13th
Marea
As a preface, I’m going to try something a little bit different. The ensuing commentary will be not only that of my own (ES), but of my fellow foodie and guest blogger Rachel (RW) as well.
ES: Friday April 2nd in NYC I had the opportunity to check out a real treat with friend: Michael White’s Marea. Located on Central Park South, Marea’s façade is rather simple, and doesn’t allude to the culinary magic that happens within.
On entry, we were promptly seated in a large dining room with over twenty tables. The décor was also reasonably simple on the inside too, white walls with assorted large seashells on posts dotting the perimeter. The lighting was also simple, recessed track and non-track lighting illuminated the main dining room. When we first were seated at 6:30, it was quite light inside, but dimmed considerably as the courses passed by. Oddly, the ceiling was slotted, which neither of us were able to figure out why. I don’t think it particularly added much, but I didn’t let it distract.
RW: I agree that the façade is certainly minimalistic. Had I not known it was there, I very easily could have passed right by it. However, I was a big fan of the interior décor. The main dining room is sunken slightly below ground level, which both allows for natural light to permeate the room, as well as makes the space feel slightly more intimate than if it were at eye-line with the street. Beautiful red chandeliers hung from the ceiling, which served as a nice contrast to the white walls without feeling dated. In addition, the floors were a pristine dark hardwood, which I almost always prefer to carpeting in a restaurant.
ES: The menu was quite large and featured many different Crudo, Ostriche, and Antipasto as well as Pasta, Pesce, Carne and Dolce. The menu was suggested as a 4-course prix fixe but as I often do, I inquired about the tasting menus available. They featured a 6 and 8-course menu of Chef’s selections with optional wine parings – with without much hesitation we opted to go for. The one stipulation was that the Fusilli must be included, which it fortunately was. I love tasting menus largely because they often feature the restaurant’s signature dishes, so its much easier to get the desired experience from ordering them versus picking and choosing. Additionally, it takes all of the stress off of myself, the patron, and allows me to sit back, chat and wait in anticipation about what’s to come.
Our first plating was RICCI sea urchin, lardo, sea salt paired with a Franciacorta Brut Barone Pizzini NV Chardonnay (Lombardia, Italy):
ES: I’ll admit I’ve only ever had urchin once before, and it was a great many years ago at a B-quality sushi place so I was sure I hadn’t really given it a fair chance. I really enjoyed the dish, especially the melding of the brininess of the urchin with the smooth texture of the lardo.
RW: Sea urchin is one of my all-time favorite foods. The texture is custard-like and explodes with oceanique flavor in your mouth. Needless to say I was hoping this bite would appear on our tasting. The quality of the sea urchin was clearly very high, although I will say I felt that the smokiness of the lardo slightly overpowered its delicate flavor (I must admit that smoky /baconey flavors are not my favorite…blasphemy!) Still a delicious mouthful.
Our second was ASSAGIO DI OSTRICHE e CRUDO tasting of oysters and raw seafood paired with an extremely interesting Thalassitis Gai’a 2008 Assyrtiko (Santorini, Greece). As you can see by the following three images, we were given a selection crudo. The menu defaulted to a shrimp and langoustine flight but due to my unfortunate shrimp allergy, they served me a separate tuna flight:
ES: RW may disagree but I think I lucked out with the tuna flight as opposed to the shrimp and langoustines. The fatty tuna, located at left was simply delightful and some of the best fish I have ever had – comparable to L2o, Katsu, and Mirai in Chicago. However the most interesting part of this plating was the wine. This white from Santorini was something else – it had a fresh ocean taste that complimented both the tuna and the oysters. According to our waitress, and further research, the original recipe included a measure of seawater. This has since been removed, but they are still able to capture the essence of the ocean in a perfect way.
RW: I looooved this course. The shrimp and langoustine were superbly fresh and the acidic marinade added the perfect bite. This was actually my first time having shrimp crudo, and it will certainly be the measure to which all others must now add up. However, I definitely was also jealous of Eric, as just staring at that toro (fatty tuna, aka the most expensive and decadent cut of the fish) made my mouth water.
