Immaculate Infatuation » Chelsea

Aldea

Andrew Steinthal — Tue, 18 May 2010 04:14:05 +0000

After being hyped on this place by friends and food media for the last year, I was pretty confident Aldea was going to be a John Starks over the entire Bulls team kind of slam dunk. Not the case. While some of their highly touted dishes – namely the sea urchin toast and duck paella – were certainly quite good, the rest of the food wasn’t nearly as impressive. Some of it even had to be sent back, and we rarely ever play that game.

Aldea pimps out their chef, George Mendes, New Orleans style. In NOLA, chef photos and accolades greet you at the front door and decorate restaurant walls, watching you eat. By the time your meal is finished, you know damn well that John Besh or Donald Link is the man that made it all possible. Aldea revolves its world around Mendes in a similar way. Our waiter must have dropped George’s name three or four times, and I guarantee he’s required to do that. It all feels a little desperate…if your food is that good, New Yorkers will recognize. No need to shove it in our faces. Despite all the name dropping, Aldea is a very comfortable eating environment. We lucked out and got the best seat in the house, the back booth right in front of the kitchen, which you should absolutely request when you’re making a reservation. Overall, we’re not saying Aldea is a bad restaurant, it just doesn’t live up to all the hype. We’ll go back sometime, we’re just not in any rush.

Food Rundown:

Jamon Iberico
Definitely some high quality ham, but for $21, it’s not worth the high price tag. Spend the money on something else.

Sea Urchin Toast
Ok. This was good. Really good. But it’s also incredibly rich. Chunks of sea urchin (which look like slices of mandarine oranges) sit on top of a thin toasted cracker-thing with cauliflower cream and sea lettuce. Pretty great.

Salt Cod Croquettas
Possibly the creamiest cod crox we’ve ever had. I personally enjoyed them, but the rest of the table was not feelin’ the ultra-smooth texture of these.

Wellfleet Oysters
Six Oysters, seventeen bucks. I mean, come on. That’s a bit much, especially when they suck. The oysters were quite disappointing, as was the pickled ramp mignonette. Next.

Slow-Poached Egg
This was excellent. A slow poached egg sitting in a light spring garlic broth with truffle, sweet peas and smoked bacon. Break the yolk and mix everything together for the ultimate bite.

Tilefish
Holy crap, this was gross. So bad that we actually sent it back to catch a little fire (the fish wasn’t cooked at all). It appeared that they plated and garnished the fish right out of the fridge, and this wasn’t supposed to be a sushi dish. When it came back cooked, it didn’t matter. This fish tasted like it’d been sitting around for weeks and the biggest travesty is that it came highly recommended from our waiter. Stay away from the tilefish.

Arroz De Pato
The dish Aldea is famous for, and pretty much the reason that we came. New York Magazine awarded it “Best Paella” and the Village Voice named it the Best Duck Dish of 2009. It’s definitely really good, but as with this entire restaurant, it just didn’t blow me (or the rest of my table), away. A paella of duck confit, chorizo, olive, and duck cracklings, the texture is fantastic, but the flavors are just a tad too overbearing.

Pork and Clams
Don’t let the name fool you, this really is just a pork belly dish. I thought we’d get a healthy dose of both belly and clams, but that wasn’t the case. There were maybe three clams on the plate, seemingly for decoration only. That being said, the thin strips of pork belly were quite savory and the sweet and sour glaze was really tasty.

Co.

Andrew Steinthal — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 05:07:32 +0000

Whether you realize it or not, you’ve probably eaten a ton of Sullivan St. Bakery’s bread. Over 250 of New York City’s restaurants and markets serve this fine yeast, from Babbo to Dean & Deluca to Murray’s Cheese. When you dominate NYC’s dough scene, why not start a pizza joint? Co. (aka Company) is the hip, quasi-new addition to the Sullivan St. Bakery monopoly, and features a more complete menu than other next level pizza-throbs like Motorino and Keste. While the pizza is damn tasty, it’s not of the traditional variety. It arrives in awkward shapes and plays out more like awesome bread with toppings than actual pizza…which is by no means a bad thing.

