly thin and crusty but also has a layer of soft doughy-ness to it as well. The sauce is a slightly sweet tomato sauce with a range of basic toppings: basil, mushrooms, artichoke, onions, olives, garlic, mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, etc. But they keep it refreshingly simple, emphasizing the quality of the ingredients and the pizza crust. This pizza was light and I didn't feel weighted down like I had eaten a pizza dinner; in this respect, it reminded me a lot of Franny's, another outstanding Brooklyn pizzeria.

Other offerings on the menu are limited to calzones. So if you're not looking for pizza or calzone, obviously Lucali's is not the place to go. I appreciate the focus here as I think it only makes their craft better and more consistent. There is genuine effort put into a high quality product here - stemming from owner Mark Iacono, who built and opened the restaurant two years ago after deciding to jump into the world of pizza on no experience.

The eating area is separated from the kitchen by only a counter where uncut vegetables are displayed. Perhaps the radiant heat from the brick over is the reason it's a bit toasty in here. But it also adds to a nice sense of kitchen cozyness because you are in the kitchen. The dimly lit room is romantic and fun, with a slight buzz echoing through the high-ceilinged room. The decor is rustic, wood, just what you'd expect. Service at Lucali is relaxed, responsive, and very friendly. It's casual joint and the service keeps it chill as well.

A few other helpful tidbits: it's byob (which means you have to bring drinks and perhaps risk that they'll get warm while you're waiting - but also means a cheaper bill! There's a few bodega's a couple blocks away); it's cash only; and you'll have to wait, outside. Call ahead. You can also get to-go pizzas, although it's never nearly as good as eating it there.

No way around it, Lucali's is awesome. If you're serious about pizza, you should make a visit.

Barrio

8/9/2008
Park Slope: 210 7th Ave (and 3rd St) - (718) 965-4000
Price: Mid-Range
Rating (1-10): 7


If you find yourself strolling around the Park Slope neighborhood or vicinity, you should stop by Barrio for a relaxed atmosphere and solid Mexican food. I thought a rating of 7 might be high but in the end, decided it fair considering for the atmosphere, the quality of the food, and the value.

The food is fresh and light - a pleasant change from other Mexican joints that, though satisfying, leave you feeling like jabba the hut. I enjoyed the flavors in all of the dishes that I tried - and the variety of flavors in particular: delicious calamari-conconut flavored rice with spicy grilled shrimp; a "chile arbol" peanut mole, which tastes strongly of peanut and goes with a roast pork; or a chicken enchilada in a red salsa puree with more typical heat and a bit of tanginess. The seasoned doesn't burn your mouth out or go crazy with one element - sweet, sour, spicy, etc - and offset the balance - in fact, the food both in taste, freshness, and composition achieves a nice balance.

The fish tacos appetizer - though small in portion - were light and pleasantly simple, letting the ingredients be themselves with cilantro, cabbage, and citrus. The Yucatan shrimp dish were meaty, juicy (and not rubbery), strongly seasoned, and nicely charred. And the chicken enchilada was gone in about 5 minutes - the cheese (a crumbled queso fresco), raw onion, red salsa sauce, along with the chicken and tortilla were simply a great combo that and no part of it was unpleasant.

Improvements could be made - such as the addition of a starch to the Puebla pork dish, which would have been better served over rice to catch some of the pork juice and sauce. And I do wonder about the authenticity of the menu - some of the stuff they could do without like the chile caesar salad or granola and yogurt served at brunch. The concern is not only that it makes it disappointingly generic, but also might bring into question the ability to produce real Mexican food. It strikes me as a lack of confidence to stick with one true theme.

As enjoyable as the food at Barrio is the atmosphere, particularly in the warmer weather with all the open windows and a large outdoor eating area, looking out onto the stoller-filled, but pleasant and spacious intersection at 7th ave and 3rd st. With relaxing music (which I can't name) playing through the speakers and friendly, personable, unpretentious servers, the ambiance is calming and struck me as a place you could come back to consistently, for casual dinners, dates, or just to chill and grab a quick drink or bite. Although the owners seemed to have gotten it right with a lot of things about Barrio, the color selection of the exterior awning is a bit odd - bright orange and pink. On the one hand, its loud and vibrant and is about energy, but it's a bit of a shock. They say that people go crazy sitting in a red room - sitting under the awning outside on a sunny day might be a good place to conduct that experiment. I opted to sit inside given the heat lamp-like glow. I'll go when it's nighttime.

When I first visited Barrio, the service was a bit cluttered since it was one of the first weeks of operation, but they have since gotten into rhythm and continue to be a friendly establishment. Although it is possible to rack up a hefty bill here, especially if you get into the drink menu, there are more than enough very reasonable items so that you don't get to the cusp of feeling a significant pinch on the wallet. Given the fun atmosphere, good value, and quality of food, I wouldn't be surprised if Barrio starts to build up a contingent of neighborhood "regulars." I'm considering it myself.

