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“At Vermilion by guest reviewer Elaine Weiner”

Occasion:	Cuisine:	Area:	Cost:	Rating:
Night Out	Indian	Midtown	Moderate	Good

Do you ever wonder what goes through people’s minds in naming their restaurants? I do. The question popped into my mind when Amanda Cohen opened Dirt Candy, and again when I heard about a restaurant called At Vermilion. Maybe “Ah, Vermilion,” or just plain “Vermilion,” but why “At Vermilion?” What’s the point of the “AT? Was it so they’d be in the A column in Zagat? If so, then they should have called it Ambitious Vermilion, Aggressive Vermilion, or even Assertive Vermilion. At least these adjectives help accurately describe the this lofty restaurant located on the bottom level of a typical non-descript office building in midtown (it’s located in the former Django space).  But “At?” What good is that? Other than to make your sentences sound quite bizarre. Beats me.

Leaving the name aside for a moment, let’s discuss the rest of the concept. The restaurant is quite large by comparison to other more modest restaurants that have recently opened. In these lean times, I’d say that owner Rohini Dey and her chef Maneet Chauhan are taking a chance opening a restaurant the size of a football field, but they’re also taking risks by serving an uncharted cuisine on the theme of Indian meets Latin. When I first read about the hybrid menu of this Chicago import, I scratched my head. Are these cuisines cousins? From the press materials I learned that owner Rohini Dey feels the Indian-Latin concept of At Vermilion is based on the historical cross-flows and culinary influences of the Persians, Moors, Spanish and Portuguese, as well as the tropical and geographical overlap of ingredients – such as coconut, tamarind, mango, beans, rice, guava and plantain, all utilized extensively in both cuisines. It’s not an immediately apparent connection, but I thought why not? I’m game.

So I went to midtown recently and had dinner at At Vermilion (I’ll never get used to that). I was greeted by a bustling bar with after-work drinkers—a good sign. As I was led up the white marble stairs to the L-shaped dining room, I thought the room felt very Philippe Starck on a very strict budget; the room is very modern, bright and airy, a little too stark for me, and not enough Starck. I couldn’t help but wish I were as glamorous as the life-sized photographs done by Indian fashion photographer Farrokh Chithia that hang on the walls, but hey, at leas ... [more, click below]

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Posted: May 24, 2009

Other restaurants in Midtown :
+ Lever House   + Aquavit   + RM   + Joseph's (formerly Citarella The Restaurant)   + Town   + Artisanal   + The Oyster Bar   + Geisha   + David Burke and Donatella Restaurant   + Riingo   + Amma   + Cafe Sabarsky   + The Stone Rose Lounge   + BLT Steak   + V, The Steakhouse-- Closed   + Bar Masa   + Cafe Gray   + The Bar Room at The Modern   + The Cafe at Aquavit   + The Cafe at Aquavit   + Bistro du Vent-- Closed   + Shaburi   + Xing   + The Modern   + Bar Americain   + Alto   + Park Blue   + Mainland-- Closed   + Nobu 57   + Quality Meats   + Dona-- CLOSED   + Daisy May's   + 7Square-- CLOSED   + Amalia   + Fireside   + Anthos   + Patroon   + BLT Market   + Toloache   + Mia Dona   + Park Avenue Summer   + Convivio   + The Oak Room by guest reviewer Julie Besonen   + At Vermilion by guest reviewer Elaine Weiner   + Lunching at Inakaya, by guest reviewer Kathleen Squires   + Marea, by Guest Reviewer Susan Kane Walkush   + Le Bernardin   + New York Central -- A Reason To Eat at the Grand Hyatt Again   + Pampano Botaneria by Dara Pollak   

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