Parmesan ice cream and textbook baklava at Pera

This past Monday, my mom was in town for business, and we met up for dinner near her hotel. I took this opportunity finally to try Pera Mediterranean Brasserie, a restaurant that has been on my list for a while.

We scrambled in the front door, escaping from the debilitating cold outside. The restaurant itself was gorgeous, warm, and inviting, well-decorated, large, and comfortable. We slid into a table for two and looked over the menu.

When we had decided, a man came over to take our order. He wasn't our waiter-- a competent and professional waitress had come to take our drink orders earlier; he seemed more like a cross between the manager and Tony Soprano. While reciting the specials, he leaned with one hand on the table, his ample body angled away from us, reciting mechanically while gazing vacantly across the room and avoiding all eye contact with my mother or me. Wow-- what a pleasant, personal touch! Fortunately, this was the only such service lapse during the meal-- the rest of our interactions with the staff were nothing but 100% lovely.

After the large and bored manager had left with our order, a runner arrived with a basket of warm, puffy breads. They were accompanied by a small dish of what we assume was crumbled feta. One bite into the whole-wheat looking bread, which was studded with sesame seeds on the crust, revealed a completely hollow interior, which I filled with a bit of cheese. The bread was good, but it wasn't all that satisfying... probably a common complaint regarding foodstuffs that are 98% air. While Mom and I were both on our first roll, I saw the same runner who had brought us our bread basket murking around our area of the floor aimlessly, holding another full basket. Finally, clearly unsure of what to do, he came over and replaced our (still nearly full) basket with the new one he had been holding, then took the rolls from the old basket, dumped them into the new basket, and left. I turned to my mom and said, "That clearly was not supposed to happen."

Bread basket #1

Pungent feta, with drizzle of oil

Empty. Like my hungry stomach.

This particular bit of bread-based theater completed, it was time for the appetizer course. My mom had ordered the Maroul salad, described as a mix of shredded romaine hearts, dill, scallion, feta cheese, lemon, and extra virgin olive oil. The bowl held a very large portion of salad-- definitely a good value!-- and I tried a bit. It was surprisingly tasty, well-seasoned and toothsome. Well done.

Beautiful mountain of green and white

After the salad was dispatched, our entrees arrived. Mom had selected the pan-roasted filet of salmon, which came with coarse sea salt, dill and yogurt foam. It was not only a pretty dish, but Mom declared it well-cooked, with a nice seared crust. It was topped by two tempura-fried garnishes; I ate them, and it turned out they were mild peppers and quite delicious.

Fish, precarious and beautiful

My own selection was the grilled vegetable and halloumi cheese salad, which came with thinly mandolined eggplant and zucchini a large slice of fennel along with two substantial pieces of halloumi cheese that had been seared. I love the texture and taste of halloumi-- the delightful toothy squeak it gives when you bite into it is just the best-- and the halloumi was clearly the star of the salad. The grilled vegetables were a nice garnish, but I wish there had been more. The oregano olive oil, almost a pesto-like mixture, surrounding everything gave all the dish's various elements a piquant flavor. This was a scrumptious salad, one that I would happily eat again.

A composed plate of deliciousness

Finally, we HAD to cap off our meal with dessert. Despite her protestations that the Maroul salad had filled her up (yeah, right), Mom ordered the molten chocolate cake. It was soft and chocolately and earned the vigorous approval of a discerning chocoholic. Perhaps more interesting than the cake itself, however, were the garnishes: a small bowl of fresh whipped cream (I ate that, thank you very much), a dish of chocolate sauce (perhaps chocolate overload with a chocolate cake), and a tiny scoop of something altogether unintelligible. It looked like guacamole, but when you peered closer, it was clear that it was pistachio-based. A taste revealed that it sort of seemed like ice cream, but there was a potent flavor present that was intensely puzzling. I rolled it around my tongue like a contestant in the Top Chef Palate Challenge and finally determined that it tasted like parmesan cheese. Yeah, weird. Being the dork that I am, I ultimately asked the waitress what the ingredients were, and it turns out the secret ingredient was actually sheep's milk, which gave the ice cream its tangy taste (N.B.: my determination that it tasted like parmesan was not that far off-- sheep's milk is what gives pecorino cheese, a close cousin to parm, its flavor. In short, I am a genius). I do like sheep's milk cheese, but this stuff was just weird.

It's like a chocolate cake fajita!

