Uni & Yuba (sea urchin & black bean milk skin)
by Celia Cheng
September 13th, 2007
SOTO
357 6th Ave
(Washington Pl & W4th St)
212-414-3088
Josh Orzesky of Grub Street (NYMAG.com) recently asked me if there were any restaurants that truly blow me away. At the time he posed the question, I couldn’t think of any, which proved his point about my overly critical palate. Had he asked me the same question a week later though, my answer would have been quite different because that was when I had dinner at Soto. I was so wowed by this new Japanese restaurant in downtown Manhattan that I dreamt about it the night of my first visit. Hard to believe, but I had never (literally) dreamt about a meal in such detail before then.
I expected Soto’s focus to be sushi, so I was surprised to find so many other cold and warm items on the menu. I thought that these would be side dishes like an opening act to the main attraction, but upon reading through the menu carefully, and later tasting some of the offerings to verify, I found that most of the dishes were stunningly playful and delicious, making them stars in their own right. My companion and I settled on three of them: uni and yuba, minute-steamed tai, and miso soup with lobster and uni broth (to be served after the sushi course, so as to not ruin my palate). We would then move on to the twelve-piece omakase to test out the sushi.
Yuba, traditionally thin sheets of tofu skin made from soybean milk, is usually a light cream color, but this black bean version is light gray. It is delicately served, with the uni (sea urchin), in a small bowl of cold shiitake broth. The waitress handed us tiny spoons and asked that we please drink the broth for fear that we would let it go to waste. Being the uni fanatic that I am, I was delighted by its pairing with yuba, which, because it’s so light and smooth, is one of my favorite soy products, and the shiitake broth was perfectly savory and rooty to complete this union.
Chef-owner Sotohiro Kosugi is the head sushi chef and also in charge of the cold plates while his wife helms the kitchen and prepares the cooked menu items. I was pleased to find that she is as skilled as her husband in creating tantalizing treats. The minute-steamed tai came as four small pieces of New Zealand sea bream, quick steamed, so it was really still mostly raw, topped with ginger, scallion and oil. I thought it was absolutely ingenious to use traditional Chinese fish preparations — steamed with ginger, scallion, oil and soy sauce — for slightly cooked sashimi. My mouth continued to water even as I was eating it.
Sitting at the sushi bar, we didn’t quite understand why there was such a long pause after the first two dishes and the sushi, but it turned out that they had somehow lost our order. Service is indeed pleasant but not yet organized. The portions at Soto are very small and our meal should not have exceeded an hour and a half but it was extended to twice that at three hours due to disorganization. However, service snafus are not uncommon in new restaurants, and I have no doubt this gem of a place will be serving patrons seamlessly in no time. Personally, I was enjoying the food so much that I didn’t mind our long leisurely meal, but my companion, who had been starving from the get-go, felt like the dinner was torture as he was taunted by scrumptious-looking and fragrant food all around him, getting bits and pieces of it over a three hour period but never actually satisfying his hunger. :( I felt bad for him, but I must say the Japanese-portion sizes suite me perfectly.
The sushi was also delicious but small in portion. As it’s made, each piece of onigiri is placed one by one over the counter on your sushi tablet. It’s seasoned by the chef, so there is no need for soy sauce dipping, which is a good way to prevent those who don’t know how to eat sushi from ruining it. And if it’s any indication of the chef’s skills, twelve pieces came and went like they were six. I could have had another round. We added an order of the tar tare tuna roll — spicy tuna tartar with Asian pear, cucumber, avocado, sesame, pine nuts and scallion wrapped in white kelp. The roll was a gorgeous work of art with the unconventional white kelp skin instead of regular seaweed, but the pine nuts were overpowering, and the flavors in general just didn’t work together. The roll, however, was the only glitch during our meal, but honestly it would be a shame to waste your appetite on rolls at Soto anyway when the rest of the menu and the nigirizushi are so outstanding!
I’m ecstatic that there is a high caliber Japanese sushi restaurant around the corner from me right in Greenwich Village! Unfortunately, I won’t be able to treat it as a casual neighborhood joint as it is out of my daily dining budget. The prices are not unreasonable compared to top Midtown sushi restaurants, but it can’t be an everyday splurge for me. A drink or two with a dinner that leaves you reasonably full would range from $150 to $200 per person. I do plan to visit regularly, perhaps on a monthly basis, but in between, I can always dream about the food at Soto.
Posted in Greenwich Village , Japanese , Sushi
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Mini Burger
by Celia Cheng
March 6th, 2007
STAND
24 E 12th St
(5th Ave & University Pl)
212-488-5900
Do you ever go through phases when all you want to eat are burgers? Well, the past two weeks I’ve been on a burger binge, eating them more frequently than is advisable. It started with a late night run to Burger Joint — a classic favorite — after a movie. Since then, I’ve had five other burgers: Stand (twice), Employees Only, Rare and McDonald’s. (None of which satisfied me the way Burger Joint did.) I should be embarrassed because as you can see, it’s been a downward spiral. Not only is my waistline expanding and my cholesterol rising, but I really crossed the line ordering a Mickey D’s quarter-pounder with cheese. Hi, my name is Celia and I’m addicted to burgers.
