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“Parea”

Occasion:	Cuisine:	Area:	Cost:	Rating:
Night Out	Greek	Gramercy	Moderate	Great

MY DINNER AT PAREA

There are times in life when your memory gets triggered by little moments that can literally move you to another place. Sometimes it’s an old song from your past, something by Jackson Browne, Yaz, Squeeze (!), or maybe even that “If You Like Pina Coladas…” song. You listen and suddenly you are back in a time when you were a different you, an earlier version of yourself. That same time machine effect happens with food—with the aromas and tastes of meals from long ago. Think about it. The smell of grilling burgers (and lighter fluid) on the barbecue, of an apple pie baking in the oven, of a hearty ragu simmering on the stove. My childhood meals, for the most part, were cooked by my Mom (something known as Meatloaf surprise was in her top ten list) and more importantly, by my Persian grandmother, my Bibi. (My Dad lived in Manhattan but he didn’t really cook. He’s the guy who taught me how to eat out.) Meals at my Bibi’s house were (and still are) lengthy rice-inspired affairs involving meats braised with preserved lemon, tomato, and cumin, long-simmering stews of herbs, leafy greens and knobby roots, and crispy potato crusts banged out of the bottom of many rice pots. But with every meal, there were two hallmark aromas: lemon and dill. This fine pair was everywhere—steaming in the rice, livening up the spinach soups, brightening the yogurt sauce for the noodles. Nowadays, the whiff of fresh dill, especially when touched by the juicy spray of a lemon, takes me back to my Bibi’s house in Kew Gardens, to a time when I was a hungry little runt with a mop of dark hair waiting for her favorite Persian dinner. Not much has really changed today.

It seems chef Michael Symon, of Cleavland’s Lola and Lolita restaurants, must also have been reared on a diet infused with dill and lemon. At his cool, new whitewashed New York perch, Parea, these ingredients are set free to work their magic. While Parea, which opened a few months ago just a few steps from Gramercy Tavern is a Greek restaurant, many of the flavors he offers up—honey, yogurt, almonds, figs, and yes, dill and lemon—reminded me of my Bibi’s Persian dinners. But you need not have any heritage even close to the Mediterranean or the Middle East to enjoy the food at Parea. You could have been raised on chipped beef and peach pie, and you’d be quite pleased. This food here is terrific. ... [more, click below]

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Posted: June 17, 2006

Other restaurants in Gramercy :
+ Casa Mono/Bar Jamon   + Pure Food & Wine   + Parea   + Gramercy Tavern (Lunch)   + 15 East   + Tocqueville   + Irving Mill   + Bar Milano   + Irving Mill   + Maialino   + Asellina   + Corkbuzz Wine Studio   + Breads, by guest reviewer Tracy Weiss   

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