restaurantgirl

by Chef Jehangir Mehta & Owner of Graffiti
(Serves 4)

Ingredients:
8 oz of cubed paneer
2 green mangos diced (small)
1/3 cup grape seed oil
1⁄2 tsp ground tumeric
1⁄2 tsp chili powder
1 small pinch of asafoetdda

Instructions:

1. Fry cubed paneer in 1 inch of grapeseed oil until golden brown, then set aside
2. In a separate pan heat 1/3 cup of grape seed oil on medium heat and add diced green mangos, ground tumeric, chili powder and asafoetdda.  Cook for 1-2 minutes and add salt to taste.
  3. Remove from stove and place fried paneer into a container and combine with marinade (green mango, ground tumeric, chili powder, etc)
  4. Cover and refrigerate for at least 24 hours
  5. When ready to enjoy, heat the mixture up on the stove in a pan or microwave and serve in your favorite dish alongside your favorite crackers or flat bread

Address: 224 East 10th St., nr. Second Ave.
Phone:(212)677-0695
www.graffitinyc.com

The marine corps isn't the usual path to becoming a chef, but it just may have taught Matthew Hamilton the key to surviving New York's cutthroat dining scene.  Matthew spent his childhood picking vegetables from the garden for dinner, so it's no wonder he was a bit ahead of these market-driven times.  Luckily, he fell into a position at San Francisco's celebrated Zuni Cafe, where he learned how to important it was to make ingredients in house.  He took an eccentric sabbatical in Tuscany on olive farm, returning to work at Noho's Five Points. 
After experiencing the hardships of opening (and closing) his own restaurant, Uovo, Hamilton seems content to be back in somoeone else's kitchen.   At Belcourt, Hamilton not only makes his own boudin blancs (pork sausages,) but also the bread, mustard and sauerkraut that accompany them out of the kitchen.

Status: Single/Married/Divorced
Married

What did you want to be when you grew up?
A marine. I knew that if I met that challenge I could do anything.

What was your first job in food?
Cooking breakfast in Japan at a marine corps base.  On weekends I worked at bars and random restaurants frying food.  After that, I went to culinary school for three months, but it wasn’t for me.

How did you end up working with Judy Rogers at Zuni Café?
I was working at a place called Fisherman Bar & Grill and a consultant recommended me to Judy at Zuni Cafe.  It was amazing. The woman's brilliant.  At Zuni, we were making brandied cherries, homemade sausage and our own fontina.  This was back in ’95 and farmers were knocking on the door and asking us to use their fresh, organic produce back then. 

What propelled you to go to Tuscany?
I was supposed to go Nice and then I read an article in Saveur magazine about a female professor, who made olive oil on a Tuscan farm.  I ended up working at her farm for a year.  I was fascinated by the way she lived her life; Everything she raised she ate.  I was waking up, feeding the animals, picking my vegetables and then eating it all for lunch.

How did you end up back in NYC at Five Points?
I had a friend working at Five Points, and then I moved to Prune.  Gabrielle Hamilton is incredible.  I’ve learned more about cooking from women.  Women have a way with food that men don’t have - their ability to nurture it.  I’ve learned how women respect ingredients.  My grandfather just cooked.   

What was it like opening your own restaurant with Uovo?
That was hard.  I think we did really good food there.  We didn’t get the business that I wanted.  The city isn't kind to small businesses.  I ended up not making as much food because the pipes were always leaking, or the awning fell down.

How did Belcourt come about for you?
I did something at Public for a couple of months. Then Mehanni (the owner) called me up and said he was opening up Belcourt and wanted me.  I walked in and saw the French antiques and the authenticity of the space.  It’s beautiful. 

Did he give you free reign with the menu?
Yes, he wanted me to do Mediterranean.  It’s Mediterranean-based with all of my favorite influences, ideals, things I'v tasted and seen.

At Belcourt you make nearly everything in house... 
I make green tomato jam to serve with cheeses.  I cure my own anchovies, make my own flatbreads, and ricotta.  Pretty much everything on the boudin blanc is homemade from the sausage to the bun to the sauerkraut. 

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

*1/2 Stars
Address: 116 E. 16th St., between Union Square East & Irving Place
Phone: (212) 254-1600
Dinner: Fri., 5:30-11 p.m. Sat. 5-11 p.m., Sun. 5-10 p.m. Lunch: Mon-Sun., noon-2:30 p.m.
Cuisine: Seasonal American
Vibe: Sprawling farmhouse chic
Occassion: Group dinner; family affair.
Don't Miss Dish: Cauliflower ravioli; roasted Arctic char.
Drink Specialty: Impressive wine by the glass offering.
Price: Appetizers, $10-$16; entrees, $24-$30; desserts, $9.
Reservations: Recommended

Capsule: A diluted brand of seasonal American crops up at Irving Mill.

