Mustard's

10/6/2009
Napa Valley, CA: 7399 St Helena Highway - (707) 944-2424
Rating (1-10): 9
Price: High End

"Napa Soul"
Mustard’s is the kind of place that makes you want to love it, as soon as you walk in the door. To be sure, the restaurant’s reputation precedes itself, so it has an advantage because you’re already primed and ready to have an experience you’ll really enjoy. But at the same time, it's also extremely difficult to deliver on such expectations. Mustard’s succeeds, and almost effortlessly, it seems. This “truckstop deluxe” Napa institution is good for any occasion and offers an appetizing, fun, inventive menu to challenge the palette and deliver good old home cooking satisfaction at a fair price.

Mustard’s sits on the busy thoroughfare, Highway 29, neighbors with various wineries between Napa and St. Helena. Next to the restaurant is its garden, which is the source for the restaurant’s goods and which you are free to explore. It is these surroundings and Chef Cindy Pawlcyn’s laid back and playful sensibilities that define this restaurant. Long before organic/local became the hip new fad, Mustard’s was living it. Here you’ll find top notch cooking driven by the environment, not overfussed but maybe with a couple curveballs.

The salad is a statement: just a pile of dressed leaves, with no fixins or toppings (except a lady bug that we spotted). It’s almost as if to say, “Here it is, there’s nothing we need to do to it because it’s already just the way it should be.” The leaves are crunchy, vibrant greens and yellows with a bitter bite. It’s not going to blow your mind but there’s something to be said for a salad that can stand alone, without dried fruits, toasted nuts, cheese, and fifteen vegetables tossed in a complicated vinaigrette.

The tamales are served with a green lime sauce and trumpet mushrooms. Tamales always sound delicious to me but they certainly don’t always come out that way; often it’s the texture or pasty, plastic look or perhaps just the non-corn flavor of the corn. In my view, what’s appealing about tamales is that they concentrate the awesomeness of corn: texture, sweetness, flavor. You should feel like you just at 6 ears of corn in only a candy bar-sized portion. Mustard’s tamales do just that and their saltiness is balanced by the sauce’s acidity and crunch pine nuts. The earthy mushrooms reinforce each satisfying bite.

The Mongolian pork chop is among the most popular entrees at Mustard’s and deservedly so. It's the best pork chop I have ever had. The chop comes out looking just about as any piece of meat could be, with grill marks and a carmelized sheen, dabbed with the house-made Dijon mustard. The pork sits next to pickled cabbage and a hefty portion of buttery, garlicky mashed potatoes. The meat is incredibly juicy and flavorful, the mustard is nice and sweet, and the sides alone would satisfy me for a meal. If there was anything I could change about this dish it would be…nothing.

The pumpkin ravioli entrée was on its first day on tour, a preview for the fall season. It’s a pleasing dish to look at – big plump ravioli topped with cubed butternuts squash, nuts, an array of mushrooms, greens, and a broth. If you love hearty, fall vegetables – squash, pumpkin, mushrooms – this is one you’ll want to try. Dip your bread in the broth as you’re finishing up. The dish was a little undersalted but otherwise, quite satisfying.

In terms of ambiance, it’s pretty much what you’d expect – friendly, unpretentious, professional. A smiling bartender offered to take a picture when we were looking for someone to help us out. Our server talked excitedly about the dishes. The atmosphere was boisterous but controlled and the playlist was fun. White tablecloths and crisp white server uniforms add just a bit of that formal touch. In every sense of the word, Mustard’s demonstrates good taste.

If you’re visiting the Napa Valley, it’s likely you’re going to get a long list of “must-go” recommendations from friends. Mustard’s will probably be on pretty much everyone’s list – there’s good reason for it. It truly is a must go.

