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“European Union”

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

t us off, but I should mention that I have a beef with the wine list; its eclectic but there are not enough options in the $25-$40 range. But the wine was just what we were in the mood for, and married well with our first courses. Akhtar, who was known for his citrus glazed sweetbreads at Craftbar, brings them back here in a more rustic incarnation, glazing them with Marsala wine and tossing them with mushroom ragu over a thick cut slice of grilled bread for an irresistible mushroom sweetbread bruschetta ($12). The artichoke and spinach salad was just spot on, dressed in a vivid herb vinaigrette and topped with a breaded and fried Hen egg with a nice orange runny yolk ($9). Alison managed to clean the plate again. Kiri and I made a pact to be more aggressive with the meatballs, mini-poppers the size of falafel balls, spiced with cumin and served skewered with a yogurt mint sauce. I loved the seasoning and the flavor of these meatballs, but the texture was a bit rubbery. I think the recipe might need to be tweaked a bit.

Dinner moved us into a new level of joy. I think an award should be given out to all these chefs who manage to turn chicken into CHICKEN! Jimmy Bradley does it at Red Cat, his protégé Joey Campanaro is doing it at Little Owl, and Akhtar is doing it at EU, with his crispy skinned, pan-fried, oven-roasted juicy bird served in a shallow pool of Parmesan broth bobbing with hand-rolled ricotta and spinach dumplings ($23). My only complaint about this dish is that it needed more dumplings. Akhtar—can you please throw in a few more dumplings or add those to the list of sides? That would be great, thanks.

We also passed around a cast iron dish of the baked rigatoni—large ribbed tubes of pasta snuggled up with pulled tender milk-braised Berkshire pork, and Swiss chard, lifted up with a bit of lemon ($17). It’s a dish that’s rustic and hearty and eats like winter, so it’s probably coming off the menu in time for summer. I’d make a point of making it over there while the weather’s still cool and dig in. I’d say you can take some home and have it for lunch the next day but there’s no way you’re leaving any leftover.

For those who crave a good burger, Akhtar is serving a nice fat one topped with a sunny side up egg at Brunch, and at dinner ($15), two versions—the English, topped with farm house cheddar and brown sauce, and the Italian, cro ... [more, click below]

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Posted: April 9, 2007

Other restaurants in East Village :
+ Yujin-- Closed   + Jack's Luxury Oyster Bar   + Mermaid Inn   + Five Points   + Lavagna   + Five Points   + Bond Street   + Jewel Bako   + Alphabet Kitchen   + In Vino   + Bao 111   + Chikalicious   + Il Buco   + Hearth   + Lima's Taste   + Mercadito   + Hedeh   + Momofuku   + Una Pizza Napoletana   + Winebar   + Uovo-- CLOSED   + Mo Pitkin's House of Satisfaction   + Gotham Bar & Grill   + Colors   + Chinatown Brasserie   + Knife and Fork   + European Union-- NEW CHEF; SEE APRIL 2007 Review   + Aroma Kitchen and Winebar   + Stand   + European Union   + Mercat   + Gemma   + Back Forty   + The Smith   + Seymour Burton   + Belcourt   + Graffiti   + The Redhead   + Double Crown    + Apiary   + Joe Doe   + Apiary by guest reviewer Kiri Tannenbaum   + DBGB   + Northern Spy   + Goat Town   + Saxon + Parole   + Il Buco Alimentari & Vineria   + Acme   + Calliope   + Nicoletta   + JEPPNEY by Claire Jaffe   + Feast   

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