I was last in New York a
couple of years ago, and not much has changed since then. Everyone still walks
around with a cup of coffee in their hands, or a dog on a leash. Everyone is
still always going somewhere, and has something to say to a complete stranger.
Of course, much has changed
with me in the four years or so since I was last in the Big Apple, and, over
the course of this trip, the seeds of further change would be sown, but more on
that later.
I was keen to visit some of my
previous haunts, and as I was staying downtown at West 3rd and
Mercer, Mario Batali’s Babbo wasn’t far. Unlike my last visit, this
time I was seated downstairs, which is rather dark and cloistered. Diners have
to sit on the same side of the table, which makes for slightly awkward conversation.
The chickpea bruschetta which
I had the last time is still the complimentary appetiser that greets diners at
the start of their meal. Unfortunately, after four years, I still haven’t
learnt to appreciate them. I find that they fill you up too quickly compared to
tomatoes, leaving less space to enjoy the bigger dishes.
Such as the beautiful grilled
quail with shaved fennel and lardo, which was wonderfully smokey and meaty. I
always feel like quail is an underutilised meat, like rabbit, which is
unfortunate given how tasty it is.
The linguine with clams and
hot chillies was perhaps overly salted, although the chillies lent a great piquancy
and liveliness to the dish and the clams were extremely fresh. It has always
puzzled me why, despite the fact that Singapore is an island at the centre of a
number of trade routes, we so rarely have fresh seafood.
Much like quail, it isn’t easy
to find octopus on a menu, and I can think of no better way to enjoy it than
char-grilled, served with mushrooms and chianti vinegar. The octopus tentacles were
scorched, and tasted as meaty as the mushrooms they were served with, while the
vinegar helped to cut through some of the char.
S ordered the pistachio and
chocolate semifreddo. Drizzled over with chocolate sauce, and infused with a
mild nutty taste from the pistachios, this creamy dessert was delicious.
It’s difficult to resist panna
cotta at an Italian restaurant, especially when it’s a saffron panna cotta with
rhubarb marmellata and rhubarb sorbetto. This petite mound was the perfect
combination of cream and gelatine, and it wobbled lusciously at the push of a
fork. The rhubarb accompaniments had been cooked in syrup, but were not
cloyingly sweet, and still retained their natural tartness.
Babbo was a great way to kick
off my New York adventure (and what an adventure it would prove to be), with
smart, sophisticated, up to date Italian cuisine. The menu is full of inventive
pastas (think calf’s brain), as well as more traditional stalwarts (calamari
and grilled lamb chops), which will appeal to all possible tastes and
appetites. It’s good to know that some things don’t change.
Babbo
110 Waverly Place, New York
City, NY 10011
Tel: +1 (212) 777 0303
As I had a fairly long time in
New York, S and I decided to rent a car and to take a weekend roadtrip out of
town. I had seen some gorgeous photos of the North Fork of Long Island, and was
intrigued by the fact that it appeared to have a thriving community of vintners
and winemakers. Additionally, the village of Greenport’s charming, idyllic
lifestyle was irresistibly 1950s, with old-fashioned bed-and-breakfasts and ice
cream parlours, meaning that it was the perfect destination for a carefree
weekend. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that North Fork also has some of the best
restaurants outside of the city.
Although we got slightly lost
along the way, when we pulled up in Greenport, it was easy to see why it’s
becoming an increasingly popular tourist spot. Strolling down Main Street, USA,
on a breezy autumn afternoon, with the sun in your eyes and nothing in
particular to do, the sedate, relaxed pace of life easily lulls you into a
vacation frame of mind.
Our first stop in Greenport
was Noah’s, a casual, streetfront restaurant that is unpretentious, welcoming
and fresh. Noah’s lunch menu consists mostly of tapas-sized dishes, a raw bar,
as well as a handful of full-sized main courses. Being a port town, most of the
restaurants in Greenport serve similar seafood dishes, but that’s not
necessarily a bad thing when they’re as amazing as the local calamari fritto
misto served with fennel, lemon, green beans and lemon aioli. Firm, fresh, and
coated with a light, crispy batter, the calamari was absolutely fantastic. What’s
more, despite being labelled a “small plate”, the serving size is so generous
that it would probably have been a main course in and of itself.