Ad Hoc

10/4/2009
Yountville, CA: 6476 Washington St - (707) 944-2487
Rating (1-10): 9
Price: High End

"Luxury in Sweatpants"
Ad Hoc is an inviting, casual neighborhood spot serving ultra-satisfying four-course set meals using French Laundry ingredients at about $50 per person. If that doesn't sound awesome, I don't know what does. This is a restaurant everyone can love, many can afford (at least on vacation), and all would appreciate. Ad Hoc can serve as your casual meal or your fancy meal - regardless it might be some of the best food you will have in the Napa Valley.

Comfort is the name of the game here and it begins with the entry to the restaurant, which features a nice open space, free of tables or any other obstacles to crowd you as you wait. You might grab a drink at the bar or just wait near the front, but you won't feel cramped, rushed, or harried either way. The decor is clean and simple, and the hard wood colors give a nice warm feeling to the room. The service is also pleasant and friendly, clearly trained to keep things laid-back; this is high class food but they remove the pretense from the experience. Unfortunately, the server was a bit strong on the upsell, which always rubs me the wrong way, as if to make us feel bad about not spending more.

Ad Hoc offers a set menu that changes each night except certain nights, which are designated for a special dish, such as Monday night fried chicken. On our visit, the offering was a salad with ham, pasta with cauliflower, cherry tomatoes, and beef short ribs, a cheese course and a banana split for dessert. The salad was probably the best I have ever had - certainly the most memorable. Maybe it's just me but I find it difficult to describe the taste of leaves. But these were crisp and bursting with flavor that one might associate with green things. Thin sliced ham was the perfect salty complement to the acidic dressing, which lightly coated the lettuce. This was a rare case where the dressing supported the greens, and not the other way around.

The main course featured large cubes of beef short ribs along with flat pasta served in a saute pan with roasted vegetables and crispy, salty bread crumbs over top. Often, slow-cooked meats are cooked to a consistency that renders a knife unnecessary because the meat is pulverized to shreds by extensive exposure to low heat; it's good, no doubt, but you're losing a little bit of the character and flavor of the ingredient by trying to make it so tender. For example, pulled pork often tastes more like the sauce that it's mixed in rather than actual pork. At Ad Hoc, the beef short rib tastes very much like beef and maybe as a result, they don't even need sauce. The consistency is distinctly meaty and they don't in fact just melt in your mouth; though they were tender and gave way with ease to fork and knife, they retained a bit of toughness as a reminder that this, afterall, meat not pudding.

The accompanying pasta was covered thinly in oil but had no real sauce. Again, this allowed for the ingredients to be showcased and not masked: the tart sweetness of the tomatoes; the earthy cauliflower; the crunch of the breadcrumbs (which were a salty substitute for cheese, as one astute observer remarked); and of course the pasta along with the chunks of beef. The dish was extremely good, satisfying, healthy, unfussy, period.

Many in the area mentioned that Ad Hoc was their favorite restaurant. I'd be hard pressed to find a better value and I'd consider it a matter of course to include this in at least one Napa visit.

Aldea

6/26/2009
Flatiron: 31 West 17th Street (btwn 5th Ave and 6th Ave) - (212) 675-7223
Price Range: High End
Rating (1-10): 9


Aldea is a sleek, contemporary yet comfortable restaurant serving refined, artistic dishes at a relatively affordable price. The food is a Mediterranean, which means you’ll find seafood and olive oil, but also a variety of vegetables and surf and turf. The food is thoughtfully constructed, well seasoned, and full of interesting flavors; not only that, the dishes are fun to look at, especially when seated at the sushi counter-style bar looking into the open kitchen. The service is attentive and refreshingly friendly, conversational, and personable – which seems to be a theme at Aldea: proper, professional, and high-end but simultaneously relaxing. In short, the restaurant leaves little to be desired except a second trip. Whether you’re alone, in a big group, or anywhere in between, this place would be a good choice for a nice meal in Manhattan.

Beyond the narrow bar area at the entrance in the back dining area of the restaurant, there’s a calm, relaxing oasis-like feel that betrays the unremarkable surrounding neighborhood on West 17th Street. The design of the restaurant is impeccable and manages to make this small and low-ceilinged space feel light, airy, and open. While some establishments sacrifice comfort for contemporary, Aldea strikes that delicate balance between hip, sheik and clean but not sterile, cold, or up tight. And in fact, the surroundings match remarkably well, the food itself, which is elegant and pretty but deeply satisfying and un-kitschy.