Small details go a long way with Immaculate Infatuation. We feel a soundtrack of MSTRKRFT into Operation Ivy, big time. We feel $25 growlers of Six Points Sweet Action to share, especially when you’re provided with frosty glasses. We feel welcoming, informative service. And we definitely feel Co’s Chelsea friendly “Pie-curious” t-shirts. Before eating a thing, we were already pro-Co. Granted, we didn’t have to wait for a table, which isn’t a Co. diner’s usual fate. It’s first come, first serve and the waits can often be up to an hour. Is it ever worth an hour wait for pizza? We think not. Avoid the crowds and come early for dinner, or late for lunch.

Food Rundown:

Pizza Bianca An appetizer sized flat bread with only olive oil and salt. Co. wastes no time putting their bread on full display.

ToastWe sampled the roasted eggplant which was a little questionable (too sweet) and the rapini and ricotta, which was excellent.

Beet SaladBig quarters of roasted purple beets tossed with olive oil, pumpkin seeds, scallion and watercress. The best salad on the menu, just be careful not to get any beet juice on your shirt. That shit stains.

Radicchio SaladAnother excellent salad option, this small plate of radicchio was balanced nicely with shiitake mushrooms and taleggio cheese and dressed in balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

Margherita PieThe pies here are pretty small. We did one each for a table full of dudes and walked away full. The margherita pie is solid, but you should probably entertain other options. There are better pizzas to get dirty with on the menu.

Meatball PieEven underneath a the heavy pressure of tomato, buffalo mozzarella, veal meatballs, caramelized onions, olives, aged pecorino and oregano, this bread holds up well. I liked the fact that the toppings stopped towards the edges, leaving just enough room for the fluffy dough to crust properly; very well executed.

Flambe PieOne of our favorites, this sweet mess was the gooiest of the pies we tried. Bechamel, parmesan, buffalo mozz, caramelized onions and lardons. The lardons and caramelized onions provide an intense smoky/sweet flavor.

Fennel & Coppa PieFlop city right here, we made the wrong play call with this one. Fennel, coppa, buffalo mozzarella, pecorino, parmesan, béchamel, red onions and lemon zest created one sloppy, unappetizing mess.

Popeye Pie Another stud, this three cheese (buffalo mozzarella, gruyere, pecorino) spinach pie was excellent. The garlic and black pepper add a nice kick.

Tipsy Parson

Chris Stang — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 04:41:48 +0000

The owners of Little Giant have a new venture in Chelsea, a “fun” neighborhood restaurant serving “refined comfort food”. We’re not sure that Tipsy Parson feels particularly refined, but it definitely feels overthought. They’ve gone to great lengths to replicate a Southern country cafe in New York City, down to quirky plates decorating the wall, an antique phone, and kitschy old-fashioned desserts and snacks. But that’s just the problem. After a few meals here it’s apparent that they’ve done a perfect job of creating the concept, but at the cost of under-delivering on the food. The majority of the fare falls somewhere between unimpressive and decent – possibly a result of all that “refining”. Comfort food is comfort food when eating it makes you feel like calories make you smarter and your problems don’t exist. Fried chicken with honey and hot sauce on top of a fucking donut. That’s comfort food. Unfortunately you won’t find much of that feel-good decadence at Tipsy Parson. If you’re in the neighborhood searching for a meal to soothe you, hit Cookshop.

Food Rundown:

The Fry UpEssentially vegetable tempura, but with a heavier batter. I remember when I had my first meal at a Japanese restaurant and instantly became obsessed with this. Then I turned six and got over it.
Mushroom Tart
A tart with ricotta cheese and various mushrooms. Not bad, but nothing special.

Ambrosia Salad
I know what ambrosia is, so I sort of knew what to expect when we ordered this, but smoked peppered marshmallows are not what I want in my salad, especially when there’s nothing there to balance all that sweetness. The whole time I was expecting to unearth some halloween candy under all the greens. Unimpressive.

Dayboat Scallops
A safe bet, but you definitely aren’t coming here after a tough day to eat seared scallops and celery root puree. These were left unfinished at the table, which doesn’t happen often when we eat.

