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“Thor”

Occasion:	Cuisine:	Area:	Cost:	Rating:
Night Out	New American	Lower East Side	Moderate	Good

specially since it is a hotel restaurant, but to me it was a bit overwhelming. I’d recommend some editing. (Not that I should talk. I tend to ramble on here.)

Now to get to our meal, we started with the Kumomoto oysters with yellowfin tuna and American sturgeon caviar ($12), a full on assault of intense briny flavors on the mouth. While I was not unhappy with this dish, I felt a bit sorry for the oysters, whose deep ocean flavor was masked by the silky tuna and caviar. It’s not that it was bad; I just prefer my oysters naked. A trio of summer soups ($8) were fresh and zippy—the distinct flavors of cucumber, tomato and avocado coming through loud and clear. From his Warm Plates in the Middle section, we chose the ravioli made with farmers cheese ($10). These were great, but as Kathy pointed out, tasted more like pierogi than ravioli. Hey, nothing wrong with pierogi. They were plump and creamy cheese dumplings, sautéed in brown butter and topped with mint and chopped hazelnuts. What’s not to love?

From the entrée section, we decided on two fish dishes and one meat, and were pleased with all but one. Let’s start with the winners—a steamed red snapper ($20) set in a bowl of basil broth bobbing with little neck clams, artichokes, and plump purple olives. The fish was sweet, moist and flaky, the clams nice and chewy and the olives bright and pungent. It was perfect. We also loved the duck ($19)—lean, wildly tender cylinders of delicious duck wrapped in cabbage leaves and steamed, and served on a bed of asparagus (people, the season is over!) and a sauce given a nice jolt of life with mustard seeds. The one clunker was the poached lobster ($21) with cherries, fava beans and Béarnaise sauce. The favas may have turned or something but there was an overpowering bitterness to that dish that made is difficult to get down, which was unfortunate because that lobster was beautifully poached. The sides (all $5), as I mentioned earlier, included a sad, bland quark spaetzle and accompanying hash brown billed as potatoes rosti, but the kohlrabi gratin was incredible, as was the smooth and buttery potato puree.

For me, the food at Thor is fine, but the reason to go back to Thor is not for the food. Perhaps for the bar if you are looking for extreme scene, but to me the reason to go back to Thor is for the desserts (all $7).

Pastry chef Pierre Reboul, most recently of Blue Hill, wh ... [more, click below]

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Posted: September 25, 2005

Other restaurants in Lower East Side :
+ Mojo   + WD-50   + Schiller's Liquor Bar   + Azul Bistro   + Barrio Chino   + 71 Clinton Fresh Food-- Closed   + Little Giant   + Kuma Inn   + Falai   + The Stanton Social   + The Tides   + Thor   + The Orchard   + El Bocadito-- CLOSED   + Bondi Road   + Rayuela   + Suba   + Bun (boone)   + Sorella   + The Fat Hippo   + Pulino's   

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