• Cuisine: Malaysian
• Vibe: Funky UWS bustle
• Occasion: Neighborhood bites, casual date, kid-friendly
• Don't Miss: Scallop satay, short rib Rendang, watermelon pickle & crispy pork
• Price: Appetizers $7, entrees $1
• Reservations: Accepted
• Phone: (212) 496-2722
• Location: 2970 Broadway, between 76th and 77th Sts.

I think you can taste when the chef's not in the kitchen. On the chef's night off, the food's never quite the same. It's a little like going to the theater and finding out you got stuck with the understudy.

Of course, at a restaurant, they never tell you that kind of thing. Can you imagine? The server hands you a menu and says, "Welcome to Fatty Crab. Tonight, the part of the chef will be played by one of the line cooks. Can I get you a cocktail?"

That's how I felt the last time I ate at Fatty Crab, a funky Malaysian joint on the edge of the Meatpacking district. I don't know whether the chef, Zakary Pelaccio, was there that night, but it tasted like he wasn't. I always loved their watermelon pickle and crispy pork appetizer, but this time I hardly recognized it.

The watermelon was pale pink and stringy, the pork belly, chewy and soggy. But the chef, Zakary, is definitely in the kitchen at the new Fatty Crab, which opened on the Upper West Side a month ago. Here, the watermelon pickle & crispy pork appetizer tastes even better. The watermelon's a vibrant red and ripe, the pork belly, charred and salty. It's all tossed with Vietnamese mint and a cool splash of ginger dressing.

Most of the "Fatty's Specialties," Malaysian street food, made their way uptown. If you've never had beef rendang, this is the place to try it. Pelaccio smartly uses short ribs, braising them in an exhilarating bath of coconut milk and kaffir lime. The result is spoon-soft short ribs showered in shredded coconut.

The Fatty's sliders are too big to be sliders. They're burgers - spiced pork and beef patties with pickled cucumber and a sambal aioli - and they're terrific.

If you're going to order the chili crab - a big bowl of crab legs in a fierce red chili sauce - wear your play clothes and ask for extra wet naps.

There's nothing civilized or subdued about dinner at Fatty Crab, which is exactly what makes it so fun. The servers are young, faded, rock 'n' roll t-shirt types.

The dining room is packed with locals gnawing on fiery chicken wings and fried, fatty duck. At the bar, patrons are sipping rum and coconut cocktails with sugar cane swizzles from coconuts that the bartender splits with his machete.

The most compelling reasons to eat at Fatty Crab uptown are the chef's newest creations. The scallop satay, skewered with house-cured lard, and served with fried lontong (rice squares) and a coarse peanut dipping sauce. But the best new dish on the menu is the Hokkien Mee - a sweet soy and black vinegar-glossed feast of steak, shrimp, cockles and egg noodles.

With such vibrantly flavored food coming out of the kitchen, the insipid dishes really stick out. The pork belly in the Fatty tea sandwiches was way too fatty, and it was asphyxiated by sambal aioli. The crab noodle special was crab-deficient and plagued by a paralyzing chili sauce.

Pelaccio reminds us just how talented he is, and other than a few missteps, the newest Fatty Crab deserves destination status. I know the nights I ate there the chef was there because I caught a glimpse of him in a trucker hat and baggy jeans, working the line.

Redefining Vietnamese on the upper West Side.
100 W. 82nd St.,                        
(212) 501-0776.
Mon.-Wed., 6 p.m.-1 a.m.;
Thurs.-Fri., 6 p.m.-2 a.m.;
Sat., 5 p.m.-2 a.m.; Sun., 5-10 p.m.
CUISINE Vietnamese
VIBE Cozy meets cool upper West Sider.
OCCASION First date, group dinner, neighborhood outing.
DON'T-MISS DISH Daikon duck hash, cuttlefish with salsa verde, duck fried rice.
AVERAGE PRICE Appetizers $11, entrées $20, desserts $8.
RESERVATIONS Recommended

When I was just an eater and not a writer, I used to dine at a number of Bao restaurants - Bao Noodles, Bao 111, and also Mai House, where Bao was in the kitchen.

