MARIANI’S

  January 2, 2005                                                        NEWSLETTER

                                                         Juliette Binoche in "Chocolat" (2000)

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EDITOR'S NOTE:  Readers may now access an Archive of all past newsletters--each annotated--dating back to July, 2003, by simply clicking on www.johnmariani.com/archive .

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A Fundraiser for Sri Lanka tsunami relief will be held Jan. 8 from 4PM-6PM at Wolffer Estate winery in Sagaponack, NY  Special wines will be served.   A container of clothes, linens,  blankets, and school supplies will be collected for shipping. Call 631-537-5106, ext. 19. . . . On Jan. 11 Patricia Yeo, executive chef at NYC's Sapa, and a native of Malaysia, joined by Floyd Cardoz, Tabla; Ian Chalermkittichai, Kittichai; Anita Lo of Annisa; Pino Maffeo of Boston’s Restaurant L; and Jehangir Mehta of Ai   will collaborate on a 5-course dinner at NYC's Sapa restaurant to benefit Doctors without Borders’ emergency relief programs in over 70 countries.  $125 pp. Call  212-929-1800. 

Contents

Berlin, Part Two by John Mariani

THE BEST AND WORST OF 2004 by John Mariani

New York Corner: Dévi and Khyber Grill by John Mariani

QUICK BYTES

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BERLIN, Part Two by John Mariani

Eating out is a major entertainment for 21st Century Berliners, and every café and pub on every street is flocked with well-dressed young people who, like young people everywhere these days, seem to have the money to spend on late-night adventures, especially in the hip new bars in the Eastern Sector and along Rosenthal Strasse.
     Americans trying to get a simple coffee or beer in Berlin can spend those expensive euros quickly, but I've found that you can dine very well indeed without needing to soak your bank account to do it.  Berliners, too, are on a bit of a budget these days, for Germany's economy and German mores do not favor showiness or lavish spending.  Thus, you'll find foreigners at the most celebrated star restaurants like Vau, Margaux, Lorenz Adlon, Facil and Die Quadriga (these last three in hotels), but you won't really find the kind of German cooking you may well have come for.  Good as these restaurants are, French food and French culinary style rule at those high-priced restaurants, while the more moderately priced restaurants offer a greater range of German-based menus.

     One of the most charming and dedicated of the new restaurants in Berlin is Svevo (25 Lausitzer Strasse; 30- 6107-3216) in the hip and burgeoning Kreuzberg neighborhood.  Here, in a small dining room with a tiny bar up front, Chef-owner Sven Reschka marries German and Mediterranean flavors on his menu, which is carefully crafted for maximum taste within the confines of his small kitchen.  The dining room (right) has wooden floors, luminous wall sconces, faux-marbling, and a center table crammed with eaux de vie.  Wineglasses are of good quality, and the winelist itself is a testament to the owners' commitment to modern German viniculture. 
     Give yourself over to Reschka's largess and out of the kitchen he will  send little balls of fried blood sausage, or a sip of pepper soup, or scallops on a purée of peas.  These are the amuses, followed by excellent Hungarian foie gras with apricots and apricot sorbet (not too sweet, not too tart). Next we enjoyed a snow-white piece of cod with mussels and squid in a light briny broth, then veal with a potato-chive ravioli, spinach and veal cheeks, in a flavorful clear reduction. 
    The first dessert was light, lovely, bracing elderberry soup with a charming buttermilk ice cream, then a vanilla semi-freddo with praline crisp and raspberries, ending off with a delight--a lemony soufflé made with tangy German quark cheese.
     I sense that Reschka, who has already received good local notices, will soar soon into the European and international spotlight.           
    Three courses at Svevo run €33 ($44), four courses  €38 ($50), five courses €45 ($60), which would be an extremely good buy on either European or American shores. 

    Borchardt (47 Franzosische Strasse; 30-20-38-7110) has been chic for 150 years (it opened in 1853), and this handsome, convivial spot still draws a crowd  young and old that enjoys good food and wine in an atmosphere borrowed from many periods, with Corinthian marble columns (left) and 1920s accents, while  the marvelous art nouveau mosaic is a recent discovery hidden behind wartime paint.  Last time I dined there the gorgeous skating champion Katerina Witt was enjoying lunch, which made mine all the more enjoyable. 
    You might begin with a simple plate of boiled shrimp with mayonnaise on the side, or go for a classic Schnitzel with potato salad. Chef  Philippe Lemoine's lamb and beef dishes are very good here too, and there are daily specials, including a €50 ($66) three-course dinner that is quite reasonable in Berlin these days.   There is a sunny courtyard outside where in good weather you can have a quieter time than in the main dining room, though the latter can be more more fun for people watching.

     Lutter und Wegner (55 Schluter Strasse; 30-229-3144: www.lutter-und-wegner.de ) is even older that Borchardt; it  opened in 1827, and has, except during those nasty interruptive periods called World Wars, been drawing celebrities. Its  heyday was in the Roaring Twenties and Thirties, when Berlin was the city of high decadence.  Blown to smithereens in the World War II bombings, L&W was restored on its original site (right) in 1997 and looks pretty much the way it did before, or so I'm told. It has the classic style of a period 1930s bar, with high, wooden ceilings and racy painted pillars.  The place is now  bit more sedate than when Marlene Dietrich and Josephine Baker tore the roof off the place in the old days,  although I'm told Madonna and Whitney Houston have been guests in this century. 
     The tables are big, commodious, spread with crisp linens, and the waitstaff is pleasant enough. There is some hearty German fare here, although there are lighter bistro components to the menu too.  Soups make an excellent starter, trout is impeccably cooked, and the sauerbraten is justly famous.  In fall and winter this is the place to go for duck and goose.  It is a treat just to sit at the bar here and have a beer and cheese platter--but be aware that L&W has a very interesting winelist featuring rare labels from the Nahe region.  And if you hang around long enough, you'll see most of Berlin show up. 
     A three-course dinner will run about $60.

      No one must ever leave Berlin without a night at Henne (25 Leuchnerdamm; 30-614-7730), which has been around since the 1930s and operated by the same family, now under the guidance of Angela Leistner.  Do not go expecting a Bavarian beer hall atmosphere; actually it looks more like a college bar in Boston.  The place is decidedly and proudly downscale, with low lighting, tables covered with plaid cloths that are not changed as often as they are simply turned over, a collection of difficult-to-see black-and-white photos (supposedly President John "Ich bin ein Berliner" Kennedy dropped by in 1963), and a faintly art deco bar.  There is no non-smoking section, but you can linger outside until your table is ready. Henne takes  no reservations.
      The menu is a slight affair of six wursts (and they're pretty good), cole slaw and potato salad (which are O.K.), but the only reason people come here is for a half-roasted/half-fried chicken that is absolute perfection, from its intensely crispy skin to its succulent flesh beneath.  (A friend of mine peeked into the kitchen once to find an outraged cook taking the birds from a rotisserie, then finishing them in a fryer.) Once the chicken cools down, you tear it apart with your hands, cooling down your palate with steins of cold Schultheiss beer and a forkful of cole slaw.  You cannot stop yourself from demolishing the whole bird (well, you get a half), getting juice all over your face and loving it.  I have brought some very sophisticated feinschmeckers to Henne over the years and none has exited with anything but an enormous smile, confident that they have eaten  the best chicken on earth.
     And for this revelation, you will pay six euros, which comes out to a gentle $8.15 (cole slaw and beer not included). There's hope for the American dollar yet.

   All in all, it's been a very good, or at least very interesting, year in gastronomy.  Here are some of the highs and lows.-- John Mariani

BEST NEW RESTAURANT:  Patina, Los Angeles










BEST NEW RESTAURANT OUTSIDE THE USA: Agua at the One & Only Palmilla, Los Cabos, Mexico

BEST NEW RESTAURANT DESIGN:  Megu, NYC

BEST NEW FRENCH RESTAURANT: Gaia, Greenwich, CT

BEST NEW STEAKHOUSE: BLT Steak, NYC

BEST NEW STEAKHOUSE OUTSIDE THE USA: La Cabaña, Buenos Aires

BEST NEW BBQ: ZydeQue, New Orleans

BEST NEW ITALIAN: La Masseria, NYC

BEST NEW WINELIST: Cru, NYC

BEST NEW GREEK RESTAURANT: Õnera, NYC

BEST NEW NUEVO LATINO: Chispa, Coral Gables, FL

 BEST NEW INDIAN: Dévi, NYC (see review below)

BEST NEW VEGETARIAN RESTAURANT: Green Zebra, Chicago

BEST NEW HOTEL OUTSIDE THE USA: Ritz-Carlton, Berlin













MOST EXPENSIVE RESTAURANT: Masa, NYC, $350 per person before beverage, tax, and service.

BEST BARGAIN: Union, Seattle: 8-course tasting menu, $48

WORST TREND IN DESIGN STATEMENTS: Lounging beds in restaurants, as  at B.E.D. on Miami Beach.

WORST NEW SODA FLAVORS
Mashed potatoes, fruitcake, and green bean casserole, sold by Jones Soda Co. of Seattle. Last year their turkey-and-gravy soda was a big seller that sold out in three hours.









DUMBEST IDEA OF THE YEAR
Liquid nitrogen to make ice cream at the table

WORST NEW NAME FOR A DISH: “Shrimp colloid balls stuffed with cheese.”—Mission 261, San Gabriel, CA

WORST NEW FOOD SONG: Rap duo Dead Prez’s  song "Be Healthy" includes the lyrics: `I don't eat meat, no dairy, no sweets--only ripe vegetables, fresh fruit and whole wheat.'"

WORST DISH OF THE YEAR: Salo, comprised of pieces of pork fat, black bread, raw garlic and vodka, with a chocolate coating, created at Tsarske Selo in Kiev.

WEIRDEST DISH OF THE YEAR: Smoked watermelon soup and mango with olive oil emulsion—Moto, Chicago

WORST NEW ICE CREAM FLAVOR: Horse, served by the Japan Ice Cream Association at the summer trade fair in Tokyo.

    Dévi, named after the Hindu mother goddess,  is certainly one of the loveliest new Indian restaurants in NYC, a long 75-seat room full of lanterns, carved wood, a white marble staircase, and sheer, waving vermilion and gold fabrics that frame two secluded dining areas to the rear. Fashion designer Namrata Joshipura did the brightly colored kurta  and angarakhar tunics. (One faux-pas is in having an open door through which guests must peer at a not particularly attractive kitchen space).

      Rakesh Aggarwal has brought some powerhouse talent to the kitchen, including Jaipur-born Chef Suvir Saran, educated in the arts and co-author of Indian Home Cooking (2004), previously chef at Amma, and  Hemant Mathur, who has worked at Amma and the trend-setting Tamarind. 
     You won't find  dishes like Devi's Parsi halibut "Paatra Ni Machi" with a mint-coconut chutney and lemon rice at every other curry house.  Or idly umpa, delectable rice and bean cakes with curry leaves, mustards seeds, tomato and mint chutney. 
    Dévi does not try to be overly exotic, however, so there is very succulent tandoori chicken scented with basil and served with tomato chutney and lemon rice, and crispy beef kababs with a fig chutney.  Although they don't look very appetizing (they come out gray-beige) the tandoori lamb chops are delicious, with pear chutney and curry leaf potatoes.  The aromatics throughout enhance and never flame out the essential flavors of the main ingredients, which is a big plus. If you want something very hot, you're just going to have to ask for it.
  There is an entire vegetarian menu here with something for everyone to love, like zimikand ke kofte, yam dumplings with an aromatic tomato gravy, and  stuffed baby eggplant with a spicy peanut-curry leaf sauce (bagharey baingan), and samosa stuffed with spicy peas and cauliflower with ginger.  Indeed, there's a vegetarian tasting menu available at $55 for 7 courses (with wines $95).
    Dévi may well have the best Indian desserts in NYC, with the help of  consulting chef James Distefano, including a tasting of creams: tea-scented panna cotta with masala shortbread; shrikhand, made from mascarpone, crème fraîche, and yogurt with candied grapefruit and citrus salad; and banana flan.  They also do falooda (below), a dish of noodles, honey-soaked basil seeds, coconut tuile, and mango sorbets with coconut lemongrass milk. Mango cheesecake comes with a rosewater almond cookie, rose sauce and candied mango peel and fresh mango slaw, mango crisp.           
      The one disappointment at Dévi is a service staff I found largely inept,  trying to be overly helpful in explaining complex dishes already adequately explained on the menu, which they then explain all over again when the food is served. The bar also needs work, despite the presence of "mixologist" Julia Martin, who came up with some specialty drinks with names like "Palindrome" but who neglected to tell the bar staff how to make a simple, straight-up daiquiri.  There is a winelist  chosen by consultant Josh Wesson, though I will never be convinced that the hot and intense spices of Indian food do anything but obliterate any wine set before them.  Beer really is better; otherwise, an inexpensive, cold white wine of almost any provenance will do as well.   
    Dévi's appetizers run $6 - 12, entrees $14-$29, with a $55 tasting menu.
 

     Khyber Grill (230 East 58th Street;  212-339-0090; www.khybergrill.com), by any other name, might be just as good a restaurant, proven by the fact that this used to be called Bukhara Grill.  But the owner and the cooks are still the same, and Khyber Grill is as savory as ever, perhaps more than I recall it was when I last visited a few years back.
     It's a pretty room (right), set on a street with several other Indian restaurants, and it has a warmth and appeal based on the welcome at the door.  You can sit up near the bar and eat or take one of the tables and watch the cooks do their handiwork through a glass window to the rear (below).
     If you wish a good sampling of Khyber Grill's range, by all means attend the daily luncheon buffet, which offers 24 items for $13.95.  Otherwise, go for an inviting dinner here, settle yourself in for a night of sharing, and order just about anything on the menu and feel sure you're getting some of the best Indian food around.
    Starters include nicely rendered samosa pastries stuffed with vegetables then fried crisp. There is also the irresistible paneer tikka, cottage cheese cubes marinated in tandoori spices and slowly cooked in a clay oven.  Non-veggie appetizers range from ground lamb kababs coated with herbs and spices and served with chopped coriander.  Tandoori quail makes for a lovely presentation; don't hesitate to pick the hot bird up with your fingers to enjoy every juicy tidbit. Both the vegetarian items and other and kababs may be had as an assortment platter.
     Of course, the clay oven is the heart of the matter at KG, and they do wonders not only with the usual tandoori chicken dishes, many marinated in yogurt, but also with a whole fish, which is not easy to get right in the fierce heat of the oven.  Shrimp come out juicy, leg of lamb is marinated with rum, and there is a mixed grill available, at $28, that will feed at least two to three people.  But consider one of the goat specialties here, like achari done with a reduction of pickling spices.
      All entrees at KG come with basmati but there's simply no fighting the urge to order a bread basket ($12) of crispy onion kulcha, garlic naan, or cashew-stuffed naan with raisins and cherries.
      KG's desserts--kheer, rasmalai, gulab jamun, and so forth--are pretty much run-of-the-mill, and if you like Indian sweets, as I do, you'll like them quite a lot.
       There is a pretty fair winelist here, but  I stand by what I said above about wine and Indian food.  Things went all right with a Patz & Hall Chardonnay from California, whose well-rounded fruit and balanced acids  seemed an ideal match with aloo papdi chat, crispy crackers topped with chickpeas, tangy yogurt, sweet tamarind, and chopped coriander.  The flavors were mild and tropical, the wine adding its own lushness. But with the wonderful spicy dishes that followed that wine and a Rosenblum Cellars zinfandel that followed were wiped out by the food. 

WASN'T THAT WHAT HE'S BEEN EATING ALL HIS LIFE?

Dear Subscriber,
As readers of the Virtual Gourmet know, this newsletter is  does not accept advertising or payment for inclusion in any way.  I would, however, like to toot my own horn by giving notice that I will be hosting a very special and, I think unique, cruise event this summer.

MARIANI'S VIRTUAL GOURMET NEWSLETTER is published weekly.  Editor/Publisher: John Mariani. Contributing Writers: Robert Mariani,  Naomi  Kooker, Kirsten Skogerson,  Edward Brivio, Mort Hochstein, Lucy Gordan, Suzanne Wright. Contributing Photographers: Galina Stepanoff-Dargery,  Bobby Pirillo. Technical Advisor: Gerry McLoughlin.

 John Mariani is a columnist for Esquire, Wine Spectator, Diversion and the Harper Collection. He is author of The Encyclopedia of American Food & Drink (Lebhar-Friedman), The Dictionary of Italian Food and Drink (Broadway), and, with his wife Galina, the award-winning new Italian-American Cookbook (Harvard Common Press).   To  purchase from amazon.com, click on the image below.
 

copyright John Mariani 2004