Socarrat Paella Bar

Soccarat Paella Bar - 219 W 19th St. bet. 7th & 8th Ave.

"Socarrat (Catalan), quintessence of the perfect paella and for which the restaurant is named, is the delectable, sensuous crust that forms on the bottom of the paella pan when the liquid is rendered and the rice reaches its peak of succulence."

After a long day of work, me and my boys got together from some good ol' brothershipping. We were finally celebrating Keith's new job at a premier Wall Street firm and Josh's new job on the West Coast,  meaning he's chuckin' the deuces to New York City. While I am extremely sad to lose my favorite homie and former Brooklyn and college roommate, the breaking news means that I am able to release Josh's greatest dining secret: Socarrat Paella Bar, a small cozy spot in the heart of Chelsea.  Josh always swore me to secrecy on this place, and it is with great honor and respect that I share it with you.

Socarrat is bifurcated by exposed brick that separates the establishment into a wine bar and a small dining room. I arrived a few minutes late to find the Nupes indulging in the institution's sangria. We then started a bottle of pinot noir and brought the bottle with us over to the dinning room.

I use the phrase "dining room" instead of dining area because it is barely larger than the room where mom and dad served you most of your favorite meals. It seats like 30 people at any given time.

Cochinillo - Roasted Suckling Pig rested on a bed of sauteed spinach

I've stated in past posts that I'm not a fan of swine, but I am quickly discovering the the versatility of the other white meat. I have now welcomed pork into my life.  The conchinillo (a special not on the menu) tastes like a very tender pork chop without the bone.  The meat actually peels out in layers.  I  The bacon fat glaze accentuates the meal.

Bonito - Tuna Belly,  Fresh Spinach, Cherry Tomatoes, Olive Oil

I can't describe this tapas dish better than Josh did that night:

"The Spinach balances out the rest of the flavors. With the saltiness of the tuna belly and the sweet tartness of the cherry tomatoes, the spinach cuts it."


Indeed!


The main event...

Paella Socarrat - chunks of chicken, fish & beef, shrimp, cuttle fish, green beans, mussels, cockle clams

Remember when momma use to use make a rice dish and sometimes the bottom would get burnt, and you'd leave that party for your annoying little brother?  Well, you're not leaving that part to chance.  The paella is served piping hot, but the waiter insists that you give the dish time to let the bottom caramelize. This is the essence of socarrat.  The caramelized part is the best...

Josh, I'm gonna miss your DSLR Camera..

Service

Because the place is so small, it's hard for the service to be bad.  However, the waiters don't slack.  They are are social, personable, and, most importantly, attentive.  They flow in and out of conversation effortlessly.  If you can, I recommend sitting toward the back because the waiter back there rocks (I've ended up in the back twice, second time on purpose).  No disrespect to the waiter upfront.

Experience

Because this spot is cozy, it's a choice spot for the small gathering (2-3 people max...maybe 4).   The spot is intimate and not intimidating at the same time.  What you see is what you get: great food and good wine.


- Food Mave

Italian Garage - Barbuto

Barbuto - 775 Washington St. (West Village)

The Scene:

Barbuto is set in a refurbished garage with garage door and everything!

The kitchen...

Happy Restaurant week everyone!

Like everyone in NYC, my schedule is very busy.  But me and my "Tarheel friend" (that's like an oxymoron to a Dukie like myself) finally got in the books for a rendezvous.  In a change of pace, I let her pick the location of the meeting and she selected Barbuto, an Italian restaurant owned by chef, restaurateur, and author Jonathan Waxman. Waxman appeared on Top Chef Masters, where he placed 4th from 18 competitors.  I was crunk to attend.

Both of us had grandiose plans of working out, so we decided drink not to and to split everything.  #cheapermeal

Antipasti - Polenta topped w/ Lamb Ragu

I must confess, I am still a novice in Italian food, so when Tarheel suggested polenta, I was a little apprehensive.  The polenta dish was comprised of soft polenta, marscapone cheese, mushrooms and lamb ragu over which pecorino (that bomb cheese that I will be copping next time I'm at Whole Foods) was sprinkled.  The dish was very flavorful. For my Southern folk, think high-quality cheese grits. You can taste each polenta bit .  The lamb ragu was very tender.   Ragu, to me, means "braised to the 15th power".  At times, the unique texture of lamb can be distracting to the taste.  The ragu style allowed us to focus on the robust flavor.

Primi - Gnocchi

The gnocchi (potato dumplings) - they were made with mushrooms, walnuts, and white wine - were on-point for various reasons. First of all, the dish was lighter than your average gnocchi.  Because they hard boil the potatoes and freeze it before it hits the pan, the gnocchi comes out very airy.  If you've read any of my other posts, then you know I'm big on texture.  The texture was such that the gnocchi molded to my tongue, enabling all parts of my palette to effortlessly participate in the mushrooms, walnuts, and white wine.  The texture really allowed us to fully comprehend the dish with each part of the tongue, which has different sensory objectives.  As Tarheel succinctly described, "when surrounded by good food, eating can be sensual."

Secondini (Entree) - Spigola Ai Ferri

With Obama-esque aspirations of the gym still pulsating through our veins, we got the spigola ai ferri (spigola being Italian for "sea bass" and ai ferri being Italian for "grilled").  The thing with fish is that it really has a taste of its own and shouldn't really be doused in flavors, and Barbuto understands this.  Below the fish sat a bed of grapefruit slices and endives.  I thought the addition of fruit was extremely interesting.  Who thinks to combine fruit with fish? (Come to think of it, Rosa Mexicano's salmon en manchamanteles makes you wanna slap yo' mama - it's that good).  The endive and grapefruit, infiltrated by the fish oil, made for a really good supporting cast.  Barbuto has cemented my belief that fish and fruit go together.  Except with bananas. Not sayin' that I've bad fish and bananas, but I don't see how the two go..

Dolci - Affogato... How sick is this pic?

If you've read my Italian Gem in Harlem post, then you know how I feel about affogato: no Italian meal is complete without it!  Here is our waiter (or his hand, rather), Brad, pouring a shot of coffee over pistachio gelato.  I tried to switch it up with the pistachio, but that was a bad idea. Lucky for me that Brad was kind enough to change it free of charge. #greatservice.

Service

The door girls were not perceptive to seat us once I had joined my friend. This was slightly annoying since it was 6:15pm and the restaurant was somewhat empty.  As we tried to seat ourselves, the "maitre d" rushed out of nowhere to tell us that they couldn't seat us in the corner that I had been eyeing.  It was a little embarrassing, and I say "only a little" because there was no one there when we got there, so I let it pass.  Other than that, service was great.  Water was stealthily replenished when empty, and plates were discarded when used. Our waiter Brad was very friendly and laid back.  He made sure we had good experience.  Make sure you ask for Brad if you go.

The attentive service and delectable food allowed us to focus on a great catch-up session filled with astrology, grad school, movie and relationship (I'm pretty good at dissecting those) discussions. We never made it to the gym, as we both rushed to our respective homes to catch the State of The Union Address.  Tarheel was pretty pleased with the whole experience.  And to think that she almost canceled on me!

Tarheel's bashful.. 

 

- Food Mave

Looking For a Date Spot? Beauty and Essex!

I'm going to start off by saying that friends are the best dates.  Tonight has confirmed this for me.  After a year of trying to get on her calendar, I had the opportunity to catch up with one of my college schoolmates (damn, my mom says schoolmates!) Tuesday night.  She'd just come from a stint from Dubai and I was excited.  After an impromptu dinner offer made on MLK day, she asked me to surprise her.  I merely gave her an address and told her not to Google it.  What better way to surprise her than to take her to restaurant with a pawn shop as a front?

Beauty and Essex is located on 146 Essex St. near Rivington.  The brains behind Midtown East's Tao Restaurant and the LES's Stanton Social came together to create a rare experience where small tapas selections meet mysitque. Without further ado, let's get to business.

Caesar Salad on Crostini

The meal started off with complimentary small Caesar salads on a toasted baguette-like bread.  They must have read my mind because I'm not one for salads.  I don't even like Caesar salad, but this was tasty and just the right portion.