Walter's Cafe

7/18/2008
Portland, Maine: 15 Exchange St - (207) 871 -9258

Price: Mid-Range

Rating (1-10): 6

Walter's Cafe is an enjoyable dining experience set in a nice space in the heart of the port area of Portland, Maine. The food is ambitious but is hit or miss, the wine list is good, and the service is decent. All in all, it's not bad but it's not great. You should go here for the ambiance and the steak, but several of the dishes were disappointing.

Steer clear of the caesar salad which was unremarkable and simply a head of romaine on a plate with some caesar dressing and cherry tomatoes. Zero points for ingenuity on a barely passing caesar. I would also not recommend the lobster pasta or the mushroom pasta, both of which come with a delicious sounding description but end up being somewhat boring. The ingredients - lobster and wild mushrooms respectively - sound amazing and then come out and are kind of ho-hum, maybe not the best usage (for example, I'd rather just have the lobster in the shell with butter and lemon).

The star here is the steak and I would definitely go back just for that. It comes with a stilton butter, which is very nice and adds that strong salty flavor. Also on the plate is sauce bordelaise, which is fine and doesn't hurt, but it's more just along for the ride. The meat is incredibly tender and delicious. I was savoring every bite and wish there was another. It has been a while since I've had a steak this good in a restaurant, and fortunately, it's not at steakhouse prices.

Walter's Cafe is a pretty good restaurant and it might suit your fancy but it's not a place that left a particularly strong impression or elicits a strong recommendation from me. Unless you're talking about the steak, which blew my mind.

Street and Co

7/17/2008

Portland, Maine: 33 Wharf St - (207) 775-0887

Price: Mid-Range

Rating (1-10): 7

Street and Co is the kind of restaurant that seems to blend perfectly with a quaint costal town like Portland. The food is solid and comes out with exciting presentation, but above all, the ambiance gets you in the mood for a cozy New England seafood experience. Service is casual here and it's not particularly remarkable but it's friendly enough.

Dim candle light, exposed brick, bunches of dried herbs hanging from wooden ceiling beams, simple white tshirt server uniforms, and an extremely aromatic interior all contribute to a rustic, warm atmosphere. It's a lot easier said than done to create this kind of environment without it being cheesy or forced or pretentious. The 'organic' feel is kind of trendy right now but Street and Co feels like a place that was onto it long before.

The food is more or less Italian with heavy doses of seafood, which you expect and want, being on the water in lobster capital USA. Many of the dishes (presumably those cooked on the stovetop) come out served in an actual beat-up saute pan, which adds to the simple and straightforward idea - no dots and swirls and Miro-looking dishes here. The mussels appetizer is truly delicious, with a rich, garlicky broth. You could just dip bread (which is from nearby Standard Bakery and also delicious) into this broth all night and leave totally happy. The crab and avocado appetizer is uncomplicated and fresh with a very generous serving of crab; it's a good selection if you're looking for light, healthy, unadulterated taste of the sea - the only downside is that the meat is mostly broken up and you don't get the large lumps o' crab that offer big, meaty bites.

The plates get more dramatic with the entrees, headlined by the lobster diavolo: a mammoth two person pasta in a saute pan, loaded down with a red sauce packed with an assortment of seafood including mussels, squid, lobster in the shell. When you see this on the menu, you figure, "when in Rome..." The diavolo is good enough but the joy of this dish comes less from the taste of the food and more from seeing the presentation and all the stuff in the sauce. The food itself could use some refinement: the sauce was quite oversalted, for one. And when cracking the lobster claws, water came rushing out into the dish, watering down the sauce. Clipping the ends of the claws prior to putting it in the dish would drain a lot of this water. The more simple lobster with butter-garlic sauce over pasta is a similar dish that tastes better - but perhaps it's not as exciting or chaotic as the diavolo. But one thing to emphasize is that with either one, and most any other dish I saw, is that you get your money's worth. These are very generous portions and they don't sacrifice the quality of the ingredients. I like places like this because it feels very hospitable.

The service is a bit scattered but not intended to be super-high end anyway. They might forget a thing or two that you ask for, or more than one person might come over and ask you the same question. But the weaknesses are not egregious and the bottom line is that you come to have a good time, and in places like these, you don't hold the staff over the fire. You get friendly, warm atmosphere and pleasing food for good value. Of course, for Street and Co to take it to the next level and really be a place that grabs a spot in your heart, it'll have to improve the personability and attention to detail in its service.

When you go visit Portland, Maine, I think it's this kind of dining experience you're looking for. You come to the town because you want to cozy, quaint, relaxed feel - and you want to get hit over the head with seafood. Street and Co delivers well on all of those things.