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“Minetta Tavern”

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

inary mesclun greens ($16), we opted for a salad with a bit more personality: the Salad Pissenlit ($12)—wild dandelion greens, tossed with chopped egg in a brilliant anchovy vinaigrette not afraid to taste of anchovy.

The roast chicken ($26) may not seem like anything that special—it’s just a half a golden skinned chicken cut up into leg, thigh and breast meat, over some mashed potatoes and sautéed spinach, but all the elements are textbook examples of superior cooking. It’s impossible to leave even the slightest scrap of moist meat on its bones. Our plate looked like the dogs had gotten to it.
Fillet of trout Meuniere is also wonderful, served like fish is in New Orleans, crowned with a cascade of the sweetest lumps of crabmeat, in a brown butter sauce with a few crusty croutons sprinkled over the top for texture ($24).

The Pasta Za Za ($17) was inspired by chef Nasr’s sister who was staying at a pension in Italy run by a woman named Za Za. When her flight back to the States was cancelled, she returned to chez Za Za for an unexpected additional night. Za Za didn’t have much to work with for dinner so she cobbled together what ever was left in the pantry, which included dry pasta, egg’s from her farm's chickens, pancetta and sage. And so Pasta Za Za was born, a delicious combination of dried pasta, butter, parmesan and sage, topped with a fried egg. But in practice, the kitchen sadly overcooked the fried egg so the yolk was hard, and could not run over the pasta. A pasta like this needs the yolk for moisture and flavor, without it, it was a bit dry. Hopefully from now on, the cooks are paying more attention.

We were also let down by the Tavern Steak ($21), a nice juicy slab called Petite Tender (it’s the Teres Major muscle of the cow for all you meat geeks) that looked great and smelled even better (a juicy, just-off-the-grill steak and a pile of piping hot fries makes an irresistible perfume), but it was overly salted and unevenly cooked. It was ordered medium and was indeed medium in some parts, but was bordering on raw in others. Oh well. I ate the fries, soaked in the steak’s juices, which were heavenly nonetheless.

If you need a reason to come to Minetta other than the buzz, let it be for the desserts, in particular the Tarte Tropezienne ($9), which is about as far from a tarte as AIG is from a blue ribbon at a popularity contest. Rather, it&rsquo ... [more, click below]

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Posted: March 20, 2009

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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