Spice Market

[grillboy]

There was a little paragraph in today's Post:

NY Post Cuisine

[cabrales]

Also of note was the article's report regarding Ducasse:

"Sources say Ducasse and restaurateur Jeffrey Chodorow - who are already partners in Spoon+ in London - will open a bistro tentatively called MIX at 68 W. 58th St."

[jeunefilleparis]

I haven't seen a post about this yet, so unless it was posted a while back, Spice Market, Jean Georges' newest restaurant is open!

A friend of mine went over the weekend, (the soft opening began on feb 12th and to my knowledge it hasnt been publicized yet, but they are definately taking reservations now and are open for business.)

The space is absolutely gorgeous. The minute you walk in you are just transported. You feel as though you are in an ancient asian temple of some sorts. Every last detail is attended to, from light fixtures to the incredible carved woodwork at the communal tables in front of the kitchen. There is a huge lower floor too, with some tables, another bar and these very sexy alcove like areas that you can "rent" for a certain amount of time. The GM said prices started at around $300. They can fit about 15 people or so.

Oh and I just have to mention that the sinks there are very cool too.

I was able to get a table right in front of the great open kitchen. I started off eating alone and ordered shrimp pancakes with a peanut cucumber chutney and a cruchy calamari salad with papaya, cashews in a tamarind sauce with a hint of cayenne pepper. Both dishes were excellent. I have a very weak tongue so I asked the server for things that were not terribly spicy. The shrimp pancakes were pretty light, no too greasy and very savory. I especially liked the peanut cucumber chutney that complimented it so nicely.

The calamari salad was excellent too. The fried ( though not greasy either) was perfect and full of flavor. The papaya added a nice textural contrast to the crunchiness of the calamari and its soft creamy sort of flavor also worked nicely with the salty flavors. The sauce itself was actually very spicy for me, there might have been more pepper in there than the server thought,,,,,,

My friend showed up a bit later and orderd the shaved tuna salad with asian pear, raddish and chili tapioca. This was strangely less spicy than the other salad and was wonderful too. The tuna was incredibly fresh and full of flavor, the pear slices paired with the bursts of the chili tapioca balls it was so delicous and I thought it was a very creative use of tapioca. Next was the ribs, served off the bone and they were crusted in red chilis and onion on a bed udon noodles. The ribs were so incredibly tender I barely had to chew. The flavors again were so vibrant.

I had been talking to the pastry chef earlier in the evening and he decided to send out just about every dessert for us. First was a chocolate and vietnamese coffee tart with condensed milk icecream. Very delicous with subtle coffee flavors, icream was creamy and smooth and reminded me of the condensed milk that they pour in coffee in Vietnma.

Next dessert was the thai jewels and fresh fruit which was fresh coconut meat, coconut milk, crushed ice, jack fruit, mango and pomegranate seeds. It was definately an interesting dessert, but i ve never loved coconut so I dont feel right to comment,,,,, but the coconut was very fresh again ( like everything I tried that night)

There was an Ovaltine Kulfi, this was the only dessert that I didnt like. It really did taste like Ovaltine, a taste that I find horrible, and quite honestly, I m not sure what they were thinking with this one,,,,,,though my boss had it last week and love it,,,,,, so i guess if you like ovaltine, give it a go

Lastly, we were sent out rice pudding, it had passion fruit bits inside and a great carmalized orange top. It came with a great tart passion fruit icecream. I really loved this one. It was served warm and it was both comforting and exotic at the same time.

To top it off, when you order the icecream, they sned it out in little half pint chinese boxes and the pastry chef gave me a little box of dorian icream to go because I told him that I had tried the fruit and that the smell was, um well, rather smellly and was curious of what the icecream would be like,,,,,,

All in all the experience was great. Food is intersting, and flavorful.The service was wonderful, everyone was friendly and helpful.

The space was so gorgeous and unique and I have no doubt that it will do very well.

Prices are pretty reasonable,,, aps run between $7- $12 and I believe the highest entree was priced at around $26.

I cant wait to go back

Edited February 24, 2004 by jeunefilleparis (log)

[anil]

Is this the one by the meat packing dist. ?

[Pan]

Yet another fusion restaurant. Thanks for the report, Lauren, but count me as skeptical. I can't remember if we've discussed Vong before. Have you been to Vong? Did you like the food there?

