New York City Part I

I recently went to NYC.  I needed a quick fix of great food, of vibrancy and the pulse of a big city to make me feel ALIVE!!  We (Leslie and Kim)  landed at LaGuardia at 5:20pm and by 8:00pm were sitting at Marea,  a hot Italian restaurant, from Chef Michael White.  It was cold, 30 degrees, but the excitement of getting dressed up, jumping into a cab and heading to a New York hot spot, made me all warm and fuzzy inside!  Marea  was upscale, classy and yet had a hint of unpretention.  I love the BUZZ that starts to build when the waiter hands me the menu and how I can’t wait to read every little detail!  Marea is known for seafood and the menu did not disappoint.  There were so many selections, it was hard to pick.  Leslie and I go through the menu thoroughly, talk about the things we think look amazing and then base our decisions knowing that with each course we will switch plates halfway through.  It gives the opportunity to taste 8 different dishes. 

 Here is a sampling of the plates we choose.  Big Eye Tuna with oyster crema and sunchokes, Kumamoto and Dennis Oysters on the half shell, Hawaiian Blue Prawns with foie gras, apple cider and pistachios, homemade fusilli with red wine braised octopus and bone marrow, wild mushroom risotto, swordfish with cranberry beans and roasted sea scallops with braised red cabbage, oxtail croquette(how could that be bad?) and pickled mustard.  Some courses were better than others.  The oysters were wonderful with this delicious mignonette.  I thought the braised octopus was done well and Leslie quite enjoyed the risotto and the swordfish.  That oxtail croquette was like a love nugget and I did not want to share my other half! 

The service started out impeccable and kind of deteriorated as the night went on.  A couple people were monopolizing the waiter and the restaurant did not seem to have any awareness of this, so tables were just left waiting.  We waited 30+ minutes for our dessert menu after the plates from the last course had been removed.  It was too bad, because it made the rest of the evening not as well received.  When service isn’t meeting expectations in a top tier restaurant, it clouds your food judgement.  As I write this, I have seen several tweets this week from top chefs dining at Marea and raving about it.  Maybe it was just an off night.  That being said, I did love the anticipation of the dishes coming and the first bites to hit my palate. 

The table next to us was eating there for the 5^th time, trying new dishes for the gentleman’s upcoming birthday party.  They raved about everything. Actually over the course of the 3 days we were in the city, we came across 2 other people that also raved about Marea.  I probably would not go back based on the fact there are too many great restaurants to try, so why make a repeat visit unless it is spectactular.  I walked out that night not unhappy, but not elated.  I already started looking forward to Friday night at Collichio & Son’s.  Look for NYC Part II coming soon………