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Shortly after Torrisi Italian Speciality closed its door at the beginning of this year, Santina, the latest project from the Major Food Group, open underneath the HighLine Park.
Right next to the new Whitney museum, it is tucked under the entrance of High-line park, Santina is hard to miss. Bright orange and blue sun umbrella, it is like a source of warm sunshine under the cold metal bridge.
Light, bright, Colorful, vibrant, I opened the door, and thought I walked into somewhere tropical.
colorful chandeliers hanging off wood ceiling, each different color, equally lavish and beautiful. Greyish-blue booth with little wood chair and white marble tables, made me feel I’m on vacation at a resort somewhere. Hawaii? Miami? Puerto Rico? Amalfi coast!!! Even every piece dining ware we had has a different pattern. And the ambience continue to the bathroom as well (See Pic). Yes, I take picture in the bathroom too, I’m weird that way. But look, it is also decorated as if it’s in a beach house. I really appreciate the attention that was pay to every detail.
AMALFI GOLD (R)- bourbon, orange, ginger, crème de peche & FIORI (L)- gin, chamomile, campariMANGANELLI PUNCH- tequila, banana, pineapple, cinnamon
Cocktails are as colorful and beautiful as the chandeliers. Every slip just scream “SUMMER”. And who doesn’t like a drink that comes in a pineapple jar?
CECINA with LAMB TARTARE LAMB TARTARE
We started with Cecina (chickpea pancake) with Lamb Tartare. Cecina is crispy on one side and fluffy on the other. The warmth of pancake pair up with fresh, chill lamb tartare, I can’t have enough of this. AND, the house special spicy sauce that came in a cute little jar, it is awesomeness that packs a kick. It reminds me of the Chinese XO sauce, but only better.
FRITTO MISTO
FRITTO MISTO means “mixed fry”. Basically calamari. Squid, fish, olives, all deep fried. Crisp and fresh, and not oily at all. Like the way they did in Venice, it is served with a squeeze of lemon juice. I especially like the brazil leaves. Crunch! crunch!
SHRIMP ZINGARA is like a risotto and Chinese shrimp fried rice got together and had a baby. It got rid of risotto’s heavy creaminess, and fried rice’s oiliness. With tomatoes and peppers, it is a new, fresh creation. I think i’m going to try make this at home.
SPAGHETTI BLUE CRAB has plenty of crab meat. The craw on top was only decorative. The spaghetti, however, was a little overcook, a little mushed.
We saw the folks next to us ordered the whole grilled porgy, and it looks delicious. If only I had more room…
We were very surprise when the bill arrived. It’s half the price than what we’d have spent at ZZ’s, Carbone or Dirty French.
An affordable restaurant from the Major Food Group that is not named Parm!!! WHAT>!>!?! Next time, I think I’ll skip the rice and pasta section. (April, 2015)
click to see pictures click to see pictures[/caption]Like most New Yorker, I love West Village. A stroll down the streets in Spring is delightful. Tree line brownstone buildings, cute cafes, chic boutiques, and a multitude of small restaurants.
Among them, stood a small, artsy restaurant, Wallse.
Wallse is an Austrian cuisine run by chef-owner Kurt Gutenbrunner, who also own Blaue Gans and Cafe Sabarsky. I have to be honest. I don’t know what I should be expecting at an Austrian restaurant. The only other place that strike a slight similarity is the Marrow (now closed), which served German food. As I understand, Wallsee, the town that the restaurant is name after, is only about 3 hours from Munich.
On the evening we visited Wallse, the building was scaffolded, which was cleverly camouflaged by the benches and flowers. Once step inside, it is equally artfully decorated. Across from the bar is a giant portrait of chef Kurt Gutenbrunner. The place is quiet, modern and sophisticated, and as were the food. chef Kurt Gutenbrunner
a glass of Riesling and Ingwer(Beefeater Gin, Ginger, Seasonal Fruit, Elderflower, Lemon)
2 kinds of spread: sour cream with chives, and liver mousse
Bread comes with sour cream with chives and liver spread. Surprisingly generous!! and smooth. But kinda wish the bread was warm…
Complementary Corn bread with avocado and lime sauce with a little snitzel, topped with salty pop corn. Beautiful dish. Definitely woke my taste buds up.
