The Tasting Room

[slkinsey]

Dude. If you don't go, then who will come back and report to us about how they are doing without Jason Neroni? You have to go.

[Daniel]

I was planning on reporting about the Beard House event tonight.. Plus, I normally get too drunk and forget key ingrediants. I think someone owes it to the board. Perhaps someone with better writing skills and a more refined pallet. Someone like i dont know a topic manager or something

[KatieLoeb]

Dude.  If you don't go, then who will come back and report to us about how they are doing without Jason Neroni?  You have to go.

Jason Neroni was Chef de Cuisine at the Tasting Room. I presume Chef/Owner Colin Alevras is still in the house? How much difference does the departure of a Chef de Cuisine make in a smaller restaurant where the Executive Chef can actually be expected to be in the kitchen on a (mostly) daily basis, rather than on a press junket, or God forbid, out feeling up the patrons in the Dining room?

I've always found the Tasting Room menus to be seasonal and inspired. Although there are usually only about a dozen or so dishes on the menu, the freedom to order in "tasting" and "sharing" portions can make for a spectacular meal with adventurous like-minded foodies as dining companions. The all-American wine list always has some really interesting and affordable selections on it. I've found the staff to be professional, cheerful, and extremely helpful in terms of menu descriptions, and wine pairings. Yes - it's a very small, occasionally noisy space, but I choose to see that as part of its charm. Renee, Chef Alevras wife and partner is a most gracious and welcoming hostess. Makes you feel like you're a guest in her home. I've had many great meals there. It's one of my favorite go-to restaurants whenever I visit New York. I'd say take the reservation and go. Like anywhere else, if it isn't to your liking, you don't have to go back. But I think you'll have a wonderful meal.

[SethG]

My wife and I had a delightful experience at the Tasting Room last night.

We called early in the evening to see if they could squeeze us in, and they were able to take us at 10:30 (which worked out to be closer to 11:00). Despite the fact that they did us a big favor by taking our reservation in the first place, they were very apologetic about making us wait. Once you see how small the Tasting Room is, it's hard not to have sympathy for anyone who has to guess when tables will actually come available.

Once we were seated, we were treated like regulars-- literally! The owner came over and said how nice it was to see us again. I sheepishly told her it was our first time in her restaurant, but that we were very glad to be there.

Owing to several factors-- busy work weeks, our young, early-rising children, the drinks we had before we got to the restaurant-- both my wife and I began to droop before our dinner was quite over. We ended up (through no fault of the restaurant) rushing through the last part of our meal, and we didn't even finish our nice bottle of Oregon Pinot Noir, which I would usually consider a crime. But all the same, we had a lovely time. The people couldn't have been nicer (and no, Mr. Grimes, I didn't find them overbearing), and we thought the food was consistently great.

I never think to bring a notepad when I dine out, so I can't provide the level of detail that you see upthread. But here's a rough idea of what we had:

We shared five of the small plates, and it was plenty of food for us.

Our first two dishes were the fois gras (which my wife described as "meat butter," and she meant it in a good way), and a quail (I think) dish that actually resembled a country pate in its construction. It was thus a poor choice to go with the fois gras, since it didn't provide the best variety, but still, on its own terms it was delicious. It was served with these wonderfully fresh little carrot pieces and some kind of berry (it might have been listed on the menu, I dunno) compote. It was the color of black currant and it had some bitterness, but the berry skins appeared larger to me than currants, so there you are. These sides to the game bird complemented the dish very nicely.

Then we shared a superb sauteed scallop small plate. Nothing particularly surprising about it, but very well executed. Here I wished we went with the larger plate, since the small only contained two (admittedly rather large) scallops.

Then we had a pork cheeks dish and sliced duck breast (as mentioned above, the restaurant often serves two of the shared plates at a time). The pork dish was sensational. The meat was fork-tender and it came in a wonderful, concentrated prok broth. The duck was served with a wild rice side that I didn't care for, but the slices of meat were perfectly rare; just beautiful to look at and such pleasure to eat.

