Fleur de Soleil with Spring Peas

I had 2 rather unique experiences last week. One was being able to eat at 2 of Andrew Carmellini’s cuisine-contrasting restaurants, the urban Italian Locanda Verde (see separate blog) and his equally, furiously popular French bistro Lafayette where I attended my first soiree of Le Chaine des Rôtisseurs. Founded in the middle ages, Le Chaine hosts multiple events throughout its various global chapters as a means to celebrate and cultivate the enjoyment of and appreciation for great food and wine. Aside from the garlanded medal-wearing members, equally intriguing and beguiling are their 4 strict rules:

1. No speeches! We are here to eat, drink and enjoy. Nothing else.
2. No salt or pepper! Always considered an insult to the chef, here it’s a mandate.
3. No water! Who needs water when you’re serving wine?
4. Start eating as soon as you are served! The chef intended for you to taste his/her food at its optimal temperature regardless of what decorum demands.

And so clutching at our anticipation, we made our way down into the Cave du Vin just below Lafayette’s bright Bowery bistro & bakery for a festive journey into Carmellini’s modern menu starting with a seemingly endless collection of the most spotlight-stealing amuse-bouches that normally go unmentioned. Not tonight. If the bottom half of a vanilla Macarón supporting a delightfully fluffy black pepper Foie Gras crème with a single stewed blueberry didn’t bring me to my knees, then the postage-stamp sized, ultra-thin Beef Rossini with Truffle Aioli finished the job.

I’m always weary that a Prime Beef Tartare has the potential to be as heavy as a bucket of bricks, but this horseradish-spiked, quail egg-topped version was as light as foam. Even though the perfectly grilled Asparagus with sweet Citrus Mimosa really enjoyed the salty balance of the Bayonne ham, it appeared that whomever was on ham-crisping duty might have been somewhat distracted. The light and flowery Fleur de Soleil fresh pasta with crunchy spring peas was perfectly paired with a sublime 2005 Volnay from Domaine de La Pousse d’Or. The Lamb Chops with whole-wheat Couscous were served over a satiny and rich amber-colored Moroccan mustard sauce, the delicious kind that always ends too soon, but fortunately the extraordinary 2000 Chateau Calon-Segur lingered on.

Classic Tarte Tatin with Creme Fraiche

Believe it or not, producing a classic Tarte Tatin is not as simple as apple-pie. I would have contemplated adding this one to my favorite-desserts-ever list – were it not completely upstaged by the Vanilla Cream Puffs. Even the strongest of wills had to surrender to these mandarin-sized, hard-crack Caramel-coated, soft-centered pastries from heaven.

Vive la Chaine!

http://lafayetteny.com/

Foie Gras Torchon

In the admirable way that master yogi’s prefer to admit that they only practice yoga, (it is the essence of humility that constantly reminds them that there is always something more to learn) it is just as true for sommeliers. Theirs is a never-ending education with new blends, vintages, laws, labels and wineries mushrooming daily all across the globe. To be a sommelier means to be able to discern a wide variety of tastes and help diners distinguish good from great wines. To be a master sommelier means having a comprehensive knowledge of geography, history, law and languages as well as a highly reliable (and remarkable) sense-memory for thousands of different aromas and taste combinations. Not surprisingly there are fewer than 100 master sommeliers in the world today, and one of them comes in the form of the effervescent, charming and unpretentious Laura Maniec – one of Wine Enthusiast’s 40-under-40 and proprietor of the Greenwich Village wine hotspot Cork Buzz Wine Studio.

The 3-in-1 premise behind Cork Buzz is a serious but approachable wine bar, an outstanding kitchen with communal-table dining and a comprehensive and empowering wine school. The high-ceilinged, techy, yet cozy modern space easily accommodates all 3 due to its flexible moving walls and partitions. The staff are all aspiring oenophile protégés and passionate advocates of the predictably deep and varied wine list that extends the premise that a good wine doesn’t necessarily have to be fashionable, popular or expensive. I have spent many an hour at the school and each time I come away with renewed passion and insights for a particular region, country or varietal, or an unexpected food/wine pairing rationale.

Chef Phil Conlon is a big champion of local farmers’ market seasonal ingredients, but even his small plate staples are worth crossing Union Square for. The sweet and chilli spiked Crispy Pork Belly with Red Cabbage Slaw is a borderline-religious experience in tang, crunch and tenderness. The Crispy Potatoes reminiscent of Patatas Bravas are served in a rich duck confit, perfectly paired with the bite of jalapeño aioli for top-end flavor. The Foie Gras Torchon unashamedly embraces the almost dessert-like sweetness of the strawberry-balsamic glaze with the added crunch of pistachios. I always allow the waiters to pair wines with each dish, and their serious consideration and respect for the ingredients is nothing short of adorable.

If I had to choose a wine mentor, it would be Laura Maniec. And if I had to pick a relaxed, fun environment to learn everything about wine, it would be Cork Buzz.

http://unionsquare.corkbuzz.com/

Burrata with Watermelon

The definition of a successful franchise is to replicate your original establishment over and over again, in as many places as possible without ever changing a single detail, so that an unobservant diner won’t realize if he just left a tip in Los Angeles, Lima or Lisbon. Sad, but true.

