Today's review roundup includes the NYTimes on New York City's "Japanese Restaurant Revolution," Jubilee 51, Pop's Pierogi, Natchez, Lucy Mexican Barbecue, Bar Jamon, Pinch Pizza by the Inch, Indian Bread Co.
The NYTimes has an interesting piece on the city's "Japanese Restaurant Revolution," a revolution that I heartily support. Don't miss the accompanying audio slide show and list of the Japanese restaurants mentioned .:
. . . For years, New York chefs have respectfully worshiped Japanese cooking at authentic shrines like Honmura An, Omen and Sushi Yasuda. With its strict rules about flavor balance, visual harmony, seasonality and presentation, plus its lengthy apprenticeship and formidable language barrier, traditional Japanese cuisine has preserved its mystique among chefs and diners.
But several forces have combined recently to crack that mystique wide open. Since 1991, Nobuyuki Matsuhisa has paved the way for a mass audience for Japanese flavors at Nobu, and chefs like David Bouley, Rocco DiSpirito and Gary Robins have been chipping away for years at the notion that Japanese food is about raw fish and ramen.
On a more global scale, a weakening dollar and active recruiting of Japanese students by New York art schools like the School of Visual Arts have brought a large, trendsetting, young Japanese community to Manhattan. The East Village and East 40's are dotted with new shops devoted to Japanese snacks like kushikatsu, skewers of deep-fried asparagus and lotus root; curry pan, a mildly spicy sweet roll so ubiquitous in Japan that it is sold at every Starbucks; and omusubi, fist-size rice balls that are the Japanese equivalent of New York's buttered bagel. On St. Marks Place, a row of izakaya, boisterous Japanese pubs associated with drinking and youth culture (that traditionally do not serve sushi), is packed every night. Japanese fashion, design and technology haven't been this chic since the 1980's; throw the Internet into the mix and the connection between New York and Tokyo has never been closer.
NYTimes Restaurants Marian Burros gives Jubilee 51 one star (329 West 51st Street, (212) 265-7575):
. . . But once I started to explore the menu, I realized Jubilee 51, an offshoot of Jubilee on the East Side, is very much a contemporary version of an old bistro. I certainly don't remember tuna tartare with miso seaweed salad or polenta from the days when dinner was under $5. [Ed. note: There's some of that Japanese revolution.]
Generally the cooking is most successful when it sticks to traditional fare. But the miso seaweed salad added a nice sweetly sharp touch to the yellowfin tuna tartare. A chicken liver paté with port wine reduction could not have been better; sweet and creamy, it gives chicken livers a good name. Baked goat cheese with sun-dried tomatoes and prosciutto arrived above a sparkling salad of frisée. Putting snails with a classic garlic parsley butter in profiteroles makes them far more interesting than when they arrive in their shells; it even makes you forget they came from a can.
. . . The kitchen tends to overcook things. The monkfish and the steak, ordered medium-rare, were dry. And I still can't figure out what happened to the vermicelli served with the nicely seared and sweet, tender scallops. Did the chef forget to cook it? Did he cook it twice? It tasted like dry sticks.
. . . you can have a nice meal at Jubilee 51, if you order carefully.
RECOMMENDED DISHES Chicken liver paté, veal paté en croute (a special), duck confit shepherd's pie, grilled lamb chops, crème brûlée, gratin of pears.
NYTimes $25 and Under Eric Asimov reviews Pop's Pierogi (190 Bleecker Street (Macdougal Street); (212) 505-0850):
. . . But instead of burgers and souvlaki, Pop's specializes in the innumerable variations on the dumplings that are street foods in Russia and in the surrounding countries in Eastern Europe and along the Black and Caspian Seas. The namesake pierogi ($5.49 to $5.99), little half-moon Polish boiled dumplings, come 12 to the order with stuffings including savory beef, cabbage sautéed until almost sweet and soft cheese that actually is sweet. I like the cabbage and beef best, especially with their topping of onions, cooked until translucent and amber, which provide just the right accent. Pelmeni ($5.99), carefully wrought little dumplings that look like a cross between tortellini and shiu mai, are even better. They are stuffed with a combination of beef, veal and pork, topped with dill, and served 20 to the order in a tall, colorful ceramic crock.
The pelmeni and pierogi account for the small dumpling portion of the menu. Other stuffed dishes are larger, more like empanadas than dumplings. I loved the fried kutabi ($2.99), a thin pastry skin stuffed with meat. An Azerbaijani specialty, it was beautifully spiced, with ground pomegranate seeds, I was told, and had a lovely smoky flavor. Samsa ($3.99), big, golden half moons filled with ground lamb, come from Uzbekistan, and their Middle Eastern, almost Indian spicing makes them seem like cousins to samosas. Both the kutabis and the samsas are superior to the deep-fried chebureki ($3.29) and the baked pirozhki ($1.99 to $2.99), both too bready.
