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“Elettaria”

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

dish of plump caramelized Dayboat scallops served on braised oxtail and celery root puree ($14). It’s sort of a routine dish, you’d think, but add those Meyer lemon supremes and it’s like sunshine burning through a dense fog. You may find the lemons in sweetbreads, in quail, in any number of plates that need a note of bright tart acidity. Feel free to try this Meyer lemon trick at home. You’ll be surprised at the results.

Bringing flavors into focus with the right seasoning is one thing, but there’s another thing that Akhtar’s got going for him and that’s texture. He understands that people need variety: all soft and mushy, and you’re bored, all crunchy and you’re irritated. You need both. And both is what you’ll get with the crab meat resala ($14), a riff on a dish traditionally made from shrimp with turmeric, cardamom, onions and yogurt. Here it’s switched up a bit. What you’ll get is an oblong bowl filled with what seems to be several pounds of flawlessly picked over super-sweet crab, so delicate it’s almost fragile, served in a turmeric-onion beurre fondue. The crab is topped with what may look like a shower of croutons but they’re not—they’re actually crispy fried miniature gnocchi a la Parisienne (which should be served as a bar snack.) These are made from choux dough, not potatoes, so they’re like little pillows of cream inside. To finish the plate, he adds a confetti toss of basil seeds and fried herbs. There’s the softness of the crab, the crispness from the gnocchi, and then joy all around.

Finally, there’s a sense of adventure to Akhtar’s cooking that really makes eating a lot of fun. So, for instance, instead of fried chicken you’ll find crunchy battered quail, so tender and juicy you’ll wonder if it really is quail, or some small chicken masquerading as a quail. But the richness of the meat gives it away. It’s quail. The wings are served with a tamarind molasses, nuggets of bacon and a fried quail egg ($14). Sweetbreads, a signature dish at Craftbar, return here, fat and pan-fried with braised romaine, pineapple, and pink peppercorns ($11). Roasted chicken is a wild ride thanks to a surprising side of sweet and sour tomato ravioli with smoked sunchokes ($23). Have you ever? No, but you will. Wild Boar is reborn as a carnivore’s contender, served roasted and sliced and serv ... [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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