I mentioned a couple of weeks ago in passing that I liked Stand but hadn’t found exactly what I liked on the menu yet. Since then, I’ve been back four times. Today I finally found something I wanted to talk about: the mini burger.
The burgers and food in general at Stand is very fresh. A glance at the menu shows interesting condiments like onion marmalade, hard-boiled egg mayo, porcini sauce and green peppercorn sauce. Clearly, this is another “fancy” burger joint. But I wouldn’t dismiss it on those grounds alone; after all, fancy or not, I like a burger as long as it tastes good.
For me, there’s something really carnal about eating burgers. When I’m done, I want to feel satisfied, like I just tore through an animal. But until the mini burger experience, none of the burgers I tried at Stand — the classic, house, hamburger and cheeseburger — had given me that kind of carnal satisfaction. For example, the hamburger with green peppercorn sauce is delicious, but it reminds me more of meatloaf with gravy on a bun than a real burger. So maybe it’s not that the food is too fancy, but that the pairings weren’t working for my taste buds.
Today, I lucked out with the three-ounce mini burger. It was cooked perfectly medium-rare, and, severed on a brioche bun, with pickles and homemade ketchup — it was just right. Its simplicity worked.
Stand opened at the end of December 2006, so it’s still figuring things out. The staff is friendly and open to suggestions — I kept my mouth shut, I swear! I thought the cheeseburger would be my favorite: sesame bun, onion marmalade, lettuce, and a choice of blue cheese sauce or Cheddar cheese sauce and/or slices. About a month ago, when I first ordered it, the Cheddar was a sauce — which I didn’t realize. I was disappointed. When I want a cheeseburger, I want slices of cheese. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who felt this way since the waiter today told me that they now offer slices of white Vermont, with the Cheddar sauce still as an option. The blue cheese sauce is still available.
Part of my fear of going to “fancy” burger joints is that they are going to be pretentious. Stand is not. As with the cheese situation, it’s trying to figure out what works best.
When I go, I always sit at the bar, and I like the regional draughts on tap. I’ve tried most of them now and it just makes the whole burger experience more fun. It’s no Cedar Tavern, but for the next couple of years while Cedar’s under renovation, Stand may substitute as my neighborhood joint.
Posted in American , Burger , Greenwich Village
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Spaghetti con Bottarga (spaghetti w/ bottarga di tonno, parsley & pepperoncini)
by Celia Cheng
September 15th, 2006
BELLAVITAE
24 Minetta Ln
(6th Ave & MacDougal St)
212-473-5121
I feel rather delinquent, as I have just discovered this great summer dish, but now we are already transitioning into fall. Damn! It almost makes me mad. But I still decided to write about the spaghetti con bottarga at Bellavitae because it’s so amazing. I had it the last day it was on the menu for the season. It was so perfect that I returned the next evening, desperately wanting to eat it again, but of course, the kitchen was out of bottarga. I wanted to cry.
The pasta is your basic spaghetti pepperoncino — spaghetti with oil, parsley, garlic and pepperoncini — simple but classic. But the addition of shaved bottarga di tonno, cured tuna roe, makes this simple dish stand out. The Taiwanese are big producers of mullet bottarga, so I am quite accustomed to eating this type of cured and pressed delight. However, I’ve never had tuna roe in this form, and certainly not with pasta. Bottarga is cured, so it’s very salty, but grating it over pasta gives it a very elegant and flavorful touch. The tuna bottarga, is imported from Sicily or Sardinia, and though it is available year-round, this dish is quintessentially a summer one, explains chef Pasquale Martinelli.
You may be wondering why I keep going on about a dish that you won’t be able to try until next year. But as it turns out, Pasquale says that they generally have bottarga available, and in the coming season, they will use it to dress salads like raddichio. In addition, there are regulars, including director Noah Baumbach, who come in specifically for the spaghetti con bottarga year-round. I see both sides of the coin, and, while I understand why it’s important to keep with the seasonality of certain foods, I like it so much that I just can’t bare to go without it when the craving strikes. So the bottom line is, if you want it and don’t see it on the menu, ask for it. If they have bottarga available, then they’ll be able to make the spaghetti. What a relief!
I very much enjoy the experience and food at Bellavitae, but it seems that sometimes they become so busy that they fall short on attention to detail and consistency. My spaghetti was undercooked, but even at that, I was so entranced by the flavors that I didn’t mind. Sitting at the bar in the back dining room, I also witnessed some mishaps on orders. But overall, the selection and quality of the food was still very good.
On my return the second evening, I tried the squid-ink pasta with tomato sauce and cuttlefish, which I ordered in place of my beloved bottarga. I think I was just heartbroken since I was stuck on the idea of the original pasta. The squid-ink pasta didn’t do it for me. The pasta was too soft for my taste, and the cuttlefish just doesn’t have the same kind of umph that bottarga does. What can I say? I’m a girl who knows what she wants… to eat!
