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“El Quinto Pino”

Occasion:	Cuisine:	Area:	Cost:	Rating:
Night Out	Spanish	Chelsea	Cheap Eats	Great

nto bread and eat it. As they say, necessity is the mother of invention. And that's what they did, polishing off every last urchin until Alex's light bulb Unini moment occurred.

Alex's glorious Unini is accompanied by some other very worthy tapas, all prepared in a small kitchen, mostly on panini presses, hot plates, and deep fryers. (Alex cooked at The Tasting Room early in her career, so she's all about gas-free spaces.) They are listed on one blackboard in pretty chalk calligraphy (by Heather), along with a daily wine and cocktail list. The space is not much bigger than some Upper East Side walk-in closets, with a bell-shaped bar that swells out at the center, and about 20 stools total, including about a dozen that line the perimeter of the pretty, dressing room-styled mosaic tiled bar.

Since the menu is only about twelve items long, it's quite possible and thoroughly enjoyable to get through the entire list in one night. To help you along your edible journey, enlist Emily, one the sweetest, funniest, and prettiest bartenders in the city, who has a great command of the food and the wines. That's what Julie and I did the other night while working our way through pretty much the entire menu. (I will confess that there are risks to this dining approach. After dinner, when Julie and I got into a cab crosstown, I heard a small ripping noise and, much to my chagrin, I had apparently split the inner thigh area of my jeans wide open. So yes folks, I am now a human sausage. I need to get a new job; perhaps reviewing water.)

So, now, back to my dinner that caused me to split my pants. We started with some Cava with our Unini, and then moved onto a Rioja from Sierra Cantabria ($11) with the garbanzo stew, a rustic rather soupy stew swimming with warmly spiced chickpeas and ribbons of spinach ($6) that's nice spooned over crusty bread. The boquerones-marinated pink anchovies-are served with slices of baguette, they get treated to the pulpy flesh of raw tomatoes, and a pour of green and vibrant olive oil. They were terrific-brazenly unctuous, as if announcing their flavors-"Yes I am an oily, salty, meaty fish!!! Come here and love me!!!" Well, maybe not quite, but you get the idea. These fish are not shy.

There are two other sandwiches on the menu other than the Unini. The pringa ($7), a hefty mixed meat sandwich, is served on a Sullivan Street bread made special for EQP called Stecca that's sort of a cross between a ciabatta an ... [more, click below]

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Posted: December 10, 2007

Other restaurants in Chelsea :
+ Matsuri   + La Bottega   + Tia Pol   + Bombay Talkie   + Cookshop   + D'Or Ahn: THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED   + Buddakan   + Crema   + InTent: THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED   + Trestle on Tenth   + Klee   + El Quinto Pino   + Socarrat   + Txikito   + Co. (Company)   

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