Filed under American, West Village + TriBeCa
9 Jones Street between West 4th and Bleecker Streets
212/929.6868
$147 for three, with a bottle of wine, without tip
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I’ve watched Top Chef enough to know that the judges sometimes can’t make up their minds between “cooking outside the box” and “sticking with what you know”. You had Carla who finally stuck with the food most familiar to her and she made it to the final round. You had Marcel the twat who does everything Wylie Dufresne style and the judges sometimes thought it–he–was too much. But then there were episodes when the contestants were not trying hard enough or were trying too much–you just couldn’t predict what the judges were going to say next.
When Frank Bruni gave a less than stellar review to Perilla, Harold Dieterle’s first restaurant, my heart went out to the first-season Top Chef winner. I can’t even imagine the anxiousness chefs feel when their new restaurant opens in New York City because one review can either make or break them. Three years later, Perilla is still in business and thankfully so because I had a very good dinner there a couple of months ago with some friends. We were looking for a low-key spot to get together and catch up with our holiday stories, particularly a small place where we didn’t have to scream at each other to have a conversation. In fact, Perilla doesn’t even look like it came from a TV winner. I gather that if people who have never seen the show walked in the restaurant, they would think the same way I did: Oh, this is nice and cozy and that’s about it.
I walked in and joined the standing queue at the bar one prime Saturday night. My friends joined me a few minutes after the bartender made my martini and we were soon seated right next to the kitchen entrance. I went for the sure-fire lamb while my friend ordered the fish; her fiancé, beef. A hamachi crudo was refreshing with yuzu and the notorious duck meatballs didn’t disappoint. Brussels sprouts and sunchokes are usual fare in seasonal menus and they both served their purposes well at Perilla.
The portions were larger than what I usually see in the city for the same prices, and considering I was unemployed at the time, I couldn’t complain. The food and the service matched the ambiance: nothing was overdone because everything was modest. Maybe now that chef Dieterle has made it past Bruni’s claws, he’d be willing to cook outside of his comfort zone. But you know what? Maybe I’d like for him to cook just the way he’s been cooking.
Related post/s:
There’s Market Table a few blocks away
wd-50 is for you if you prefer the East Village
Filed under American, West Village + TriBeCa
54 Carmine Street on the corner of Bedford
212/255.2100
$90 each for a group of three, with a bottle of wine, with tip
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Is it too early to name my favorite restaurant of 2009? Last year, I ate at Dovetail the day after Christmas (and a week after its official opening) and it set the bar for my 2008 dining. If Market Table set the tone for the year last Friday, then the bar is pretty high for me right now.
Four of us giggling girls were ten minutes late for our round table at Market Table. I got a call from the maitre d’ while we were turning the corner on Bedford. I hate being late most of all, so I ran ahead of my friends to apologize to the front of the restaurant. It’s in the old Shopsin’s space with large glass windows facing the corners of Carmine and Bedford, but it’s warm and welcoming as you step inside. The maitre d’ shrugged off our tardiness while our waiter treated us as if we’ve been coming to the restaurant for the last few months.
Market Table opened first with a store, but the demand for more tables was high so they went full force with just the restaurant. Former Mermaid Inn chef Mikey Price joined forces with Little Owl’s Joey Campanaro and Gabriel Stulman to open a larger space in the West Village with a menu that’s hearty and, to be honest, hard to fuck up. At Market Table, the kitchen showed how simple food can be so good if you just execute well.
The beef carpaccio was served with an egg salad, shaved Parmesan cheese, capers and croutons. The thin slices of beef were so fresh, they melted in our mouths. If one of us didn’t like the idea of raw beef, I didn’t have to convince her to try them. The seared scallops were sweet and succulent and lightly charred to perfectly meld with the slices of bitter blood orange and tangy hearts of palm. The hamachi sashimi with the limey vinaigrette was the first one to go; the hazelnuts gave it texture and the apple some crunch.
I can’t give the grilled lamb T-bones justice here. You should just go and order them medium-rare and taste for yourself. Why can’t every lamb I order be as good as this? They were the most expensive item on the menu at $32, but each serving comes with two large chunks good to share between two. Of course, the three of us got our own. The watercress and sunchoke salad that came with it made it extra special, drizzled with red wine reduction and melted Gouda cheese. The pork tenderloin was so moist and naturally sweet with pancetta wrapped around it. The small roasted tomatoes and banana fingerlings made it more exciting than just plain potatoes.
The desserts were the weakest during our visit. The brownie wasn’t the moist type we all were panning for while the butterscotch pudding wasn’t the favorite. I think we were all looking for something more dense and cake-y. (I can only imagine how heavenly it would be if the Dovetail pastry chef swooped in at Market Table.) But if a casual get-together ends with a high-end dining experience, give me a cup of mint tea and I’ll call it a very good night.
Related post/s:
Dovetail
Little Owl