Unfortunately, by this time we were fading fast so we asked the waiter if we could quickly split the chocolate bread pudding and get the check. He was very gracious in complying; I think we looked like we might just settle in for the night if we didn't go home soon!

Their bread, by the way, comes from Amy's Bread. It was a ciabatta (or similar big-holed Italian bread), and the owner was liberally passing it out throughout the evening. I thought it was very good, which isn't really news when it comes to Amy's Bread, but I've become a very tough bread customer recently and I was pretty impressed.

All in all a really great time. We'd really like to become regulars and earn the owner's greeting in the future.

[Pan]

Thanks for your report, Seth.

This is a place I really want to visit some time. It's in my neighborhood, and at one time, I passed by to take a look, spoke with some customers waiting to ask about the possibility of having a table later (impossible, it turned out), and ended up getting into a conversation with the host, who was friendly and gracious in spite of how very busy he was. He lent me their long and impressive annotated wine list to look at. It'll take some planning to dine at the Tasting Room because, as Seth noted, it's a small room, and demand greatly exceeds the supply of tables.

[Daniel]

When discussing careers one cliche has always been repeated"Find something that you love and are passionate about" I have never seen such a better example of this then at The Tasting Room .. Run by a husband and wife, The Tasting Room is perfect down to the finest detail.. Even making a reservation is a delightful experience thanks to Renee the owner... Besides the food being creative, local, and fabulous, besides the wine list being so amazing and enormous for a place three times its size, there is such a special feeling here which can only come from being surrounded by love and passion. This is the type of place that motivates you to be a better person..

The menu is structured into two types of ordering.. You can order each dish in different portion sizes.. A regular portion which would allow a traditional arrangement of appetizers and entrees.. Or a taste portion which allows one to sample many different items.. We happily put ourselves in the owners hands and were not disappointed..

However, since i didn't even look at the menu, I might not be too clear on all the dishes, thankfully the pictures explain how good the meal is far better then my words..

oysters

Refreshing and wonderful Kumomoto Oysters

This is an example of why the tasting room is amazing.. The things they do with vegetables is magical.. Its all fresh, local, and just as good if not better then any of the fish or meat dishes.. Here is asparagus with smoked eel and homemade mayo.. Pure heaven.. Smokey, fresh, creamy, crunchy, fantastic.

Fois Gras pineapple infused honey comb, that we crushed and lightly dipped the fois into... Awesome.. And such a huge piece of fois gras.

poached local farm egg over roasted shitakes incredible earthy flavor of a mushroom the textures were terrific.. This worked so well. ....also incredible!!!!

cod - that's all I remember. Not to take anything away from it, it was consistant to how wonderfull all the dishes were..

This man makes a duck like you wouldnt believe.. This was one of the better duck dishes i have had..

Now i have done two cross country drives searching for the best bbq pork.. This pork belly is up there with any of the best plates of oink i have had.. With a yam puree lining the bowl.. If i just had this dish i would have went home raving.. What a way to finish off..

I always like when the chef does desserts as well.. (I think i would love if Colin, the owner chef, made a peanut butter sandwich).. It keeps a consitency.. This dessert was outstanding..bittersweet chocolate terrine with a filbert nut crust...no flour in this crust..Cake was out freaking standing.. It was hot, goey, terrific bittersweet chocolate..

What a meal.. What a place..

Edited June 15, 2005 by Daniel (log)

[Cornellrob]

wow. that does look like a great meal. if you don't mind sharing, how much did it cost to put yourselves in the chef's hands? without wine... thank you.

[Daniel]

without wine i would say that meal was like 50 bucks a head..

[KatieLoeb]

Daniel:

Thanks for your report. Glad to see that Colin and Renee are still at the top of their craft.

I haven't been in a while. Might be time for a road trip...

