FORK PLAY: December 6, 2007
Eating Around: Esca, Bun, Irving Mill, BarFry Seduction Revisited. Alcove4Chocolate
Dear Friends and Family
Just Want to Be Happy
The runaround of restaurant reviewing with all its promise of joy and threat of despair made us long for certainty. Last Saturday night we just wanted to eat well. Esca seemed the perfect choice. Chef-partner-fisherman David Pasternak came out to describe the day's catch in his Long Island home-boy cadence.
At first the Road Food Warrior was bummed not to find bucatini with Rita's spicy moscardini, his inevitable choice. But he cheered up with his favorite cruda -- raw razor clams, marinated in lemon for two minutes then served with mint and pepperoncino. "I'm not sharing this with anyone," he said, then  offered me a taste. I felt I dare take only the tiniest nibble. But the happy ending was that the market's dearth of baby octopus forced him to discover chittara noodles with fresh crab and sea urchin - a lilting combination.
When David says "I got some beautiful cobia tonight, or..whatever.." That's what I usually order. But our friends wanted to taste the branzino baked in salt.
"I've never had fish baked in salt anywhere infamous for it that wasn't overcooked," I grumped.
Pasternak took the challenge. "The top part will be more cooked for your friend," he said, "and the bottom will be rarer like you want it."
And it was luscious, full of flavor brought out by the salt. "I don't even like this fish," I told the chef when he stopped by for a was-I-right-again-or-what? bow. "And it was wonderful."
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Back for a second visit to Bun/Soho, I was shocked by dozens of empty seats at the much awaited noodle shop. Well it was the icy Monday after Thanksgiving. Michael Huyn (ex-Bao 111 and current runaway from Mai House) was in the kitchen, but his wife Thao Nguyen, greeting customers in a sexy clinging costume had let her hair down and looked happier than last time when she seethed silently under Michael's criticism while shaping rolls two by two à la minute.
The spicy Hue style soup with beef shin and Berkshire pork butt in lemongrass broth was a homey comfort, instantly warming, and we loved wild boar sausages with pickled green papaya. Indeed, there is no such thing as throwaway little garnishes or salads here. Tropical fruit accents, hits of mango and pineapple, the tang of lime and fish sauce bombard the taste buds. Alas, the two baby lamb chops with quince and jalapeño chutney we loved in first tasting really needed to be hot tonight - and I guess the kitchen didn't notice we were three. Now having dared the duck hearts and tongues, I'm pleased I don't have to order them again. What shall I say; I've had better duck hearts? That's what I'll say.
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We felt a sad letdown returning to Irving Mill Tavern. Even the same dishes that impressed us at an early tasting were less polished. It's a charming room with a warm welcome, and dedicated owners circulating. Chef John Schaefer comes with great expectations from his years at Gramercy Tavern but so far he hasn't quite wrangled the kitchen into submission.
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The thing I like best, alas, about Josh Simile's BarFry is the name. We stopped by for a drink and a nibble one evening and ate just enough to know I won't be back unless I start hearing raves. Both the calamari and the onion rings were sadly soggy. If you can't do great tempura maybe you shouldn't do a tempura bar. Okay, the pea leaves were fabulous.
Could Nouvelle Goulash Herald a New Trend?
If you're old enough to miss the modest little Viennese, Hungarian and Czechoslovakian bistros that used to dot the Upper East Side, you might be willing to invest in a round trip to Devin Tavern in Tribeca, the subject in BITE this week on my website. Or if you're curious and live near by you may  find the new chef's nostalgia for home worth exploring. Not that he isn't attentive to such trendy inevitables as iceberg wedge in buttermilk dressing and a seared tuna salad with peeky-toe crab. You'll want to try short rib goulash stuffed into faux marrow bones made of potato, the crispy pork belly and lobster strudel.
More Thoughts on Seduction at Table
Lunch in the shimmering main dining room at Jean Georges haunts the erotic fantasies of the readers who emailed to comment on last week's Confessions of a Gourmand Don Juan. Indeed, one self-described expert in fork play dictated the sexiest dishes to order: uni on toast with yuzu, foie gras brulée, and scallops (Nantuckets in season now). Check out the tale of "a Reformed Madame Bovary" and others in BITE. Then email me where you go for dinner when lust is in your heart.
Can There Ever Be Too Much Chocolate? Silly Question
Some of us like to sneak a peek at six pack abs and Elvis look-alikes in the gym. Given all the scantily dressed babes  around town these days, a voyeur scarcely needs Playboy. Of course there's porn on the internet if that's your fascination. And then there is chocolate.
The Dessert Studio's landing at ABC Carpet & Home is a gift from the cocoa gods in the season when too much is barely enough. At loose ends since closing Room 4 Dessert because there weren't enough Room 4 Dessert lovers, sweets sorcerer Will Goldfarb has linked with Michel Cluizel chocolates and Seth Greenberg from the famous baking family to make an attractive oasis of temptation. Visit the opening night launch with me to taste caviar on vanilla ice cream.
Esca chef and chocolate photos by Steven Richter.
Copyright pending Gael Greene 2007
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