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“Amalia”

Occasion:	Cuisine:	Area:	Cost:	Rating:
Night Out	New American	Midtown	Moderate	Great

cut through to the wonderful layers of eggplant and sweet tomatoes underneath.

While the lasagnette has some small issues, the sautéed and crispy calamari ($14) is in need of no therapy. This dish is genius. She sautées pearly rings of calamari with smoky hunks of chorizo, piquillo peppers and lots of creamy white beans. Then she tops it off with a few crunchy spindly squid and a thick cut slice of grilled garlic toast. It reminded me of cassoulet crossed with a bouillabaisse; it’s spectacular. Not that anyone’s asking me, but I think she should make it slightly larger, add some shrimp and mussels and serve it as a main course. It’s worthy.

Speaking of portions, they are quite generous, but the grilled ribeye ($38) moved into Fred Flintstone territory. For its size it should pack a bit more flavor and come with a bit of a char, but it’s a nice piece of meat, crowned with a giant pad of Cabrales butter and a mountain of fresh garlicky spinach. Roasted Mediterranean sea bass ($28) is simply done, served whole but filleted, with a crowning bouquet of fresh herbs. Its flesh is dense and sweet and it’s served with a great fork-crushed potato hash fleshed out with plump rock shrimp seasoned with saffron and roasted garlic.

The misses on the menu are quite slight. A salad of golden beets and blood oranges ($13) is very pretty, and offers an exploration in texture as the beets and the oranges alternate with slivers of creamy avocado and crunchy fried chickpeas, but it’s dressed in a syrupy pomegranate vinaigrette. Beautiful slices of white tuna sashimi ($18) are served with vanilla pickled red onions and segments of pulpy juicy tangerine. The dish is beautiful, but the vanilla is a note that just doesn’t work. It perfumes the fish in a way that makes it taste like one of those aromatic candles. I don’t like my food to taste like aromatic candles. Warm duck confit-stuffed dates wrapped in Serrano ham with fig mostarda ($13) sounded great, and they are, but they were cooked a bit too long and got dried out in the oven. A few minutes less, or a slightly larger, meatier date, and they’d be perfect.

I had no problems with dessert. In fact, I developed very strong feelings for the warm banana wrapped in a tight robe of shredded phylo—a sort of dessert egg roll—served with frozen lemon yogurt and sesame caramel ($9). Yum.

I left Amal ... [more, click below]

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Posted: March 27, 2007

Other restaurants in Midtown :
+ Lever House   + Aquavit   + RM   + Joseph's (formerly Citarella The Restaurant)   + Town   + Artisanal   + The Oyster Bar   + Geisha   + David Burke and Donatella Restaurant   + Riingo   + Amma   + Cafe Sabarsky   + The Stone Rose Lounge   + BLT Steak   + V, The Steakhouse-- Closed   + Bar Masa   + Cafe Gray   + The Bar Room at The Modern   + The Cafe at Aquavit   + The Cafe at Aquavit   + Bistro du Vent-- Closed   + Shaburi   + Xing   + The Modern   + Bar Americain   + Alto   + Park Blue   + Mainland-- Closed   + Nobu 57   + Quality Meats   + Dona-- CLOSED   + Daisy May's   + 7Square-- CLOSED   + Amalia   + Fireside   + Anthos   + Patroon   + BLT Market   + Toloache   + Mia Dona   + Park Avenue Summer   + Convivio   + The Oak Room by guest reviewer Julie Besonen   + At Vermilion by guest reviewer Elaine Weiner   + Lunching at Inakaya, by guest reviewer Kathleen Squires   + Marea, by Guest Reviewer Susan Kane Walkush   + Le Bernardin   + New York Central -- A Reason To Eat at the Grand Hyatt Again   + Pampano Botaneria by Dara Pollak   

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