My dessert selection was an order of baklava. Unlike the puzzling concoction at Kellari, this baklava was done exactly right-- it was made up of light, flaky layers filled with chopped nuts, with the bottom quarter-inch or so of phyllo dough soaked with sweet honey. The portion was just right, too-- I finished it all without being unpleasantly overstuffed.

Three perfect bites

And with that, we paid the bill and rushed out into the freezing cold midtown air. Pera isn't cheap, but it was incredibly good-- the food was uniformly top-notch, creative, and well-presented. I would eagerly return to try some of the other vegetarian offerings on the menu... or just to get another crack at that halloumi salad. Regardless, if you enjoy Greek or Mediterranean food, get yourself to Pera and give it a try. It's a genuine four Offset Spatula winner.

Pera Mediterranean Brasserie

303 Madison Avenue, between 41st and 42nd Streets

212-878-6301

A drink at the (second?) greatest place on Earth

A few weeks ago, I received a tip from a very knowledgeable source that the Concord Crush cocktail at Gramercy Tavern was superlative and definitely worth the trip. I've been dying to eat at GT for a very, very long time (it replaced the number one Most Coveted Meal spot on my list after I finally conquered Eleven Madison Park). So I figured I'd ease my way in to the joint by stopping by for a drink at the bar before heading out for Saturday night festivities.

I arrived around 10:15 and found the place buzzing. No seats at the bar were available, so I hovered and looked over the cocktail menu (despite the fact that I was there for one thing and one thing only) until two ladies vacated their bar stools. I snagged one and settled in for a quality hour.

As befits such an incredible restaurant as GT, the bartenders were friendly, professional, and polished. My drink order was taken and the drink was mixed right in front of me, ultimately deposited on a coaster alongside a tall, thin glass of ice water. And so it was:



The Concord Crush consisted of vodka, concord grapes, and lime and was a delightful deep-purple color. I took a sip and noticed how well-balanced the flavor was: not too sweet (I guess my palate is used to cloyingly sweet cocktails!) with a fine grapey flavor and a smack of lime courtesy of the submerged lime wedges. It wasn't too strong, and it was a fine fall libation for sipping slowly while gazing around the Tavern and munching the gratis candied pecans the bartender placed in front of me (delicious, delicious, decicious candied pecans with dried cranberries mixed in. I ate my weight in candied pecans that night).

Soon after my drink arrived, a distinguished gentleman slid into the vacant barstool next to mine. Immediately it became clear he came here often-- all three bartenders rushed over to greet him, and a few moments later even the hostess left her post and slipped behind the bar to say hello. A bartender asked if he wanted his "usual" (don't all diners aspire to have a place where they have a "usual"?); instead, he opted for a plate of Kielbasa with extra sauerkraut and a glass of wine that paired well with that selection (which he let the bartender choose). We struck up a conversation as he ate, discussing his art collection, his day job, and his new condo in the Meatpacking district.

Soon, my cocktail was empty and I had received the summons from the friends I was heading to meet. Though the gentleman offered to buy me another cocktail, I politely declined (I had places to go and people to see!). I requested to close out my tab, and lo and behold, the bartender revealed my drink was "with their compliments." It was an incredible, delightful surprise that brought a goofy smile to my face. I left a large tip, said my goodbyes to the VIP gentleman next to me (who, I'm 99% sure, orchestrated the entire affair), and slipped out into the night.

It was only one cocktail--but it was one of the best nights I've had in a while. My desire for a full Gramercy Tavern meal has only been increased, and I truly can't wait to return.

Gramercy Tavern
42 E. 20th Street, at Park Avenue South
212-477-0777

Onion ring towers and frozen nutella at Gotham Bar & Grill

Last Friday, W and the bro took me to Gotham Bar & Grill for my last-- I promise-- official birthday dinner. Gotham is one of my quintessential "List" restaurants-- definite top three of places I've always wanted to go. So I was quite, quite excited for this dinner.

As soon as I walked into Gotham, I was struck by the intense feeling that I was in a very nice restaurant. You know that feeling I'm talking about? The one that screams that the purpose of the room you're in is to bring happiness and pleasure to everybody in it? If you haven't had that feeling, just walk into Gotham or Eleven Madison Park-- just walk in-- and you'll know what I'm talking about. Gotham is a beautiful, large dining room with enormous sunflower arrangements and draped light fixtures hanging from the high ceilings. The tables are large and well spaced, and there are several dining "tiers" (some tables were on various elevated or sunken areas of the dining room). We were led to a table in the back corner of the room, on a slightly elevated platform, with a great view of all the action.

