Dinner | Burger & Barrel Winepub

After reading a bunch of press I had seen (first in Grub Street), I was dying to try Burger & Barrel Winepub (aka B&B), mainly because the same group behind Lure Fishbar had newly opened it very recently (three weeks prior to my actual visit). As I'm a big fan of the décor and experience I had at Lure Fishbar (as I've mentioned before in my post on Marea), I wanted to see what other tricks the restaurant creators had up their sleeves.


I wanted to surprise Marcus with a new place to eat last Friday, so I thought it would be perfect to try out B&B on a Friday night as its name boasts it to be a winepub, which I found to be intriguing, as public houses (i.e., where pub actually comes from) tends to focus on beer/ales/ciders on draft, not necessarily wine. Incidentally, the restaurant's name is derived from the main features on its menu--burgers and local wine on tap (thus, the barrel in its name). I liked the concept, so I thought it was worth checking out.

A couple days before I planned to take Marcus here, I read this article in Serious Eats about the supposed new "It" burger. I didn't want to read too much about it (as TV as in food, I still believe in avoiding spoilers at all costs), but definitely wanted to come see for myself. All I knew was that it contained white truffles in some way and that it cost a whopping $45 a pop.

I underestimated the popularity of this place--being that it just opened, I thought Marcus and I could waltz right in a little before 8 PM and just get a table. Major fail on my part as there were no empty tables, and the bar was completely lined with people. Just as a warning, B&B does NOT take reservations. It has a first come, first served policy (contrary to its website which offers an option to "Book a Table"), but I think they do take reservations for large parties.


Guests who are waiting for the next available table are invited to wait by the bar (you can also opt to eat the bar, but the menu is limited to certain plates), so we both got a drink each while we were waiting and chatting. The restaurant has a dark interior and is very lowly lit at night, with selected areas that are lit for emphasis, creating a striking dramatic contrast. The walls above the bar area are lined with shelves filled with endless bottles of wine (and occasional black chalkboard every so often) throughout the restaurant's circumference (see above photograph).


After about thirty minutes of waiting, Marcus and I were able to get closer to the bar (as I was able to score a seat). The restaurant's main dining room surrounds the open bar area, so it is very open. On the Daily Specials board (see above photograph), the "White Truffle Burger" is advertised with particular emphasis by the stars on both ends, where the "spotlight" on the center of the "Daily Specials" board really should have shone solely on the starred burger instead. I had told Marcus about how this is the new "It" burger and how I wasn't sure if it would be worth it to order because of the steep price. I tried to keep it a secret (i.e., the actual menu price for the burger), but that didn't last too long. There were two bartenders working that night (Farran and Sarah, who were great and super helpful). Marcus asked Farran if the white truffle burger was worth ordering, and without hesitation, Farran reported that this was in fact true, as he said he's had it a few times already, splitting it with the bar and waitstaff. Also, he was the one who (unwittingly) ratted me out on the burger's contentious price, as he casually replied to Marcus, "It's totally worth every bite. I mean, it's definitely great to order with a group of four so that everyone can have a taste of it. In fact, we encourage that. So even after splitting it among four, it'd be roughly $11 per person--not bad at all."

The cat was out of the bag--I couldn't keep Marcus in the dark any longer. You see, he is quite quick with numbers. I was still on the fence about ordering it at all, so I was pretty sure this would sway us in a more prudent direction. But instead of the "have-you-gone-mad" reaction and the "are-you-effing-insane" rant I was expecting, he looked at me the same way he looked at the counter girl at Madeleine Patisserie, the day we ordered every macaron flavor available, and said, with no reservations, "Let's order it."


I really liked the neat use of the black chalkboards throughout the restaurant, particularly this quotation by Oliver Wendell Holmes, which was very appropriate being that it was a winepub: "Wine is a food." I love restaurants that give things like this some thought.


Per another recommendation from Farran, I ordered a glass of the Château Bel-Air-Ouy "Grand Cru" from Saint-Emilion, Bordeaux with a 2000 vintage. He told us that this would go very well with the white truffle burger, so in the spirit of splurging this night on gastro-grub, I basically said, "Screw it," closed my eyes, and allowed myself to enjoy a $30 glass of wine. I had Marcus try a sip, leading him to say this was probably the best glass of wine he's ever had. I will have to agree with him on that. It was very smooth and rich, and for someone who still has much to learn about wine, I could definitely tell the 10-year vintage had developed a very complex flavor and depth, which I really enjoyed even by itself, before the food arrived.


