<< previous review   next review >>

reviews

“Spice Market”

Occasion:	Cuisine:	Area:	Cost:	Rating:
Night Out	Asian	MeatPacking	Moderate	Off the Charts

SPICE MARKET

I have been to Spice Market three times this week. Need I say more? Well, yes. The fact that two of the most talented chefs of our time are working in the same restaurant (Jean Georges Vongerichten and Gray Kunz) and are both actually there every night, cooking (and mingling with the A-List crowds), is pretty exciting to me. Honestly, seeing Gray Kunz back behind the line was a huge culinary turn on. And that JGV, he is so charming and cute! And then I tasted the food. Who needs sex? Just eat here.

Spice Market is a magnificent restaurant. Furnished from old ruins, floors panels and assorted fragments and artifacts from centuries-old temples in Bombay, and lit with jewel-toned lanterns, Spice Market is an exotic wonderland for the all of the senses. It is sexy, erotic, dreamy, and wildly inviting. Designed by Jacques Garcia, who is best known for the Hotel Coste in Paris, the sultry, moody bi-level space has vaulted ceilings, a 60-foot open kitchen, a downstairs lounge that is a recipe for premature intimacy, and a staff that looks like casting call for a Sex & The City spin-off featuring Smith Jared. People! The place is sizzling. Ouch.

Now, you are probably wondering about the food. The following adjectives come to mind: Fun. Thrilling. Curious. Daring. Divine. Yummy. For the most part, you can’t go wrong here. Sure, some dishes need work (this was week number one), but I have rarely eaten at a restaurant so early on and seen such an educated staff and consistently good food.

Plates are all made for sharing, so just pick a bunch and start your feast (it is wise to go with more than two people so you can try more stuff.) We began with chicken samosas, crisp triangles stuffed with fragrant bits of cumin and chile-spiced chicken that get a cooling kick from a fresh cilantro yogurt dipping sauce ($8). The lobster roll ($14) is a nice light and vibrant snack, made from fat meaty chunks of lobster meat wrapped up like a sushi roll (no rice for you Atkins fans) with sriracha (a tart pickled vegetable) and dill. I loved the green papaya salad with charred long beans, crystallized ginger and tamarind ($8) because it was full of heat and infused with assertive, balanced flavors, but for some it was way too spicy (wimps). Another of my favorite appetizers was the shrimp tod mon pla with cucumber peanut relish ($12). These were sort of like thin, slender crab cakes, without the breading, and with a healthy a ... [more, click below]

Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  

 Make a reservation

<< previous review   next review >>

Posted: February 21, 2004

Other restaurants in MeatPacking :
+ Paradou   + Florent   + One   + Bivio   + Spice Market   + Ono   + 5 Ninth   + Fatty Crab   + Del Posto   + Morimoto   + Los Dados   + 5 Ninth   + Merkato 55   + Scarpetta   + The John Dory   + The Standard Grill   + Bill's Bar & Burger   

Share ! Post a comment