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“Elettaria”

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

en backsplash tiles. Elettaria was designed by Jason Volenec who also did Allen and Delancey, and the similarities between the spaces are apparent. The room feels a little like a theatrical set for a period piece starring James McAvoy and Keira Knightley.

Nawab’s business partner and wine director in Elettaria is Noel Cruz, whom he met almost a decade ago when Cruz was a bartender at Craftbar. After working with Don Pintabona most recently at Dani, he got together with Nawab who’d hatched the idea for Elettaria, a restaurant that would channel a more personal story than ones told before. The menu would reach into Nawab’s Indian heritage and open the lid on a chest of ingredients like ginger, cardamom, cumin, and cinnamon. As for the wines, Cruz created a list that’s succinct but compelling, with local and global choices at reasonable price points that show off-beat character and allow you to have fun. For instance, rather than a more typical Reisling from Finger Lakes’ Dr. Konstantine Frank, Cruz offers a variety called Rkatsiteli ($46), similar in style but different enough that it made me take note and jot it down for future drinking, especially for summer.

To create the cocktails, Cruz decided to bring in the experts, bar chefs Lynette Marrero, of Drinks at 6 and Freeman’s, who started out way back at Punch and Judy’s, and Brian Miller, of Death & Co., who got his start the same place I did, at Miracle Grill. Marrero and Miller are masters of their craft and the cocktails ($11) they’ve created are spectacular, served in delicate stemware that calls to mind swirls of sexy cigarette smoke and the roaring twenties. As for a favorite, it’s hard to say, but if you like bourbon, I’d recommend that you try the 8th Wonder—a tall beer glass filled with Kold Draft ice cubes with a mix of cardamom and chai-infused Buffalo Trace bourbon, sweet vermouth, lemon, simple syrup, and a splash of club soda, and if you like tequila, I’d go with the Rita Hayworth, a mix of house-infused pineapple and sage Herradura Silver Tequila shaken with fresh lime juice and honey. And if you really need to take the edge off quick, try the Navy Grog, a rum cocktail from 1941 that combines El Dorado 12yr, Goslings, and Cruzan Rums, with fresh lime and grapefruit juices, honey, and a splash of soda. When Debbie ordered it I immediately had drink envy. My Rita Hayworth was great, but her G ... [more, click below]

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Posted: March 16, 2008

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   

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