We started off the meal with chicken lollipops with ancho chili barbecue marinade. The chicken was the "candy" part, and its bone was the "lollipop stick". The meat was very soft and flavorful. It was almost a little too spicy for me but still very enjoyable. A gourmet take on token bar "buffalo wings".


And the feature dish you've all been waiting for: the infamous white truffle burger! Serving the burger with fries, a side of truffle aioli, and onion rings, Chef Josh Capon (the mastermind behind this "new" burger) used beef supplied by Pat La Frieda, a local meat purveyor. And now for your spoiler alert (may the drooling commence): on top of this medium rare burger is melted robiola (an Italian soft-ripened cheese) and some shaved white truffles, perfectly doused with a homemade truffle aioli (made from truffle shavings and leftover peelings). I really like how the above photographs turned out--very dramatic, if I do say so myself. It was very fortunate for us that the mâitre d' sat us in a booth, though with much sinkage, that had really, really good lighting. It just so happened that the light shone right at the center of our table, permitting my camera to capture very decent photographs that, in any other circumstances, would not have done the documentation of the food eaten that night any justice. The burger tasted as what the perfect burger should--a medium-rare center that manifests itself to be succulent, slightly bloody, practically melting in your mouth. And the savoriness of the black truffle--a continuous umami eruption with each and every bite! It was the kind of richness you'd imagine yourself to only be able to reach what I like to call "foodie nirvana" (more commonly known as a taste/food-induced orgasm), the kind exhibited by Meg Ryan with that sandwich she ordered in that acclaimed scene from When Harry Met Sally. Chef Capon did not overdo the aioli or the shavings of the black truffle (not that one could afford to, anyway), as it paired agreeably with the beef. Add the 2000 vintage Bordeaux, and you've got yourself a great Friday night meal at the gastropub of all gastropubs (if such a title could exist). Destination: food coma.


The accompanying entrée we ordered in tandem with the burger was the short rib ravioli with braised short rib and ricotta salata. While Marcus enjoyed the burger almost as much as I did, he actually found the ravioli to be great as well. The short rib meat was braised to the right texture, and the hearty sauce served with the ravioli appeared to have been the braising sauce used for the short rib meat. The cheese sprinkled on top and the ricotta on the inside was light and gave a nice creaminess to the robust flavors of the sauce and meaty interior. The ravioli was a good amount past al dente (Italian for "to the tooth"), the perfect consistency for such an enveloping pasta.

Findings: Please go with three friends to Burger & Barrel and order the white truffle burger before it's gone (anticipated month of menu extinction indefinitely, or until black truffles are back in season next year, is January). It is totally worth it, especially as an appetizer split with a party of four! Also, the splurge on the Bordeaux is also a must--it's as if the burger and the Bordeaux go hand in hand. And if you do decide to do live on the edge and do something crazy for once, please go to B&B early--chances are if you dilly-dally (as we did), it'll take you an hour to get a table and another half hour to get your burger. The service is pretty good, and the bartenders are fun to talk to. And if the white truffle burger is gone by the time you make it to B&B, don't fret! It seems like everything is delicious there, so you can't go wrong ordering something else (when in doubt, ask the bartenders and the servers)! P. S. I'm still having dreams about that burger, and I fully admit that I may have drooled while writing parts of this post.

Price point: $30 for glass of Bordeaux (2000 vintage); $10 for for the table dish; $18 for entrée; $45 for the daily special.

--November 5, 2010

Burger & Barrel (B&B) Winepub
25 West Houston Street
New York, NY 10012
http://www.burgerandbarrel.com

Dinner | Marea, i

Three Thursdays ago, Linda and I made plans for dinner at Marea, Chef Michael White's coastal Italian seafood venture with restauranteur, Chris Cannon. This is their third collaboration together, embodying the influences of ingredients from the four bodies of water surrounding the peninsula of Italy. As Marea's menu reads like "a study of the sea", its fish is "sourced from both the Mediterranean and waters worldwide", aiming to add to the restaurant's authenticity.


