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“Socarrat”

Occasion:	Cuisine:	Area:	Cost:	Rating:
Night Out	Spanish	Chelsea	Moderate	Good

hrimp, white fish and clams) and Fideua, where crispy fideus (think short angel hair pasta) are substituted for rice. While we were tempted to have the Fideua—a dish I also discovered at Vern’s wedding in Barcelona, where it was served (topped with lots of garlicky alioli) during the open-air cocktail party, under a big dark sky twinkling with stars—we decided to go with the house signature, the Paella Socarrat. This was an excellent decision on our part, if I do say so myself.

The paella was served between us on a round silver stand you might also find at a brick oven pizza place, but here it’s topped not with a pizza but with a wide flat paella pan filled up with hot and steamy and fragrant rice, accompanied by a little bowl for shells tucked underneath. As we dug in, scoping up spoonfuls of aggressively seasoned rice loaded up with moist hunks of chicken, plump mussels, briny clams, and nicely chewy cuttlefish, the couples on either side of us were doing the same, happily working their way through their pans, smiling and chatting between bites, washing it down with wine, and going right back for more.

While the paella is excellent, it’s more than the seasoning that makes it great. It’s the communal, family-style nature of the restaurant. There’s a great energy and a genuine spirit of warmth that makes you feel like you’re having dinner in Spain somewhere among friends. It’s almost intoxicating to be in the thick of it (or was that all the wine I drank?). In any case, at some point you’ll probably feel so at home that you think it’s quite okay to reach over and try your neighbors’ food. Now, it may feel that way, but really you should ask first. Most probably the answer will be "yes, as long as I can try yours." The next day, you may have a few new friends on Facebook.

Indeed, this restaurant, like Tia Pol and El Quinto Pino, is as much a gem for its food as it is for its intimate and snug atmosphere. It’s that lack of space and that intimacy that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Now, if I could only find a Persian Polo bar. I may have to get Bibi to work on that one.

Socarrat is located at 259 W. 19th St., between Seventh and Eighth Avenues, 212-462-1000.

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Posted: July 27, 2008

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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