[Pigging by Wilfrid: January 25, 2010]
I smiled about the "(g)ood value, pleasant service, carefully attentive cooking" at George Mendes' Flatiron modern Portuguese last summer.
Some further attention is not unwarranted. Firstly, the exceptional value of the menu endures. In the blackest days of 2009, it seemed extraordinary that anyone would open an ambitious restaurant at all. Mendes not only did so, but filled the seats by offering satisfying entrées priced in the mid-twenties, and imaginative small appetizers in single digits. Today you can still fill up on his signature arroz de pato for $24 after snacking on sea urchin toast or crisp pork belly, $9 each.
Another merit of the restaurant was Mendes presence in the kitchen - his lively attention to each plate which crossed the pass. It was about as close as you can come in Manhattan today to having the chef himself or herself cook for you. Although a competent sous-chef was in evidence on my last visit, calling out orders, Mendes himself remained present, consulting and fine-tuning and controlling quality. Altogether, this was a worthwhile return.
It's not the season, of course, for the intriguing pig's ears with ramps dish which appeared on the opening menu. Instead, I started with a hearty, classic, pork and duck terrine, a sharply dressed tangle of leaves on the side. The Muscat gelée I found little more than decorative, but the terrine was impeccable.
Even better, and powerfully redolent of Iberia, were the shrimp Alhinho. This reminded me of the kind of tapa served in an excellent tapas restaurant specializing in shrimp and only shrimp - there are such places. If shrimp is your business, the shrimp had better be good. These were superlative - garlic, coriander and smoked pimento (the ubiquitous flavor of chorizo) joining in. Indeed the garnish of shredded, smoked pimento looked at first like stray shrimp legs. The menu also mentions "pressed jus," which I take to be the product of pressing the heads and shells of the critters - at least, that's the concentrated impression it gave. A superior dish.
The Aldea menu has evolved over the months since my last visit, and I had particularly hoped to try a goat dish about which I'd heard good things. Not to be: instead I ordered the lamb (described as from Anderson's Farm - although more than one Anderson's Farm sells lamb out there). This dish was not as good as the appetizers which preceded it. The lamb belly, surprisingly, was overcooked and dry. The two large pieces of loin were presented medium rare (along with two tasty slices of kidney). I am not sure about the choice of cooking method. The meat was very lean. Nothing had been done to caramelize the surface. With no crispness, no fat, one was left pretty much with springy cylinders of flesh, and mildly flavored flesh at that. And I am not sure how the grilled pear was supposed to enhance the meat. A disappointment.
The highlight of the dish, in fact, was a terrific fricassée of celeriac, enoki mushrooms, and other fine odds and ends in a light but complex broth: I am sure I tasted ginger in there.
Cheeses: Spanish, American and Portuguese, and very good; served with membrillo. With a sip of Manzanilla to start, then glasses of Albariño and a fruity Argentinian red, the Bonarda "Vista Flores," the check for this ample, four course meal barely crept into three figures.
A charming restaurant, which should be high on the "Best of" lists for 2010 too.