I love the cerulean blue used in its restaurant awnings outside as well as on its business cards. Very suggestive of the sea!

I had originally heard about Marea from last year's James Beard Foundation award nominations. It was nominated (subsequently winning) within the Best New Restaurant category, for which the award is given to "a restaurant opened in 2009 that already displays excellence in food, beverage, and services and is likely to have a significant impact on the industry in years to come". Chef Michael White was also nominated within the Best Chef: New York City category, citing Marea as well. I figured there might be something to explore and taste, so I told Linda about it, and she was in! Now, having had the MICHELIN inspectors announce that Marea has earned its second MICHELIN star (note this happened after our visit), it sounds like the restaurant is movin' on up in the foodie world! Now, having had the MICHELIN inspectors announce that Marea has earned its second MICHELIN star (note this was announced a couple weeks after our visit), it sounds like the restaurant is movin' on up in the food world!


How might you ask, did we get a reservation, only with less than a weeks' notice? Easy! As I've learned from the reservation pro (aka Linda), many restaurants serve its full menu at the bar (as seen in our adventure at Maialino). I checked Marea’s website to see if there was dining available at the bar—somewhere, it briefly mentioned that there was. Just to make sure, I called the maître d’ and inquired whether the restaurant offered dining at the bar, which she confirmed it did. She did also mention the restaurant’s policy regarding bar room dining was “first come, first serve”. Not a problem at all, as Linda and I planned for dinner around 6:30 PM.


Cocktail menu at Marea. I decided on the Marea cocktail hoping it was some kind of signature drink concoction of the restaurant, and also because I usually like any kind of passion fruit twist on a cocktail.


Hibiscus placed in my glass in the Marea cocktail I ordered.


The Marea cocktail consisted of Nardini grappa bianca (traditional-style grappa that has a fruity flavor with citrus-oil and fig aromas), acqua di cedro (a citron-infused liqueur), passion fruit, and hibiscus. This was REALLY good. The only thing I couldn't put my finger on was there was a slight chocolate-y / sambuca-like aftertaste--it may have been the passion fruit. A little bizarre if I do say so myself, but great cocktail nevertheless!


I noticed the menu is laid out similarly to the one at Maialino. The combination of black text on bone-colored paper with blue as an auxiliary color.


Inside Marea. I love the understated elegance of the restaurant's space. It reminds me of a seafood brasserie I've been to a few times in SoHo called Lure Fishbar. As Frank Bruni put so well, Lure's décor "cunningly evokes the interior of a supersize yacht". While Marea may not blatantly scream yacht, it somehow suggests a sophisticated maritime and nautical feel, which is fitting for its coastal cuisine offerings. It might be the subdued earth tones against the dark hardwood that creates that effect. Notice the curved glass towards the back--it's actually a raw bar where patrons can sit and dine and admire the crudo al taglio (Italian for "raw cut") seafood.

Before I get into what we ate, etc., I wanted to delve into explaining what a traditional Italian menu structure is like. The structure consists of four "dish courses"--I'm excluding any apertivos or digestivos. The first course is the antipasto, literally Italian for "before the meal, which is usually a cold or hot appetizer (seen below as granchio and astice). This course is followed by the primo, Italian for "first course", consisting of a hot dish, typically a pasta, risotto, polenta, gnocchi, or soup. This is the main source of carbohydrates during the course of the entire meal. After the primo is the secondo, Italian for "second course", the main dish consisting of seafood or meat. Many times, the secondo is paired with a contorno (literally in Italian for "contour", which I extend to be a "contour" surrounding a dish), a side dish consisting of a salad or cooked vegetables. The dolce (Italian for "sweet") is the last dish, punctuating the entire meal--the dessert.

As you can see from the rest of this post, Linda and I skipped the secondo, making our primo our main dish for the night, below.


My first course, an antipasta, was the granchio (Italian for "crab"), which had jumbo lump crab served with figs, duck prosciutto atop, fromaggio bianco, and puff pastry at the bottom. I was a bit apprehensive about the fromaggio bianco, because as you know, cheese and I don’t usually see eye-to-eye in most instances. However, I figured the lovely combination of figs (I’m a sucker for seedy fruits of the like—strawberries, kiwi, etc.), duck (in prosciutto form, no less!), and lump crab would more than compensate for some measly cheese.