I found Didi’s spicy french
fries to be less enjoyable, however. They were indeed quite spicy, but apart
from that, they were not particularly interesting, and filled us up unnecessarily.
The Crescent Farm Pulled Duck
BBQ, on the other hand, featured slow-cooked duck, torn apart into rough
slivers, slathered in a rich, tangy (though slightly sugary) sauce with a
slightly Asian flavour thanks to the chopped scallions. It’s a shame there
wasn’t more pulled duck, as it paired very nicely with the smooth, creamy bed
of mashed potatoes.
Our last dish was a generous bowl
of steamed mussels in a romesco broth, with preserved lemons and chorizo. Robust,
full-bodied, the broth was intensely savoury, with the chorizo imparting a
throaty heat that enlivened the already tasty, briny mussels.
Noah’s
136 Front Street
Greenport, NY 11944
Tel: +1 (631) 477 6720
S and I were so full after
that meal that we didn’t have space for dessert; instead, we decided to take a
walk through the beautiful town of Greenport.
Greenport’s history as a fishing and whaling village
still shows through, with neighbourhood shops selling nautical curios and
paraphernalia, and a beautiful pier that stretches out into the water and the
horizon.
Greenport lies at the end of a
road that winds through a number of agricultural plots, most notably the
vineyards, but also a number of fruit and vegetable farms, many of which offer
visitors the chance to “pick your own”.
As my visit coincided with
Hallowe’en, Krupski’s Pumpkin Farm seemed a logical option. It was slightly
surreal to see pumpkins strewn haphazardly over the grounds, but it was fun to
walk around and watch kids screaming excitedly as families chose that special
pumpkin they’d be bringing home to carve to greet trick or treaters.
Dinner that evening was at The
Frisky Oyster, which unfortunately had dimmed the lighting, making photography
virtually impossible. The menu at the restaurant was well-balanced: while
seafood understandably featured, it didn’t receive excessive attention. Baby
beet salad, braised pork belly, pan-roasted free range chicken – nothing that
would be out of place in any high-end restaurant in any thriving cosmopolitan
community, except this was Greenport.
We were still full from lunch
at Noah’s, so S and I decided to only have main courses of lobster garganelli
with arugula and lemon vodka cream sauce as well as duck breast with sweet
potato and pear puree, swiss chard and cranberry demi-glace respectively, both
of which were well-executed and extremely satisfying.
The Frisky Oyster does not
open for lunch, and as a result it tends to be rather crowded during dinner.
With a full complement of thoughtful and well-cooked dishes, it’s hardly surprising.
The Frisky Oyster
27 Front Street
Greenport, NY 11944
Tel: +1 (631) 477 4265
The next day was a beautiful
one, as the sun was out and the weather was fine. The whole morning was
suffused in hope and bathed in warmth, and we found it hard to believe the news
reports that a dangerous superstorm was bearing down upon New York.
Apparently, the lady manning
the front of house at the North Fork Oyster Co was similarly sceptical, for she
informed us as she was pouring our drinks that she didn’t think anything would
come of the storm, and that there was no need for her to leave Greenport,
despite her daughter’s warnings. We were not as sanguine, as we have already
made plans to return to New York City early the next day to stock up on
groceries and water. As things turned out, parts of Greenport were flooded by
Hurricane Sandy, and we hope that the North Fork Oyster Co was not too badly
affected.
As the restaurant’s name suggests, seafood tends to predominate on the menu, although it is also possible
to order some other meat dishes. I’d had a fairly filling breakfast, and as we
were due to visit one of Greenport’s premier wineries after lunch, S and I
decided to share some local seafood. The steamed Calendar Island mussels were
served simply and classically with roasted garlic, herbs and white wine,
allowing the natural freshness of the clams to shine through. The dish was,
however, slightly marred by the fact that the clams were still somewhat gritty.
The NFOC Fisherman’s Stew,
however, was phenomenal. The best test of a chef’s skill is whether the
simplest and humblest dishes can be transformed into something sublime, and
that was clearly the case with this dish.
The stew base was simply
bursting with flavour: garlic, tomatoes, prawn and vegetable oils all coming
together in a glorious celebration of the day’s catch. The mussels we’d sampled
already, but the littleneck clams were sweet and delicious, and the prawns were
plump, succulent and crunchy. Small cubes of Yukon gold potatoes had also been
added to the stew, and these were perfectly-cooked, having absorbed the tasty
stew without losing any of their firmness.