[glenn]

Is this the one by the meat packing dist. ?

It's in the meatpacking district -- 13th St. between 9th & 10th Ave.

I thought I read somewhere this was a joint collaboration with Gray Kunz, though I haven't seen any mention of him in a couple of reviews I saw. Was I dreaming this?

[alanamoana]

partnership between jean georges and gray kunz

[emsny]

We were at Spice Market last week for an early dinner - even at 7 p.m. the place was beginning to jump, so reservations would probably be a good idea. Loved everything about it - the first post covers it all. Worth mentioning that the tables are spaced quite far apart; the chairs/sofas are very comfortable (and beautiful); and the service enthusiastic and professional. There's recorded music, but (at least early in the evening) its volume did not interfere with normal conversation. We tasted lots of things - not a dud among them, really. Both recipes and execution were simply grand. And SUCH FUN. Didn't strike me as very expensive either.

[jogoode]

Yet another fusion restaurant. Thanks for the report, Lauren, but count me as skeptical. I can't remember if we've discussed Vong before. Have you been to Vong? Did you like the food there?

I was hoping Spice Market wouldn't be a fusion place! I thought their goal was the bring Southeast Asian street food to NY.

But I'm not that familar with those street foods, so, Pan, what makes you think this is fusion -- something in Lauren's description?

[jeunefilleparis]

Yet another fusion restaurant. Thanks for the report, Lauren, but count me as skeptical. I can't remember if we've discussed Vong before. Have you been to Vong? Did you like the food there?

I was hoping Spice Market wouldn't be a fusion place! I thought their goal was the bring Southeast Asian street food to NY.

But I'm not that familar with those street foods, so, Pan, what makes you think this is fusion -- something in Lauren's description?

I wouldn't call it fusion at all actually, if anything its a "modern" asian but its definately not some type of french asia like Vong or Latin/ Asian like Sushi Samba. All the flavors were very much Asian, a good mix of Asian countries actually,,,,,,,,,

I still think that the chili tapioca balls in the salad were so damn cool!

[jeunefilleparis]

<<<I was hoping Spice Market wouldn't be a fusion place! I thought their goal was the bring Southeast Asian street food to NY.>>

its is definately not Southeast Asian Street food though either,,,,,,,,, oh one more cool thing, the satay was kep hot by wrapped a hot stone with wire and placing the skewers on top! oh and they have homemade gingerale that is fabulous too

[slkinsey]

Sounds like the prices are quite reasonable, too. I have loved his other places (inclufing Vong, for the record) and will definitely check it out.

[jogoode]

I wouldn't call it fusion at all actually, if anything its a "modern" asian but its definately not some type of french asia like Vong or Latin/ Asian like Sushi Samba. All the flavors were very much Asian, a good mix of Asian countries actually,,,,,,,,,

I still think that the chili tapioca balls in the salad were so damn cool!

I guess it is the "modern Asian" aspect that disappoints me -- I thought I'd be eating simple street food, not tapioca balls. Nevertheless, from your description it seems like it's worth a try! Do you remember any of the other menu offerings?

Edited February 24, 2004 by jogoode (log)

[slkinsey]

A little something, and a little something else on Spice Market from NY Metro.

The idea was to bring two classically trained, Asia-obsessed, astoundingly inventive chefs [Gray Kunz and Jean-Georges Vongerichten] together in a space big enough for both of them. The menu, Kunz concedes under duress, will explore Asian street-market food, a vast realm the chefs spent the last two weeks of August voraciously exploring firsthand. Implementing their exotic discoveries will be executive chef Stanley Wong, a Vongerichten associate since his days running Vong in Hong Kong before landing here to open the Pan-Asian TanDa.

[jeunefilleparis]

you know, I was going to take a menu and then after we ordered more food, they took the menu back, damn.

The menu is divided in different sections like seafood, meat, salads, soups, and a few others,,,,,,,

Red Curry Duck, Pork Vindaloo, Mussels in a lemongrass sauce, bbq skate wing, hmmmmmmm JJ, i m sorry to let you down, mustve been those 2 ginger marguaritas with ginger salt:) I ll if theyll fax me a menu,,,,,,,

[kurl]

Sounds like the prices are quite reasonable, too. I have loved his other places (inclufing Vong, for the record) and will definitely check it out.