Posted in Greenwich Village , Italian , Pasta
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Spaghettini Bolognese
by Celia Cheng
April 14th, 2006
IL MULINO
86 W 3rd St
(Sullivan & Thompson St)
212-673-3783
I don’t know what to say. Part of me wants to not think twice and just yell, “WTF!” While the other part of me is searching for explanations as to why Il Mulino is reputed as one of the top Italian restaurants in New York. While I had been warned that the service was the worst part of this institution, I actually found the service to be old-school professional and the most pleasant part of my evening. As I dined at the bar, the bartender was extremely attentive and witty — everything that I expect.
In this day and age, I find Il Mulino to be an anomaly in the New York culinary landscape. Don’t get me wrong, the restaurant definitely has its charm, and old world charm can be one of the most endearing qualities of a dining experience. But while the atmosphere and professionalism of the waiters were wonderful, it’s the food that caught me off guard. I can’t remember a greasier meal I’ve had. I am still baffled at how risotto can be made to taste as grease-drenched as french fries. Anything that could be deep-fried was deep-fried, from the complimentary deep-fried zucchini sticks you start off with while waiting at the bar, to the langoustine risotto. It’s as if the deep-frier won’t leave any prisoner behind.
I started with a vongole cassino for appetizer because I grew up on baked clam cassino and, to this day, still have the fondest memory of this dish. Il Mulino almost killed my childhood memory, which I barely rescued by telling myself that it’s just a different interpretation. I’m not sure what was cassino-like about the vongole I had tonight, and I find it lazy that the strips of bacon were simply placed on top of each clam instead of minced and incorporated as part of the cassino to be baked. But from the get-go, I should have noticed that the cuisine was not delicate.
The langoustine with risotto was a special that my sister and I shared as an appetizer. As I mentioned before: grease, grease and more grease. The langoustine was… surprise… deep-fried. There were mushrooms in the risotto. Now honestly, langoustine, mushrooms and risotto couldn’t be a better combination, but the flavors were so heavy and covered up by the deep-fried flavor that I couldn’t tell if any of it was good.
The spaghettini Bolognese we shared was also disappointing. I know this sounds extremely harsh, but the sauce tasted like the canned meat sauces that can be purchased at Japanese grocery stores, even though the meat at Il Mulino was fresh. The sense of taste is mostly about associations, and, for me, it just happens that I associated what I ate with Japanese canned meat sauce.
I was amused by the ongoings at the bar. At one point, a couple sat down and ordered drinks while waiting for seats in the dining room. The woman commented on the beautiful cherry blossoms that were part of the bar arrangement. The bartender politely replied in exchange that they were from Washington. “Washington Square Park?” the woman asked. I almost choked on my food when I heard this. The bartender was also a bit baffled by her question but politely responded, “No, Washington, D.C.” At least I got a bit of entertainment out of the evening.
Now everyone knows I love fatty foods, but there is a difference between food complemented by some richness and pure grease. I don’t find much merit in the latter. While I wasn’t impressed by the food at Il Mulino, I was definitely impressed by their prices. Or perhaps I should say that they were incredulous. The restaurant’s atmosphere is not casual, nor is it’s price tag, but the food is not refined.
Considering the number of outstanding Italian restaurants in the City, it’s a wonder that Il Mulino still packs them in as it does. I’m glad I tried it to know that I will not do so again.
Posted in Greenwich Village , Italian , Pasta
Super Taco
by Celia Cheng
March 30th, 2006
PIO MAYA
40 W 8th St
(5th & 6th Ave)
212-254-2277
Who would have guessed that a decent taqueria could have opened in my neighborhood on W 8th Street, the shoe street?
Pio Maya is a tiny little storefront that is turning out good Mexican fare like double-tortilla tacos, at low prices, using inexpensive but fresh ingredients. Finally an alternative to the ubiquitous Mexican-Chinese dives. While New Yorkers are still a bit conservative when it comes to Mexican food — we don’t see innards as taco fillings as you would on the West Coast — there’s a migration towards eating better and more authentic Mexican food rather than just the L.A.-style burritos, or Chinesefied tacos. For a little neighborhood dive, Pio Maya is not bad, but we still have a lot to catch up on in the genre of Mexican food.
I had a cheese tamale, a chorizo super taco and a shrimp super taco. Adding guacamole, cheese and sour cream deems the taco a “super taco.” But even a super taco is only $3.25. I was happy and satisfied by the end of my meal, not because it was amazing, but because it was fresh and cheap. The quality-price ratio is balanced. It’s never about how much you pay, as long as it’s worth it. When you have the option to choose a better meal at the same price, why would you suffer the lesser quality? I think much of the neighborhood has caught on, as Pio Maya is very busy. I wonder how they can handle all the business in such a small space.
I’m looking forward to trying other things on the menu, like the rotisserie chicken and the tostones, but everything the cooks were preparing looked intriguing to me. This is a good option when you are craving a little Mexican fast food.
Posted in Greenwich Village , Mexican
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