Tomato Tare Tare

If you come here, you have to get the tomato tare tare.  It's like a rite of passage.  The tomato tare tare is like the Derek Jeter (pre-2009-2010) of the line-up: a guaranteed hit.  Made only of tomato topped with quail egg (the most ballinest ish everrrr!) and served on thin crostini, the appetizer packed a punch!  As my waitress succinctly stated, you could close your eyes and think you were biting into steak tare tare.  My amazing friend doesn't do runny egg, but she ate two of these joints.  Beauty and Essex makes you check your pickiness at the door.

Jewels on Toast Section: Roasted Bone Marrow

My mom always said that bone marrow was the best part of any meat.  This confirmed it.  I've never had so much of is at once.  We ate this with some light crostinis served with with rioja braised shallot marmalade. The roasted bone marrow had a gelatin texture to it, but it was unquestionably meaty.  Think about overly braised short ribs and you'll start to understand what this is like. 

Accessories Section: Lobster Bisque Dumplings

At point of the meal it was starting to get serious.  Then out come the lobster bisque dumplings.  Interestingly enough, the starch part of the dumplings had a light flakiness to it that distinguished it clearly from your dim sum.  The sauce in the middle was addictive: the homie brushed the sauce on everything that came after that.   Someone from the Zagat Guide said that the dumplings were a true let down, but they were WRONG.  I seriously felt like I had committed a little sin by eating my crustacean friend..

R.I.P. lil homie..

charred corn, lime, cilantro, chile

Our mom's woulda whooped us if we did not get a vegetable, so we got some corn.

Now for the Main Event

BOOM!

Excuse me if I dip into Ebonics, but "Son!" By far,  the Nori tuna was the Lebron James of the meal.  I might have gotten the name wrong because this was JUST added to the menu, and we ordered it purely off of the strong recommendation of our waitress (she was the truth). This seared tuna was wrapped in cilantro, adorned with succulent mushrooms and sat on a yoga mat (I'm clearly having too much fun) of mashed potatoes.  I told Stevie, our waitress, that I was going to arrest the chef for sprinkling narcotics of this food.  It is addictive and is grounds for returning to the restaurant.

Clearly, we were going in, cuz we weren't done...

Oven Braised Chicken Meatballs with Sheep's Milk ricotta and Wild Mushroom Truffle

You ever have chicken meatballs??? You haven't had them till you been here.  Now I must admit, goat cheese is too much for me, so I wasn't too too happy with the dish, but my friend loves the stinky cheese and she was all over it.  Strictly for the cheese lovers only.

Now that I'm writing this.  We really did go in....

Chocolate Layered Bread Pudding with Hazelnut Ice Cream

We finished up our meal by sharing this beautiful bread pudding desert.  For all my Dukies, this is an improved version of the valrhona chocolate molten cake you get at the Washington Duke Inn.  In that picture, you see my Irish coffee, which accompanies any fine desert of mine.

Service: Best I've experienced anywhere.  Everyone is nice from the bartenders to the help to the coat check (all the ladies there called me hunny, which I liked).  When they needed our table becuase we were yappin', the maitre d' politely interrupted us and offered us a gratuitous drink at the bar. Very classy.  The restaurant understands service.  I'm especially hard on service because, if it sucks, it can ruin the whole eating experience from the start.  This has happen many times, but I won't name names (*cough* Land Thai).

Additionally, everyone there is really really good looking! The place was packed, but the help were very attentive, courteous and coordinated.  Our waitress, Stevie, was well-versed on the menu, as she has been at the establishment since inception, when it used to make the waiters sample EVERYTHING.  We put ourselves in her hands and she did not steer us wrong.  If you plan on coming to Beauty and Essex, ask for Stevie. She's a doll.

Decor: Sexy.  Gentlemen, this is where you go to impress a young or refined lady. Analyst, lawyer, partner, celebrity, spouse, it really doesn't matter.  I give it the "Frank Lucas" guarantee:  I stand behind it.  I guarantee it.

That fact everything was so on-point made it easier for my friend and I to catch up on a year of life.  We chatted on the Middle East, non-profits,  marathons, and relationship ish.  As I said earlier, friends make the best dates.  Take care of them and cherish them and good things will come you way.  Thank you.

-Food Mave