My one visit to Vong was incredibly disappointing -- almost everything my girlfriend and I ordered was boring and disappointing. I'm aware that Vong is well past it's prime, but still...

[Pan]

But I'm not that familar with those street foods, so, Pan, what makes you think this is fusion -- something in Lauren's description?

Just that the ingredients and descriptions sounded clearly Asian, but I assumed that no Vongerichten restaurant could serve real Asian stuff.

With all due respect to Lauren, I think we need for someone who likes hot pepper to go to Spice Market and not ask for the spice to be toned down, and see whether it is, anyway.

[marcus]

Stanley Wong as the executive chef raises real questions.

Do people remember Tan Da?? I do!

[Pan]

I don't. Please fill us in.

[marcus]

Very briefly, Tan Da was opened by the former owners of a hi trendy restaurant, I believe it was called Momo, never been, in a former OTB parlor on Park and 23-24. There was a bar upstairs and you needed to be known or look right to get up there after 9-10, but downstairs was Tan Da, a serious restaurant intended to showcase Stanley Wong's talents. This guy has a major resume, I believe that he was executive chef at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Hong Kong, this is actually far more impressive than being the chef at Vong. He had complete control Tan Da, and what he produced was the most flaccid fusion cuisine that one could imagine. The only thing that was good, was the house cocktail named the Wong, which I found out was actually made with ginger ale. I have to say that I thought that the Pho was also good, but this was one of the more conventional dishes. Grimes gave it a very weak one star. In fact, after the restaurant folded, it was replaced by Sage, a comfort food restaurant, I haven't been, which Grimes praised greatly in his review, saying how much better it was than Tan Da, but then also gave it one star.

My bottom line is that this is an itinerant chef who must have certain characteristics that impress major chefs, but who is never successful and does not deliver in the environment of an actual restaurant.

[bloviatrix]

I believe it was called Momo

Actually, it was called Moomba, which received frequent mentions on Page Six.

[marcus]

I believe it was called Momo

Actually, it was called Moomba, which received frequent mentions on Page Six.

Quite so. Just goes to show how hip and cool I am.

[ewindels]

The door is locked. Am I in the right place? There’s no sign outside (a trend with “fabulous” new restaurants of which I am personally getting tired), but I am only fifteen minutes early for a 6PM reservation. It sure looks like Spice Market inside, what with the pagoda-lined bar, the Tihanny lamps and the group of sleek young hosts with their perfectly calibrated down-market look, like they’ve assembled for a Benetton photo shoot. I try around the corner, but those doors don’t have any handles, so I make another stab at my initial entry. This time one of the sleek young things unlocks it just long enough to sniff “We’ll be opening shortly,” and disappears. Mazel tov.

Twenty minutes later I am one of a group of about fifteen people who rise en masse from the more welcoming bar at Pastis and trot through the wet snow back up the street where we are finally granted admittance to this week’s Must Go restaurant. Spice Market is still clearly getting its act together, although the powers that be might want to rethink their scheduling considering the probably $300 - $400 worth of bar tab they lost out on from us early birds.

For those of you true epicures who disdain mention of anything that doesn’t go in your mouth, please skip the next section and go to the following one. For the rest of you restaurant whores, like myself…

SEEING AND BEING SEEN

Spice Market, located at 403 East 13th street on Ninth Avenue, across the street from the remarkably unattractive but no doubt painfully hip Gansevoort Hotel (still under construction), is Jean Georges Von Gerichten’s latest stop in his own Epcot Center, this one focusing on Southeast Asia: India, Thailand, Vietnam, etc.

The décor is on the dim, loungy side, nicely and imaginatively done. There are two dining areas, one straight past the main bar and adjoining the open kitchen, and to the right a wide wrap-around balcony to that overlooks the downstairs bar/lounge area. This is ringed with antique, distressed archways, pedestals and columns reportedly rescued from junk heaps throughout Southeast Asia. These are topped with jars, vases, baskets and sundry other gewgaw. It looks authentic and cool. Banquettes and chairs are white tufted leather. The tables are veneer in ebony. The silverware is heavy and very chic. All very sleek. Music is of course played, although not, I felt, obtrusively so.

