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“Smith's”


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

It’s wonderful.

The front room at Smith's
Beyond the swanky décor is the food on your plate, which is in the hands of Pablo Romero, who was sous chef under Cesar Ramirez at Bouley. Like Ramirez (now at Bar Blanc), Romero is very meticulous with technique, articulate with flavors, and artful with plating. His approach is ingredient driven and soulful, and he turns out food that gets treated to bold, playful flavors when needed, and more subtle accents in other cases.

Showing off his more bold side is a stew of creamy flageolet beans and guanciale that brings a hearty masculinity to a delicate filet of perfectly seared line caught bass ($24). Ditto a shower of diced pancetta that punches some salty smoke into tender charred ringlets of baby squid set on a slick of aioli ramped up with rendered pancetta fat, lemon confit and olives ($10). (It’s brilliant.) Eggplant is slow roasted until its flesh is soft and creamy, and topped with a plucky combination of piquillo peppers, raisins, and a splash of sherry vinegar ($7); the eggplant just sits there like a happy sponge, soaking up all these beautiful bright flavors. Beets are also coaxed to sugary sweetness, roasted and topped with soft nuggets of goat cheese, walnuts crushed into a powder on a gloss of horseradish dressing ($7). The surprise element here is a beet sorbet that’s sweet as summer berries, and adds a smart foil to the sharpness of the horseradish.

But there’s also a sincere refinement to his approach that comes across in his steamed egg appetizer ($8). For someone like me who loves eggs for breakfast, lunch and dinner, this dish was both ethereal and essential. A cloud of warm airy foam steams the egg and the polenta even at the table, keeping the egg warm until you press your spoon through the foam and puncture it’s center, letting its yolk slip out over the pale (emphasis on creamy) grits. If you’re like me, you’ll eat this with a spoon, like a child lapping up a bowl of farina for breakfast, and wish for a second order as you mop up the last yolky grits with a crusty piece of torn baguette.

Another astonishing example of his delicate approach is his super minimalist Bibb lettuce salad ($8). Wide soft fluted leaves in lime green are dressed with a zippy buttermilk herb dressing an ... [more, click below]

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Other restaurants in West Village :
+ Jefferson-- Closed   + La Palapa Rockola   + Sumile   + Babbo   + Tasca   + AOC Bedford   + Home   + The Spotted Pig   + Barbuto   + Numero 26   + Mas   + August   + Alta   + Cru   + Blue Mill Tavern-- Closed   + Employees Only   + Lassi   + Metropol--Closed   + Turks and Frogs   + Bellavitae   + Yumcha-- CLOSED   + Gusto: SEE EARLIER REVIEW; THIS CHEF HAS LEFT GUSTO   + Perry Street   + Home   + Ditch Plains   + The Little Owl   + Cafe Condesa   + Cafe Cluny   + Gusto   + The Waverly Inn   + Morandi   + P*ONG   + Perilla   + Soto   + Market Table   + Centro Vinoteca   + Barfry   + Dell'Anima   + Bar Blanc   + Smith's   + Commerce   + Elettaria   + Bar Q   + Cabrito   + 10 Downing   + Minetta Tavern   + Braeburn   + Scuderia, by guest reviewer Kathleen Squires   + Bar Blanc Bistro by Guest Reviewer Kathleen Squires   + Joseph Leonard   + Bar Henry, by Guest Reviewer Kathleen Squires   + Kin Shop   + Monument Lane   + Wong   + Bin on Bleecker, by Dara Pollak   + Ristorante Rafele   + Cole's Greenwich Village by Guest Reviewer Claire Jaffe   

1.)thewiseking
“Good food in a cramped space”

Love the creative cooking and the prices here are fair but the front room and the barrooms are a bit cramped and unpleasant. This is one restaurant where bar dining destroys the ambience and socializing potential of the bar.

2.)verymissmary
“Chef Soffer Rules”

Absolutely outstanding that you snagged CHEFSTABLELTD to cater your weddinng. Been to several events with Chef Soffer in the house. Fresh, impeccable food. Delectable. Elegant. Succulent. Tender fresh sushi like none other. Really creative cocktails. Who does their amazing flowers and decor? If they had a restaurant...oy. Freshest of the fresh. Highly recommended. If one finds out CHEFSTABLE LTD is caterer, run, don't walk to the event.

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