I can always rely on my foodie cousin, Jenny, for the best recommendations in NYC. She seems to be the first one in every new and interesting restaurant as soon as it opens. Her suggestion that we try ABC Kitchen on our last outing met with my great enthusiasm.
Unlike his other fancy French or authentic Asian restaurants, Jean Georges Vongerichten has opened a quintessential American which is supplied by local organic farmers. The menu is a simple but attractive list of the daily offerings and on its back are the names of all the different producers from where he gets his ingredients. A varied à la carte menu is easy to navigate and one can order a number of small tasty appetizers to share for a lovely lunch, or move on to the main course dishes which are more substantial. The list of wines is also representative of different regions in the USA.
Jenny and I had a delicious lunch of five appetizers and two rich all-American desserts. The stunning crab toasts with lemon aioli were spectacular. Jenny had had these at another meal and I was happy that she was up for trying them once again. We also had a dish of raw diver scallops with sea beans, serrano chile, lime and a salty succulent seaweed that I know in France: salicorne. roasted beets with home made yogurt could not have been more attractive or more delicious. Two more salads followed: Roasted carrot and avocado with crunchy seeds, sour cream and citrus (this one was a bit too sour for me), and a phenomenal sugar snap pea salad with parmesan dressing and fines herbes.
With this meal, I had a glass of a Handley Cellars Chardonnay 2009, from Anderson Valley, California.
We had been so "good" with our salads, that I suggested we splurge on desserts. I was not sorry. The all-American carrot cake with cream cheese butter cream was sensational, as was the rhubarb almond crumble tart with rhubarb whipped cream. It is no wonder that Jenny enjoys going back to this place again and again.
Several days later, I met another cousin, Becca at Robata-ya. As I am interested in all things Japanese, I was intrigued when I read that on 9th Street in the East Village, a Japanese restaurateur had opened several new places. I chose Robata-ya because I love the robata grills and they are few and far between outside of Japan.
When I reserved, I knew that it would be important to sit at the counter. So often in Japanese restaurants, sitting at tables is much less interesting and exciting than at the counter, where one can see the preparation of the food.
At Robata-ya, all the ingredients are arranged around the customer-side of the counter, and of course, the chefs are behind it. when you order, it is not unusual to see a chef jump on to the counter to reach the fish or the vegetables you have chosen. The food is then grilled, and the chef "hands" it to you when ready on a large paddle with a long handle (see photos). With our meal we had boxes of cold sake, and frankly, could not have had a more fun and delicious time.
To start, our neighbors at the counter recommended that we try the goma kanpachi which is sashimi of yellowtail (my favorite) dusted with sesame seeds. After that, we chose kaki karaage served in a lovely cool broth. This is a dish of succulent fried oysters and they are truly excellent. I suggested grilled corn on the cob, and a variety of grilled Japanese mushrooms. We had grilled el hire--dried stingray that you dip in mayonnaise. Our pièce de resistance was a whole grilled rainbow trout which was wonderful.
Ordering is made easier both because all the ingredients are in front of you and also because there are many photos in the menu itself. Informative as well as the recommendations from the other people at the counter.
As with all Japanese food, the meal was simple, beautifully prepared and practically fat free. So there was definitely room to order a light dessert: green tea ice cream with malt powder.
Robata ya is a wonderful place to go for a great meal and an amusing show. It makes dining out a lot of fun. I could have sat and watched the chefs jumping on the counter and serving the food for hours.
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