Pimento Cheeseburger
Available at brunch and lunch, which are generally better than dinner. This is a decent burger, especially because I love pimento cheese and haven’t had it since I was a kid. Comfort points awarded. It’s a bit sloppy, but enjoyable.

Mac & Cheese
Probably the best thing we’ve had at Tipsy Parson, but you can’t open up claiming Southern cooking and not serve a good mac and cheese.
Hush Puppies
A Southern restaurant should also be serving knockout hush puppies, but these were a let down. Dry and somewhat bland.

Cookshop

Chris Stang — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:00:00 +0000

Cookshop, like Five Points, is a review that was long overdue on this site. There aren’t many restaurants in New York City that you can count on for an excellent meal regardless of circumstance, and this one is certainly among the few. Chances are that you, a dedicated Immaculate Infatuation reader, already know all of this, and have either recently dined at Cookshop or confidently sent a friend on a recommendation. Then again, maybe you haven’t.

In that case, we can simply tell you that breakfast, brunch, and dinner are all amazing, and that Cookshop needs to be on your list. Or, we can put it into our own terms to help you really understand how we feel. How good is Cookshop? So good that you won’t give a damn if you are the only person in the house not on a really intense date. So good that you will swear to never waste another dollar on trendy let downs like Permanent Brunch or The Standard Grill. Cookshop is so good that you’ll want to take your leftovers home and bury them in a time capsule.

Yep, we back this place pretty hard. Find yourself some time in the near future to visit. And make sure to bring something along worth burying.

Food Rundown:

Duck Confit Samosas
Perfect samosas with a light, crunchy crust and amazing duck confit inside. Not the slightest bit greasy and the cool minted yogurt smeared on the plate serves as a nice dipping sauce.

Pizza with Mozzarella, Guanciale, Baby Artichokes, & Chili Flakes
A decent pizza with a nice fresh mozzarella. The only downside here was the guanciale was essentially undercooked bacon. Crisp that shit up and we’re in business.

Vermont Veal Meatballs
A plate of veal meatballs and gnocchi, all the same size as the brussels sprouts mixed in. A hell of a winter meal.

Sucking Pig “In Porchetta”
While we may harbor some ill feelings about the sandwich shop that started the porchetta trend in New York, we have to admit that this pork entrée was awesome. Crunchy pig skin, warm cabbage, apples, and peanuts are damn tasty.

Polenta Fries & Black Olive Aioli
Polenta fries always sound amazing, and then when I eat them, I wish I would have just ordered fries … or polenta.

Bread Pudding with Cranberries and Walnut Ice Cream
This made me want to high five people.

Bombay Talkie

Chris Stang — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:00:00 +0000

We recently checked out Bombay Talkie on a suggestion from a trusted food guru friend. You might have noticed that before today, there were no Indian restaurants reviewed on this site. Despite having lived in Curry Hill for a few years, we’re not exactly experts on Indian cuisine – but chances are good that you aren’t either. Somehow in a city where almost everyone you meet is a self-proclaimed “foodie” (thanks for reading), Indian seems to be a cuisine that has been left behind in the trendification (just made that up) of ethnic foods.

Enter Bombay Talkie, a place where you can go have some real deal Indian in a modern and lively setting. The menu is created from the street carts and roadside cafes found all over the Indian country side, and is definitely not the standard chicken tikka masalas and curries that you find on most Indian menus around town. That means incredible flavors and unique dishes without lots of the heavy and pungent spices that turn some people off. The space is appealing and modern, and it’s definitely a comfortable place to hang out and throw down a few drinks. Wonderful small plates, friendly service, and a really great list of specialty cocktails round out Bombay Talkie’s list of qualifications for it’s new designation – official headquarters of the Indian Trendification Movement. Now all we need is a leader. Padma?

Food Rundown:

Vada Pav
A potato “cutlet” essentially on a sandwich. This was a mild and delicious starter, even with the presence of coriander and tamarind.

Dosas
Long cylinder shaped dosas, almost like a cannelloni. You have the option of potato or lamb, and both are excellent.