Foie Gras, Rhubarb, Walnuts
Another artistically displayed dish. Foie gras is a little small, the flavor is anything but. It is creamy and dreamy.
Octopus, Asparagus, Fennel, Saffron
This was a little disappointment to me. It is equally beautiful, but the octopus was lost. To us, it is only a delightful salad. The octopus suction cups were all cut off, it looks like a sausage or a carrot than an octopus arm/leg. Along with the suction cups, the taste was lost as well. 🙁
White Asparagus, Sweetbread, Chive Sauce, Fingerling Potatoes
Wiener Schnitzel, Parsley Potatoes, Cucumber Bibb Salad, Lingonberries
For main course, we went for schnitzel of course. It was perfectly cooked, light, flaky and still juicy. And the white asparagus with sweetbread was just outstanding. White asparagus was fresh, sweet, with a great crunch. And the sweetbread, it was the uni of the land. Just absolutely mouth-watering.
Parsley Potatoes, Cucumber Bibb Salad
However, yes, there’s always a but… unfortunately…
While everything was careful plated, almost an art itself, it was the side dish that had the mishap. The cucumber bibb salad and the potatoes came in a little soup bowl. They seem sort of just got throw together. It’s …. pathetic. it remind us of the salad that serves on airplanes. It doesn’t fit in. it seems out of place, not among these dishes, not on this table, not at a Michelin Star establishment.
Click to see more photosNow that the Eater and New York Magazine has reported it, I can open my big mouth, and may be cry a little. It is true. Our beloved Chef Masato Shimizu is leaving the acclaimed 15 East. Where to? Well, about 8670 miles away to Bangkok! And there is no non-stop flight?!?! That’s right, it is far. And we are gonna miss him so much.
We heard the news about a month ago when we dine there (see pics). He broke the news when we were having our last dish of the night(soba with uni and ikura). And I was telling him that was my bowl of happiness. Immediately, I felt a little warmth coming up to my eyes. Oh… my heart is broken… My sushi world is gonna change…!
These days 15 East is super packed. All the regulars are flooding to the place to enjoy one last meal by Chef Masato. And of course, us too. When we return this week, chef Masato who just turned 40, was super busy. He was not only preparing the dishes for the normal sushi bar, he is also making items for the main dinning room.
Although the place is buzzing, Chef Masato still pay same attention and may be even more to take care of his sushi loyalties. He still managed to surprise and amaze us even after all these years of visits. He never fail to impress.
Santa Barbara uni with pressed tofu skin, topped with a bit of fresh wasabi and a couple drip of soy sauce. Pressed tofu skin’s texture feel like crab meat, uni super sweet!!! Great combination.
Awabi soaked in kunbu 昆布broth Awabi was open right before served along with the room temperature kunbu clear broth. Crispy and sweet. It has a sense of cleansing like a temple bell rang in the morning.
Live ebi with Japanese pike eel and plum sauce/ radish and pearl seaweed Shrimp head was deep fried and served later. Ebi was peeled when they were still alive. Yes, it’s cruel and a little tough to see. But the sacrifice of the shrimp was well worth it. It was sweet!!! Just don’t think of it as torture. Pike eel is in season in spring/ summer. It has a lot of bones very tough to prep but no problem for the fantastic Chef Masato.
Lightly Torched fire fly squid My favorite and yes, I have many favorites.
Marinated Octopus There is no better place for octopus in this world. The dedication and the hard work really pays off. And as I said the first time I had this “BETTER THAN STEAK!!!”
Sake marinated couch Consistently good!! fresh and brisk.
Sakura salmon Come to think of it, this might be the first time Chef Masato serve us salmon. I typically don’t order salmon at sushi place. Don’t get me wrong, salmon can be great. But to me, salmon is boring. But of course Chef Masato managed to find a way to whip it a new one. Marinated with Sakura, this is only available in spring. It has a flowery fragrance to it. I can smell it with my tongue, if that makes sense.
Torched smoke Spanish mackerel Although available year around, The spanish mackerel is consider a spring fish, as it is the best in tis season and it is more full bodied. The edition of the Mackerel is outstanding. Love the charred taste, and torching it added texture as well. This is totally new combination, great and innovative.