The menu is really fun to read and it’s not easy to make your picks – everything looks and sounds delicious. The selections are focused and carefully selected to provide a great balance of seafood, meats, and vegetable dishes. Chef George Mendes really seems to have a command of what he’s doing. Having worked under a star-studded cast of internationally famous Michelin-starred chefs in Spain, France, and the US (Berasategui, Passard, Verge, Ducasse, Bouley), it’s not surprising.

Our meal began with sea urchin toast, which comes as a thin strip of toast topped with sea urchin, lime zest and juice, cauliflower cream, and a litany of other tiny ingredients painstakingly layered on by the cooks. Despite its array of ingredients, the end product still has a nice, clean simplicity. The creamy urchin flavor is nice but it’s warmed and I’ve never liked raw seafood warm – so pick according to your preference. The Shrimp Alhinho appetizer features fat shrimp hot off the griddle, very juicy and tender in the middle, and served in a peppery, savory oil-based sauce. Even after the shrimp are gone, it’s something you can dip your bread into and eat til the plate is totally clean.

There’s a balanced selection of both seafood and land animals for main courses but if you’re like me and you’re a fan of loins and/or slow-cooked meats, the Niman Ranch Pork Loin or the Pennsylvania Baby Goat should do you well. The pork is served as juicy slices of the meat sitting on a bed of “smoked corn” with a light sauce and some clams. The meat was well-cooked with a bold salty exterior – and complemented well by the corn. Kind of like a farm-inspired meal with a little pizzazz. The clams were a bit gummy and were sort of like the guy at the party who didn’t do or say anything. And as far as, the sauce, it was a bit off but it wasn’t the focal point, so it didn’t detract from the dish (though it could have potentially added even more).

The baby goat dish featured three different cuts – loin (the best part and incredibly soft texture), belly (fatty but not that much flavor and too thin), and braised meat (intense gamy goat flavor and slow cooked to falling-apart tenderness). To soak up the sauce, a side of buckwheat is served, and indeed it’s great with the sauces around the meat. It’s an interesting dish and if you’re up for gamier flavored meats, then this would be a great opportunity to get at that baby goat.

The service, from the hostesses to the servers to even the cooks that we spoke to, was warm and engaging. They all seemed to have a passion for service but also an air of modesty and not-taking-themselves-too-seriously. In other words, it’s cordial and unpretentious, and the result is a truly pleasant experience.

Sometimes, it’s the little things that make an impression and for me, it was this extra thoughtfulness that I liked most. Aldea is a restaurant that reaches out to its patrons through gestures both subtle and substantial. The wine list, for example, has an array of surprisingly affordable bottles – parties with limited budgets (like me) can enjoy a bottle of delicious, crisp Austrian white wine for $25. It’s an uncommonly inviting move for an upscale place of this caliber. I also appreciate a nice bathroom and this classy, blue tiled room features an awesome playlist of rock tunes, and soft cotton towels for hand drying. I also tend to admire an open kitchen – it’s a bold move to open up the workplace to an audience in this manner, especially when you consider how harried, dirty, and foul-mouthed the back of the house can get. Here, it’s quiet, efficient, and calm; and it’s an added level of entertainment to observe and occasionally ask questions of the cooks over the counter. For my money, this is the way to experience Aldea.

Aldea is likely to be one of my favorite new restaurants of the year –quality of food, aesthetic, and hospitality taken together, this is a standout. It isn’t a place to pop into casually, as it’s still a high-end price range – and also because you might not appreciate the experience without a little anticipation. So perhaps save it for a special occasion of sorts – date, family dinner, or celebration. But either way, you should go.