It was like a chain of Bao restaurants, a chain in time, not space. Now there's Bar Bao on 82nd Street.

If you order one way at Bar Bao, it's like eating at an old Bao restaurant. Order a different way and it's like eating at an entirely new place.

Even Michael Bao Huynh acknowledges he's really working with two menus here. "People would be disappointed if they didn't find their favorites," he told me.

And here's the odd part: the only disappointments about Bar Bao are the old favorites - the iron pot chicken, the beef pho noodles, short ribs on lemongrass skewers, and the crab spring rolls. Those have all seen better days, they're all a little worn out.

This is a fundamental misconception among some chefs. They think their identity is tied up in certain dishes, when the mark of a great chef is actually his broader approach to almost anything he or she touches.

So let's talk about my new favorites - the dishes that will bring Upper West Siders back to a restaurant time and again. It all comes down to duck. Duck hash, duck fried rice, duck summer rolls and roasted duck with street-style kernels. The one thing they all have in common - splendidly ungreasy duck. I wish there were more duck dishes on the menu. In fact, if I were Michael Bao, my next restaurant would be Bao Duck.

Everybody loves breakfast for dinner....

For full review on NY Daily News

An upscale newcomer on the upper West Side.
45 W. 81st St., between Central Park West & Columbus Ave. (212) 873-8181
Dinner, Sun.-Thur., 5 p.m.-10:30 p.m; Fri.-Sat., 5 p.m.-11:30 p.m.
CUISINE Modern American
VIBE Upper West Side elegance
OCCASION Romantic date; fine dining
DON’T-MISS DISH Sea scallop & foie gras ravioli; dry-aged Black Angus sirloin
PRICE Appetizers, $12-39; entrees, $29-42; desserts, $12
RESERVATIONS Recommended With Dovetail, Bar Boulud, 

With Dovetail, Bar Boulud, Madeleine Mae and the latest arrival of Eighty One, the upper West Side is having an impressive run of new restaurants. If I lived in the neighborhood, I would certainly make a habit out of the scallop and foie gras ravioli at Eighty One. It's a splendid appetizer conceived by chef-owner Ed Brown, who served as executive chef at the Sea Grill for 14 years. If you're not familiar with his cooking, these sophisticated nibbles make a great first impression. The crowning touch is a straw wine sauce that sharpens the sweetness of the scallop while cutting the richness of the foie gras.

Eighty One puts a high premium on luxury ingredients with downright lofty prices; the contemporary American menu is peppered with foie gras, sweetbreads and truffles. The foie gras hails from the Hudson Valley and the black truffles - which diners can have shaved over any dish for $42 - are shipped from Provence. The space is nearly as elegant as the menu, cloaked entirely in red velvet: plush banquettes, upholstered walls and drapery. The bustle of the 120-seat dining room is proof that fine dining and white tablecloth affairs are still thriving on New York City's notoriously casual dining front.

Eighty One strives toward upscale pleasures instead of bold invention. There is a lovely arrangement of roasted root vegetables that gets drizzled in a full-bodied salsify and apple vinegar, as well as a fine pumpkin risotto, crowned with braised chicken wings and a nutty dash of pumpkin oil. While neither dish is revelatory, these perfectly civilized gestures cater to a conservative upper West Side clientele. Both are listed among six selections labeled "tasting collection," which encourages guests to construct their own tasting menu. This route may foster freedom, but it also puts these offerings on a pedestal; suddenly, the appetizers and entrees seem like second-class citizens that don't always live up to their charmed billing.

Though Brown earned a reputation for his finesse with seafood at the Sea Grill, these dishes oddly proved a weaker point of the menu. A cautiously flavored entree of Japanese hamachi, cooked à la plancha, was dominated by a briny scattering of baby clams seasoned with parsley, chili and garlic. Main characters were constantly being upstaged by their supporting cast: A lackluster fillet of black bass went neglected in the more interesting company of lobster-stuffed endive, sea beans and a frothy lobster emulsion. Baby calamari was wildly overshadowed by its accompaniments, which included a lush potato sauce, smoked paprika and chorizo.

Brown has much better success with meats, delivering an exemplary sirloin sided by a tender short rib folded with an olive oil marmalade, as well as a perfectly cooked pork belly plated over al dente Beluga lentils.

Pastry chef John Miele (Aureole) constructs an equally strong roster of desserts. There is a deconstructed bittersweet chocolate and hazelnut mille-feuille as well as a luscious pear tart coupled with spiced cranberries and frozen sour cream.

Perhaps the best finds at Eighty One are a dazzling wine list, overseen by sommelier Heather Branch, and a quaint upfront lounge. Here, diners can cozy up on a couch with a glass of wine and those dynamite ravioli until this whole recession blows over.

With the recent debut of Dovetail on the Upper West Side, pastry chef Vera Tong dazzled both critics and diners with her truly inspired approach to classic desserts.  Prior to Dovetail, Vera Tong worked in the kitchen at Compass, where she first met chef John Fraser.  The two team up again at this highly received contemporary American restaurant where she not only has conceived an exemplary pastry menu, but also bakes the white cheddar cornbread that launch guests into dinner every evening.  Vera's signature brioche pudding with bacon brittle will be making an encore on the spring menu, as will new additions, including a chocolate and coffee parfait, glazed pineapple crumble and a peanut butter frozen cheesecake.

Status: Single/Married/Divorced
Single

What did you want to be when you grew up?
Just a cook

How did you get into food?
My grandfather was a cook and so was my dad.

What was your first job in food?
Dunkin Donuts!!

What was it like working with chef Patti Jackson at Le Madri and how did she play a role in your focus on pastry arts?
I was actually a savory intern. I thought she was amazing…she made a wedding cake in less than an hour which included slicing, filling, fondant, and flowers!!!!  She is definitely a mentor. You always knew when Patti was in the kitchen and when she wasn’t.

You seem to take a decidedly classical approach to dessert.  How would define your approach?
I just believe in making good food…Something inventive is great, but only if it is delicious. Classics are classics for a reason.

You met John Fraser at Compass and subsequently made the move to Dovetail with him.  How did you develop a kinship with him and what propelled the two of you to team up again at his new restaurant? 
We have the same approach when it comes to food. I think that he’s a great chef and I’ve learned a lot from him. When he told me he was opening Dovetail, I told him I would be there for him without a doubt.

Do you always see eye to eye with each other? 
Almost always; it is rare for a pastry chef and chef to get along so well.

How do you feel about the recent battery of positive restaurant reviews you’ve received?
It has been overwhelming.  We’ve all worked really hard.  I am so grateful.

What's your favorite dessert on the pastry menu right now?...

We have some reservations.
ADDRESS:154 Central Park South
PHONE: (212) 484-5120
DINNER: Sun.-Thur., 5.30 p.m.-10 p.m.; Fri.-Sat., 5:30 p.m.-10:30 p.m.
CUISINE  Seasonal American.
VIBE Sleek hotel eatery.
OCCASION  Hotel dining; dessert destination.
DON'T-MISS DISH  Buttercup flan; flash-seared calamari.
PRICE Appetizers, $10-$21; entrees, $24-$39; desserts, $9-$12.
RESERVATIONS  Recommended.

How fitting that South Gate premiered just on the heels of the highly anticipated unveiling of Alain Ducasse's Adour. After all, South Gate, and its chef, Kerry Heffernan, were installed to fill the void left when Ducasse vacated the Essex House.

While Alain Ducasse's former restaurant was buried in the rear of the building, South Gate has its own street entrance on Central Park South. With its glitzy glass façade overlooking the park, it's a radically hip departure from Ducasse's classically French production. Designed by Tony Chi, the sleek space is embellished with a long marble bar, modern gas fireplace and fractured mirror panels along the ceiling and walls of the front bar and 90-seat dining room.

In keeping with the culinary fashion of the moment, South Gate embraces a seasonal American menu, aggressively positioning itself as a trendy dining destination. This is Heffernan's official reentry into the Manhattan dining scene after serving as the executive chef at Eleven Madison Park for seven years.

He returns with the same wild mushroom martini he conceived at Eleven Madison Park. It's still a thick, woodsy mushroom puree punctuated by wilted spinach, a poached egg, and a crispy shard of pancetta. There, he also demonstrated a keen finesse for molding vegetables into relentlessly silky textures. At South Gate, he turns out a similar, standout buttercup squash flan that yields tremendous richness with every melting spoonful. It's plated with pan-roasted brussels sprouts, black trumpet mushrooms and crusty drifts of breadcrumbs, all of which complement the flan centerpiece. Both appetizers are finely distinguished by the familiarity and purity of their ingredients.

I would order the flash-seared calamari for its earthy cauliflower custard alone. But the tender ringlets of calamari that accompany it get an equally charmed gloss of lobster coriander sauce.

Beyond familiar holdovers from Eleven Madison Park, Heffernan fails to deliver new thrills. Employing a vast hodgepodge of ingredients, his dishes tend to emerge in a blizzard of flavors with little rhyme or reason to their union. The butter-roasted lobster was caught in a hostile tug of war between overbearing seasonings of marjoram, red pepper and tart kimchi in a clam broth beneath the innocent crustacean. A hot-smoked char wholly surrendered to bitter shocks of grapefruit, nicoise olives and a mustard-streaked vinaigrette.

The meat entrees were an altogether grim roster of consistently fatty cuts, stripped of critical succulence. The glazed pork belly came cloaked in a gluey layer of fat, which had to be peeled off to get to any traceable meat. So did an excessively chewy roasted rib of beef, flanked by an allspice-muffled short rib. Not to mention a smoky grilled shoulder of lamb that tasted more like charcoal than lamb.

Rewarding dishes are scarce among the savory selection, but the kitchen has a much better handle on desserts, all of which were exceptionally executed. Warm slivers of cider-roasted apples are paved with a dense bacon streusel and paired with a phenomenal maple pecan ice cream. But the most imaginative composition was a frozen blood orange parfait, stocked with mascarpone sorbet and crunchy explosions of meringue and butter cookie.

While South Gate can be assured of a built-in audience of hotel guests and business types, the hip trappings and weaknesses in the menu aren't going to compel discerning diners here.

 

Address: 1900 Broadway, near 64th St.
Phone: (212) 595-0303
Dinner: Sun.-Thurs., 5-11 p.m; Fri. & Sat., 5 p.m.- midnight; Lunch: Mon.-Fri., noon-3:30 p.m.
Cuisine: Contemporary French.
Vibe: Bustling wine bar.
Occasion: Charcuterie quest; casual UWS dinner.
Don't Miss Dish: Pate grand-mere; braised flatiron steak.
Price: Appetizers, $8-$18; entrees, $17-$28; desserts, $6-$12.
Reservations: Highly recommended.

Chef Daniel Boulud's new French bistro, which opened across from Lincoln Center, is unlike any other Boulud production. This is the iconic chef's answer to Manhattan's demand for informal wine bars. His talent for producing outstanding French cuisine is matched by equally impeccable service (Daniel, Café Boulud).

At Daniel (his haute flagship), servers glide gracefully through the dining room. At Bar Boulud, they frantically weave through the narrow quarters, crowded with oenophiles, locals and Boulud devotees. Guests swarm the hostess stand; the less desirable front dining room becomes a makeshift waiting area for those eager to feast on charcuterie, displayed in a glass counter that runs the length of the 100-seat space.