[gaf]

Chef on Board New York City Entry #39

I have kvetched about what I label Disappearing Chef Syndrome; where is a chef when one needs him? Cooking is a worker's occupation, not a skill for management. On this score I find no fault with the Tasting Room, Colin (and Renee) Alevras's Lower East Side bite-size restaurant, a prime contributor to the remarkable restaurant renaissance in that formerly blighted corner of the city, along with Prune, Thor, WD-50, Schiller's, and 71 Clinton Fresh Food, making this perhaps New York's most exciting culinary neighborhood outside of ethnic Queens. East First Street was once no man's land, a deserted boulevard of crack, smack, and hopelessness, Buildings could not be given away. Nightmares trumped location, but no longer.

As I entered, hostess Renee Alevras was leaving with young Alveras in tow. However, Colin was in the kitchen and appeared in order to converse as we were leaving. The presence of the chef - and his clear enthusiasm and seriousness of purpose does much to sharpen one's fond memories and excuse missteps.

The Tasting Room is not quite a tapas bar, but emphasizes small dishes (although diners have the choice of larger or smaller versions - and our server spent more time than necessary explaining the system). We selected three starters, three continuations, and two desserts. Our opinions varied, but with a chef who creates a daily menu, and makes changes as the evening progresses, we made allowances - allowances that would not be as agreeable had the chef been busily marketing himself.

As others have remarked, Tasting Room is known for the congeniality of its staff; I concur. But sometimes the changes in the menu were so sudden that Sean, our server, was not aware of them until we inquired. While this communication gap should be addressed, it suggests that Chef Alevras is intent on his ingredients, not chatting up his staff. After we ordered, we were informed that Jerusalem Artichoke Soup was not being served; the chef was unsatisfied by his creation and perhaps swirled the bitter liquid down the sewer. With ten tables or so in a space smaller than my suburban living room, permits Chef Alevras to cook as if diners were guests.

The best of our starters was Effingham Washington Oysters: hyper-fresh bivalves with a touch of winesap apples and its juice with Grenada Seasoning Peppers. The oysters were coyly sweet, but the apple made this an opening dessert. The apple transformed a naked oyster into a taste of Eden.

We also enjoyed the Delaware River Smoked Eel with Newtown Pippin Apples, Pappas Amarillos (something yellow this way comes), and Celery Root. Our expectations were upended. The eel was sharply smoked, and tasted at first like a smoked ham (the smoking, we learned, was done in a smokehouse that did smoke hams). Later we concluded that it tasted like a smoked trout. The fishy eel taste for which we secretly hoped was absent, but pork, trout or eel, the combination was a happy one. In honor of the season Chef Alevras used apples often tonight (one more apple dish was to come), but in this dish, as in the previous one, the choice was wise and sweet.

Less successful was Chopped Duck Liver with Buckwheat Groats, Pickled Onion, and Parsley. The vinegary herb, often harsh as a main ingredient, overpowered the rest of the dish, unfortunate in that the liver (not foie gras) was both somewhat bland and dense (although, presumably, these ducks died in peace). I enjoyed the bravery of serving kasha on the Lower East Side, but this plate neither flew nor quacked.

The finest continuation course was surely Line Caught Haddock with Red Pepper, Almonds, and Leeks. This creation far outshone any cooked fish at Le Bernardin, and demonstrated the value of the close attention of an artisan. The haddock was buttery perfection, and the bright red pepper coulis had precisely the level of spice to enhance the fillet. The leeks added crunch to the dish with the almonds adding a slight touch of sugar. This was a stellar dish, and to think that perhaps it was not here yesterday and might not be here tomorrow made me both wishful and incredibly fortunate that I chose tonight to visit.

Roasted Red Wattle Pork Shoulder with Smoked Jowl, Tiny Potatoes, and Cipolle Onions with a taste of pork jus was a tribute to heritage food. Red Wattle Pork is a rare breed (that one website suggests is at some risk - and certainly will be should this dish get around!). The tiny potatoes were a cross between small marbles and BBs - and as flavorful as any potato. Cipolle Onions are the onion of the moment. This was a worthy and satisfying dish, but when all the hoo-hah was removed, it was at its heart pork, potatoes, and onions.

