New York Restaurant Reviews – Page 37 – Writing With My Mouth Full

Telepan

72 West 69th Street off Columbus
212/580.4300
about $450 for four, with champagne and wine, without tip
♥ ♥ ♥

I was walking around the upper west side one afternoon when I saw the spoon, knife and fork Telepan logo. I crossed the street to check out the menu posted outside and made a mental note to return and eat there. Months elapsed and I forgot the name and location. I just kept thinking of that logo. Enter Arabella who told me a recent dinner at Telepan was one of her best meals in a long time. The Dr.’s friends were visiting from Seattle so I booked a table for four without making the connection. When it came time to eat, I walked up 69th Street and noticed the logo that’s been bugging me for some time. I knew then I was meant to eat at Telepan.

Our meals were deliciously memorable. The first thing that caught my eye was the price: $59 for a 4-course prix fixe menu, $95 with wine pairings. To me, this was an incredible deal because it’s not often New York City restaurants offer an affordable price when they pride themselves in changing the menu daily with seasonal and fresh ingredients. An amuse of swiss chard with cheese and a dainty cup of mushroom soup was served before our meal. Here’s the rest of the rundown:

Yellowtail sashimi on faro tabbouleh with cured tuna and mint
I’ve made tabbouleh before but this was so much more pleasing to the tongue. I thought matching it with yellowtail was incredible. The tabbouleh held the texture while the fish melted in my mouth. The touch of mint flavor provided the dish with spunk. I love matches made in heaven.

Hen of the Woods mushrooms with poached egg and frisÃ©e
I’ve also used Hen of the Woods mushrooms before and even managed to poach an egg. I remember how fragrant the mushrooms were. Eggs served during dinner is trendy but I have no problem with that. Simplicity is key.

Buttercup squash gnocchi with sage, wild mushrooms and pine nuts
Not to be confused with butternut squash, this cute version was served with orange gnocchi. We couldn’t tell which was pasta and which was squash meat at first but I am still amazed at how edible the squash skin was. I thought this was delightfully autumn.

Seared foie gras and foie gras-stuffed apple with duck prosciutto, cider glaze and walnuts
I haven’t had foie gras in a while so without question, this was my mid-course selection. The bitterness of the watercress stopped it from being too decadent (is there such a thing?) and yet a dollop of the cider glaze made it delicately sweet.

Duck breast with pomegranates and gold rice, duck confit and baby turnips
The duck breast was nicely seared except for two slices that had an unappetizing tint of brown and gray in the middle. We weren’t sure what made them so but we left them untouched and ate the rest.

Pancetta-wrapped monkfish with shell beans, roasted garlic sauce and black kale in herb oil
I’ve been in a fish mood lately even though I rarely order it unless it’s sushi or sashimi. Monkfish is my choice though because it’s meatier and it doesn’t flake and fall apart. Plus, how can I ever say no to pancetta-wrapped anything? This was definitely something that made me look forward to winter–a very comforting dish.

Pear with phyllo dough
This was my dessert choice. The phyllo crumbled softly while the stewed pear held its own fleshiness. I could have used less of the cream and sauce, but that’s just me without a sweet tooth.

Fig and rum panna cotta
The panna cotta was just pure booze. I think I would have like this better if it was coffee-flavored so it didn’t have to compete with the natural sweetness of the beautiful figs.

iCi

246 DeKalb Avenue at Vanderbilt, Fort Greene, Brooklyn
718/789.2778
about $70 for two, with two drinks, without tip
♥ ♥

A lot of my friends live in Brooklyn and they’ve been encouraging me to check out the restaurants in their borough. I’m slowly making my way down the list but iCi has always been the one that comes up whenever I talk food to Brooklyn residents. I was already in the area for a birthday party so we decided to walk over and get dinner afterwards. It took a while for us tourists to find the streets because we’re not familiar with the Fort Greene landscape, but we were seated right away even though we didn’t have reservations–and it was 9pm on a Saturday night! I love Brooklyn already!

iCi has a short menu but it was still hard to make a decision between the wild dandelions or arugula. We ended up picking both and sharing a main course. We were already set with the scallops until our waitress told us that the special for the night was a rack of lamb with ProvenÃ§al vegetables. Because a rack of lamb is something we never skip as long as it’s on the menu, we immediately changed our order.

We started with the duck confit salad with frisÃ©e and the dandelions with bacon. Maybe the confit should have been called shredded duck meat salad instead because I missed the texture and the jam-like consistency. The dandelions fared much better. The saltiness of the bacon held the bitterness of the greens at bay, creating a well-balanced taste.

As soon as our lamb was served, we looked at each other because we both knew it wasn’t a rack in front of us. We ate it anyway but we couldn’t help but let our waitress know that our lamb was clearly meat from either the shoulder or the leg. She went back to the kitchen, confirmed that the specials board indeed said “leg of” and not “rack of” and apologized for her mistake. She obviously didn’t like that we pointed out an error on her part because whenever she informed us about something on the menu again, whether it was wine or dessert, she said “this time it’s not a mistake”.