It’s unfortunate that we
didn’t have enough time in Greenport to sample some of the other interesting
dishes that we saw on the menus at the various restaurants in town, and I can
see why North Fork attracts weekenders and out-of-towners on such a regular
basis. I, for one, would return unhesitatingly for another helping of the NFOC
Fisherman’s Stew.
There are close to 50 wineries
in Long Island, with many of them family-owned and sustainably farmed. Surprisingly,
the wineries and vineyards in Long Island are not necessarily smaller than
those in Napa Valley: Bedell Cellars, for instance, owns three vineyards
totalling almost 80 acres of land, divided between three vineyards – Bedell,
Wells Road and Corey Creek. All the wineries in North Fork are likely to be
swamped over the weekend, and the trick is to find one which is sufficiently
spacious and well-run so that still maintains its class and appeal despite the
hoards.
Located just a short drive
away from Greenport in Cutchogue, the winery at Bedell Cellars is a beautiful
white building that overlooks the vineyards, with its main tasting room located
in a large and charming open-air barnhouse that features an upper mezzanine
that is cosy and intimate.
As the weather was so fine,
though, S and I sat on the terrace, which offered a sweeping view of the lush,
verdant vineyard and the wide expanse of fertile land that made Long Island so
irresistible to early settlers.
Tasting a flight of six wines
reminded me of my days in the UK as a member of the university’s wine club, and
as I felt the wine going to my head, it occurred to me that it’s been some time
since I’ve been in university. Many of the wines we tasted consisted of two or
more blends, which I have mixed feelings about; and I only really appreciated
one or two of the vintages. Still, it was a fabulous way to spend half an
afternoon, and while we were tempted to visit another winery, it was probably
best not to drink and drive.
Bedell Cellars
36225 Main Road
Cutchogue, NY 11935
Tel: +1 (631) 734 7537
One of the most highly-acclaimed
restaurants in New York, if not the country, is North Fork Table and Inn, which
serves sophisticated, progressive American cuisine with seasonal local and
organic produce. The restaurant offers a great three-course, prix fixe menu at
US$75, with a strong emphasis foods sourced from agricultural and fishing
communities from the East End, such as Peconic Bay fluke and organic Scottish
salmon.
Dinner began with a little
taster of Serrano ham and goat’s cheese atop a lightly-toasted crostini that
was crispy, fragrant, salty and umami all at once.
Both S and I opted for the
Thai-inspired lobster and carrot soup with local baby carrots, lobster dumpling
and cilantro. “Thai-inspired” evidently meant “Tom Yam”, as the carrot soup was
quite spicy. Slightly thick, the soup was delectably sweet, with a generous
helping of lobster, enveloped in a thin, delicate dumpling skin. Although I’m
not normally a fan of spicy soups, after the initial dance of fire across the
palate, the tingle gives way to a soothing heat that warms the throat and makes
it difficult to put your spoon down.
My order of roasted Berkshire
pork loin with thyme-scented cabbage, caraway spaetzle and mustard jus was
unfortunately somewhat disappointing. The pork, although cooked pink, was a
little dry and tough, while the large hunk of roast pork belly which should
have been crispy and crackling was instead limp and slightly sodden.
S’s Montauk sea scallops a la
plancha, on the other hand, served with Nicoise olives, lemon thyme braised
lobster mushrooms, saffron aioli and roasted tomato juice, on the other hand,
was not merely a joy to look at, but was also an explosion of flavours. The
scallops were seared perfectly, and paired with tastes and textures designed to
complement and accentuate, rather than compete and overpower.
Dinner ended on a delightfully
sweet note with a chocolate caramel tart, milk chocolate mousse and caramel ice
cream, as well as a sorbet sampler featuring coconut, passion fruit, raspberry
and pear sorbets. With the dessert kitchen being helmed by the former pastry
chef of Gramercy Tavern and winner of the James Beard Award for Pastry Chef of
the Year in 2000, you can be sure that every dessert on the menu will be
something to remember.
North Fork Table and
Inn
57225 Main Road
Southold, NY 11971
Tel: +1 (631) 765 0177
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