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“Cru”
Occasion: | Cuisine: | Area: | Cost: | Rating: |
Night Out | New American | West Village | Break the Bank | Off the Charts |
Gallante also knows his way around a fish. His technique in every dish we tried was flawless. Nothing was overcooked, nothing dry, nothing rubbery, and nothing chewy. If you are looking for a restaurant where technique is paramount and perfect, you will find it at Cru. It was remarkable. His spiced European filet of turbot ($36), coated in a house spice mix (all spice, star anise, nutmeg, juniper and cloves), demonstrates this point nicely. A firm and delicious filet was served with a little ragout-like mixture of confited shallots, Treviso, pencil asparagus, and maitake mushrooms, rests in a pool of evaporated red wine sauce. Yes, evaporated wine sauce. Well, here’s the deal with that: he puts a big pot of red wine up on the edge of a flattop that is hot, but turned off, so the wine comes up to just to below simmering, and lets it sit there simmering and steaming for about 14 hours. The wine never breaks a boil, and so it just steams, evaporating, reducing the wine, in a way, but without the harshness of the tannins of the wine. The result—light, effortless flavors that are at the same time concentrated and rich.
Lobster ($36) was also exquisite—juicy, plump pieces of a Maine Soft shell critter served in a light stew of garlic-braised escarole with Corona beans, nuggets of fresh bacon and a bit of horseradish for a subtle mark of heat. Grain Fed Veal, ($33) cooked sous vide—the meat is dusted in porcini, quickly seared, then cryovaced with garlic, olive oil and submerged in a machine called a thermostatic circulator tempers and circulates water and keeps it at the same temp—62 C—for 26 minutes. The process breaks down the meat into the buttery state that you find it in on your plate, served with a sweet pea and barley risotto and a warm black truffle and anchovy mayonnaise. While I thought the veal was worthy of a neon sign saying “BEST VEAL EVER,” I was not all that into the mayo or the risotto. The mayo was a bit much for the veal, and the risotto was sort of dull. The accompaniments seemed ill suited to the veal. But who really cares when the veal is that good. Just serve it alone on a plate, or straight from the cryovac pack for all I care.
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