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“66: THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED”

Occasion:	Cuisine:	Area:	Cost:	Rating:
Night Out	Asian	Tribeca	Break the Bank	Great

Of the things New York City is in need of—a subway fare reduction—another Chinese restaurant is not one of them. But from the throngs of urban hipsters squeezing their way into 66 for dim sum, Sichuan Tan Tan noodles, Cold Sesame Noodles, Ginger-laquered Pork Belly, and Peking Duck, it seems the city was not only in need of another Chinese restaurant, it was desperate for one. Truth be told, 66 has about as much in common with your average, menu-under-the-door Chinese spot as The Daily Show has with Fox News. (HINT: Not a lot.)

 

Designed by Richard Meier, this slick, minimalist, fish tank-accented space is Jean George Vongerichten’s white-hot and tasty tribute to Chinese cuisine. Sit skin-to-skin with other dim sum gobblers at the long, slender communal table, or if you are one of the chosen few with a reservation (reservations are taken a month out and are usually booked within hours) in the bare, lofty room, for your Chinese feast.

 

Start with scallion pancakes ($6), a coaster sized set that arrive warm, golden, light, and crisp, with the right amount of chew and without the slightest hint of grease. Move on to sweet and hot shrimp, presented in a creamy, chile-tinged sauce. Next, opt for the succulent lobster in a finger-licking gloss of fermented black bean sauce ($32). You might then choose to indulge in the crackling pig with spicy plum sauce ($18), a magnificent piggy, though it should come with a serving of Lipitor to cut through the cholesterol in the crisp blanket of fatty skin. (Yum!) Vegetable fried rice is light and fluffy and flecked with soft scrambled eggs, snow peas, scallions and corn ($14). Desserts deserve special attention. Don’t leave without sinking a spoon into the thick, rich, chocolaty Ovaltine pudding that is served like breakfast might be served in heaven—with caramel coated rice crispies and sheets of bruléed bananas ($8). Perfect. You are in a Chinese restaurant so everyone gets a homemade fortune cookie after the feast. My chocolate one came with this note inside: “If you dress like a sheep you will be eaten by wolves.” Okay, I was not aware that I was a sheep, or dressing like one, but perhaps that is the point of a fortune. To tell us what we don't already know.

 

66, 241 Church Street, at Leonard St., 212-925-0202

 

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Posted: April 1, 2003

Other restaurants in Tribeca :
+ Lunchbox Food Company--Closed   + 66: THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED   + Ola-- Closed   + Bouley   + Dominic   + Landmarc   + Pace-- Closed   + EN Japanese Brasserie   + Centrico   + Cercle Rouge   + The Harrison   + Turks & Frogs Tribeca   + Devin Tavern   + Dani-- Closed Now   + Bacaro/Smith & Mills   + The Harrison   + Matsugen, By Guest Reviewer Kathleen Squires   + Forge   + Macao Trading Company   + Harbour   + Review text tbd...   + Mehtaphor   + Brushstroke   + Jung Sik   

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