RW: Having the three types of oysters to sample side-by-side was also wonderful. Always fun to be able to compare and discuss. Super fresh, each with a very distinct flavor.
ES: I love oysters on the half shell, and these were up there – there’s not much more to say.
Our third was the ASTICE nova scotia lobster, burrata, eggplant al funghetto, basil paired with a Veramentino Solosole Poggio Al Tesoro 2008 (Toscana, Italy):
ES: The burrata in this made an already great dish even better. The lobster was perfectly cooked as well and paired well with the Vermentino, only one of two wines that I had heard of on the menu. Also for some strange reason, I seemed to think the dish may have been a bit of a play on caprese (texture and color composition.)
RW: I found this course to be one of the more interesting of the night. Typically in Italian cuisine it is a huge faux-pas to pair seafood with cheese—cut to Scott Conant’s scathing reviews of anyone who attempts to do so on Chopped. I have to say, he should make a stop at Marea and try this dish. When I incorporated a bite of everything on the fork at once, the flavors and textures played off of one another perfectly. Plus, I’m never a fan of adhering to so-called culinary “rules.”
Next, we were introduced to the BACCALA housemade salt cod, creamy polenta, beets, ciliegia en grappa paired with a Pecorino il Feuduccio 2008 (Abruzzo, Italy):
RW: The flavors in the dish were so complex and layered. What I feel really sets one chef apart from another is his/her ability to introduce acid into a dish, and this one did so very skillfully. I initially mistook the grappa for balsamic, because it added a similar tang that really cut through the creaminess of the polenta and the moist cod. I have also never had baccala prepared this way, as one would typically see it whipped and often deep-fried into a croquetta of sorts. Always love trying new things.
ES: This was another textural winner, credited especially to the fried skins and beets. The combination all of the elements made a quite well rounded dish. The polenta was perfectly cooked, which was one of a few dishes I have had recently that’s converting me to a “softer” polenta presentation, versus something firmer or fried.
Following this, we were served a MARE RISOTTO acquarello rice, shrimp, lobster, scallops, rouget paired with Macon - Verze Domaines Leflaive 2007 Chardonnay (Burgundy, France). Unfortunately we missed capturing an image of the risotto.
ES: I loved my risotto, which was perfectly cooked, aside from the original slip up of serving me one with shrimp. This was a near-perfect risotto that only lacked a bit of color, which they always seem to do. Why can’t you at a splash of color? I think it would really make the dish pop.
RW: Some of the best cooked risotto I’ve ever had. This is a dish I’ve attempted many times, and can attest that it is very difficult to keep the rice al dente, while still extracting the natural creaminess of the rice. I totally agree with Eric about the lack of color though.
Next came the FERRATINI manila clams, calamari, hot chilies paired with a Greco di Tufo Benito Ferrara 2008 (Campania, Italy):
RW: The calamari was melt-in-your mouth tender, and the homemade pasta had a nice bite. My one critique is that I thought there was too much oil in the bowl.
ES: Simple seafood pasta at its best. The calamari was perfectly cooked and similar tenderness to the noodles, which made tasting more enjoyable. The spice of the lone chili pleasantly surprised me; it was hotter than I was expecting at such a restaurant. However, it provided a nice wake-up for the dish of the evening that was about to come.
Next came what we had been waiting for all evening the FUSILLI red wine braised octopus, bone marrow paired with Nero D’avola Donnata Alessandro di Camporeale 2008 (Sicilia, Italy):
RW: OMG, unreal. Go to Marea. Get this dish. Period. I have nothing more eloquent to offer.
ES: Even Thomas Keller remarked that this dish was his favorite of the year. If you’re interested, you can read more about the making of the dish in Nick Solares’ post on Serious Eats.
In short, this dish was simply fantastic and just about perfect! I would agree with TK by saying that this is one of my favorite dishes of the past year. The octopus was braised to be as tender as the fusilli, so when you took a bite they could be enjoyed together, as opposed to octopus’ normal chewy state. The breadcrumbs added a bit of texture and the bits of bone marrow made the dish just shine. This dish is definitely one to bring in the crowds regardless of other offerings.