As for the charcuterie, there's a stunning roster of pâtés and terrines to be had. Charcutier Sylvain Gasdon delivers exquisitely rich pâtés, stocked with ground pork. The pâté grand-mère gets its rustic sweetness from chicken liver and cognac, while the pâté grand-père gets more opulent seasonings of truffle juice, foie gras and port. The terrines all emerge as savory mosaics that nearly transport you to the countryside of France. Among the stockpiles of charcuterie, my favorite was a juicy truffled sausage laced with pistachio and tucked into a warm brioche.

The wine list proffers a robust and affordable selection of reds by the glass that deftly harness the richness of the charcuterie. Subtle décor gestures, such as white oak tables, limestone floors and a vaulted ceiling are meant to evoke a wine cellar. Though wine plays a prominent role in all aspects of the restaurant, the bistro menu tends to lean too heavily on red wine for flavor. Both a mushroom-stuffed skate and an entree of salmon registered only their heavy-handed sauces of Syrah.

Many of executive chef Damian Sansonetti's classic bistro staples were surprisingly undistinguished. Neither a standard issue steak frites nor an underwhelming coq au vin, scattered with lardons and button mushrooms, was particularly compelling. The escargot was afflicted by a runny persillade (parsley and garlic) and a mismatched tomato garnish. Even a steak tartar, made with topnotch Black Angus sirloin, tasted underseasoned and ordinary.

But Bar Boulud's fancified version of "fish and chips" raises the bar: Silky grouper gets a crispy exterior and an inventive pairing with root vegetable chips. A tangy mustard sauce is the crowning touch on this dynamic plate. An excellent braised flatiron steak is plated over a fluffy carrot mousseline and sweet onion confit. A house-made linguine emerges terrifically light on its feet. It gets a briny sprinkling of razor clams, cuttlefish and olives, then is glossed in a white wine sauce with bright strides of lemon.

Unfortunately, bold flavor combinations and inspired dishes are a rare event. The bustle of the dining room and unreliable service make for an exhausting dining experience. Trying to place an order can feel a bit like hailing a taxi in a thunderstorm. Nonetheless, the charcuterie and terrific wine list alone are worth braving the mobs that are currently descending on the upper West Side eatery. In Daniel Boulud's indisputably talented hands, there's little doubt that Bar Boulud will rise to the occasion.

Address: 103 W. 77th St., at Columbus Ave.
Phone: (212) 362-3800
Dinner: Mon.-Sat., 5:30 p.m.-11 p.m.; Sun., 5:30 pm.-10 p.m.
Cuisine: New American
Vibe: Understated townhouse
Occasion: Destination dining; civilized date
Don't Miss Dish: Salmon a la plancha; grilled venison
Price: Appetizers, $12-$16; entrees, $28-$36; desserts, $10.
Reservations: Recommended

Eating salmon on the upper West Side doesn't sound particularly thrilling, but at Dovetail it's a religious experience. The rosy fish, grilled à la plancha, is exhilarated by a creamy horseradish gribiche (egg and mustard sauce) and bursts of caviar. With its buttery finish, it's an intense and entirely satisfying appetizer.

So is much of the sophisticated cooking at Dovetail, a New American restaurant that recently opened up on the upper West Side. Chef-owner John Fraser isn't concerned with the trend toward hypercasual dining. With a rigorous sherry menu and the imminent debut of afternoon tea, Fraser appears to be waging a war for a middle ground between formal dining and the cafeteria.

Tucked into a townhouse, the 75-seat dining room is a civilized and slightly drab meditation on brown: walnut tables, chocolate carpeting and maple-paneled walls - with not a stitch of artwork. Yet, nearly every chair was occupied on a recent Monday evening. Before I could even order a glass of wine, a nearby table was offering their (unsolicited) suggestions and gushing about a salad; a frisee and bitter lettuce salad so compelling they had traveled from their West Village neighborhood uptown for the second time in a week.

As for the salad, it's excellent and oddly addictive. It gets a vibrant sprinkling of squash, pickled raisins and hazelnuts, and a tangy splash of hazelnut vinaigrette. While the decor craves color, the food doesn't. A succulent venison loin arrives with a wintry entourage of yam puree, rosemary marshmallows and chestnut confit.

The venison, like many of the other dishes, is far from simple. Though an appetizer labeled "Blue Point oysters" sounds straightforward, it isn't. Removed from their shells, briny morsels bob above a smooth sunchoke puree, scattered with charred pineapple, uni (sea urchin roe) and sunchoke chips. The dizzying arrangement gets a vital kick from tomatilloes and a peppery mignonette.

With classic training from French Laundry and Compass, Fraser produces an ambitious menu whose nuances are carefully chosen. Crushed peanuts and salty bacon-studded polenta anchor a flawlessly braised striped bass crowned with celery hearts. Pistachio-crusted duck is lavished with black truffles, roasted endive and apple butter.

Of all the entrees I sampled, the best is Fraser's tasty riff on lasagna. Thin sheaths of turnip stand in for pasta; they melt into a robust layering of beef cheeks and king trumpet mushrooms. A lasagna this flavorful deserves its own stage. Yet, it's flanked by overcooked sliced sirloin, which serves only as dull distraction. I was similarly perplexed by an unnecessary terrine (molded from chicken wings) in the center of an appetizer of finely seared skate with chickpea puree, orange and cardoon segments.

Here, dessert is thankfully not an outsourced afterthought. Pastry chef Vera Tong, who came over with Fraser from Compass, invigorates a traditional almond soufflé with a rush of apricot ginger coulis, and a cheesecake parfait with cooling drifts of kaffir lime foam. Skip over the "Citrus Supreme" with a bracing lemon curd for a sensational brioche bread pudding with bacon brittle.

While the menu is streaked with imagination, it's refreshingly understated: Dishes aren't tagged with showy labels and they don't arrive with long-winded explanations. After I had secured the last bite of salmon, the brown-on-brown decor didn't seem like much of a sacrifice.

 

Ladies and gentlemen, this is delivery at its finest.  Behold, what I ate for lunch...

What was once a delivery ghost town just may have changed forever this fine Nor'easter afternoon as Landmarc was transported to my midtown doorstep in just under forty five minutes.  Not bad for opening day.  While I've never had tartare of any kind delivered, I tempted a chunky salmon tartare, washed in a lively dijon mustard and handsomely speckled with zesty lemon confit & fleur de sel.  Monday's rigatoni alla genovese arrived blissfully sauced with an unusually soothing walnut-spiked pesto. 

I'd say the real estate value in these parts just went up.

Until we eat again,
Restaurant Girl
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222 W. 79th St., btwn. Broadway & Amsterdam
(212)873-0200

TYPE: Rustic Greek cuisine
VIBE: Snug isle oasis
OCCASION: A neighborhood outing or casual affair
DON'T MISS DISH: Flat pasta & braised rabbit
DON'T BOTHER DISH: Shrimp & scallop souvlaki
DRINK SPECIALTY: Greek wines & house cocktails
PRICE: $30 & up - CASH ONLY
HOURS: Dinner, 7 days a week, Sun - Wed, 5 PM - 10 PM, Thu - Sat, 5 PM-11PM.
RESERVATIONS: Reservations recommended on weekends.
RESTAURANT GIRL RATES: 7 for food, 6 for atmosphere
FINAL WORD: The food at the newly reinvented Kefi, a family-style Greek, may be his mother's cooking in theory, but Michael Psilakis is clearly the talented executioner.

Chef-owner Michael Psilakis has reinvented his modern Greek restaurant, Onera, transforming it into a peasant-style Greek.  Perhaps, the Upper West Side wasn't the most ideal neighborhood to introduce definitively ambitious, upscale Greek fare.  While most restaurants opt for extravagant facelifts, Psilakis has appropriately given the space a make under,  renaming it Kefi.  Having stripped the subterranean spot of its upscale accoutrements, he's reconceived it as a casual neighborhood restaurant for Greek home-cooking.  Gone are the white linens and offal tasting menus, replaced by butcher block tabletops and family-style dishes.  Instead of chandeliers, undulating waves of blue & white fabric now hang from the ceiling, evoking a beachy vibe.   

After the sudden closing of Dona, where Psilakis had ventured into southern-European fare and successfully established himself as a chef to be reckoned with, he now seems to be retracing his roots back to his childhood in Greece.  Michael himself asserts, "Kefi is my mother's cooking."  The menu is a petite & simple selection of traditional peasant dishes: lamb souvlaki, mousaka, crispy calamari and meatball soup.

Already buzzing with a local, low-key crowd, I grabbed a table in the slightly cramped, but quaint dining room and headed straight for the wine menu, which is exclusively Greek and unusually poetic.  One might think that descriptions like, "its rich bouquet unfolds with dried figs and prunes, and a whiff of pepper and vanilla," are out of place on a wine menu at a family-style restaurant, but the prices aren't - most wines by the glass don't exceed $8, a steal in NYC, but potentially god awful.  Thankfully, there weren't.  I chose an Athiri ($6), a lovely, floral glass of white that drank a little too well.

Let's get down to the food - the openers included a classic meze of the cuttlefish, feta and octopus sorts.  There are homey meatballs washed in a pleasing tomato sauce, specked with whole garlics and olives.  Even the warm feta with pita, tossed with fresh onions, tomatoes, & salty anchovies, is a simple, but gratifying appetizer.  But the best of all, was a sublimely tender and sweet grilled octopus, lifted by lemon, fresh onions, parsley and bright tomatoes, all perched on a springy, chickpea & black eyed pea salad.  Unfortunately, the manouri cheese & spinach-stuffed cuttlefish, still managed to be bland, further hurt by a mushy tomato pedestal. 

I didn't know the Greeks had such a way with pasta, but Michael opened my eyes with celestial ribbons of flat egg pasta, tangled around succulent shreds of rabbit meat, sweet caramelized onions and nutty nuggets of graviera cheese.  It almost seemed wrong that such a blissfully rabbit-rich pasta dish, rivalling some of the best in the city, cost only $10.95, but who am I to look a gift horse in the mouth?  Delicate, sheep's milk cheese-stuffed raviolis, topped with crunchy fried onions, were lightly brushed with a brown butter & sage sauce. 

As far as entrees go, I'd head for the grilled hanger steak: juicy and supple, the sliced meat was generously topped with sauteed onions & sea salt, cleverly paired with melting nibbles of haloumi cheese and warm lentils.  The shrimp & scallop souvlaki was predictable and not worth investigating, in light of all the other satisfying dishes to be had at Kefi.  I finished with a deconstructed halva dessert, light & airy chocolate mousse, doused with a tahini sauce, and accompanied by crushed sesame seeds. 

While Kefi seems like any other neighborhood eatery, rustic Greek has been elevated to a savory plane at Kefi.  It may be back to basics for Michael Psilakis, but he more than does justice to earthy Greek fare on the Upper West Side.  While this spot is realistically limited by its Upper West Side location, the imminent opening of Anthos, a modern Greek restaurant set to open midtown (in the Acqua Pazza space), will likely whisk him back into New York City's limelight.  Who knows - Psilakis might just do for Greek cuisine what Batali did for Italian.

Until we eat again,
Restaurant Girl

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10 Columbus Circle (Time Warner Center)
(212)823-9500
website

TYPE: American steakhouse
VIBE: Simple elegance
OCCASION: A business dinner or romantic dinner
DON'T MISS DISH: Porterhouse Steak
DON'T BOTHER DISH: Ginger Carrots
DRINK SPECIALTY: American-focused Wine List
PRICE: $60 & up
HOURS: Dinner, Monday through Thursday 5 PM - 10:30 PM; Friday & Saturday, 5 PM - 11 PM.
RESERVATIONS: Reservations recommended.
INSIDE SCOOP: Order a Diamond Cain
RESTAURANT GIRL RATES (1-10):  6.5 (good to very good)
FINAL WORD: With a dazzling park view, Porter House manages to make a woman feel like she's being taken somewhere special, while still being a steakhouse a man can sink his teeth into.

Michael Lomonaco, of Windows on the World and The 21 Club fame, has inherited this park view space, formerly home to the Jean-Georges' ill-fated V steakhouse, a garrulously over-the-top exercise in butcher shop chic.  Lomonaco steps up to the plate, attempting to succeed where Jean-Georges has failed.   

Some chefs might venture a completely different direction with the cuisine, perhaps Italian or Asian, but Lomonaco replaces a steakhouse with a steakhouse, and this one is a decidedly more mellow affair.  He's created a refined surf-and-turf menu, a tribute to American beef, seafood, wine and locally sourced produce.  Designer Jeffrey Beers has stripped the old V space of its ornate chandeliers and red & gold accents, replacing them with cherry wood finishes, beige carpets and cozy leather chairs & booths.

I sidled up to a dark wood bar with two flat-screen TVs and a gaggle of men in suits catching the end of the Mets game, a refreshingly casual gesture I didn't expect to find in a restaurant under the same roof as Per Se, Masa and Cafe Grey.  Leaving my cocktail choice in the trusting hands of the bartender, he delivered me a Diamond Cain - a refreshingly seasonal blend of Rye, Green Chartreuse, & Calvados - topped off with a fresh sprig of mint.

After lingering at the bar for a bit, I wandered over to a linen-covered table with a stunning view of Central Park.  I selected a Logan Pinot Noir 2003 ($50 a bottle), a medium-bodied red wine with bright berry notes, an excellent red meat companion.  Deliberating between a tequila-cured salmon and a more traditional oyster pan roast, I instead opted for the sea scallops; pan-seared in a delicately sweet brown butter sauce, the silkiness of the glistening scallops was nicely offset by the gentle crunchiness of a flash-fried parsley topping.   

The porterhouse is the ultimate cut of meat, a tenderloin and strip in one blessed steak.  Porter House's $78 broiled rendition arrives sans the $77 Peter Luger's signature pool of butter. Personally, I prefer to taste my meat in all its fatty glory without that extra stick of butter, so I was pleased with Lomonaco's presentation.  Unfortunately, they both make the same mistake of slicing the steak before it arrives at the table, a common practice that makes the act of eating an admittedly more genteel experience, but also lets the precious juices escape from the bone-in cut before reaching the plate.  Pre-slicing aside, the meat was supple and wonderfully charred, simply seasoned with salt & pepper.  While the homemade potato chips made for a satisfyingly salty accompaniment (although they could've spent more time in the fryer), the overly sweet, ginger roasted carrots, drizzled in wild flower honey, were too delicate and cloying a match for any meat dish. 

Except perhaps for the view, nothing about Porter House is momentous or unabashedly innovative, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, especially when it comes to steak, which should be served in all its unadulterated splendor. Lomonaco's simple but polished cooking talent is exemplified in an uncomplicated side of beets, perfectly roasted and beautifully accented with mustard seeds and dill.  Though, some of his sides could do with some spiffing up, perhaps an added weightiness to suit the succulence of the steaks: Why not crumble a little gorgonzola on the potato chips or top the carrots off with bacon?  Porter House succeeds in avoiding the trendy twists that many of the newfangled steakhouses have given into simply to keep up with the Joneses, not to mention Lomonaco's mastery of steak charring.  And for this, I was greatly satisfied.

Until we eat again,
Restaurant Girl

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