Commerce

4/18/2009
West Village: 50 Commerce St (near Barrow St) - (212) 524-2301
Price Range: High End
Rating (1-10): 7

Commerce is a moderately fancy but casual and boisterous restaurant serving high quality New American-y dishes in an unassuming part of the West Village. It’s a lively and noisy spot which might not be the best area for quiet conversation, but good for an environment where you feel comfortable to laugh as loud as you want. The food is rich and strongly seasoned while the service is friendly though a bit harried thanks to the packed bar and generally intense atmosphere.

One thing to appreciate at any restaurant is an effort to put out good bread. I’ve always been of the belief that the bread itself has the potential to be the best thing on the table. The quality of the bread also indicates a lot of things about the restaurant: soul, genuine interest in serving quality product no matter the P+L, and genuine interest in the customer experience. After all, the bread is a free offering and one that only serves to take up space in a stomach that might otherwise be fed something with a price tag. In other words, there’s not a whole lot in it for the restaurant. At Commerce, they offer a selection of various types of breads – from rolls to pretzel bread to more traditional wheat bread to more crusty selections. It’s all quite good and does in fact leave a lasting impression. The bread basket peaks the curiosity and deserves a tip of the cap.

In contrast, the steak tartare appetizer, which was recommended by the server, was below average. Obviously the point of this dish (raw beef) is to taste the essence of the meat flavor in its unadulterated form. But the overabundant quenelle of cream and chives atop the chopped meat serve to mask, rather than accentuate, the flavor of the meat. I can still vividly remember the meat flavor of the steak tartare that I ate at a market restaurant in southern France 7 years ago. But at Commerce, I struggled to get any sense of the taste of the tartare even as I was eating it – in fact, I could barely tell what was beef and what was other stuff by looking at it.

In the entrees, the chicken for two, which has received rave reviews and has become something of a signature dish of the restaurant, does much better. The dish takes 45 minutes from when you order it, so be ready for a wait. This isn’t highlighted as drawback however – in fact, there’s something nice about the idea that a restaurant insists on doing things the right, if inefficient, way – kind of like taking time to create real paella, rather than serving rice pilaf in 10 minutes.

The chicken is cooked whole, presented, and then butchered into two halves and plated. The meat is deliciously moist, and nicely seasoned with herbs (and I’ve read, truffles but wasn’t entirely sure) under a crispy skin. It’s a very rich, salty dish as the chicken is accompanied by pureed potato (somewhat like a thinner version of mashed potatoes), a brown sauce, and small pieces of croutons (the stuffing) soaked in juices of foie gras. It’s a neat idea to have the ultra-flavorful croutons accompany each bite of meat – providing a boost where it’s difficult for seasoning to reach deep in the body of the chicken. The dish is well-thought out, carefully executed, decadent and sleep-inducing satisfying.

Despite the success of the chicken dish and my recommendation to get it, at $28 per head, it’s pushing the limits of what is essentially half of a roast chicken with some fancy fixins. As good as it is, I would hesitate to call it the best game (no pun intended) in town, and certainly not dollar for dollar. A whole Peruvian rotisserie chicken, for example, can be found for under $10 and it can deliver just as much, if not more flavor, juiciness, and seasoning. The moral of the story is that, while you will get high quality, you should be prepared for high prices as well on the menu at Commerce.

The interior is very pleasing but it’s hard to put a finger on exactly why. Although I don’t often make restaurant comparisons, Commerce has the feel of a place designed by the masterful Kevin McNally – like a Schiller’s or Pravda. The yellowish lighting of the restaurant, simple but inviting décor, and shiny tile walls give it a feel like a bistro feel from a bygone era. It’s a fun vibe - kind of like that of a dinner party after everyone's gotten drunk - and it makes you feel part of a scene. The servers, runners and bussers do well to dip and dodge and maintain a friendly, communicative demeanor in the somewhat frenetic environment and crowded bar area. It’s not ultra attentive service but it’s not that kind of place either. The mostly financy, yuppied out, decidedly undiverse clientele here don’t seem to mind as long as drinks are in hand and the food is there. No one’s here for 4 stars, they’re here to loosen up, even if they do happen to be wearing a blazer.

