Upstairs at Bouley

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130 West Broadway on Duane
212/219-1011
$250 for three, with several drinks, with tip

If there’s one New York City chef I’m not familiar with, it would be David Bouley. Four years ago, the boy surprised me by making reservations at Bouley Bakery (now back to its original Bouley name). But it was a hundred-degree summer day and because I didn’t know he made plans, I met him wearing flip flops. We had to cancel then and we just never revisited.

Turn the calendar to 2005 and Bouley opens Upstairs across the street, a packed space that offers sushi right above his café and bakery. I didn’t do my homework before I met a client here and while in a cab from work I thought, I could use a nice steak today. As soon as I sat down and read through the menu, I exclaimed, I guess I’m eating sushi tonight!

For our sushi, we had a feast and ordered several pieces of uni and otoro (like buttah, baby, buttah!), hamachi, shad and mackerel. For our small plates, we shared a delicate bowl of Japanese tofu with mushrooms in truffle dressing and a very nice serving of monkfish liver, all while we were swimming in their delightful grapefruit sake martinis.

Other reviews claim that when the chef is not in the premises, the service tends to be frustrating. I was in the middle of our second sushi plate, happily drunk and satisfied, when I turned around and saw the handsome man with salt and pepper hair behind the open kitchen counter. It’s David Bouley himself and maybe that’s why our waiter was very attentive. But chef or no chef present, sushi should always mean fresh fish. Upstairs surely provided them.

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Indian Chicken Curry

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Adapted from a Jamie Oliver recipe using lamb

Ingredients:
For the curry rub:
a few pieces of cloves
2 tbsps cinnamon powder
2 tbsps cumin
2 tbsps fennel seeds
2 tbsps ginger powder
1/2 cup curry powder
salt and pepper

12 pieces of small chicken legs
1 tbsp butter
2 small red potatoes, peeled and diced
3 small carrots, peeled and sliced
a handful of okra, washed
1 small can of sweet peas, washed and drained
1 large tomato, diced
lime juice
olive oil

1. Salt and pepper chicken pieces. In a large Dutch oven with hot oil, brown chicken on all sides over medium-high heat, about 5-7 minutes. Remove chicken from pot. Pour out some of the oil when cool. Reheat remaining oil and brown potatoes and carrots for a few minutes. Remove vegetables from pot.
2. In a heated small pan, toast non-powdered curry rub ingredients. Let cool. Transfer to a mortar and ground with a pestle. Combine with the powdered ones in a small bowl.
3. In a different large Dutch oven, melt butter and add curry rub. Stir in tomatoes and 1/2 cup of water. Simmer for a few minutes until tomatoes are mushy. Add the chicken and cook until soft, about 25 minutes while checking to make sure they don’t dry up. You may need to add a bit more water.
4. Cook the vegetables while occasionally stirring. Add the potatoes and the carrots. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add the okra. Simmer for 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the peas, cooking in remaining heat. Pour in lime juice and add salt to taste.

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