The possibility of eating a good rack of lamb can make some diners’ hearts palpitate and serving them a leg in its place is like taking away a Christmas present after it’s already been opened. It was cooked just right but if we knew we were going to eat the leg, we would really have chosen the scallops.

We ended with the arugula with the pear slices and parmesan cheese–a simple palate cleanser before moving on to the warm apple tart for dessert. A nice pot of citrus tea made of lemongrass, lemon and kaffir limes made us forget our disappointing lamb experience. iCi needs a little bit of sharpening but with our bill coming out at less than $85 with two glasses of wine, tax and tip, it’s another reason to love Brooklyn.

Soba Koh

309 East 5th Street between First and Second Avenues
212/254.2244
$25 each for three, with three beers, with tip
♥ ♥ ♥

As soon as the the Dr. had a slurp of Soba Koh’s broth, he said, Sobaya has been crushed. Now, we like Sobaya, our usual Sunday lunch destination, but we’ve been wanting something new. Unfortunately, Soba Koh only opens after 5pm, so when we were looking for a place to eat one Thursday night, we agreed to walk over the east side for some hot bowls of soba with a couple bottles of Sapporo.

The kinoko soba is filled with three kinds of mushrooms–enoki, shimeiji and shiitake–and its broth was rich and earthy but subtle at the same time. I ordered the soft-shell crab tempura soba because I’ve been seing fresh soft-shell crabs in Chinatown lately. My broth tasted different from the kinoko’s, a tad lighter and cleaner, even with the deep-fried batter and shellfish on top.

We also got some deep-fried shrimps with their heads on and chicken wings with sansyo peppers for appetizers. Both only whet our appetites. The chicken wings were a little slimey to me, only because I expected them to be fried but instead they were broiled and moist inside. The shrimps were crunchy and even tastier with a squeeze of lime juice. Soba Koh might not have a soba maker on display like Sobaya and Honmura An, but their firm noodles easily compared while their broth exceeded expectations.

Related post/s:
Sobaya before Soba Koh opens up

Calexico

Corner of Wooster and Prince
no phone number
about $12 for two, without drinks, without tip
â™¥

Updated, 2006: They do have a phone number! 917/674.1869 and of course, “Cal” is from California

I assume Calexico is currently enjoying their Vendy Award status as a finalist because I had to try twice before I finally got the chance to buy lunch from their spot on Wooster and Prince. When we finally found the cart, we ordered their tacos for $3 each: the much-loved carne asada, the pork and the pollo asado. For an extra $2, you can get two tacos of your choice with rice and beans.

They’re set up in front of the Camper store. Expect a wait during lunch time but they move quickly and take your order right when you walk up and stand in line. They called our names with our tacos in less than ten minutes.

I think I’m just being a snob because I’ve eaten so many tacos this year alone, but Calexico definitely does not sell the best one in the city. The carne asada is pretty good and the pork is okay, but I’ve definitely had better. The guacamole was runny so it made us wonder if it is homemade or from a jar. I’m not quite sure if it’s a Tex-Mex thing to only have one tortilla instead of two but it was very messy to eat my tacos. We ended up sitting on the stoop a block away and our tacos fell apart at every bite. It’s $2 cheaper than La Esquina but if I have to pick between the two, my vote goes to the one with a phone number.

Mary’s Fish Camp

64 Charles Street on West 4th
646/486.2185
about $200 for four, with two bottles of wine, without tip
♥ ♥ ♥

For a restaurant that wasn’t selected by me–I met friends from out of town there–I was really surprised at how good our meals were at Mary’s Fish Camp. I’ve been to Pearl Oyster Bar before and although pretty good, I remember not being too happy with my sandy razor clams. (The owner of Mary’s was a partner at Pearl’s before she left to open her own.) I was running late so it took a while for us to be seated because a party has to be complete before they let you in. (It makes sense unless, of course, you’re the one your party is waiting for.) We were famished when our turn came, but oh, the surprises!

The lobster pot pie was so delicate. Its puff pastry was so light with a ramekin filled with about two claws and some fortifying vegetable chunks. Grilled fish usually bores me but the whole branzino was stuffed with rosemary and other herbs for flavor. A squirt of lemon juice brought out its smokey flavor and we ravaged it until all we had were bones. You can usually find skate in New York City menus because it’s so cheap but at Mary’s Fish Camp, it’s breaded and crunchy on the outside. It’s much more exciting than Jean Claude’s French version in SoHo. The cockles were also good, served with beans and thyme. We also ordered half a dozen of the oysters and although they were smaller than expected, I couldn’t really complain. I love oysters so all you have to do is serve them fresh and we’ll get along. The roasted beets with fennel and aged goat cheese salad was excellent. We left this for last as a palate cleanser and it was a nice break before dessert. We couldn’t help but order the banana pudding with vanilla wafers. I don’t think I’ve tasted a better banana pudding than theirs–balanced, not too sweet. A bottle of the white Burgundy and a bottle of Reisling completed our meal and we walked away from the West Village satisfied.

Mary’s Fish Camp is famous for their lobster roll so it was very pleasing to know that the other items on the menu stand out, too.