In the end, I’m not convinced that this restaurant offers the best value but I’d bet that you will be satisfied with the meal – which may just make it worth it. Commerce suits the bill for a cozy but very lively, slightly off the beaten path restaurant tucked in the backstreets of a well-trodden area. Drinks are good, the mood is vibrant bordering on party, menu selection is appetizing, and the execution of the food is very solid, but it comes at a West Village premium.

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.

Ten Penh

12/6/2008

Washington, DC: 1001 Pennsylvania Ave, NW - (202) 393-4500

Price: High End

Rating (1-10): 6

Full Review:
Ten Penh is a large-scale Pan-Asian restaurant that has been playing host to power brokers of the DC downtown scene since its opening in summer 2000. The food is interesting and well-executed. But Ten Penh is more abut about the overall fun of the experience, plates, and drinks. It’s good for big group dinners or catching up with friends, or before a night on the town. It’s not DC’s best in culture, refinement, or sophistication; but it's a taste of those things, it’s satisfying, and most importantly, it’s a good time.

In my mind, the descriptor “Pan-Asian” is usually a tip-off that it's not really Asian. It’s like saying a restaurant is European: a mile wide, an inch deep. At Ten Penh, the menu is described as Pan-Asian, but it’s essentially an American style of Asian that caters to a penchant for large portions, dramatic plating, and strong flavors. Like the colorful, large décor and high ceilings of this showy restaurant, the food lacks a bit of subtlety – ironically, one of the few traits that one might correctly be able to qualify as Pan-Asian.

While the menu thankfully isn’t a regurgitation of typical Asian style dishes – chicken pad thai, drunken noodle, sukiyaki, chicken satay with peanut sauce, kobe beef, chicken and cashew, etc – it’s more about glitz than true culinary impact. Most of the plates tend to wow with presentation and size – for example, a lot of deep-fried stuff piled to impressive heights. I can appreciate the effort and the creativity in the visual, but sometimes I’m weary that it’s a substitute for the quality of the cooking itself. That said, it all came out pretty well. The lamb was cooked and seasoned/spiced well, the Chilean sea bass was light and tender, and the lobster was mostly soft accompanied by a flavorful jus.

It’s not perfection, certainly. Their Thai shrimp curry was a bit too sweet on account of over-pineappling. The duck roll appetizer was too dry all around – the wrapper and the duck – but still tasted good. The salad was passable and the short ribs were a bit on the sweet side but bold in flavor and tender, with an appetizing carmelized sheen. Overall, they're satisfying, hearty dishes, not overly heavy and pleasing to the taste buds.

But again, I believe the goal of this place centers on the experience – and to their credit, the service is friendly and accommodating. They went out of their way to make our experience fun and memorable, not only accommodating a large size table but allowing us to pull a “surprise” birthday party near our table. The restaurant made specially printed menus recognizing the birthday, and allowed us to bring our own cake and champagne (though with plating and corking fees). It’s this kind of flexibility and hospitality that leaves you walking away happy for the selection of Ten Penh for dinner.

By now, the name Ten Penh is widely recognizable to residents of DC - a downtown power lunch spot, pretty good food. That seems about right but I think there’s more to it than that - I believe the people at Ten Penh care about quality of the food and the experience. Just take a look at the wares, which are of a surprisingly nice quality (Laguiole knives, individual heavy cast iron pots, etc.). At some point, there was a conscious decision made to spend the extra cash to provide top notch stuff. That said, on second look, they’re also slightly worn, chipped, or broken from heavy usage – not quite what they once might have been. Similarly, it seems like Ten Penh may also have already seen its heyday. We’ll see if they can keep it fresh, new. As far as Pan-Asian restaurants go, it’s one that I’d root for.

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.