And folks, Chef Michael White did not disappoint! The cold, sea-freshness of the crab and the saltiness of the thin slices of cured duck together with the fresh fig preserves served for a great starter dish. The presentation of the puff pastry was unexpected. I imagined the entire dish to be enveloped somehow in puff pastry “purse”, like a quiche. As you can see in the photograph above, the bottom layer of the dish was the puff pastry, in rectangular form, the presentation typical for canapés--pieces of puff pastry served with a savory topping (in this case, the combination of crab, figs, and duck—very savory, indeed). What I found to be interesting is that canapé is French for “couch”, which can be figuratively extended in the sense that the puff pastry is the “couch” on which to place “toppings”. On another note, the fromaggio cheese was served on the side, so no issues there!


Linda went with the astice (Italian for "lobster"), which was Nova Scotia lobster with burrata (a fresh Italian cheese made with mozzarella and cream--making for a very soft texture--usually served at room temperature), eggplant al funghetto, and basil. Lobster was well-prepared—perfectly tender, served cold. I love the colors presented in this dish also--very fresh and clean.


I think I've been on an agnolotti kick having since been to Maialino as I couldn't resist ordering the agnolotti, which had veal ravioli, sweetbreads, and funghi. This was from the pasta fatta in casa (i.e., homemade pasta--subtitled in the menu as "pasta made by hand in house") section of the menu, from the category altre pasta (i.e., other pasta, which differentiates from its primi di mare (i.e., first course subdivision of seafood). Very hearty ingredients (resonating fall/winter flavors) that made for a very richly tasting pasta dish. I always look forward to seeing veal, sweetbreads, and mushrooms in any dish--so when they're combined so nicely in a dish like this, what's there not to like? I wasn't disappointed, but I wasn't overwhelmingly wow-ed, either. I think my issue here is that I should have ordered a dish with seafood as an ingredient at an Italian restaurant specializing in coastal Italian cuisine (I compensated for this during my subsequent visit a couple weeks later--post to follow soon)!


Linda had the gramigna with housemade bacala (a salted cod) and fave e cicoria (beans and chicory). Gramigna is a pasta variety that is a thin, short, curled strand of pasta. I found the bite I had to be quite flavorful, with a nice amount of saltiness to match. Very hearty dish also that need not include any hearty red meats, which is refreshing to taste.


What a nice touch to the dolci menu--Work is the meat of life. Pleasure, the dessert. Very clever!


I ordered the gianduja with cocoa nib crema, hazelnuts, chocolate, and fior di latte gelato. If I ever have issues deciding which dessert to select from a menu, chances are if there are hazelnuts in the picture, that will be my final answer, usually without question. Also, gianduja is a European-style of chocolate made from chocolate and nut paste. Most commonly used paste is made from hazelnut, but almond paste can also be used, so the actual hazelnuts added a fresh touch. The cocoa nibs added a nice crunch to the gelato and gianduja combination. Very delightful dessert!


Linda had the budino di riso--a spiced rice pudding with slices of stone fruit, amaretti crumble, and plum sorbet. The poached stone fruits were layered in a wall around the spiced rice pudding. I love the added spice to the rice pudding, kind of giving an autumnal feel to the dessert. For those who may find chocolate too rich in the desserts of fine dining, this is a great non-chocolate dessert to have. Linda's a big fan of rice pudding, so this was right up her alley!

Findings: I really like the classic menu structure at Marea--it certainly adds to the restaurant's authenticity of going back to regional Italian cuisine. The restaurant's ambiance is also something I really enjoyed--I enjoy things more when they're understated, subtle, and minimalist in nature. The same goes for the restaurant's dishes--very flavorful with simplicity and looking to classical regional rudimentary cooking, which isn't to say the creativity isn't there. The granchia is a great example--presentation and combination wise! I really enjoyed our experience eating at the bar--it made for great conversation, without feeling too stuffy or overdone. I really recommend ordering seafood-focused dishes (as it is the restaurant's focus/specialty)--not to say that carne is poorly executed. I think it's kind of what Marcus said in his Argo Tea post: that ordering non-seafood items at a seafood restaurant is "almost as sad as watching the crazed, misguided man who sits down at a Japanese sushi restaurant intending to order a hamburger." No worries--I learned my lesson. Please look for my upcoming post about my most recent visit to Marea and the primo I ordered to mark the best of both worlds of land and sea. Nevertheless, great conversation mixed with Italian red wine and solid Italian cuisine makes Marea a lovely place to catch up with friends and nourish our stomachs well.