Homestyle Chicken
White meat chicken in a tomato based sauce. This sounded a little boring on the menu, but it’s actually loaded with complex flavor. I kept going back after this with the naan.

Paneer Tikka Masala
Much like the well known chicken dish, but with the Indian cheese Paneer rather than chicken. The tomato sauce is light and not weighed down by too much cream which can be the case in other Indian establishments. This is nice, but doesn’t compete with the other vegetarian dishes we had.

Lamb Chops
Wow. These lamb chops are the Bombay Talkie menu superstar. Incredibly tender chops are marinated in ginger, garlic, and yogurt and grilled to perfection. You are going to want to grab them by the bone and get Fred Flinstone on these.

Tia Pol

Andrew Steinthal — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:00:00 +0000

Tia Pol is an ultimate Infatuation “Early In The Game” date spot. Take the edge off, have a couple glasses of wine, and maybe some sangria while you’re at it too. Conversation will be flowing freely, you’ll be sharing quality small plates and before you know it, you’ll wind up back in her apartment listening to Lady GaGa while you play grab-ass on the couch. Just beware, there’s pretty much standard half hour wait at Tia Pol; a good thing in case you realize the person next to you is a disease and you need to bail after one drink.

If dating is not your game, come here with a large group and share everything on the menu. The small dishes are a good excuse to sample the entire menu and not feel like a fat-ass. Note: don’t even attempt coming in with a group larger that 3 without a reservation.

Food Rundown:

Patatas Bravas
Rough cut potatoes doused in an awesome smoky, spicy aioli. A must order.

Jamon Serrano, Artichoke, ManchegoAn artichoke and manchego puree wrapped up inside a blanket of serrano ham. The crispiness of the bacon goes perfectly with the smooth, creaminess of the artichoke. We definitely recommend.

Tortilla Espanol
Eh. Pretty standard. We’ve had better.

Croquetas de Jamón
These ham croquettes are a Tia Pol Infatuation go-to. Also- if they have the cod croquettes as their special, those are even better.

Lamb Skewers
Three tender pieces of lamb come steaming out of the kitchen all kinds of hot and juicy. A nice lemony flavor makes this a good option, but not a must order.

Squid
Served in its ink, with rice. Although it was cooked well, consensus was a little too fishy and a little too salty.

Chorizo con Chocolate
Three thin slices of chorizo served over a crostini, spread with gooey, melted chocolate goodness and sprinkled with course salt. Girls freak out over this one- something about the sweet mixed with the savory drives them crazy every time (all you “Early In the Game” daters take note).

BLT Fish

Andrew Steinthal — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:00:00 +0000

I can’t make up my mind on how I feel about BLT Fish. We’ve had an up and down relationship over the years. It all started with a bad experience – a $90 whole red snapper that didn’t taste right going in and had our entire table paying the price on the way out. On the other hand, staying away from the whole fish and going heavy on octopus and scallops has led to some enjoyable meals here recently. Quite the conundrum, I know. Downstairs, I feel like their whole “fish shack” thing is contrived. A big sailfish mounted on the wall doesn’t make you authentic. Upstairs, it’s hard to see past the extreme price tag that often leaves me angry and bitter even though the food is indeed quite tasty.

BLT’s restaurants are new school upscale, sleek dining halls whose service most closely resembles that at a white tablecloth, fine dining establishment. While this formula has resulted in a successful chain of meat markets and steakhouses, it just doesn’t translate well with fish. I’m fine with paying money for good seafood, but oysters and octopus in such a refined environment just doesn’t do it for me. I like my pricey seafood a bit more laid-back, with more character and less Blue Water Grill, if you know what I mean. If my parents want to mess with some upscale fish action then sure, I’ll go to BLT Fish again. If I’m paying, my money’s going to The Mermaid Inn, Mary’s Fish Camp, or Marlow & Sons.

Food Rundown:

Raw Hamachi
Served with chive blossoms in a soy citrus glaze, this is underwhelming to say the least. If a hamachi appetizer is on the menu, more times than not it’s going to wind up at our table. When hamachi is good, it’s spectacular. When it’s not, like in this case, I don’t see a point in putting it on a menu.

Arugula Salad
A pretty simple salad of arugula, fennel, artichokes, and pecorino cheese, it’s a nice compliment to all of the fish on the menu.

Grilled Portuguese Octopus
Perfectly grilled octopus tentacles wrapped around a bed of greens, chickpeas, and roasted red peppers. This dish gets an A on both taste and presentation. It’s a must order.

Sea Salt Crusted New Zealand Pink Snapper
BLT Fish lists their whole fish on the menu by the pound, $37 per pound in this instance. Considering they usually serve you a 2 _ lb fish, we’re talking about a $90 plate to split. At that price, the fish better be life changing. With the salt crust still on, they prepare their trademark dish tableside. The fish was fresh and extra moist (thanks to the salt crust), but holy cow, this was the saltiest fish I’ve ever had in my life. Honestly, I took one bite and that was that. What a complete disaster.

Alaskan Black Cod
This time, when you pay top dollar ($36 for a piece of Cod with no sides), you get your money’s worth. It’s tough to cook a piece of fish better than this one. It had a perfect sear and the acacia marinade works well. I’ll order this again next time.

Maine Sea Scallops
Served over individual beds of greens and endive marmalade, the presentation of this scallop dish would rock Padma’s world and earn BLT Fish immunity for life. The scallops are as good as they look.

Sauteed Garlic Spinach
BLT does spinach right at all their restaurants, this one being no different.

Gnocchi
A small plate of gnocchi with tomato compote that didn’t add much to the meal and felt like an afterthought. I’ll stick with the vegetables next time.

Green Apple Cotton Candy
Your gift for spending over $100 per person? Homemade green apple cotton candy. A nice touch, indeed.

Crispo

Chris Stang — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 16:00:00 +0000

Crispo is another restaurant that falls into the category of long-time Immaculate Infatuation favorite. The restaurant opened in the summer of 2002, and has since seen some strong competition open up in the neighborhood – Scarpetta, La Bottega, and the Standard Grill to name just a few. We hadn’t been back in a while and recently decided to check in and see how the place is holding up. Amazingly enough, Crispo is still hanging tough like Keith Richards’ internal organs. They’re drawing nice crowds most nights, and the food is exactly as we remembered – high quality Italian with great pastas, a nice selection of cured meats and antipasti, and a solid wine list. It seems that once again consistency is the key to success. For the warm weather months (both of them) Crispo has a huge back garden that’s a relatively well kept secret. Keep that one in your pocket and let everyone else flock to Pastis while you dine outside with people that don’t suck.

Food Rundown:

Antipasti
Take your pick from some small plate offerings. We love the ricotta, risotto balls, and the eggplant caponata.

Affetati
This is a seemingly endless list of thinly sliced prosciutto with various accompaniments. Anything with fruit or melon is highly recommended, as is the prosciutto, bufala mozzarella, cippolini & arugula combo.

Bucatini with Crispy Guanciale (pork jowl) & Spicy Tomato
There is something about that crispy pork jowl that makes me feel like I’m eating something dangerously unhealthy…and I’m really not sure why. At any rate, the pastas at Crispo are all very good, and this one never disappoints.

Orecchiette with Broccoli Rabe & Sausage
This is one of my all time favorite pasta dishes, and Crispo’s might be the best I’ve had. The sausage is nice and spicy, and the broccoli rabe isn’t overly bitter. A must order.

Seared Duck Breast Anitra
Again, I feel strongly that pasta is the way to go, but this duck entree is pretty good. Nicely seared with a fig and port sauce.

Crema

Andrew Steinthal — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 12:00:00 +0000

Like most people, the idea of gourmet Mexican is a bit foreign to us. Our south of the border cravings are usually accommodated by cheap tacos and a couple cans of Tecate. Needless to say, we were skeptical going in. $16 margaritas? $28-30 entrees? $21 for guacamole and two salsas? No offense Crema, but we could eat at Mercadito Cantina for a whole week at these rates. When spending our hard earned cash on expensive food, it’s usually not going to be on Mexican. Outrageous prices aside, Crema was a nice surprise. They impressed with a fancy New York take on traditional Mexican. Dishes like their big eye tuna burrito had pretty damn good flavors, textures, and presentation.