We finally made it to the main of BISTECCA grilled creekstone farms 50 day dry aged sirloin, bone marrow panzanella paired with a Brunello di Montalcino Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona 2003 (Toscana, Italy):
ES: I was honestly a little surprised to see the turf after 7 courses of surf. However, the sirloin was perfectly cooked seasoned and garnished. I particularly loved the bone marrow panzanella, which worked well with a piece of sirloin in the same bite. The Brunello was full-bodied with a touch and paired perfectly with the dish – it was a 2003 to boot!
RW: I was very surprised to see them end us with a meat course as well. I suppose that they figure most people would want a little more variety in such a long meal. The dish was pleasant. It was tasty and there was certainly nothing wrong with it, but it didn’t knock my socks off. Perfectly cooked meat, well-seasoned sauce, delicious bone-marrow panzanella, but I agree with Eric that I could have done with another fish course.
We finished with a PANNA COTTA meyer lemon panna cotta, huckleberry sorbet, citrus granola paired with a Torcolato Maculan 2005 (Veneto, Italy):
RW: I love panna cotta, and thought that this was an appropriately light way to end the meal. I did think it was strange though that in an eight course meal they only served one dessert course. If you compare it to somewhere like Babbo, they serve a cheese course and three sweet courses in their eight course tasting. I’m not complaining, because I actually think that sounds a little off balance, it’s just not typical to see only one dessert on a long tasting.
ES: I’m not normally a panna cotta fan, but this was some of the better I have had. I loved the addition of granola, which really added to the texture and provided a good garnish for the dish. I think that it was in keeping with the menu given that most of the dishes were seafood and on the lighter side. I would have thought it strange to finish with something richer (but anything was possible after that sirloin.)
A final flight of candies came with our due and proper:
ES: All of them were tasty aside from the lemon one – I’m just not a fan of lemon soft centers, but luckily you can always spot them out. One of them deserved a close up as well, which would be a fitting thumbnail to the post.
RW: At this point I was so full that Eric advised me to skip the lemon one. The chocolates were yummy though!
RW: Marea had been at the very top of my list for a long time (probably since Thomas Keller gave it his “best dish of the year” shout-out). While I had some questions about the progression of dishes, I certainly have no reservations about the quality or taste of the food. These were genuinely some of the most delicious mouthfuls I’ve ever had. Also, although I didn’t comment on the wine (of which I have only a very limited knowledge) I fell in love with the pairings and can’t wait to go pick up many of these bottles.
Also, a thank-you to Eric for being an amazing dining companion. I wish we had a tape recorder at the table, because I think it was some of the dorkiest food conversation of all time!
Food - 28
Décor - 26
Service - 25
ES: All in all, this was one of the top food meals of my life. I thought that each dish was perfectly, or near perfectly prepared and progressed well through the meal. Additionally the wine pairing of 9 glasses was an excellent compliment to each of the dishes and surprisingly affordable. As previously mentioned, my one issue with the meal was that the sirloin, while perfectly prepared, just didn’t make sense in an all-seafood lineup. I would have much rather seen another seafood – maybe a seared tuna or something else than a steak at the end. However, I can’t let this detract from what was a near-perfect food experience. The courses were perfectly paced which provided ample time for conversation and digestion. The meal actually tied my “longest seating” experience of 4 hours 15 minutes, which I also spent at Manresa in 2007. It must be a coincidence that “Marea” is included inside “Manresa.”
Décor was well thought out and attractive. The highlights for me were the shells and the wood paneling downstairs and bar area. In general however, it didn’t quite have the uniqueness that I was looking for in a restaurant of this caliber.
Service was great as well, aside from a few slip-ups. (RW and my plate were switched once, they initially brought out a risotto with shrimp for me, and they poured the wrong wine for one of our courses.) Inevitably something will slip with the service — that’s just life. None of these incidences really detracted from my overall experience or enacted any of my service pet peeves.
Based on the aforementioned, I’ll give the following metrics:
Food - 29
Décor - 25
Service - 26
I leave you with one of my favorite foodie Rachel and myself:
