Marea

 

Sometimes I get a crazy notion in my head for my birthday, and forget that execution isn’t always as easy as saying “I want to do that” – but that’s where I realize I have the most amazing friends ever.

What was this year’s idea?

To hit 6 Michelin stars in the month of October.

First up, lunch at Marea, which has 1 star this year, but 2 stars for 2011.  Let’s see if it lives up to that; I’d really enjoyed Convivio when I went earlier this year, and Marea boasts the same executive chef.

The brightly lit dining room was well-appointed and felt casual and comfortable.  Central Park South was just outside the windows, and it was a bit odd watching the shadows of thronging people as they passed (the shades were drawn – sheer ones to let light in but not nosy faces).  Our corner booth was appreciated though.

Different types of bread were offered – olive foccacia (right), multigrain and Italian bread – I had the olive foccacia.  Green olives speckled throughout leant a nice, bright and salty flavor to the oily bread.  No olive oil needed, soft, and yummy.  I didn’t try the other two.

My appetizer, astice, or lobster and burrata (a creamy cheese that’s like mozzarella but with a creamy center), was, in a word, amazing.  I’d worried that lobster might not go well with a mild, creamy cheese, but the sweetness of the lobster, the tender cheese, and that amazing dribble of what looks like seeds across the top all worked together to create what can only be described as bliss in my mouth.  I’ll admit that the menu says “eggplant al funghetto” but the top scattering doesn’t look like eggplant; it tasted like seeds of some sort of fruit, and just added to this dish.  Heaven.

Beer Boor ordered a trio of crudi to start.  I was allowed to sample from each dish, hehe.

Sgombro or Pacific jack mackerel, eggplant caponata and pine nuts: I thought this was only alright, mostly because I am not a huge mackerel fan, though this proved to be less fishy and oily than mackerel as I’ve experienced.  Texturally pleasing, but not siginificantly flavorful.

Seppia or cuttlefish tagliatelle, soffrito crudo, and bottarga di muggine: I am in love with bottarga (roe that’s been baked in a flat sheet that you can then grate over dishes).  While this dish was very tasty – the cuttlefish soft and bursting with the flavor of the ocean – I felt the bottarga was a bit lost in the tangle of cuttlefish, not prominent nor even really making an appearance in taste.  Ah well.

Tonno, or bigeye tuna, oyster crema, crispy sunchokes: I really enjoyed this bite.  The topping was super crispy, like the best potato chip you’ll ever eat; the oyster crema was wonderfully flavored, nothing like oyster whatsoever (is it oyster mushroom then?) and also, green.  But we both commented how lovely this bite was, and it would have been smart to order a full size app of this instead.  Yum.

Beer Boor chose the razza, or the seared skate wing with tomato conserva, prosciutto brodo, hen of the woods mushrooms and pickled ramps.  I was informed that it was awesome beyond belief, but I was busy eating my own dish and barely touched the skate.

The one dish I repeatedly came across in my research of Marea was the fusilli – red wine braised octopus, bone marrow… it simply sounds amazing.  The sauce was so rich, so heady, I was swooning halfway through my dish.  Each rope of fusilli perfectly cooked, chunks of bone marrow and fat interspersed through the dish, topped with bread crumbs that added an extra layer of texture… just.  Wow.  Hello, my perfect meal: lobster + burrata, followed by pasta coated in a bone marrow rich sauce.  Yum.

But you don’t turn 30 without dessert, do you?  Here is Beer Boor’s affogato; three scoops of gelato, a shot of liqueur, and then hot espresso poured on top.  I’m sure it was lovely, but my attention was elsewhere:

/whispers The Caramello.

Caramel custard, Valrhona chocolate cake, caramel crispies, buttermilk sherbet.

Hiding caramel crispies and caramel inside the cake.  So, y’all who know me, who read regularly, already know that I don’t like sweets that much.  Dessert?  I can live without it.  But I began eating my dessert with gusto, and kept eating it.  I would not let Beer Boor try even one bite (and I was graciously allowed to be this selfish) as I proceeded to inhale my dessert.  This had everything I love: caramel, crispy/crunchy things, slightly sweet (the buttermilk sherbet was either not sweet at all, or very, very lightly sweet, which worked amazingly well with the sugar in everything else), and just wonderful, amazing, fabulous, WOW.  I would have licked my plate clean had I been alone.  It was hard to resist, but then, I destroyed the entire thing so quickly there wasn’t much melt on the bottom anyway.  Mmm.  Were I able to procure this recipe, I would point to it and request it for my birthday year after year after year, oh my stars.  THAT good.  THAT wonderful.  THAT YUMMY.

And yet, after our plates had been cleared, a small plate of chocolates was brought for the final sweet touch.  These were tasty as well, but I only remember the dark chocolate covered caramel: delicious.  A touch of sea salt would have made it even better for me, but still… great end to a wonderful meal.

Yvo says: The food was solid, very yummy, some was incredible and some was just good.  (Not that “good” is ever a bad thing!)  Lunch is set as a prix fixe, two courses for $42, and dessert is a la carte.  This is obviously business lunch or special occasion lunch pricing, but if you do get a chance to get over there, you will definitely be happy with your choice.  Service was par excellence as well, what some may say is “expected at this price level” – and while I’m inclined to agree, it’s always good to get what you’re expecting, right?  😉
recommended