It's not enough for restaurants to showcase their greenmarket produce on the plate anymore. They are wearing this season's harvest as if it's the hottest fashion accessory - a culinary badge of honor.

Just follow the trail of fruits and vegetables to your table. A pomegranate-stocked wheelbarrow greets you at the entrance of Union Square's Irving Mill. There's a "harvest table" - strewn with squash, chestnuts and gourds - that separates the bar from the main dining room. It's just past a large millstone that stands in the middle of the sprawling space.

Owners Mario, Sergio and Suzanne Riva have reconceived what was formerly Candela as an homage to the nearby Farmer's Market and chef/partner Jon Schaefer's pedigree. After 12 years at Gramercy Tavern, Schaefer practically has rustic New American cooking coursing through his veins. Thus, the menu enlists the greenmarket's usual suspects: butternut squash with chestnuts; duck breast with quinoa, autumn beans and Swiss chard.

This is seasonal American for the masses: Both the farmhouse-chic decor and the familiar strides of the plates evoke a diluted brand of cuisine. On this level, Irving Mill successfully appeals to a mixed bag of patrons. A domesticated set currently populates a sea of tables, while a more youthful crowd collects around the up-front bar.

Chicken liver crostini is nicely balanced by quince and aged balsamic vinegar. Though a hearts of palm salad - consisting of avocado cream, frisée and orange segments - was prettier to look at than actually consume, it still served its seasonal function on the menu. But too many dishes failed to reach extraordinary heights...

Le paste con le sarde
(Serves 4 as an appetizer)

8 fresh sardines, filleted and pin bones (ask your fish monger to butcher to your specifications)salt and pepper
4 ounces extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
pinch of red pepper flakes
¼ cup golden raisins
¼ cup toasted pine nuts
1 pinch of saffron
1/8 cup dill, chopped coarsely
1/3 cup parsley, chopped
½ pound bucatini, cooked al dente with ½ cup pasta liquid reserved

Season the sardines with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat the oil in a large sauté pan over medium-low heat.  When hot, add the garlic and red pepper flakes and stir constantly until the garlic starts to sizzle. Cook until the garlic is translucent and soft, reducing the heat if necessary so the garlic does not brown at all.  Add the raisins, pine nuts, saffron, parsley and dill and cook for 30 seconds.  Add the sardines, skin side up, and cook for 1 minute. Remove the sardines and reserve.  Raise the heat to medium-high and add the pasta, tossing back and forth to coat. If it looks dry, add some of the cooking liquid. Divide pasta into 4 bowls, top with 2 sardines on each and serve immediately.

Address: 206 Spring St., nr. Sullivan St.
Phone:(212)653-0100

** Stars

Address: 199 Prince St., between MacDougal & Sullivan Sts.
Phone: (212) 375-8275
Dinner: Sun., Tue. & Wed., 6 p.m.-12 a.m., Thu.-Sat., 6 p.m.-3 a.m. Closed Mon.
Cuisine: New American
Vibe: Quaint neighborhood spot
Occasion: Casual date, neighborhood go-to dinner
Don't Miss Dish: Codfish with Gruyere broth, roast chicken
Drink Specialty: Stargarita
Price: Appetizers, $7-$14; entrees, $18-$25; desserts, $5-$7
Reservations: Not accepted

Soho's best-kept secret harbors a talented chef and a triumphant roast chicken.

"I'll have the chicken," is a request I'm hearing a lot lately in prominent New York City restaurants. What was historically a predictable dish designated for the unadventurous eater has recently become a first-string player on many esteemed menus. Union Square Cafe has a moist rendition in their back pocket. So does Cafe Boulud.

And then there's the roast chicken at Shorty's.32. Chef and co-owner Josh Eden has nearly perfected his: This remarkably juicy bird flaunts an obscenely crisp skin. It's a notably unpretentious bird, coupled with mashed potatoes and green beans. Though its presentation seems humble, it's abundantly rich in flavor.

This is Shorty's.32 in a nutshell: a straightforward restaurant with tremendously pleasing New American fare. It is also SoHo's best-kept secret. Nicknamed Shorty at JoJo, Eden spent 12 years working in Jean-Georges Vongerichten's stable of highbrow kitchens. With such upscale cred, one might expect Shorty's solo debut to razzle-dazzle with more sophistication than chicken and mashed potatoes. He does dazzle with a decadent bed of mashed potatoes and crunchy fries in golden coats. Though they look like something off the children's menu, pudgy crabsticks get a basil remoulade - grownup fish sticks stocked with fresh, peekytoe crab.