Cooked shrimp Cooked and chilled right before serving. unlike other sushi practicing place where it would be pre-cooked and put in fridge. The only other place I would consider order cooked shrimp in NYC is Nakazawa. Unlike Nakazawa where they would dump the shrimp in ice water to preserve the texture and flavor. Here at 15 East, the shrimp is peel right out of the water. I kinda felt bad for Chef, thinking about their burning fingers. Shrimp is still warm when serve, and it was amazing.
UNI There were 4 different kinds of uni today. Uni Maine (top left) California (top right) and Hokkaido x 2. The one from California is sweeter. The one from Maine is creamier. and hokkaido has the best of both. and today we had 2 kinds from Hokkaido (different grade and different company). The first Hokkaido was a higher grade which cost more was creamier, and i think the other Hokkaido with darker color is sweeter, but both are top notch, and really not much difference.
Torched Chu toro with pepper The tuna was aged for six days. Pepper was ground onto toro before serve and then let sat for about 5 mins and torch. Who would hv thought. Just amazing!!!
We had so many different pieces, I can’t put it all here. for more picture please see the album. We didn’t have soba tonight but really we can’t complain, we had something new, an amazing meal, a wonderful time and there were 5 different uni!!!
As we watch Chef Masato works, we really admire the focus he pays and the passion he has. You can see it on his facial expression that he truly love what he does. And when a customer enjoy the sushi, the satisfaction he has; the proudness he feel, you can see in his smile.
“A good meal could heal a tried soul.” It is as if he has magical power, starting from the first piece, Chef Masato already help us forget what a bad day we were having and teleport us to a happier place. The joy and happiness we got from a dinner by Chef Masato honestly cannot be express in words. You really have to sit in front of him to embrace this joy and to appreciate it. But as I mention earlier, since his departing news has broke, it is almost impossible to grab a seat. If you have a reservation, god bless you! If not, well, Bangkok is “only” 20+ hours away. And from what I gathered, Chef Masato is already looking at locations. He also told us, there are more varieties of fish he can get in Thailand than here in the US (thanks to FDA).
Chef Masato, Thank you! New York has been blessed to have you. Until next time!
click to see more photosFriends were requesting to have tapas for dinner, and it just so happen that the thrillist daily news alert in my inbox that day was titled: The 14 Best Spanish Restaurant in America. Very suprise that there is only one on the list in NYC — Txikito in Chelsea on 9th Ave. The menu was very difficult to dissect. Names of most dishes on the menu were unpronounceable for me that I won’t even try to attempt. Then I saw the picture of the squid ribbons, nothing matter anymore, we have to go there.
Txikito (pronounced “chick–KEE–toe”) means little in Euskara, a language spoken by Basque people, who reside in northeastern Spain. This neighborhood basque place is owned and operated by Alex Raij and Eder Montero. The husband and wife team were recent semifinalists for Best Chef in James Bread Award. Front door opens to a little bar, and main dinning room is in the other room. It a long ,cozy, warm room that built like a fishing boat. Faded Shiplap wood as wall, cute little red table and wood chairs. It is very relaxing and welcoming. The front of the main dinning room is actually a rolling glass garage door. It was a little chilly at night, so it wasn’t open. But it would be a gorgeous afternoon, sitting here slipping a delicious sangria, when summer come and this door rolls open. We ordered a ton of food, and these bite size dished just make us wanting more.
Absolutely love the Foie Micuit. The rich, creamy, thick cut, velvety foie gras with crunchy toast, with a bit of sweet jello atop. Man, what would I give to have this as breakfast every morning….
Txangurro is another bite that makes you want more and more. It kinda echo the richness of the Foie Micui, but in a different sense. This one is crabmeat gratin on top. Baked, warm, still rich and creamy.
Pulp is an artfully plated octopus carpaccio. It was surprisingly simple, just some lemon oil, a little bit of herbs, a little bit of spice, and voila. Octopus was sliced paper thin, great to carry the flavor of the mixture, and not rubbery at all.
Txipiron “encebollado”!!! the squid ribbon is really a must try here. It was very interesting. We have never have squid like this before and it doesn’t resemble as a squid dish at all. The squid was shredded into thin spaghetti-like noodle. It come in a light but rich broth of sweet onions and pine nuts. It was utmost interesting dish we have had in a while.
Most dishes we had were great (see pic here). Beef tongue is crispy but not oily and juicy enough. Lamb was tender, rich and full of flavor. We also had a couple pork dished, but they were not such shinny stars as others. (April, 2015)
