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“Marea, by Guest Reviewer Susan Kane Walkush”

Occasion:	Cuisine:	Area:	Cost:	Rating:
Night Out	Italian	Midtown	Break the Bank	Great

On the sommelier’s recommendation, we drank a Luigi Maffini Kratos (2007) that was clean and fruity and enhanced the dishes without overpowering them. In fact, the large wine-list is devoted to wines that enhance the seafood menu, with many wines served by the glass and a huge selection of roses.



We started with several crudo that show the kitchen’s dedication to serving the most pristine seafood possible. We shared razor clams with peperoncino and fennel, served on open clamshells, the chew of the clams offset by citrusy notes and a bit of spice ($13). Clean, vivid tasting geoduck clams with fresh chilies and lemon ($18) followed. Then, we had wild mackerel under a mound of caviar and a puddle of mussel cream topping thin slices of cucumber ($19).The brilliant flavors and contrasting textures burst in your mouth: fleshy fish, salty dots of caviar, and cool cucumber. (The menu offers this preparation for branzino, but it was done with mackerel the night I was there.)

We also had the spot prawns, so fresh it was clear they were recently squirming ($16). The prawn was left alone to just be itself, dusted only with black sea salt. Perfect. Totten Inlet oysters from Washington ($3.50 per) were huge, glistening, and plump—almost obscene really—with hint of brine and no overt fishiness.


For the antipasti, we shared a dish that takes the obligatory tomato, basil, and mozzarella to a new heights. White combines perfectly cooked Nova Scotia lobster, with creamy burrata, eggplant al funghetto (cooked in the manner you would mushrooms), and cherry tomatoes brightened with Thai basil ($24). The lobster (a lovely amount of it) lays its sweetness against the rich, salty burrata and lets the other sharp flavors take turns stepping out. The Thai basil has a stronger but less licorice flavor than ordinary basil, and the few quarters of ripe cherry tomatoes sweetened the plate.


While these starters were memorable, Marea serves a pasta dish that will go down in the annals of eating. The fusilli with red wine braised octopus and bone marrow ($25) represents the chef’s genuine talent in balancing both flavor and texture. The velvety sauce was rich but not heavy. The pasta and the octopus were expertly cooked, just enough so that they stopped your teeth as you bit in, and a smattering of breadcrumbs gave the dish just a bit more interest. And a simple thing like the shape of long t ... [more, click below]

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Posted: July 19, 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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