Price point: $18 for the cocktail; $22-24 for each antipasta; $27-29 for each primo/pasta fatta in casa; $13-14 for each dolce.

--September 29, 2010

Marea
240 Central Park South
New York, NY 10019
http://www.marea-nyc.com/home.html

Dinner | Maialino

After the Giada book signing, Linda and I headed over to Danny Meyer's relatively new trattoria (opened late last year), Maialino, for dinner. Linda had told me that it'd be impossible to get reservations, so our best best was to dine and drink at the bar. She has really good taste, especially when it comes to dining out, so I trust her judgment entirely.


It was around 6:30 when we arrived at Gramercy Park Hotel (where Maialino is housed), and the bar was pretty happening. Most of the seats at the bar were taken, minus the few empty single seats in between couples. Luckily, Linda and her husband are regulars at Maialino's bar and have gotten to know the bartenders (they're on a first name basis with her!), so they put us next on the list to be seated at the bar. In the mean time, we perused the bar menu for something to have while we wait and chat. I usually order wine, but the cocktails looked too delicious not to try. I asked Linda what she recommended. She recommended La Pernice. I couldn't decide which one I wanted most, so I went with that.


La Pernice is a muddled cocktail (bevande, on the menu), concocted with peach, Dimmi, and lemon. Lovely, delicious, and a well-balanced alcohol-juice ratio. I definitely want to go back and order another one before the season's over. Linda refers to La Pernice as "summer in a glass"--i.e., if summer were to be captured in a drink or cocktail, this would be it. One of the nights that she was here with her husband, one of the bartenders they know was off that night. He was dining at the bar next to them, with La Pernice as his cocktail of choice, when he said to them, "This is summer in a glass!" Guess he and Linda are on the same wavelength with cocktails, because it really is a glass of summer!


I liked how the menu is formatted. They kept it somewhat authentic--it's always so cool when they keep the dish name in its native language (Italian here, of course), with subtle descriptions in English without ruining the poetics. Maialino is Italian for "little pig"--which explains why there's an illustration of a pig right there.


View of the bar from where we were sitting. What a beautiful space Danny Meyer selected! I was saying to Linda how rare it is to have a restaurant located on the corner of a block where they utilize the windows and natural light so well. The noise level in the bar area wasn't overwhelmingly loud, either. I didn't feel like I needed to scream in order for Linda or the bartenders to hear me. It seems to me a lot of restaurants don't take into account the sound acoustics and engineering when they're building or redoing a space for a restaurant. People come to restaurants to socialize, so you would think it's a priority concern that will surely enhance any and all experiences of the said restaurant's patrons. Danny Meyer tailored the space very well to accommodate Maialino's bar patrons, for sure!


We started our meal with two appetizers, or cicchetti, per the heading on the menu, which are small snacks or side dishes. The first cicchetto was the crostini di fichi--crostini topped with figs, Robiola cheese, and sunflower honey. I usually stay away from ordering dishes with cheeses I'm not familiar with, but I felt adventurous that night. I'm glad I did so, too, because this was probably my favorite dish of the night. Usually with crostini, it's hard to keep the toasted bread slice crisp and in tact, especially when you have so a few ingredients spread on top. Maialino didn't compromise the crispiness and lightness of the crostini at all here. The three ingredients fused so well together--it was like a major-keyed symphony playing in my mouth, where it sounded perfectly melodious together while being able to hear the individual instrumental parts. The crostini was a culinary synedoche--the sum of its parts (i.e., the ingredients) totally enhanced the taste experienced from each individual ingredient alone. I can still taste the honey on my lips, the fig seeds against my teeth, and the Robiola savored on my tongue. Mmm!


