Lure Fishbar

[SobaAddict70]

Glistening wedges of Arctic char had been sprinkled with the piscine fairy dust of trout roe. Slivers of yellowtail sported dollops of creamy lemon and jalapeño sauce. Cubes of yellowfin wore the most unusual attire of all: a hood that looked and felt like a gray, flattened marshmallow. The menu identified this as "olive oil brûlée," and between it and the tuna were hot, pickled chili peppers.

Lure Fishbar (Frank Bruni)

John McDonald and Josh Pickard, of Lever House, present "marina chic" in the revitalized space that used to be Canteen, deep in the heart of SoHo.

Soba

[alacarte]

I liked Canteen. Did it move to a new location?

It sounds like I'll like Lure as well.

[SobaAddict70]

Grilled swordfish was meaty, moist and enlivened — but not enslaved — by an Asian-inflected marinade of soy sauce, butter, garlic and ginger.

This restaurant works best as an upscale, downtown Red Lobster — a Garnet or Ruby Lobster.

Japanese red snapper was meant to be dunked in a "citrus-olive oil foam" that looked and smelled more like a gooey, perfumed facial mask. You may wonder whether to eat it or moisturize with it.

Lure Fishbar (Frank Bruni) (from the NYTimes DIGEST update for Wednesday, 12 January 2005. Scroll down for the appropriate link.)

For an upscale Red Lobster, one star is a bit much....or is it?

Soba

[mdhl]

There are plenty of reasons I don't like Lure, but it all comes down to personal preference:

A. I hate cruises, hence I find the decor extremely tacky.

B. I'm Asian and grew up on proper sushi, hence I prefer it to a lot of Lure's newfangled interpretations of crudo. Far too busy and over the top compared to Esca's.

C. I will never again pay $22 for a lobster roll, served on a skinny ass Pepperidge Farm style bun, when I can get one far superior at Mary's or Pearl.

I'm surprised to see that the pear cranberry crisp was among Bruni's favorite desserts (...and yet somehow, if you know how I feel about him, I'm not surprised at all). Mine had half raw fruit and pools of butter separating from the crisp. Plus it tasted of raw oats. Plus it came in a portion big enough to feed two, making the raw butter and bad flavor stand out that much more. For someone whose profession is in pastry, I was completely disappointed with it.

Now that I'm done with the bitchfest, does anyone have anything positive to say about the place?

Edited January 12, 2005 by mdhl (log)

[juuceman]

there was a fire in this space over the weekend.. closed for the near future..

[Megan Blocker]

there was a fire in this space over the weekend..  closed for the near future..

←

For details and pics, click here.

My cousin lives next door, above Aldo - close call!