Our third dish was least satisfying: Violet Hill Pheasant with burdock (a root vegetable), apples, shallots, and fresh rosehips. One sometimes gets the impression that Chef Alevras chooses ingredients based on their obscurity. However, the real problem was not the hips or dock, but a pheasant that was dry and overcooked. With a more juicy bird, this dish would have been successful, but not tonight.

Desserts seem an afterthought at The Tasting Room. Our Oregon Hazelnut Tart was a take on Pecan Pie, and it had the virtue and drawback of that historic dessert. It was powerfully sweet and not very subtle in its sweetness. Granted replacing pecans with hazelnuts changed the taste, but not so much as to make change a Southern classic into a staple of the Pacific Northwest.

Our Peach Leaf Panna Cotta with Braised Pears, Bee Pollen, and Honey was a disappointment - to us and to the chef. We couldn't find braised pears on the plate and when we inquired we learned that Chef Alevras decided to puree the pear instead. This had the unfortunate consequence of making the fruit flavors of the pudding muddy and murky. The bee pollen (why, oh why?) added a rather unpleasant crunch without a pleasing taste. The bits of honeycomb contributed an odd chewiness. Well, there is always tomorrow.

No description of the Tasting Room (a wine bar as much as café) should neglect the wine list. Since there were only two of us, we did not take advantage of their willingness to waive the corkage fee if a second bottle was purchased, but this is the way to please one's diners. Our glasses of Roshambo Chardonnay ‘03 and Syncline Syrah ‘01 were well-priced and accessible matches to our food.

I will eagerly return to the Tasting Room. Eight courses, two glasses of wine, a congenial server, and a working chef for well under $100 in a former crack house: who could ask for anything more.

The Tasting Room

72 East 1st Street (at First Avenue)

Manhattan (Lower East Side)

212-358-7831

My Webpage: Vealcheeks

[Daniel]

The place is great.. I cant say enough good things about the place.. Nice report gaf.. I have heard this before and dont remember if it was stated on this thread.. Whats the kitchen look like there? I have heard its extremely tight and there are only convection ovens.

Edited December 7, 2005 by Daniel (log)

[KatieLoeb]

The place is great.. I cant say enough good things about the place.. Nice report gaf..  I have heard this before and dont remember if it was stated on this thread.. Whats the kitchen look like there?  I have heard its extremely tight and there are only convection ovens.

←

Are they convection ovens? I know they don't have gas. The ovens were described to me by the staff as the "commercial equivalent of a large EZ-Bake oven"!

[Sneakeater]

This is one restaurant that I just don't get. The wine list is fabulous, of course, but I found the food pretentious and underpowered. (Oh, and don't forget overpriced.) It's rare that I just completely miss the appeal of someplace so many tasteful people like.

Edited December 7, 2005 by Sneakeater (log)

[Pan]

By underpowered, do you mean underseasoned?

[Sneakeater]

Well, there's that, but more like underthought, if that's at all communicative.

Let me try this: obviously made with limited resources, without enough successful touches to overcome that.

[docsconz]

According to Florence Fabricant in the New York Times The Tasting Room has moved.

THE TASTING ROOM RESTAURANT Renee and Colin Alevras, have moved from their tiny, seven-year-old East Village spot to a larger location in NoLIta, where there is a full bar serving retro cocktails, 45 seats at tables and a private dining area. The American menu has been expanded. Their original space, at 72 East First Street (First Avenue), will reopen next month as Wine Bar and Cafe, with all-day service and light food: 264 Elizabeth Street (Houston Street), (212) 358-7831.

[robert40]

According to Florence Fabricant in the New York Times The Tasting Room has moved.

THE TASTING ROOM RESTAURANT Renee and Colin Alevras, have moved from their tiny, seven-year-old East Village spot to a larger location in NoLIta, where there is a full bar serving retro cocktails, 45 seats at tables and a private dining area. The American menu has been expanded. Their original space, at 72 East First Street (First Avenue), will reopen next month as Wine Bar and Cafe, with all-day service and light food: 264 Elizabeth Street (Houston Street), (212) 358-7831.