Familiar rock music plays in the background of a 32-seat dining room, furnished with burgundy velvet banquettes and dark wood tables. An altogether curious and unsightly collection of mismatched lampshades hangs from the ceiling. Though his taste in light fixtures is questionable, Eden has much better instincts when it comes to culinary marriages.

He perches codfish on crusty bread with caramelized onions and Swiss chard, then douses it in a gruyere broth. The spill of broth evokes a "French onion soup" twist, an inventive match for the flaky fish. Likewise, the aforementioned chicken gets a sidecar of chilled green beans specked with fried garlic. It recalls leftover Chinese string beans, an apparently intentional move...

After investing considerable time and money into transforming Bellini into dona, co-owners Donatella Arpaia and Michael Psilakis lost their midtown lease and were forced to close after only nine months. Though it was a devastating loss, the two have seized the opportunity to reinvent the restaurant as a casual, Greek-inflected Italian with significantly pared-down prices.  While they haven't officially settled on the name - they're toying with mia dona and casa dona - its new home will be 206 East 58th Street between 2nd & 3rd Avenues. 

"I wanted to stay midtown.  That's my clientele," Arpaia tells us.  "The new location feels homey, like a rustic townhouse.  It has a library, living room, and lounge."  While dona has shed its yellow & white color palette for earth tones, Arpaia has kept the zebra-striped carpet to decorate the floors in both the living room and library, and the porcelain plates will now hang from wood paneled walls.  "We really wanted to something more informal and affordable this time around," Arpaia states. 

As Arpaia readies the front of the house, Psilakis focuses his energies on editing the menu.  "I've never written so many dishes for a menu in my life," Psilakis tells us.  "Now it will just be a function of cooking in that space.  I don't know what it will be like to stand on the line in our new kitchen." 

Psilakis continues excitedly, "I've never had any influences because I've never worked in someone else's kitchen, so everything I create really is my own.   It gives me the freedom.  I have no rules because I wasn't classically trained.  Dona will be Italian at its soul with hints of Greek and Spanish cooking.  It's going to be a menu that bridges the gap between all the restaurants I've done.  It will definitely be lighter, seasonally-oriented fare; pastas, antipasti and family-style plates for two."

Address: 206 East 58th Street, btwn. 2nd & 3rd Aves.
Phone: TBD

Until we eat again,
Restaurant Girl
**Don't forget to subscribe for Restaurant Girl's Weekly Newsletter**

Father and son team Mario and Antonio Cerra are  gearing up for a January opening of their Italian steakhouse, Padre E Figlio (Italian for father and son.)  Having just sold ten-year-old Da Antonio (pictured right,) the two plan to expand upon Da Antonio's Neapolitan-bent menu with a large selection of high-end Italian meats, including a Piemontese porterhouse and rib eye. 

Chef Alberto Argudo, who cooked at both Da Antonio as well as Il Mulino, will be running Padre E Figlio's kitchen.  With no shortage of steakhouses in Manhattan, Argudo will not only be grilling traditional steer, but also exotic meats such as wild boar in a limoncello reduction and filet mignon of ostrich.  There will also be homemade lobster ravioli, pappardelle and gnocchetti Napoletani.  Designer Peter Sibilia has eclectically outfitted the new, 150-seat space with rooster chandeliers, a glass-enclosed garden, velvet-tufted walls and a private chef's table.

Address: 310 East 44th St., btwn. 1st & 2nd Aves.
Phone: (212)286-4310
Hours: 7 days a week, Lunch 11:30a.m.-3p.m.; Dinner, 5p.m.-11p.m.
Opens: mid-January

Until we eat again,
Restaurant Girl
**Don't forget to subscribe for Restaurant Girl's Weekly Newsletter**

Spinach Gnocchi Pancetta Beurre-Noisette
Chanterelles, sage, capers and Parmesan

Prep Time:   1 hour
Servings: 8 portions
Cooking Time:  2 minutes

Ingredients:
2 Idaho potatoes
3 cups all purpose flour
1 bunch of picked, cleaned spinach
2 cups of flour
3 tbsp pancetta
2 tbsp chanterelle mushrooms
¼ cup Brandy
2 tbsp salted butter
3 leeks
3 lemons
3 Roma Tomatoes
1 cup reduced chicken stock
1 bunch fresh sage
½ cup capers
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation:
Peel and boil the potatoes in plenty of salted water until just tender and falling apart. Cool them and then rice them onto a clean tabletop. Blanch and puree the spinach with a little bit of water. Pour the puree on top of the riced potatoes. Add the flour on top and carefully kneed the mixture until a soft ball is achieved. Allow the dough to rest 20-30 minutes. Cut into 12 equal portions and roll into the shape of rope approximately ½ inch in diameter. Cut the rolled pasta into ½ inch dumplings. Immediately blanch and shock the pasta.