BEST DISHES Pierogi, pelmeni, kutabi, samsa, khachapuri.
Village Voice Robert Sietsema reviews Natchez (31 Second Avenue; (212) 460-9171):
. . . The food is that rare species, Creole without the Cajun, in apparent emulation of white-glove New Orleans establishments like Galatoire's and Commanders Palace. In contrast to the catalogic menu of those places, though, Natchez lists only a handful of appetizers and entrées. The filet mignon with truffle mashed potatoes ($19) would be at home in any French restaurant, but the rich oxtail sauce will remind you, as residents are fond of saying, that N'Awlins is not really an American city, but the northernmost port of the Caribbean. This elegant admixture of lowbrow oxtail and highfalutin filet perfectly illustrates the Creole approach.
The generous bowl of gumbo ($7) is as "Loosiana" as you can get, a hefty broth dotted with andouille sausage and duck. Eschewing the okra route, it's thickened with a very dark roux. The soup remains distinctly liquid, rather than gluey, and the halo of crunchy rice on the top is the perfect fillip. Though the pair of marshmallow-size crab cakes ($9) are not particularly flavorful, the fireworks created by the supporting elements more than compensate. There's a parsnip puree lending sweetness, a bright-yellow corn salsa called choux providing crunch, and an orange remoulade sauce that delivers a welcome chile kick. That there are few spicy dishes on the menu is an additional aspect that distinguishes Creole from Cajun.
NYPost Steve Cuozzo reviews Lucy Mexican Barbecue (35 East 18th Street; (212) 475-5829):
For what will go down as one of 2004's greatest hits, executive chef Andrew DiCataldo rubs lamb with guajilo chile and slow-roasts it in avocado, banana and hoja santa (sassafras) leaves.
The irresistible result ($24) packs a subtle flavor payload - faintly smoky, slightly gamy in the manner of mutton, and with a tantalizing background of anise and spice.
. . . Entrées reach higher ground. Salmon ahumado ($21) emerged juicy, aromatic and deftly seared after applewood smoking. We happily made a mess of barbecued ribs ($21), moist and meaty enough to overcome a one-note ancho-guava sauce that scarcely tasted of either.
For a place that prides itself on re-creating Oaxaca's famous moles, Lucy is stingy. Tender grilled chicken and pork ($22) was so dry we had to beg for more "manchamantel," an alleged "tablecloth-stainer" made with pineapple and plantain. The second dose at least tasted of the fruit that was missing the first time.
Citysearch reviews Bar Jamon (125 E 17th Street; (212) 253-2773):
This Iberian "ham bar" offers just two: tender 14-month Navidul, and drier, intensely flavored 18-month Redondo sliced from the hind before your eyes. Try both, as, like all the nibbly menu items scrawled on the bar mirror, they're inexpensive, generously portioned, and are accompanied with plenty of chewy, charred bread. Innovative compositions, like grilled sardines marinated "en escabeche" with red onion, and bacalao cod bright with sweet clementines, tiny olives and sharp olive oil, arrive from Casa Mono's kitchen.
Citysearch reviews Pinch Pizza by the Inch (416 Park Ave. South; (212) 686-5222):
Pinch is hardly a slice joint. Instead, the thin-crusted pies are baked in long rectangular strips and customers order it--you guessed it--by the inch. The crust is nicely crisp-chewy, while the mild red sauce and goopy cheese are best matched with kicky topppings like pepperoni, cut in thin sticks for easier eating, and fiery fresh red chilis or hot Italian sausage. House-made fettucini is thick-cut and toothsome, tossed with pancetta and slightly undercooked, chalky peas; deeply golden chicken-under-a-brick marries well with braised escarole and whole roasted garlic cloves.
AOL Cityguide reviews Indian Bread Co. (194 Bleecker St.; (212) 228-1909):
Indian street food is a concept readily adaptable to the New York City lifestyle. At Indian Bread Co., quick dishes are created from fresh ingredients such as grilled chicken tikka, boneless lamb and tandoori vegetables (with an odd touch here and there, like dried mango powder) wrapped up in kathi rolls. Alternatively, there's a cross-cultural "naanwich" or "naanini" -- a panini created with naan bread and various fillings. Vegetarians can choose from such options as paneer tikka (cottage cheese marinated with green chutney) or aloo paratha (a pita stuffed with potatoes and spices). There's a choice of salads, too, including an aloo and chickpea mix in spicy yogurt sauce. The decor is minimal, but the welcome is warm, as is the spiced masala chai tea. Finally, here's an exotic fast food you can feel good about.
