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“At Vermilion by guest reviewer Elaine Weiner”

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

t the tables were spaced well enough so I didn’t have to navigate my butt around the neighboring table’s bottle of water. And I felt seduced by the music, and the view, even though it was just of East 46th Street. Somehow I felt away from the City by being right in the middle of it.

As we opened our menus, I was completely overwhelmed by options. The menu starts off with small plates a/k/a Indian Latin tapas, then moves onto the Tandoor with grilled meats and kabobs as well as breads and that was just on page one!  Page two included preparations with an Indian-Latin confluence, and a “Heat” section, a/k/a entrees from the Indian subcontinent, with spices untamed. The menu was too much. What happened to the good old days of Appetizers, Entrees and Desserts? I feared my face was becoming the color of vermilion and my hair untamed. I had no idea where to start. Thankfully, a server came over and took our cocktail order, but again, I was overwhelmed by choice. If you’re having a hard time deciding, try the Urban Cocktail Medley—four shooters in an ice block of a mango lassi with rum, a pomegranate ginger martini, blood orange capirinha, and a pani puri margarita. They definitely got our palates wet for what was to come, and as we tasted and tested, it was time to get down to the nitty gritty and order dinner. Out of frustration with the expansive nature of the menu, I decided to take it out of my hands and let my dinner companion do the ordering.

From the Small Plates (really appetizers) we started with the juhu ki pani puri with street Indian chaat, flour shells, spiced potato, and chili mint water ($8). This is a traditional street food, but to glam it up a little, chef Maneet Chauhan serves the chili mint water on the side. You pour some water into the flour cup and the trick is to put the whole piece in your mouth at once so water doesn’t run down your chin, sort of like an Indian soup dumpling. They were tasty, spicy and crunchy, but uneven in size. The large ones are particularly difficult to eat with grace. Don’t order these on a first date. I fell in love with the duck vindaloo arepa brushed pomegranate molasses, with curry leaf mango ($12). The duck was hot and vinegary, and the sweet corn arepa made a great bed for the shredded duck. I could’ve made a meal of them, that is until I tasted the wild boar jibarito— a street Puerto Rican open sandwich on plantain with pear-guaji ... [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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