Well, the team that created the expense-account-haven Il Mulino in Greenwich Village decided to do just the opposite! Instead of re-creating the serious, stuffy, dark-and-formal Ristorante that has been a permanent fixture on West 3^rd street for over twenty years, the first thing they did after bursting into their new Flatiron home was throw away the rule book. If the original Il Mulino is the stoic godfather, then this Trattoria is the naughty grandson – like an irreverent party-boy who drives too fast and stays out too late (but who has MUCH more fun than anyone else!) Clearly the fresh canvas will attract a brand new generation of avid followers – including me.

Here you won’t find any creaky floorboards, heavy wood panels or gruff Coke-bottle-bottom-bespectacled waiters. Oh no. Here everyone’s a hunky twenty-something with massive personalities and uncanny memories for names. The art is bright and modern, the lighting is overt and interesting, and the only texture that can possibly absorb the din are the ribbons of fresh pasta and Salumi. One section of the “cater-to-all-tastes” menu pays homage to the classic dishes still being ordered on West 3^rd , like the sage-flavored Double-cut Veal Chop, but the rest of the options are cheeky, fun and bold. Who says you can’t pair Burrata with Watermelon? Who says you can’t pound the Chicken in Crosta breast into 360 degrees and then smother it with a decadent lemon sauce? Add a side of Braised Kale Parmigiano and you are on your way to embracing the new Italian casual-chic.

Side note: For some of us, living in the mega-forest of great restaurants can be a daunting reality. If it’s therefore important to find somewhere where “everyone knows your name”, then this would be my ground-zero!

http://www.trattoriailmulino.com/

Dan Dan Noodles

When I was still a tourist to the city, I always believed that the best Chinese restaurant would most certainly be found in Chinatown, and the best Italian restaurant had to be in Little Italy. Wrong! It was doubly sobering for me to discover that not only is the best Chinese restaurant in the East Village, but that it hails from Philadelphia! In my opinion Han Dynasty might well be New York’s finest import from Philly this century.

Chef Han Chiang does his very own spin on Szechuan cuisine that includes gallons of chili oil that shows up just about everywhere. He washes his wontons in it. He drowns his dumplings in it. He even flavors fresh, sliced cucumber salad with it. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Windex has been spiked with it. Regardless, it has catapulted his Dan Dan Noodles into megahit status. With an “8” according to the menu’s spicy scale, these unshareably infectious house-made rope noodles are seasoned with Szechuan spices – and chili oil, and if you order them you’d be wise to consider the wait-staff’s question about including the ground pork rhetorical.

Most of the dishes are categorized by cooking style: dry pepper, long hot pepper, salt ‘n pepper (yes, there’s a pattern here). I cautiously recommend the dry pepper dishes. They are triple flash fried and really delicious – that is if you are able to process the mind-numbing fire. The parts of my anatomy I love the most have to be my taste buds. No matter what I throw at them, they never fail to rise to the occasion. That is until they staged a full-scale meltdown protest after I tried the dry pepper chicken wings. Being the glutton for punishment that I am, each subsequent wing required the removal of an additional item of clothing to bring my body temperature down. Chef Chiang’s philosophy is that he doesn’t cook for wimps. “My food’s a perfect balance of spice, numbingness, saltiness and flavor.”

One of the more subtle ways to tell that it’s either spring or fall in Manhattan, is when the pink booths and umbrellas for the month-long Madison Square Eats food-avaganza begin to upstage the entrance to Eataly on Broadway & 5th. Now in its sixth year, the pop-up culinary market offers sample-sized bites from a variety of different neighborhood chefs and kitchens. There are a few stalwart regulars like Ilili, Asia Dog, Momofuku Milk Bar and Roberta’s, but it’s encouraging to see stalls representing dishes from further afield – even from the other (brave) boroughs.

The wedge-shaped traffic median between Madison Square Park and Broadway now offers beer-garden benches that permit a less frantic eat-and-run enjoyment of the delights from more than 20 stalls that serve just about everything (including the un-prohibitable pizzas, pretzels and beer) from Hong Kong street noodles to Red Velvet Macarons along with (a slightly too large variety of) Gourmet Tacos. It doesn’t help that this irresistible food fest is located right outside my subway station, so I have little choice (or willpower) but to try something different at each visit.

So far this season my favorites are the Lobster Roll from the Red Hook Lobster Pound with huge chunks of pink, steamed claw meat and the Ragu stuffed Arancini from the Arancini Boys, but topping the list (and in my opinion deserving to be its own major food group) are the Southern Style Thai Curry Chicken Wings from the Clinton Street eatery: Pig and Khao. Even before you can sink your teeth into the perfectly blistered skin, the healthy aroma of lemongrass, ginger and chilli could prove challenging to your balance. So just sit down and surrender!

Thai curry (Southern Style) Chicken Wings served with fresh coconut water