←

I hear the different size tastings are no longer offered but still as delicious as ever.

[docsconz]

I never did make it over to the old location. I should make it a priority to get to this one. Has anyone been yet?

[Sneakeater]

I ate there last night, at the bar.

1. Based on the one time I was able to get in there, I didn't much like the old location of the Tasting Room. To me, the food seemed unable to live up to the chef's ambitions. I don't know if the new place has better kitchen facilities, or if I was in a better mood, or what, but this time the food seemed pretty much perfect for what it was. It wasn't the greatest food I've had in New York, but it wasn't trying to be. Nevertheless, it aimed above comfort food -- and made it. Everything just seemed to work.

2. Maybe it's cuz I was able to stroll in, sit down, and order dinner. Getting into the old location was just too much of a production. The food didn't seem worth the effort. Here, everything was pleasant from the get-go (watch out after the hard opening, though).

3. The menu changes frequently. I stopped in for some pre-dinner cocktails last Friday and, while I was there, perused the dinner menu and pretty much decided what I would have when I went there to eat at some later date. By last night (Tuesday), though, the menu had changed.

4. I started with a stuffed chicken leg. I have no idea what it was stuffed with. The skin was delightfully crispy. The leg sat under an unctuous (but not to the point of being gross) foie gras sauce (a foam, you might even call it). It sat on top of some sweet corn and (I think) brussell sprouts. This was very enjoyable.

5. Then, a plate of chanterelles with scrambled eggs and potatoes. A plate of properly cooked chanterelles is never anything less than wonderful. Well . . . .

6. For dessert, I was comped a rice pudding. It was supposed to come with strawberries, but, happily, when it appeared, the condiment was blueberries. A properly cooked rice pudding is never anything less than a tremendous comfort. Well . . . .

7. To some of us, the big news at the new location is the liquor license and bar. They have a cocktail here called the Cooler that I like very much. It consists of dry Vya vermouth, sweet Vya vermouth, creme de cassis, and orange. Perfect after walking to Nolita from Midtown.

8. I like the new space very much. It's all very casual, but appealing. The bar area is fairly spacious (this is the Tasting Room we're talking about) and inviting. The dining room (separated from the bar by a passageway, so the two areas feel completely separate), festooned with colorful art, is lively but not headache-inducing. And you can move without establishing physical contact with a fellow patron.

I am very enthusiastic about the new Tasting Room. Rather than failing to live up to the kitchen's ambitions, the food seems exactly commensurate with those ambitions. The kitchen doesn't aim for the highest heights. But it fully achieves its less lofty aims. This is the kind of food you'd be happy to eat every night. I wish it were in my neighborhood.

Edited August 10, 2006 by Sneakeater (log)

[Daniel]

Nice, nice and nice.. I am so looking forward to this new place..

[Nathan]

you know, I live a block and a half down the street...this could be perfect. I'll stop in tonight or tomorrow and make a report.

[Sneakeater]

What's interesting to me is the way the Tasting Room succeeds with slightly fancied-up versions of hearty foods, whereas I thought Trestle on Tenth's preparations seemed too refined for what was, at root, supposed to be peasant food. I guess I'll have to revisit Trestle on Tenth to see why I feel this way. I wonder.

Edited August 10, 2006 by Sneakeater (log)

[KatieLoeb]

Awesome. Very happy for Colin and Renee, two of the harding working folks I've met. The space issues were the only bad thing I could have said about the old place because I always loved it, but the addition of a bar doing retro cocktails is a major plus and right up my alley. I'll definitely check out the new digs on my next trip to NY.

[rich]

As a long-time fan of the Tasting Room, I look forward to trying their new location. I also want to try the wine bar at the old location.

[Nathan]

I stopped in last night for a glass of wine and a snack.

The wine by the glass list overrepresents rather poor wines from LI (although I find admirable the desire to showcase local vintages).

Had razor clams with oranges and pickled ramps. This was very nice. Good ingredients, prepared simply but well.

Looking forward to a full meal here.

My hood's becoming interesting just when I'm looking at moving...