A view of the gorgeous dining room from our elevated table

One of the flower arrangements in the background

While the bro and I waited for W to arrive, he examined the wine list and chose a bottle for W and himself (I wasn't in the mood for wine at the moment). The wine list was incredibly extensive-- more of a wine book than a wine list-- and, not surprisingly, skewed on the pricey side. The one drawback I found was that the list of wines by the glass was fairly small.

The table of contents. Of the wine list. Obvi.

W joined us shortly thereafter, and our waiter brought us the menus. Gotham doesn't have too many vegetarian selections, but fortunately one was very appealing, so I was all set. W and the bro both settled on their selection, and after a leisurely amount of time, we placed our orders.

Then came one of the best moments of any meal: the arrival of the Bread Man. Like One If By Land, Gotham had a dedicated bread man who wandered around the dining room with a platter of different kinds of breads. After watching him visit other tables, I was thrilled when he finally rolled up to our table and showcased his wares. We each chose two selections: W got the green olive roll and the hazelnut-raisin focaccia; the bro got the dinner roll and the focaccia; and I got the currant-multigrain roll and the focaccia. The focaccia was delicious, with the sweet flavor of hazelnuts offset but the crunch of rock salt sprinkled across the top crust. The currant-muligrain was tasty and flaky but a tiny bit dry. The bread was accompanied by a generous plate of butter, attractively presented with a ridged top. It looked very soft but when I dipped into it with my knife, it was actually on the harder side.

For the bro: Dinner roll and focaccia

For me: currant-multigrain and focaccia

For W: Green olive and...focaccia

Deceptively non-soft butter

Inside the currant roll

None of us had ordered appetizers, so we chowed on the bread to tide us over until our entrees came. After a suitable time lapse (this WAS a nice restaurant, after all), the plates all swooped down on our table at once. W had ordered the snapper, which came beautifully and interestingly plated on a bed of brocollini and exotic mushrooms. I tried a taste of these veggies, which were very tasty, and W said her fish was very good. She also examined the pile of clover on top of the fish for a four-leaf, but alas, none appeared.

So...much...visual...interest

The bro ordered the steak. It came with the best kind of baby carrots-- the ones that are like tiny adult carrots, if that makes sense--which were tender but still firm. There was also a very interesting mustard flan-- it tasted like dijon mustard but had the texture of panna cotta. It was a very interesting condiment to spread atop the steak. The best part of this dish (at least for me...) was the stack of onion rings. I had two of them, and they were like onion donuts, with a substantial tempura-like batter gripping the soft onion inside, and an addictive crunchy exterior. Ooooooh man. Oh yeah, and the bro enjoyed the steak as well, although he said it came cooked a bit nearer to medium than the requested medium-rare.

A very orderly plate

Note how the onion stays well within the batter. Genius.

I had ordered the roasted beet and jumbo asparagus salad. There were golden and ruby beets, huge chunks of thick asparagus, a bit of frisee, caramelized walnuts, and shavings of really flavorful tangy cheese. There was a creamy dressing streaking the bottom of the plate. Overall, this dish was a very interesting combination of flavors and textures. But as I think back on the salad, it was more like a combination of different yummy elements rather than a coherent mixture-- that is, there didn't seem to be a particular reason the different ingredients were all thrown together. Don't get me wrong, it was delicious, but just a bit puzzling, I guess.

So many different elements! And frisee hair for extra craziness!

And with that, we were done-- extra props to the bro for an admirable push to finish the enormous steak. It was time, then, for the moment we all (read: me) were waiting for: dessert. We examined the somewhat lengthy dessert menu with delight; the bro was too full to get his own, and W and I debated over what we truly wanted. When it came down to it, we both wanted the same thing, so that's what we got: the Frozen Nutella.

But first, when the desserts arrived, a complimentary plate of petit fours joined W's and my desserts. Clockwise from top right in the picture below, we had: a pineapple gelee (the bro hated this, calling it a pineapple gusher, but I thought it was good); a bittersweet chocolate truffle with an almost molten interior; a flourless chocolate mousse/cake bite with chocolate ganache on top (VERY good); a brownie bite with some sort of mysterious spice that appeared faintly on the aftertaste (I liked it but the bro didn't); some sort of strawberry or other red-fruit gel (meh); and a very, very puzzling small tart with some sort of sweet mousse, maybe strawberry, and mysterious orbs on top (also known as the "frosting quiche," according to the bro). Quite the assortment.