The second cicchetto we ordered was the insalata caprese, the token mozzarella, heirloom tomato, and basil appetizer. Linda kept insisting she doesn't normally order the typical items found on an Italian appetizer menu, especially the "caprese salad" seen above. However, the bartender had recommended it to her during one of her previous visits, and she said the mozzarella is so creamy and the heirloom tomatoes, locally grown, were sweet and complimented the dish very well. I don't usually mind ordering those items at an Italian restaurant, so I had no qualms with trying it!

I do have to point something out though. Talking with Linda about "token dishes" reminded me of an article I read on New York magazine's website last December surrounding William Poundstone's new book, Priceless: The Myth of Fair Value (and How to Take Advantage of It). The article discussed an interesting excerpt from his book about menu design and how marketing comes into play. The one discussed item I distinctly remember was called menu siberia, "where low-margin dishes that the regulars like end up"--which is exactly where the insalata caprese was located (see fourth photo from the beginning of this entry), at the bottom of the cichetti section. Too funny.

Anyway, back to the cicchetto at hand. The mozzarella was indeed the perfect consistency. Creamy, but not too much where it would've tasted milky. I also liked that it wasn't the typical "slice" from a "larger ball" of mozzarella with the same sliced tomatoes you'd find atop a cheeseburger. The asymmetry of the mozzarella pieces, along with the wedge-cut tomatoes, gave it an even more homemade feel to them. The acidity of the heirloom tomatoes gave it the right kick, making it an unexpected surprise for what we'd usually consider as "menu-siberian" dish. Maialino nailed it in execution.


Linda's primi entrée was the agnolotti, ravioli with fresh sweet corn, cherry tomato, and ricotta salata. The ricotta wasn't overpowering, which what I usually dislike about ravioli, but I really enjoyed the small piece I sampled from here. You can also tell the pasta was made in house, which is always a nice treat, and I liked how they incorporated the sweet corn, setting this apart from any ravioli I've ever tasted. The sweet and salty tastes from the corn and ricotta had really lovely flavor interplay.


I ordered the fettuccine alle cozze e gamberetti, a fettuccine dish with mussels and shrimp (I forgot to note what other ingredients were included--will have to make note of it during my next visit!). I LOVE mussels, and I love having seafood with my pasta (mostly because it isn't too filling). It was pretty good (Linda has had this dish before and said something similar), but nothing as exciting as the dishes I described earlier. I did enjoy the freshly made fettuccine though, and the seafood was cooked well.


For dolci, I ordered three scoops of gelati e biscotti (clockwise, from top left): fior di latte (an Italian take on vanilla), toasted almond chip, and cinnamon toast, topped with an almond biscotti. All three flavors were amazing--very original flavors. We had the fior de latte with the crostata (see below). The toasted almond chip had these little bits of crunch to it and that refreshing almond flavor flowing throughout. The cinnamon toast may has well be named cinnamon toast crunch because it was basically Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal in gelato form. The extra bits of "crunch" reinforces my claim. Gelati is highly recommended here!


Linda ordered the crostata (I forgot to note down the actual name--will need to take photos of future menu in case entire menus aren't available online), which had peaches, raspberries, and blueberries, topped with a vanilla mascarpone. Linda recommended having a bite of this with a scoop of fior di latte (Italian vanilla gelato), and boy, was it good. Simple, fresh flavors is sometimes all you need for a satisfying dessert! Linda has made this from scratch and claims hers is better than this (I totally believe her), so I'll need to ask her to make it again!


Me and Linda at the bar at Maialino for our first dinner date (nine months later)! More adventures to follow, for sure!

Findings: Great for catching up on a girlfriends' night out (as Linda and I needed desperately to catch up)--we spent about 4 hours eating and laughing! The cicchetti, as you can see from the two we've ordered, were really good, so sharing a few of those at the bar with friends is great here. The bartenders are so down-to-earth and make a mean cocktail like La Pernice. And of course, dessert is a must! There's a dessert counter in the middle of the restaurant, displaying the pastry on the menu that day, so that's worth checking out as well. I definitely foresee a return visit very soon! Thanks for a lovely evening, Linda!

Price point: $13 for the bevande; $7-13 for each cichetto; $15-19 for each primi; $7-8 for each dolce

--August 24, 2010

Maialino
Gramercy Park Hotel
2 Lexington Avenue
New York, NY 10010
http://www.maialinonyc.com