Let’s talk scene for one moment – Chelsea is not known for their restaurants so we’ll excuse the wacky clientele. On Infatuation’s recent stop at Crema, here’s what we were working with. To our left, what appeared to be an eHarmony first date between older bridge and tunnel hopefuls, rocking matching his and her bedazzled Ed Hardy gear. To our right, another date. This time, a rather large man, making a mess of himself while making ga ga eyes at his date from across the table. A date that, without a doubt, had at on point in her life, been a dude. Awesome.

Food Rundown:

Chips, Salsa, Guacamole
Don’t be intimidated by the large number in the price column (all three for $21), it’s worth it. Homemade chips served in a cone like the fries at Pomme Frites. Bonus – the diligent staff kept refilling it before we ran out. The guac is chunky and delicious and the mild salsa with roasted tomatoes, pinto beans, chipotle peppers and cilantro is a creamy delight.

Pork Carnitas
Slow cooked mini pork tacos lathered in all kinds of rubs and spices. We cleaned this plate about fifteen seconds.

Tuna Burrito
This and the salsa are the reasons to go to Crema. Have you ever seen a tuna burrito on a menu before? We haven’t, and it’s seriously genius. A nice big piece of big eye tuna seared rare and wrapped in a tortilla, served with avocado, jicama relish, and sesame pasilla sauce. I’m still thinking about this. Not only was it unique, but the tuna was incredibly fresh and well cooked.

Carne Asada Clasica
We know, it’s hard to turn away from carne asada taquedge, but this is not something we’d recommend ordering. Our grilled skirt steak was a tad on the dry side; cover it up with beans and salsa and you’re in business though.

Soft Shelled Crab Tacos
This special jumped right off the menu and onto our table. Any creative soft shelled crab dish will be ordered immediately when Immaculate Infatuation is in the house. Unfortunately, it was a bit disappointing. More because we had Martin Luther King Jr sized dreams for this, not because it was bad. This was more of a big wrap than soft taco. Sounded better on paper.

Matsuri

Chris Stang — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 15:00:00 +0000

Take a look at our La Bottega review, and you’ll see a great example of a restaurant that is surprisingly better than it probably needs to be just due to location and the strength of the space. Unfortunately, Matsuri has no such surprises in store. Matsuri is the other restaurant housed in the Maritime Hotel, and exists as another extremely well done room and a great place to hang out. A few years ago when the restaurant opened, it was the only one of its kind; a huge, awe inspiring space that had people happily lining up to spend an evening at a sceney restaurant eating average sushi. That was all well and good until Buddakan opened its doors right across the street and lured away all those “see and be seen” types. These days, Matsuri still does respectable business, but it’s really more of a place to bring your out of town cousins and impress them with a big city restaurant. Unfortunately for Matsuri, the competition across the street offers the same with better food.

Food Rundown:

Shishito Peppers
We love these flavorful green bite sized peppers, and they’re pretty much the same wherever you go, so order them. They say one in every ten is spicy, but I think it’s closer to one of fifteen. At any rate, they’re tasty.

Kampachi
This is essentially Matsuri’s take on Nobu’s famous yellowtail jalapeño dish. This comes with a spicy yuzu green pepper sauce rather than the jalapeño. Not bad, but not as good as the original.

Fluke Uzuzukuki
Another typically upscale sushi restaurant find, this fluke is very well done and the ponzu sauce it comes with is delicious. One of the better options on the menu.

Kobe Tataki
Quickly seared and thinly sliced Kobe beef in a tangy mustard and vinegar sauce. It’s a shame I can’t just back a truck up to my mouth and dump this in. Every time I eat at Matsuri, this is the one thing I wish we had ordered more of.

Sake Black Cod
If you’ve had the miso cod at other restaurants, you know the score with this one. This is a bit different, but still salty and flavorful. Not bad, but not the top of the heap when it comes to this style preparation.

Sushi/Sashimi
The hamachi sushi/sashimi at Matsuri is phenomenal. Otherwise, much of the selection here is average and a bit pricey, though still serviceable. Spicy tuna hand rolls are also good.