pretty EATS: The Kitchen at Grove Station

RER 8.22.15

“Two?”

“Two,” she says, certain, looking behind her at his weary eyes.

A blur of blue and white winding ahead of them leads them to a table.  They want to take it all in, but they arrive at their table in an instant, covering much of the restaurant’s floor. It’s grey, white and wood, a rustic kind of glam imbues the details— grey plush tall booths hugging granite tabletops, long wooden harvest tables, typical white subway tile, heavy curtains draped with deep folds, a wall unit warm with trinkets, and glittery candelabras emanating a brighter light than expected. It’s eclectic and synchronized, homey and yet, trendy.

The menu is a quick read with four wide columns, the words tickling their taste-buds and strumming their appetite. She wants everything; he is indifferent, rubbing the unexpected workday from his eyes. She orders with her usual authority. Slight hesitation. She orders more. She’s taking him out, and she wants everything.

The sky darkens outside and the light becomes warmer, edges soften, even his lips give way to a smile. What was once cold and sharp is now subdued as night sets in. A rosy moment passes too quickly and interiors reflect in the windows against the blackening backdrop. Like in the sky, sweeps of color whisper across the plates at The Kitchen at Grove Station.

RER 8.22.15

Towering and jade, the watercress salad burns, bitter, relief only in salty-sweet bacon wrapped peach slices and thick ribbons of raw zucchini. It’s crisp and raw, incongruent and hard to eat, foliage directly to the mouth. Watercress overwhelms, staining the juicy peach and pungent cheese.

RER 8.22.15

Arranged like flowers opening in sunlight, the fluke crudo is mild, studded with lively pomegranate seeds and floral mandarin oranges. The dish embellished with curls of celery is light, like eating air from the sea. Slick textures create stark contrast with the crunch of the gemlike seeds, providing bravado to muted flavors.

RER 8.22.15

He pours the temperate soup in the shallow bowl lined with thinly sliced shrimp curled up on a thick stripe of parmesan frico. The salt of the cheese clashes with the sweetness of the fresh kernels of the summer corn and briny shrimp. However, it brings out the salty sourness of the thick dirty golden soup. Complexity and layers are misaligned and misguided but visually stunning.

 

RER 8.22.15

An elaborate crescent rests on a perfect round, a conglomeration of textures and colors dimmed by a thick dark sauce spiked with red pepper flakes. The delicate pasta gushes with soft potato filling contrasting with the crisp sparkle of summer corn and spicy radish and green-tasting cilantro. Salty bacon moments create a familiarity feeling mixing with the soft starch.

RER 8.22.15

Slippery, doughy dumplings filled to brimming with raucous seafood blends with the succulent and sensuous coconut broth. It coats their tongues, heavy, rich and sweet, overbearing, but laced with the bitterness of a few watercress stems. Popping orange-red tobiko and translucent radishes float at the broth’s surface.

RER 8.22.15

Their eyes lower, content but wanting more, and there is. A beautiful slab of duck is perched on dark oaty quinoa and earthy charred spinach. Its skin and fat gleam in the light, begging to be both devoured and savored. The pink of the meat mimics the dark tone of the refreshingly sweet and tart beet and apple puree. Each element comes together seamlessly, giving part of itself to fill the needs of its counterparts, a balance of decadence.

RER 8.22.15

It’s almost over, they think. The savory has been deconstructed, reconstructed and devoured; the smiles have deepened and the laughs have resonated; and things have quieted. But there is always dessert to reignite the flame of satiation.

RER 8.22.15

And it is beautiful, like summer delicately transplanted into a shallow bowl. Dessert is a collection of warm weather memories blended with past and present through the expression of fresh fruit hardly touched but amplified. Buttery sweet crumble and melting ice cream sink into the fruit of the re-imagined cobbler, evoking home and happiness.

They leave holding hands, not sure what happened, if dinner even happened, but smiling with a certain secret satisfaction.  She took him out, and she wants everything.

