Editor Pick
The Tasting Room
- November 23, 2004
- Rated 5 of 5 by
IgoUgo Staff from New York, New York
The Tasting Room
72 East 1st Street
on First Avenue
New York, NY
212/358-7831
When people ask me for my Top Five restaurants in New York City, I rank Sushiden on five, Tom Colicchio's Gramercy Tavern on four, Snack on three (because I eat there at least three times a month), and Mario Batali's Babbo in second place. I usually get a reaction when I tell them that The Tasting Room ranks first, either because they have never heard of it or because the proprietors are more famous at the farmers' market than they are on the Food Network.
The Tasting Room is where I was introduced to ramps a couple of years ago. Ramps belong in the leek family and have the taste and smell of garlic and onions combined. Ours were served with very tender Moulard duck breast. I have been ramp farming every spring since then. I don't know any other restaurant in New York City where I can eat carpaccio, squab, and to-die-for pork belly all in one seating.
I visited for a second time a couple of weeks ago to see the difference of their autumn menu. Again, my expectations were superseded. A friend and I started with the uni (sea urchin) velouté, a fancy term for soup, then the fluke tartare with roasted eggplant. The soup was perfect for the almost-winter weather outside, and it could have been butternut squash because of the color, but the distinct taste of the ocean was obviously there. It was very comforting. We also ordered the rabbit terrine and the pheasant in three ways: rillettes, roasted breast meat, and chopped liver. My dining partner definitely knew she wanted fish with her white wine, so she picked the striped bass with smoked eel, pappas amarillos, and roasted garlic. Maitake mushrooms are still in season, so I chose them with scallops, turnips, and celery root purée. Simply delicious. It was the best dish, I thought. The turnips and the celery covered the maitake, which sometimes could be overwhelming in taste and in smell, but the saltiness of the scallops brought all of them together. To finish, we opted for the cheesecake with red wine-braised pear, which carried the namesake of the co-owner's mother.
The space is tiny, at about ten tables, but the dishes speak volumes. You have a choice of tasting portions for any of their dishes, or you can share at double the amount -- quantity and price. The service is excellent, because each table is given the exact amount of attention, whether it is to answer your questions (what the hell is "salsify"? And "burdock"?) or to recommend one of their numerous bottles of domestic wine.
For the holidays, wouldn't you want to splurge on yourself and your loved ones?
From journal Christmas in New York City with IgoUgo