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Citarella
I must confess, after my initial
visit to midtown's newest Restaurant and gathering place,
Citarella The Restaurant, it was not research that lured
me back into this jewel of a restaurant again and again.
Joseph Gurrera is the owner of Citarella, the city's premiere
retail food emporium specializing in the highest quality
of fish, meat, produce, prepared foods and specialty items.
Utilizing his readily available resources, Gurrera has created
a (mostly) seafood eatery worthy of the pristine space it
occupies in a turn-of-the-century townhouse among the skyscrapers
of Rockefeller Center.
The
David Rockwell-designed space uses a mixture of warm blue
and brown tones with glass and steel fixtures. Nautical
teasers such as glass portholes that change color and walls
of padded silk fish scales are great eye candy - as is the
panoramic view of one of the city's busiest neighborhoods.
The street level bar houses a small dining room and a 10-seat
sushi bar. Raw delicacies include tuna (akami, chutoro,
and toro), needlefish, wild yellow tail (kan-pachi), and
numerous fish roes. There's even a sushi dessert menu offering
green tea sorbet, black sesame seed pudding, and bamboo
wrapped lotus root jelly. The 2nd and 3rd floor dining rooms
offer a menu that pays homage to all that is good and fresh.
Sautéed oysters with Osetra caviar, sea urchin and
Jennel are my favorite appetizers. Although, the crab soup
with lump crab cake and their poached lobster salad with
endive and avocado are a must try. Signature entrees include
roast swordfish with pumpkin puree, spicy sautéed
baby squid with tagliatelle, pine nuts and capers, and an
addicting dish of seared sea scallops with black truffle
sauce and butter lettuce. Pastry Chef William Yosses (Bouley
Bakery) entices with warm vanilla cake and vanilla bean
ice cream, lemon raspberry soufflé, and chocolate
brioche pudding with maple ice cream. If you are wondering
why the chef has not been mentioned, it is because the chef
has changed several times since the restaurant's opening
several months ago. Yet, Citarella seems to be doing something
right by the look of crowds that pour in - and the food
that comes out of that kitchen.
Citarella
1240 Avenue of the Americas,
New York, NY
(212) 332-1515
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Locke-Ober
Taking a landmark restaurant
(EST-1875) and daring to bring it into the 21st century
may be considered restaurant suicide. But, if you are restaurateurs
Lydia Shire and Paul Licari, it's just the opposite. Locke-Ober,
Boston's very own traditional American and European salon
has recently (and successfully) been restored to its original
luster and has even acquired a new lounge and bar. The men's
club atmosphere is still apparent with its dark mahogany
wood fixtures, velvet burgundy fabrics, dramatic chandeliers,
and its grand bar in the main dining room that is there
for show only. Waiters still don the traditional black and
white uniform with long aprons and silver tray cocktail
service has not gone out of style. Locke-Ober, as would
any long-standing dining establishment, serves several history
inspired dishes including JFK's lobster stew, roast beef
hash with poached eggs, beef stroganoff with hand-cut noodles,
prime rib with Roquefort sauce, and you have to love a restaurant
that makes calves liver with bacon and onions - the way
it should be. Crisped skate wing with capers and curried
shrimp on fragrant rice are more modern additions. Indian
pudding holds fragrant clove, nutmeg, and cinnamon flavors
while Locke-Ober's homemade macaroons are worthy of sneaking
into one's pocket to enjoy later. A large corporate clientele
of 3-martini lunch goers is the mainstay of this sophisticated
restaurant. However, it was nice to see a table of two women,
both celebrating their 85th birthdays over manhattans and
Caesar salads, among a sea of suits. The extensive wine
list is fun to read as it has a fabulous selection of not-so-popular
names yet, also offers plenty of mainstream and good value
wines. Locke-Ober is a true Boston experience.
Locke-Ober
Winter Place, Boston, MA
(6 I 7) 542- I 340
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Moda
Moda (Italian for "style")
is the latest brainchild from CHS Restaurant Group, a high-concept
restaurant development team that has created numerous cutting-edge
restaurants and bar/lounges for such large hotel conglomerates
as Starwood, Hard Rock Hotels, Waterford Hotel Group, and
a current project with Cirque du Soleil. Moda is located
in the newly opened Flatotel. Executive Chef Frank Whittaker,
formerly of Park Avenue Cafe and Napa Valley's Tra Vigne,
along with Chef Josh Moulton of Union Square Café
and Bill Seleno of Moomba, have joined forces to create
an eclectic menu that relies heavily on seasonal ingredients.
Small and Big plates are offered allowing for ideal grazing
opportunities. Featured small plates upon my last visit
included spicy lemon-garlic scampi and calamari, Limoncello
cured salmon, braised, baked and fried artichoke salad,
and fabulous Barolo braised short rib ragu with parmigiano
gnocchi. Some of my favorite big plates were the seared
Alaskan halibut with savory cabbage and chardonnay-truffle
fonduta, grilled quails with creamy polenta and black pepper
fig jam, and grilled herb crusted pork tenderloin with spicy
sweet potato and braised red cabbage. Chef Whittaker's cuisine
is filled with contrasting flavors and textures - a talent
that is often over-looked. Hoping to attract the non-hotel
guest, Moda's sleek bar and lounge are located in the hotel's
lobby and can be seen by passers by. A glass wall divides
the dining room from the lobby. In true cb5 fashion, the
sexy interior is understated, using lots of black, gray
and green tones. Wall candles are glass encased and provide
most of the lighting for the restaurant. The "Galleria,"
a large translucent breezeway connecting 52nd and 53rd streets
provides Moda with the ideal al fresco dining location.
Teak and stainless steel furniture, natural vines, oversized
planters, and cast glass lamps create an arboreal atmosphere.