Makoto

6/28/2008

Washington DC: 4822 Macarthur Blvd NW - (202) 298-6866

Price Range: High End

Rating (1-10): 5

Full Review:

My recommendation for this place is easy: pass. If you're considering going, it probably means you're willing to spend some cash, and if you're gonna do that, you can find a more enjoyable experience elsewhere. At Makoto, treating patrons with tact or a true sense of hospitality is apparently optional. The food would actually be pretty average in Japan but they seem to be pretty impressed with themselves. What concerns me is that people will walk away thinking that Makoto and its austere, cold service are characteristic of authentic Japanese; that's not how it is supposed to be done. Both the food and the service should be artful, and they only come close with the former. I don't buy the hype about Makoto; I'm convinced it gets the kind of praise that it does largely because there's just a dearth of good Japanese restaurants in Washington DC.

A while back, I stopped in for a fine lunch, but our service at dinner was strikingly bad. Upon arriving at the restaurant, we were greeted with a curtain, and were unsure if we should peek in and announce our presence. When a server clad in a kimono emerged, she informed us that we would have a short wait in the shoebox sized waiting area, and gave us a wooden box to sit on. It was a few minutes before our 8 o'clock reservation (which required that we give a credit card number); we waited until 8:40 to be seated, with untruthful promises that we would be seated shortly sprinkled in periodically.

In one awkward moment during our wait, a couple entered the shoebox waiting area and two servers emerged - and then got into an uncomfortable exchange bordering on argument. After a momentary pause, the servers turned their attention back to the couple and found that their reservation was lost. The matter was sorted out and the head server then yelled (literally) that she needed to speak with her subordinate immediately in the kitchen. Once the comically uncoordinated servers left the shoebox, we looked over the at the couple and all of us acknowledged the strangeness of the exchange we had just witnessed.

It's also interesting to note the signage that greets you as you walk into the restaurant, and prepare you for the experience here. On the center of the front door is a gold plaque reading "Proper Attire Required." Then, inside the door, another plaque more specifically stating the dress code, prominently displayed on an otherwise undecorated wall. Directly below that is a sign telling you to turn off your cell piece. And finally, on the opposite wall, another sign declaring that the restaurant is not responsible if any of your stuff gets taken from the foyer area. Not exactly the most welcoming decor.

After being seated, we were hungry. We knew that we would be ordering the tasting menu, so my mother asked on her way to the bathroom if we could order as soon as possible. Before she was able to return, the head server flew over to me at the sushi counter and forcefully explained that I should order because we had asked to do so, shoving the menu in my hands and pointing vigorously at my options. There was a false friendliness that barely masked the server's overall impatient, temperamental, highly abrasive demeanor. How could a restaurant put their front of the house in the hands of such a colossally unpleasant woman?

After ordering, we were brought a kind of sake that we didn't actually want. It turns out we had ordered the wrong kind, partly because we ordered in Japanese and our server did not understand. At the risk of sounding insensitive, I found it troublesome that a server at Makoto would not speak Japanese - not only because it's a place that seems to insist so strongly on being traditional in its ways, but also because items on the menu, including the sake, are written in Japanese. What's the point of this if you have to translate it for the server anyway? In any mid to high-end French restaurant, I would expect that the server will have the training to recognize any item written on the menu in French, even if he/she doesn't actually speak fluently. So should it be anywhere where a menu item is written in a foreign language.

Before the food came out, I checked if I had any new text messages on my phone which was on silent. The head server flew at me once again yelling (again), as if I had stepped on the baby Jesus. She said that I had to turn off my phone immediately and that they would stop service if the chef saw me checking text messages. Perhaps what I did was insulting to the chef, which I take the blame for - but I cannot accept the reaction as a rational way of dealing with the situation.