Fruit on top, chocolate on the bottom

But the star of this whole meal was the frozen nutella. It's hard to describe how awesome this dessert was-- it was truly incredible. It was a beautifully presented petite cake covered in foam and a scoop of ice cream (don't remember what the actual flavor of the ice cream was; it wasn't vanilla, it was something a bit nuttier), with a dark chocolate skewer under the ice cream and cake crumbs and chocolate sauce dots rounding out the plate. The garnishes were all well and good, but the frozen nutella itself (the cake) was just something else. It was liquidy inside with little bits of solid chocolate/nutella, sort of like the texture of heath bar crunch ice cream. I'm really having trouble describing this dessert-- it was unlike anything I've ever had, and I could eat that every day of my life with great, great pleasure. Please, go to Gotham and order this dessert. Just--please--do it.

Frozen nutella, under foam and garnishes.

At that point, we had to pay the bill and run to make it to my birthday party on time (hooray!). We had a wonderful time at Gotham B&G, and just the experience of being in the restaurant itself can make a night lovely. And, of course, the food was top-notch, especially the dessert (did I mention the dessert? It was good). I'd love to go back to Gotham again, if I ever get the chance, and if you have the opportunity to go DEFINITELY carpe that shit. I hesitate, however, to give Gotham five OSes-- I can't quite pinpoint why, but it wasn't quite up to the level of One If By Land or the Elm Court. Here's where a half-spatula would come in, but without that I settle for giving Gotham an enthusiastic four Offset Spatulas.

Gotham Bar & Grill
12 E. 12th St, between 5th Ave and University Place
212-620-4020

The Art of Food at Craftbar

If you've been reading this blog at all consistently, you'll know that many of my dining adventures take place with the faithful dining triumvirate: J, the bro, and I. This past Friday, however, the triumvirate became a quadrumvirate, as my brother's "lovely date" (to borrow an apt phrase from NYCFoodGuy), W, joined our group. To celebrate the debut of the quadrumvirate, we chose a somewhat special place for dinner: Craftbar, one of my longtime List restaurants.

The entrance, unfortunately obscured by scaffolding at the moment

Craftbar, located on Broadway just south of the Flatiron building, is a beautiful restaurant. It's spacious, with a lot of room between tables. The walls are adorned with semi-ridiculous photos of food and cooking implements (a whisk; a sliced mushroom), and the ceiling is cris-crossed with a catwalk giving access to wine storage. The soundtrack was relatively loud but played a highly enjoyable selection of present and past pop hits, delighting our crowd.

We settled into our large table and perused the menu. I ordered the wine, a Conte Lapardi Sauvignon Blanc (as usual), which was delicious. It had a lively, acidic taste and was served at the absolute perfect temperature in lovely glassware. My only complaint with the wine list (and, frankly, with Craftbar overall) is that it skewed quite expensive. I could count the number of bottles under $50 on one hand, making it a relatively unfriendly wine experience to those on a budget.

Glass...awaiting wine

As we all decided what to order, I munched a breadstick from the canister in the center of the table. Now, as you know, the bread course is very important to me, and I must say I think Craftbar dropped the ball here. The breadstick was extremely crunchy and crumbly (almost hard), and it had a slightly cheesy, salty flavor with a touch of rosemary. Personally, I don't like breadsticks very much, so I didn't enjoy this and really shouldn't have eaten the whole thing. All the more disappointing, as you'll see shortly, is that our appetizers came with delicious-looking peasant bread, which I truly wish they had served as a bread basket.

Breadsticks. Don't waste your stomach space.

We placed our order and chatted contentedly, pausing to remark on the occasional song selection (all KT Tunstull, all the time). Soon, our apps arrived. We had ordered the pecorino fondue with acacia honey, hazelnuts, and pepperoncini. Our waitress, Devin, suggested that we order two for the table, and she was definitely right-- the portions were certainly not large (a recurring theme at Craftbar).

The fondue arrived as a small bowl of melted, savory cheese accompanied by two small slices of lovely bread per order. The cheese had a lovely crackly crust around the edges and a large number of hazelnuts submerged within. The cheese was incredible-- salty and flavorful, with a slight sweetness from the honey and a definite heat from the pepperoncini. The caramelized crusty bits left over around the edges were absolutely irresistible.

Fondue appetizer... with such bread-basket potential...