RER

8.22.15

the world is your OYSTER: Stingray Lounge

RER 7.1.15

Oysters are supposed to be sexy, at least that’s what people say. They’re an aphrodisiac (if that’s a thing) and a delicacy. I want to believe it. I want to believe that those slimy wet globs are as seductive, visceral, delicious, and intriguing as people say they are.

RER 7.1.15

RER 7.1.15

RER 7.1.15

Stingray Lounge made me believe. The new-in-town seafood bar and eatery does in fact make oysters sexy. There is something poetic in the mechanical dirty work of shucking an oyster. There is something thrilling about not knowing what to expect when the shallow dish of ice displaying a ring of mysterious morsels slides in front of you. There is something luxurious about the smooth and creamy nature of the Blue Point, the sheer softness of the Stingray, or the melt-in- your mouth quality of the Pearl Passage. There is something surprising in the strong flavor of the Kumamoto, the meaty firmness of the Conway Cup, or the metallic saltiness of the Hood Canal. There is something unnerving about their slinky texture and origins, and yet there is something intoxicating about an oyster’s pure freshness, overwhelming rawness and pristine character.

RER 7.1.15

RER 7.1.15

It is not just about the oysters themselves at Stingray Lounge— it’s about the ambiance you are thrown into crossing the threshold as well. No matter how bright and bustling it is on Washington Street, there is a captivating silence and refreshing refinement that oozes mature sexiness encapsulated in the lounge. The details help to make the experience sensual: the cool greys and blues, painted brick, speckled marble slabs, finely appointed furniture. You forget where you are and submit. 

RER 7.1.15

Despite the trendy vibe, Stingray still maintains a warmth and friendliness where extravagance and attitude have not overwhelmed familiarity. Plus, the 4 to 7 pm happy hour offering half-off oysters and bubbly makes it easy to come, sample and linger.

RER

7.1.15

RER 7.1.15

everything has its reason: the FINCH

RER 4.9.15

Stepping into The Finch is kind of like walking into your own kitchen, only it’s cooler. The lines are cleaner, the painted white brick is brighter—it’s just better.

And then passing the very open bar and the even more open kitchen, you step through a doorway, and you are transported to somewhere else. Wherever it is, it’s just as cool, just not as clean. This dining room has a formula, just as the front space does, it’s just not the same equation. Its exposed brick brings Brooklyn in and the classic furniture ties it to the front.

You sit down, and you want to explore. Your eyes wander, catching the mortar between the bricks, the different textures on display, the changing light coming in, and the many shades of green of plants. It’s intimate back here too, but it feels airy and open, almost outdoors.

The different spaces echo the streamlined menu and beautiful dishes; it’s apparent each is created, tested and perfected, but here too, there’s a formula. Everything’s there for a reason, even if you don’t want to believe it—like that unfinished back wall. Ingredients seem a little haphazard and unconnected at first, but you want to try everything, you want to see how it all works out.

And somehow, it does.

RER 4.9.15

Your appetizer is split gracefully into two large shallow dishes, one for each of you. Its arrangement is artful, crafted like sculpture, elements hidden and exposed. The sweet beets are roasted and red, soft and perfect, while the toasted traviso is bitter and smoky, cooled by creamy salted burrata. A savory brittle made with pine nuts crunches and plays to the sweet strengths of the beets and the mature savory moments of the traviso, while all unites with the mild and sensuous cheese. 

RER 4.9.15

Pork two ways makes for a whimsical dish, imaginative and sensible, hearty and delicate. A crunchy pork croquette, perfect and stringy, rests on a bed of soft cabbage and sunchokes studded with large pearls of mustard seeds. Every element melds to combat the delicious fattiness of the fried item, while a smooth apple puree marries pink centered slices of pork. There is no redundancy and yet a brilliant continuity is achieved.