And this was emblematic of the way our experience was in general: I understand why they have their rules and I understand the spirit behind it. But at almost every turn, they lack grace and tact in the way they enforce those rules. As a result, it feels contricted, stiff, and unfriendly. For example:

• I probably shouldn't even be checking my phone, but I don't need to be screamed at or told that they might not serve me. An alternative is to ask politely to refrain from using my phone in the restaurant; or better yet, if she had explained that the chef takes his craft very seriously and would like me to focus fully on the experience he is trying to deliver. Not only would I respect that, it would be a learning experience for me.
• They don't have to display prominent gold plaques that tell you all the things you're not supposed to do as you walk into the restaurant.
• They don't need to take your credit card number when you make a reservation, which comes off as some kind of veiled threat; rather, they could ask for your phone number and call to confirm your reservation prior to your arrival.

I don't find the reasons for what they do objectionable, it's the manner in which they do it.

The food is good - but as you might guess, it really was not the focal point in this atmosphere. The meal was nicely presented and sometimes quite delicious. For $60, the tasting menu is a decent deal because you get 9 courses including dessert, and the plates are probably about as good of Japanese food as you'll find in DC. Unfortunately, there isn't much drama or excitement as the dishes are brought to you. Instead, it feels like the courses are churned out in a machine-like fashion, as if there's a dish on deck for you as soon as the one you're working on can be bussed away. All the better though: with the service the way it was, I was ready to pound out the courses like a set of push-ups and get on my way. Here's a rundown:

#1: Opener of smoky, smallish green beans and conch. The conch is light, tastes nice.
#2: Nice sashimi plate was nice and came with a fresh grated wasabi which is always better. The tuna in particular was flavorful and meaty but still tender.
#3: A playful dish - salmon sashimi wrapped in a thin layer of radish in a cream sauce with a tomato, in a yellow boat-shaped dish. That was good, although somewhat unremarkable other than the visual. On the side was a piece of unagi (eel) on toasted bread sprinkled with cheese - weird and unnecessary. The other part of this dish was kombu (kelp) on a scallop which was outright disgusting. The strong kombu flavor complemented the scallop in a way that made it taste rotten.

#4: A deep-fried crab not with tempura batter or panko but with broken up osembe (rice crackers). It's a novel idea but again not necessary as the layer of osembe (though crunchy, salty, and delicious) overwhelmed the crab both in mass and in flavor. You need a big thick chunk of crab to make this work; anyting that's not the body, therefore, is more like a stick of fried osembe and a waste of crab meat. It's good with lemon and salt.

#5: Steamed fish with greens was one of the best dishes: flavorful, tender fish and vegetables in a broth of typically Japanese stock flavor.
#6: The sushi plate was disappointing considering the praise this place gets as one of the premier sushi places not only in DC but on the east coast. Not only were the sushi pieces too similar or the same as the sashimi plate, it was as small as I have ever seen. This is iSushi and unlike an iPod, smaller is not better.#7: I chose a common Japanese preparation of miso-flavored broiled orange roughy was light and nice in flavor but overcooked and surprisingly tough. Another option, the yellowtail is more tender and a meatier fish. #8: Last of the savory dishes, the soba dish, my favorite partly because of its refreshing nature but mostly because of the broth, which is made at the counter and adjusted for flavor by the chef. It's very good - the most memorable flavor of the night. The noodles are cooked to a perfect texture and there are several options for your garnish. I had the grated yam, which was nice.
#9: Dessert - a yuzu sherbet which was a nice ender to the meal: icy, not too sweet, with the yuzu flavor refreshing your mouth. If this was at an icy stand in my neighborhood, I'd probably get it 5 times a week.

Overall, I just didn't feel that the food was remarkable, certainly not enough to excuse the gruff treatment. In Japan, this place would be average, and there the top notch places may have many rules but they'll be revealed to you in far more subtle and artful ways. You'll follow them out of respect for the establishment naturally, not because they are harshly imposed upon you. And at no point would their sense of courtesy slip; for example, yelling at a customer would be inexcusable. Of course, to be fair, you'll also pay a lot more as well. But at the end of the day $60 per person warrants an enjoyable night out, and Makoto did not deliver that. If all you care about is the food, then maybe it's ok because it's as good as any Japanese food in DC and you'll get a full meal out of the tasting menu.

For me, it's a one and done.

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.