Close-up on the fondue, with hazelnuts, caramelized honey, and crackly bits around the edges

J in action

After such a successful appetizer course, we had high hopes for our entrees. A suitable post-appetizer interlude allowed us to digest a bit, and soon our main meals arrived. J had ordered the beef short ribs with farro and Tokyo turnips, also upon Devin's recommendation. He enjoyed them thoroughly, and I got a chance to taste the turnips-- very delicious (and cute). The bed of farro looked almost risotto-like.

Beef, grain, turnips, with bonus pearl onions

W had ordered the dayboat scallops with fennel, apple, and star anise. This was a beautiful plate that came with essentially two and a half nicely seared scallops, with various accoutrements scattered around them. W said they were good but a little salty. And, it's worthwhile to note, I had assumed this was an appetizer that W had just ordered as her entree, but I just checked the menu and it's actually an entree. Portion control and all that, I guess.

Two parents and a baby?

Nicely cooked scallops up close, with apple dices and fronds

The bro vacillated painfully between the cavatelli bolognese and the dry aged sirloin, but in the end he went with the sirloin. It came on a bed of smoky wild mushrooms and had a few cubes of crispy potatoes scattered around (Craftbar seems to be a fan of cubing vegetables and fruits, huh?). The beef was delicately medium-rare, and the bro thoroughly enjoyed it-- his only complaint, a recurring refrain throughout the evening, was that he wished there were about two or three times as much on the plate (although by the time the dessert course rolled around, he was full). I was lucky enough to have his leftover mushrooms, and they were certainly smoky but also tender and delicious.

Beef, fungus, carbs, snipped chives

A lovely pink

As for me, I ordered--wait for it-- a salad. My plate of arugula, hazelnuts, strawberries, and grana padano cheese was lovely and delectable. The saltiness of the cheese, of which there was a significant amount, pervaded all the greens and nicely offset the sweetness of the occasional strawberry. Definitely an unusual, creative, and highly succesful salad.

A mess of peppery arugula, with cheese shavings and such interspersed within

By this point we were mostly full and happy, but of course no dinner is complete without dessert, so I egged the crowd on when it came to the post-dinner course. We decided on three desserts for the table, and W ordered an espresso as well. For the most part an espresso is an espresso, but I'll include a picture of this one because it had perhaps the cutest spoon in the world (which I later used to consume my own dessert, because I'm obsessed with tiny cutlery).

Itty bitty little spoon on display, with business card for size comparison

W and the bro decided to split the ice cream sundae, which came with coffee ice cream, hot fudge, and a dollop of fresh whipped cream. I had a few tastes (obviously), and I'm not the biggest fan of coffee ice cream, but this was definitely a serviceable sundae.

Note the large gaping empty space at the bottom of the glass. Curious.

I ordered the brown sugar cake with peach preserves and honey ice cream. The ice cream was the star here, sweet and creamy with a strong honey taste. The cake was very sweet and somewhat dry-- standard, although there was a darkened interior that seemed like molten brown sugar and was insanely decadent. The peach preserves didn't add much to the equation. It was definitely an enjoyable dessert but not one I'd necessarily order again.

Three different forms of sugar

J had had his eye on the chocolate cake, but once again Devin persuaded him to order something different: the baked Alaska. And boy were we glad he acquiesced: this dessert was by far and away the winner of the three. The dessert was visually arresting--it looked a little bit like a cowpie, but once you got past that it was quite pretty. The interior of the white mass was coconut ice cream, enrobed in a coat of sweet bruleed meringue and surrounded by a pool of passionfruit caramel. I was a little skeptical of this dessert, but once I had a bite I couldn't stop eating it (and, frankly, I think I packed away about half of this in addition to my own dessert). The combination of flavors and textures was amazing, and the entire dish-- especially the passionfruit caramel, with a strong passionfruit tang-- was incredibly, incredibly sweet. It was so sweet it approached cloying after a while, but that didn't stop me as I plowed through this baby. Incredible.

A dome of deliciousness

Overall, we had a great time at Craftbar. The ambiance was lovely and conducive to a great meal. The service was flawless and friendly (Devin gamely put up with the antics of J and the rest of our table). The plates were beautiful, dotted with lots of purees and cubed bits of veggies. And the food itself was delicious. Only a few things could have elevated Craftbar further: a better bread basket (of course) and a more realistic pricing scheme. Our dinner, especially including the wine, was very, very expensive, and the small portion sizes left us feeling we hadn't quite gotten a good value. But-- I reiterate-- for a special occasion or just a decadent night, Craftbar is a great place to be. For that, I award it four out of five Offset Spatulas.


Craftbar
900 Broadway
Between 19th and 20th Streets