Team that up with a glass of Trim Bach Riesling and an arugula
and wild mushroom salad and you have the makings of the
perfect lazy day in the city.
Moda
135 West 52nd Street, New
York, NY
(212) 887-9880
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Ritz
Carlton Boston Common
The slogan for the newly opened
Ritz Carlton Boston Common is impeccable service, Distinctive
accommodations, and Tantalizing cuisine. With that said,
this particular piece is practically done! The Ritz delivers
what they say, and then some. Putting aside the luxurious
rooms, attentive staff, and beautiful surroundings in the
heart of the Ladder District, the cuisine is truly a major
component at this first rate hotel. There to greet us in
our room were 5 small samplings of all things good; yogurt
smoothie, granola, fresh squeezed orange juice, lemon chiffon,
and a fresh berries. Off to a good start, things just seemed
to get better. The concierge level lounge, a relaxing get-away
where one can find indulgent treats all day long, begins
the day with freshly baked pastries and muffins, offers
afternoon nibbles and light lunch items such as tea sandwiches,
and exotic cheeses, and welcomes guests in for cocktails
and hors d'oeuvres before heading out for dinner. Dinner
can be found at the hotel's restaurant Jer-Ne, located on
the 2nd floor. Appropriately named, JerNe is an adventure
in contemporary American cuisine. German born Chef Jorg
Behrend came to Boston via the Ritz Carlton, Millenia Singapore
and Kapalua. Chef Behrend's cuisine pulls from the four
corners of the world, as seen in the shrimp ravioli with
lemon grass and shellfish oil vinaigrette, pan fried Chilean
sea bass with caramelized fennel, balsamic and caviar oil,
and the roasted Australian lamb loin with goat cheese eggplant
and garlic mustard reduction. Intense reductions and infused
oils are seen throughout the menu. Homemade chocolate truffles,
which came served on a dry-ice smoking mini grill, got my
attention immediately as it did with the entire dining room.
Plenty to take in visually, there's a dramatic display kitchen
where one can watch the almost military-style kitchen staff
execute their culinary creations. The restaurant's wall
of windows peers out over Tremont and Avery Streets. Little
touches include the champagne cart for tableside bubbly
service, plush furnishings with shades of crimson, and intriguing
sculptures and artwork.
A lively
crowd can be enjoyed at the Jer-Ne Bar and Lounge located
on the lobby level. The atmosphere is just as intoxicating
as the over-sized martinis.
The
Ritz-Carlton Boston Common and
Jer-Ne
1O Avery Street, Boston, MA
(6I7) 574-7IOO
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Blue
Fin
New York's Time Square continues
to bring in class-act operations, the latest of which is
Blue Fin, located at the W Time Square Hotel. This more
than seafood inspired bistro and sushi bar is another BR
Guest production from BRG's president Stephen Hanson. The
street level entrance gives way to a chic bar scene and
modern sushi bar. A theatrical floating terrazzo staircase
leads up to the main dining room and jazz dub. Luxurious
banquettes, glowing resin tables and lots of mirrors make
up the interior. The staff, all-beautiful actors-in-training,
are on the money with attentive service and a team like
attitude. It's true service can make the meal. Also making
the meal is Executive Chef Paul Sale, formerly of le Bernarlirie
and Pastry Chef Joseph Murphy from Gotbam Bar and Grill.
Sales approach to food is simple. It Pristine seafood and
minimal ingredients allows the food to speak for itself.
Lots of sushi can be found on the menu and is often served
with creative dipping sauces. A sweet and tender raw lobster
sushi appetizer came with a tangy cilantro-citrus sauce
and a spicy tuna roll came with the "spice" on
the side in the form of Thai chile vinaigrette. Raw bar
items abound, along with several "New England"
style dishes such as clam and lobster chowder, crab rakes,
poached east roast halibut, and Main Lobster. A dry-aged
porterhouse comes steak house like with creamed spinach
and twice baked truffle Yukon gold potato. Desserts are
genuinely unique. Coconut milk parma cotta is pretty incredible
as is the milk chocolate orange blossom dome with extra
bitter chocolate and chocolate sorbet. Blu Fin is large
and loud (seating capacity 400) but, hey, you're in the
middle of Time Square. What would you expect?
Blu
Fin
1567 Broadway at 47th Street,
New York, NY
(212) 9I8-1400
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Limbo
There can never be enough
supper clubs in fact, there aren't nearly enough to choose
from. Limbo, a new jazz brassiere in Boston's Ladder District,
offers diners a unique experience in dining and entertainment.
Owner Jean-Claude Jasa and Executive Chef Charles Draghi
(Marrurrio's Restaurant in Boston's North End) combine seductive
music with Mediterranean influenced cuisine and trendy cocktails
with romantic lighting. The bi-level space provides plenty
of atmospheres. The DJ keeps the beat pulsating throughout
the first floor and mezzanine Levels while musicians play
live music on the intimate lower level delivering everything
from funk and Latin to R&B and jazz. Menu standouts
include salmon poached in a saffron broth, heirloom tomato
salad, beef short ribs, and pansoti filled with field greens
and herbs fresh ricotta and a walnut pesto. Dessert at Limbo
seems to beckon for designer martinis such as apple, chocolate,
and framboise. Best to make a reservation, as the dinner
crowd and music crowd are sometimes on different wave Lengths.
The ever-changing entertainment schedule can be checked
out atat
www.
limboboston.com
Limbo
49 Temple Place, Boston, MA
http://www.limboboston.com
(617) 33S-0280
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Linda
Pernice Kavanagh
MaxEx Public Relations, LLC
102 Alton Road
Stamford, CT 06906
P 203.323.4185 F 4183
linda@maxexposure.net
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