Aldea: Still Doing It

[Pigging by Wilfrid:  March 1, 2011]

The most acclaimed opening of 2009, I suppose, this sleek, modern American-Portuguese dining room and counter on a dull block in the 20s.  The two secrets to its success, fair pricing and meticulous attention to detail from a talented chef.

George Mendes is still in the front line, bending over the grill, squeezing the scallops, inspecting every plate before it leaves the kitchen.  This is about as close to a warranty of consistency you are likely to find.  And the check for food of this quality remains moderate.

The main occasion for a re-visit was to inspect a recommended deer dish, but I was excited to find a tripe appetizer too.  Seated at the counter, under lighting for once favorable to photography, I ordered a sherry and kicked off with a choice from the top of the menu.

Before you even reach the appetizers, Aldea offers you petiscos - "small bites" - or charcuterie.  Yes, you can indulge in foie gras with maple syrup or acorn-fed pork loin, priced as you might expect, but you also have the opportunity to begin your meal with some outstanding single-figure pre-appetizers.  The egg (okay, "farm egg") with salt cod, black olive and potato is a tempting deconstruction of the traditional Portuguese approach to bacalhau.  The sea urchin toast I've eaten before.  I headed for the pork and duck terrine, allegedly rustic but really quite refined and accented with muscat jelly.  Eight bucks and it was very pretty.

I hesitate to order tripe in restaurants.  I truly fancy myself as a tripe chef, and rarely do restaurants make it as tender and tasty as I like it.  Regular readers might recall that I have a crush on the tripe soup at the Ukrainian restaurant, but there are plenty of leaden, Italian-ish, tripe and tomato stews around town best avoided.  I knew I could trust Mendes.  This is a guy who makes  pig's ears palatable.

A top-line dish, tripe correctly cooked, small pieces of chorizo acting almost as a seasoning.  A hint of tomato, not a thick tomato sauce, and - nice touch - a neatly fried quail's egg on top.  Breaking the egg, as you would expect, adds to the delightful stickiness of the whole affair.  I'd eat this as an entrée.

But there was an entrée to come, venison, curiously presented.  Bambi has his hat on.  That's a delicate, sweet crisp on top of the meat - I think with a slight syrup flavor?  The kitchen recommended the deer rare and I concurred.

Bloody it was.  In fact, I think medium-rare might have brought out the flavor a little better.  The slightly crusted surfaces of the meat were more savory than the near-raw center (insert brief essay on the Maillard reaction).  But this is being picky.  The quality of the meat was obvious and the technique left it tender.  It was only moderately gamy, according to local taste, but it was flavorful enough and balanced by a sweet, smooth carrot purée.

 

Cheese to finish, and I didn't take a note, but I do like a piece of membrillo.  That's four precisely executed, wholly engaging dishes, served with polish, at a food cost under $70.  Now you can push your check up, of course, with a stroll through the wine list.  I liked the Roger Perrin Chatneauneuf- du-Pape with the vension.  The venison, by the way, was the most expensive entrée. 

So here we have a continuing bargain, but also something of a puzzle.  A tasting menu is offered at $85 for five courses.  I didn't do a side by side comparison with the carte as I sat there - certainly the tasting had some dishes in common with carte; notably the signature duck with rice.  Given that the latter is priced at $25, it is hard to see how the tasting can possibly be better value than simply ordering five courses from the carte itself.  Maybe there was some extra foie in there I didn't notice.

Go.  Sit at the counter if you are two or fewer.  Don't miss the sherry, the best value wine in New York right now, and order yourself a proper dinner.

The website.