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“Tia Pol”

Occasion:	Cuisine:	Area:	Cost:	Rating:
Night Out	Spanish	Chelsea	Cheap Eats	Great

TIA POL

Casa Mono is probably my favorite Spanish spot in New York City. In my book, Andy Nusser, the chef and a partner, can do no wrong. The service is flawless, the food is always a thrill, and the place just works, really, really well. But Casa Mono is owned by veteran restaurateurs—including Nusser, Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich. They’ve been in the business for years. At this point, their efforts should border on perfection. And they do.

Last week, on a sleepy block of Tenth Avenue, across the street from the Empire Diner, a little Spanish gem opened its doors—the debut of two stunning young women—Heather Beltz and Mani Dawes—who are from New Orleans and spent time living in Madrid after college and falling in love with the city’s myriad of cozy and lively tapas bars. They dreamed of opening a restaurant in New York City that would recreate the culinary magic they discovered living and eating in Madrid. Scraping their money together, they opened Tia Pol—named for a cat Mani had while she was living in Madrid.

Tia Pol is a rustic sliver of a restaurant—a slim and inviting rectangular room, with a cool, moody bar, exposed brick walls with hand-crafted woodwork accents, and high-top tables that offer a bird’s eye view of the partially open kitchen. It has the sort of vibe that makes you know that you want to come back when you haven’t even had your first glass of wine.

The menu features regional Spanish cuisine, from Galicia to Andalucía and from the Basque Country to Cataluña. The wine list is small, all Spanish, and modestly priced. The menu is made up hot and cold tapas and raciones (larger plates) by executive chef Alex Raij, who has cooked at Meigas, the upscale Spanish spot on Hudson Street where Louis Bollo was the chef. Alex has an impressive palate drawn from her experience with Bollo and at restaurants like the Tasting Room, and Prune.

We started with an authentic Spanish starter— pimientos estilo gernika ($7)—mild green pimento peppers that are blistered, and drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with coarse sea salt. Pop one in your mouth. They don’t make much of a first impression, actually. But like that quite sort of dorky, Clark Kent-type in your junior high class did, they blossom with time. The sweet salty flavors linger and expand filling your mouth. You pop in another. Soon they’re gone.

Next we had some Spanish chorizo (always yummy)—piles of quarter-shaped slices ... [more, click below]

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Posted: August 14, 2004

Other restaurants in Chelsea :
+ Matsuri   + La Bottega   + Tia Pol   + Bombay Talkie   + Cookshop   + D'Or Ahn: THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED   + Buddakan   + Crema   + InTent: THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED   + Trestle on Tenth   + Klee   + El Quinto Pino   + Socarrat   + Txikito   + Co. (Company)   

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