The wait staff, all of whom surely had to submit headshots with (if not instead of) their resumes, are nice and accommodating. Service was a shade slow, but again the restaurant is still getting on its feet. The uniforms are all of the flimsy, pajama variety. Those for the waiters feature dark orange tops, backless for the women. Several of them admitted that they were feeling the cold. Apropos, until the temperature picks up, avoid being seated along or near the Ninth Avenue wall of windows, in order to avoid a draft so strong that it set the potted palms swaying. The bus boys and girls all had remarkably sculpted eyebrows – clearly Suarez has worked out a deal with some nearby salon.

The crowd largely consists of people who spent a lot of time (and money) trying to look like they hadn’t. There were several tables of “Sex and the City” wannabes, all angled to make sure that their footwear was displayed to the most noticeable advantage possible. Liev Schreiber was two tables down from us, and around the corner was pointed out to me some movie mogul of whom I’d never heard. (Are there actually any moguls anymore?) By the time we left at 8PM, the place was packed with people all eyeing each other suspiciously and contemplating whether they should deign to remain and grace the place with their presence. Great people watching!

The Great Man himself, conspicuous in his chef whites, was a very noticeable presence, whizzing around with an anxious smile on his face and keeping an eye on details. I was impressed. But one suspects a fate for Spice Market like that of 66, which enjoyed a few months of cachet before being abandoned to the dregs of Wall Street and their surgically enhanced girlfriends.

BLAH, BLAH, BLAH – WHAT’D YOU EAT?

The menu is described as being family style and meant to be shared. I.e. each person is provided with small individual plates and the dishes are placed in the middle to be apportioned out. This is easier said than done. The appetizers come in portions of three, which, if you were a couple attempting intimacy and romance, might well lead to some arguments, or at least disgruntlement. And no serving utensils are provided with the entrees. The noodles that came with the short ribs inevitably made a stop in the wine glasses before they reached the plate. Chopsticks are provided as an option, but neither the food nor the plates make them a realistic utensil.

Portions are not large and to really explore the inventive menu, which covers a very broad geography, four to six people would be ideal, ordering lots and lots of different things.

So ANYWAY: You are given a small bowl of tiny crisp crackers with a coriander dipping sauce for nibbles, very tasty. We started with chicken samosas, which were delicious. Black pepper tiger shrimp with “sun-dried” pineapple was nice. Best was the julienned jicama salad with toasted sesame seed dressing underneath it. We chose three entrées: the aforementioned short ribs, which while not very flavorful are wonderfully tender; pork vindaloo, braised to an extraordinarily silken consistency and nicely flavored; and coconut crusted monkfish “nuggets” each with a dollop of tamarind sauce, quite nice. Brown or white rice is offered gratis. A side dish of snap peas, shiitake mushrooms and water chestnuts never materialized, but was not billed either.

I never got to see the wine list (there may not be one). The cocktail menu offers four whites and four reds by the glass, including a Claiette (sp?) from India, and how many times do you get the chance to try an Indian wine? I can’t recommend it, though, (it largely disappeared in competition with the food), although it wasn’t offensive.

For dessert, we eschewed the waiter’s recommendation of “Thai jewels and fruits” (the jewels being those gummy, sweet, bland confections of which Asians are so fond but for which I have yet to develop an appreciation), and opted for the “Ovaltine Kulfi.” Not having much experience with Asian food overall, and Asian desserts in particular, my only point of reference was the ethereal kulfi at Tabla. What we got at Spice Market was accurately described by my companion as a “slightly melted Heath bar” – a tough, rubbery slab of praline. Accompanying it was a sautéed slice of something, which my companion guessed might be plantain, but which a hostess confirmed was a slice of caramelized banana. Either way, from the taste it had been prepared either near or actually in the fish station.

Total for two people (three glasses of wine, two appetizers, three entrées, one dessert) was $144, including tax and tip.

Overall the food struck me as catering to a New York clientele notoriously wary of authentic foreign foods, particularly when it comes to heat. The menu continues von Gerichten’s exploration of mixes and matches, but only nudging the envelope rather than really expanding any horizons. While nothing was bad or offensive (although that banana could only best be described as “unusual”), nothing was particularly remarkable. Everything was pleasant and correct, but certainly nothing to go out of your way for. Except for us attention order deficients, already looking around for the next Must Go!

[Daniel]

Is this place going to be another 66?

[ewindels]

My guess: yes. Just a guess, tho!