I ran. Well, not really ran as the heat index was 107 at 5:30PM when I set out from home, and I more slid than ran to 51st between 8th and 9th to beat the crowds. The soft opening was on the 12th, but Ippudo didn’t need any soft opening. It burst on to the Hell’s Kitchen scene and, when I arrived at 6:15, the restaurant and bar was 50% filled. We got our table and settled in for an early dinner of ramen and more.
Considered the best ramen in New York, the original Ippudo East Village is well known for its steaming, brothy oversized soup bowls of goodness. Ramen were on our menu too, but we had a wide ranging menu of dishes before we got to the ramen. Bacon wrapped pork nuggets, fried chicken bites in cloud light dough pillows, cucumber rolls with a twist, velvety smooth croquettes all went down a treat with delicious cold sake, and my friends had their vodkas and fresh juice which they squeezed themselves at the table.
By the time we waddled out at 7:15, there wasn’t a table left and anxious diners were deep at the entrance. Except they weren’t really anxious because, with the exception of just a few of us, all were polite Japanese patrons who, in my experience, never seem to show crotchety anxiousness. What a great experience!
Metta, Norberto Piattoni's Fort Green neighborhood restaurant[/caption]
Francis Mallmann, the revered Argentinian chef made famous by his many restaurants around the world, a couple of books on his cooking style and a hit television series, Chef's Table, has ensured his legacy with a diaspora of chef proteges, two of whom have rolled up in New York. Norberto, better known to his friends as Negro, recently opened Metta, a neighborhood restaurant located on a quiet corner two blocks from the Fort Greene farmers market in Brooklyn. It offers sustainably sourced, vegetable-forward dishes all cooked in a custom designed, open-fire kitchen, using South American asado techniques, utilizing all aspects of the fire (smoke, flame, ash and embers) to create layers of flavor in dishes. Packed with happy diners the night I went, it is relaxed, delicious, interesting and fun.
[caption id="attachment_8248" align="alignnone" width="500"]
Flora Bar, Ignacio Mattos' third opening in New York[/caption]
Ignacio Mattos was born in Uruguay and learned to cook in the kitchens of Mallman and Slow Food legend, Alice Waters. His two other restaurants in New York, Estela, with its bold, Mediterranean-inspired cooking, and Altro Paradiso, with its Italian cuisine, are favorites of mine. Now, Ignacio has come with his team to the Met Brauer on 76th and Madison, offering small bites as well as main dishes in a comfortable setting either indoors or on the open terrace. Service is superb, wines delicious and the food captivating. The space, in my opinion, could do with some tlc - easily accomplished. If you can serve food like that, a bit of flower planting and decorating should come easy.
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