[Pigging by Wilfrid: January 27, 2016]
I know I'm late to this party, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. After enjoying chef George Mendes' work at Tocqueville, I enjoyed his first starring role so much that I reviewed Aldea repeatedly (in 2009, '10 and '11).
Why so tardy then in visiting his first follow-up, Lupulo, which opened on the ground floor of the Eventi Hotel last year? A couple of reasons.
The first is personal. Due to various work assignments and connections, I've over-dosed not only on the neighborhood but on the Eventi. I ate at Bar Basque when it was upstairs, I repeatedly met people in the internal food court they ran, before food courts were all the rage. I've watched world cup soccer on the screen outside, old movies in an interior viewing room, and the last two work functions I've attended were in The Vine (the downstairs bar/restaurant) and L'Amico, Laurent Tourondel's new Italian dining room. When I think of going out, the Eventi is not high on my list.
The other reason is more pertinent. Both from word of mouth and reviews like this one, I formed the true belief that Lupulo was packed most nights, and the impression--arguably false--that it was "a restaurant that’s very good for the drinks and bites thing. As a matter of fact, it seems designed for exactly and only that purpose" (The Infatuation).
Now I have nothing against small plates and drinks, in the right neighborhood and when I can expect to get a seat. Lupulo did not take reservations: it's doing so now, perhaps because the crowds have somewhat subsided. I took no chances and slid onto a bar stool one Sunday evening. And this place does have a lot of bar yardage to fill. It certainly wasn't empty, but there were seats all the time I was there.
It's certainly a place where you can make craft beers the focus of your evening, and appetizers and small plates outnumber main courses more than two to one. But it's easy to construct a meal here. Proceedings kick off with a welcome bread basket--plenty of bread, a variety, and at no cost (increasingly rare in this city, where you either get a free piece of baguette on the end of some tongs, or some housemade rusticity for five or six bucks.
There are separate lists of appetizers and small plates, and the distinction isn't clear; both sections vary dramatically in price and include, randomly, hot and cold dishes, meat and fish, and things easy and hard (soup) to share. The effect of the menu's layout, of course, is to encourage ordering from each section. (You should also look out for raw bar specials, like the famous, individually priced, large red shrimp known as a carabinero.)
From the appetizers, then, the bolinhos de bacalhau, one of my favorite snacks (I've eaten them all over Spain under a barely different name). Not really "croquettes," as the menu renders them, more cod balls. Salt cod in a crispy coat, speckled with parsley. A very slightly spicy piri piri mayo for dipping. I'd expect any Mendes kitchen to ace this.
Next up, another very Mendes-like dish, and the kind of thing he was able to sneak onto a fine dining menu at Aldea (along with pig's ears and duck over rice). This was a special from the blackboard. Tripe and blood sausage topped with a hen's egg.
A mix of lentils and beans in there too, as well as--very smart touches--pickled turnips and splinters of olive. Break the egg over the meats and you'll be very happy, especially if you like tripe and blood sausage as much as me. The turnips and olives, of course, add balancing acid. And there's some more bread, just in case.
I guess it was the least Mendes-like dish (from my perspective, anyway) which was the least successful. Borrega com feijão it's called in Portuguese. In France it would be the classic gigot aux flageolets, a dish I adore (and make myself). This had more farro than beans, as well as some grilled fennel (a garnish I'm tired of), but this would all be fine if the meat had been more thoughfully prepared.
I say that because I suspect the main problem here is one of conception rather than execution. Underdone lamb (and beef) is fashionable, of course, and rack of lamb--or any kind of lamb chop--lends itself to pinkness. Less so leg of lamb (and lamb shank not at all). If you undercook the lamb, as here, you leave it appealingly rosy in the middle, but the fat and tendons and gristle don't break down. The result: bits of raw lamb fat, and stringy connections between mouthfuls of meat. (Of course, it might be execution, and my lamb might just have been rushed.)
Either way, it's a pity the main event let the meal down. What I will emphasize is that Lupulo has a good reputation for seafood, and on a chilly evening I didn't really explore what it might well do best. Cost? Like most small plates venues, it can add up, especially if you start buying shellfish by the piece; and it's hard to generalize, because of the wide variation, from $7 for some olives to $45 for a steak. My food cost for these three dishes was almost $60. That's without drinks, tax and tip. Here's the website.
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