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“Elettaria”

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

rog was twice the size. She did let me share though, and with it, the post-dinner hangover. (I’d try to limit your cocktail consumption to two if you’re also going to drink a bottle of wine with dinner.) What’s also special about this bar is that it allows for an evening to be spent safely in the cozy confines of Elettaria. Start at the bar, move to the rear dining room for dinner, and then come back up front for more.

Speaking of dinner, yes, let’s discuss.

It begins with warm buttered naan sprinkled with just a bit of salt, which, if you’re anything like me, you’ll tear through in no time. Have no fear, replenishments are happily served. And then you’ll get to the menu, which you’ll read and think (a) I’ve never read a menu like this before, and (b) how am I going to decide what to have. You’ll manage to make some tough choices and then you’ll have dinner and think, Holy Cardamom, this is fantastic.

The food is fantastic for one main reason—Akhtar. Here’s a guy who gets it. I’ve always felt this way about his cooking. He has a real thoughtfulness and understanding of what makes a dish work. This comes across in several ways. First, with seasoning. You’ll rarely find a plate here that’s not spot-on and pitch perfect. You won’t be reaching for salt or pepper, you’ll just be devouring.

Take the cured kampachi with hearts of palm, pickled trompettes (mushrooms), papaya and chile ($11) for instance. There’s the silken fish, a cross between sashimi and carpaccio, dressed up with the zippy mushrooms, the sweetness from papaya, and the heat from chile, and then across the top, just a pinch of coarse sea salt that wakes up every note of seasoning in the dish. It’s marvelous.
Ditto a luscious filet of seared wild striped bass ($22) that sits on top of diced sweet and sour roasted beets and a fluffy bed of basmati rice spiced with cinnamon, cardamom and cumin that’s garnished with chervil and cilantro. It’s a dish that took me to my Persian roots with that rice, and had me marveling at how he came up with the idea of those beets. It’s an element some others might leave off the plate but it’s the glue that brings the flavors of the fish and the rice all together.

Akhtar also has a thing for Meyer lemons, which is the magic that really makes his food pop. Take a ... [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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