RER 4.9.15

Your scallop entrée is a sexy surf and turf, bringing together sea and land seamlessly. The dish is a texture playground, where multiple feelings are playing tug of war. Stalemate. The soft, succulent scallops counter the rubbery, meaty snails that, too, have its own tenderness. There is heat and wonder written in slinky slender mushrooms and kernels of chewy Einkorn. Green things and grains bring in earthy tones and brilliant color, but you can swim in the richness and the decadence without getting lost…

Each bite and memory is meticulously constructed, precise and crafted, but also delectable and indulgent. You almost forget where you are and that your kitchen is nowhere as cool.

RER

4.9.15

RER 4.9.15

a UNION of flavors: Union Bar & Kitchen Opens in West SoHo

RER 5.20.14

Smoky sounds emanated from the accordion glass doors, opened wide to the SoHo street, letting the first breezes of summer into Union Bar & Kitchen. The low sunlight of the early evening reflected on the mirror just above the bar and antique mirrors wrapping the walls, played on the white subway tile and danced on the high ceilings.

Another glance up led to the elaborate paintings, transporting diners to another era depicting old time streets, jazzy feasts, and live music complete with a chanteuse. Artist, Clifford Bailey, brings forward the roaring twenties and a kind of liberation that hums to the tune of Owner, Executive Chef, and General Manager, Jonathan Renert’s vision— a union of flavors in a comfortable setting, a restaurant bar to get lost in time in and enjoy the present tense.

Newly open, UBK presents a lively mix of New American cuisine with global influences including Mexican, Asian and French twists. Dinner offers classics—  daily selection of oysters, clam chowder and moules mariniere to west coast cioppino rubbed rotisserie chicken. Lunch brings taquitos, fish tacos, and pulled chicken sandwiches. The bar menu puts a spin on the bar food cliché with smoked trout devilled eggs and Three Little Pig pork belly sliders. A clean drinks menu proposes diverse cocktails, a variety of draft and bottled beers, and a wide range of wines.

RER 5.20.14

Smooth and creamy bright green guacamole with a radiant note of lemon came paired with crunchy triangle chips. Each fresh and full, while the jalapeño cornbread spoke volumes of comfort and warmth at home.

RER 5.20.14

RER 5.20.14

Delicate strands of spicy red pepper threaded through the Hamachi Tartare, while cubed yellow tail played with the tiny beads of sesame and poppy seeds. Even the briny capers sang, bringing studs of salt and firmness. A crispy crust led to the succulent oyster at the heart of the fried oysters, drizzled with the heat of chili  tonkatsu sauce and cooled with tangy tarter sauce underneath— a blending of feelings.

RER 5.20.14

RER 5.20.14

Perfectly cooked hanger steak marinated for 24 hours produced a gamey essence and rhythm, but stumped. While the creamed spinach was cozy, dotted with soft carrots and celery. Hot French fries boasted herbal melodies of rosemary and earthy chords of potatoes and spice. A chili avocado slaw decorated the crunchy tilapia nestled deep in warmed flour tortillas, pulling together a harmonious taste of somewhere else in the popular fish tacos. Clear and straightforward dishes were elevated with quality, depth and details.

RER 5.20.14

JAR 5.20.14

Cubes of chocolate brownie dusted with powdered sugar spoke secrets of raspberry compote and ancho chili adding crunch and heat to the sweet ending, which made the chocolate deeper and more sophisticated. Peanut butter also got an elevated treatment, warm and salty mixed with the crunch of fried tortilla in this dessert take on chimichangas, pretty with a boule of vanilla ice cream.

UBK’s curated menu contains memories of the familiar while twists introduce international accents. The assemblage offers moments of here and there that illustrates the background of Renert, emphasized in the timeless décor, vibing art and unpretentious ambiance.

RER

5.20.14

RER 5.20.14

Union Bar & Kitchen

300 Spring Street
New York City, NY 10013

Tel: (646) 791-0005