Render and crisp the pancetta and reserve the meat and save the fat separately.  Render the butter and continue cooking until the butter separates and begins to brown in tiny specs. Deglaze the butter with lemon juice. Add reduced chicken stock, diced Roma tomatoes, diced leeks, capers and chopped sage. Sauté the chanterelle mushrooms and deglaze with brandy.

Before serving reheat the gnocchi in the warm sauce. Toss all together with Parmesan and chopped spinach and serve.

Address: 90 Bedford Street, at Grove St.
Phone: (212)741-4695

With a number of thriving eateries, restaurateur/chef Jimmy Bradley has a keen understanding of the NYC dining scene.  Both The Red Cat and The Harrison have succeeded at maintaining their destination status as well as their strong neighborhood followings.  "It's simple.  Stand there and do good work," Bradley asserts in a telephone interview.   Before venturing off to open their own respective kitchens, chefs Joey Campanaro, Mike Price and Harold Dieterle have each worked in Bradley's kitchens and inherited his gimmick-free philosophy.
   
Bradley doesn't follow trends, he sets them.   He ventured into Chelsea with The Red Cat before it became a prominent art and restaurant scene.  "Underpromise and overdeliver.  That's the key to The Red Cat's success," he continues.   Originally named The Red Cat Food Hall, Bradley opened the spot with the deliberate intentions that diners would have no preconceived notions of what to expect before sitting down to dinner.   The Mediterranean-inflected American cuisine showcases peach and pancetta risotto, a grilled pork chop  and baked polenta with stewed tomatoes.   

Status: Single/Married/Divorced
In a really great relationship.  Totally in love.

What did you want to be when you grew up?
Evel Knievel.  It was either him or Miles Davis, but I can’t play the trumpet.

What was your first job in food?
At home, making the raviolis.  For pay, though, my first job was working the deli counter slicing kosher pickles at this place called Pic-A-Deli in Philly.

You’ve been quoted as saying your culinary foundation is based on "real food for the real world." Do elaborate… 
I’ve always been drawn to a less is more scenario, so a few ingredients with bold flavors fascinate me much more so than fussy, more fusion-type cuisine.  For that reason, I think that the cuisine we provide is an easy one to get behind.  And this may seem a little out there, but I want to use Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address as an analogy.  272 words spoken 144 years ago and people still understand the message and talk about it.  Now compare that with George Bush’s last State of the Union this past January.  Who remembers his points of topic in the 5500 plus words he spoke?  I’d rather hear 272 thoughtful, insightful words than an hour long speech with no real end game.  Same goes for my food.  I’d rather have 4-5 ingredients prepared honestly and skillfully than 10-20 ingredients prepared to please some chef’s overly elaborate impulses.

So do you consider molecular gastronomy “real food”?
It’s not for me to say, but you won’t see me messing around with it.

What called you to leave Philadelphia?
I left Philly for Vail, CO, then to Martha’s Vineyard, then to Telluride, CO and then to NY and honestly, I just came for a looksee; I never thought I would stay.

How did you elect Chelsea for your first restaurant, seeing as you were a bit ahead of your time…?
Our first thought and our first lease we pursued was Byron’s Argentinian Steakhouse, which is now DoHwa on Carmine St. We had a deal on the table and at the eleventh hour, we found the space that’s now The Red Cat, and we thought Tenth Avenue at the time was just a little bit more viable for what we were trying to do.  Boy I wish I’d bought both of ‘em.

You opened four notable restaurants in a five-year span, what propelled the momentum during that time?
When I found cooking, I knew I wanted to be the chef and own my own restaurant and my goal was to do it before I was 30 years old.  Somewhere along the line, people gave me big jobs and I rose to the occasion.  I’ve always been more of a sharer and like to work in a democratic way, so I grew a company and surrounded myself with a lot of very talented people.

There is the recent and exciting news of the arrival of Amanda Freitag at The Harrison.  How do you envision the menu changing from its present state?  Debrief us on the Mediterranean integration into the menu...
I feel like Amanda and I have a very similar culinary style and philosophy; she’s looking forward to broadening her horizons from more than just Italian cuisine and I think we’ll strive for a bold, lusty, soulful menu at The Harrison.

You now have two restaurants: The Red Cat in Chelsea and The Harrison in Tribeca.  Is it difficult juggling two lucrative restaurants?
Definitely, but I’ve just brought in a new managing partner, Steven Eckler, whose dynamism will be a great addition to our team, help us be better at what we do, and hopefully lead to new projects in the future.

What's your favorite dish on The Red Cat’s menu, and why?
Quick Saute of Zucchini with Toasted Almonds and Pecorino.  It’s four simple ingredients that make a great dish when combined.

What's your least favorite dish (and yes, you must pick one)?...