Uovo

[ned]

Thanks to a recommendation from a friend, I found myself at Uovo a couple of nights ago. It’s just a month old, located in a sharp but relaxing space on 11th and B, cheffed by a gosling of Gabrielle Hamilton’s Prune. We ate:

Lamb’s tongue with mache

Romaine with beets and a slice of bacon

Grilled Sardines

Cippolini onions and peppers in a romanesco sauce

Then,

White anchovies with shallots, parsley

Pork belly with very fresh sauerkraut

Suckling pig

Coffee-braised brisket

And finally:

Pink peppercorn and tarragon ice cream

Strawberry shortcake

Fig tart

There was nary a stumble. Uovo is well-staffed and the waiters were knowledgable and generous. Service was prompt but not rushed. The wine list went unperused as we were in the mood for beer. To that end, Uovo has a wide-ranging beer list, weak only in the category of the mundane and familiar.

I’m just going to hit the food we ate point by point.

The lamb’s tongue itself was excellent but I think the dish suffers from a touch of shyness. It was dressed with an over-assertive vinaigrette and the tongue was sliced too thinly. I like a tongue I can really sink my teeth into and when I do, I want to taste it. Ultimately though, these are mere quibbles. I'll order the dish again next time.

The grilled sardines were a poem. Unassailable. Same goes for the onions and peppers in romanesco.

Anchovies were lovely and well appointed.

The pork belly was excellent but the real excitement was underneath it. Sauteed cabbage. Very light, summery, fresh and beautifully green. This dish is executed with a very light touch.

The suckling pig is a rival for Gabrielle’s. Quite delicious. Our serving was maybe a touch past its prime, like twenty minutes on heat. This was also true of the brisket. The braising went on for a touch too long. Seasonings were great.

I’d go to Uovo just for the desserts. All of them were flawless. Especially the fig tart.

160 bucks for the three of us. Two beers each.

[Sneakeater]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. The pre-7:30 $25 pre fixe dinner at Uovo is possibly the most astonishing bargain on the current New York dining scene.

Uovo comes out of Prune, and it shows. But in important respects, I prefer Uovo. More particularly, whereas Gabrielle Hamilton at Prune has more consistently interesting ideas, the technical cooking of Matthew Hamilton at Uovo is consistently better. I think of Gabrielle Hamilton as sort of a punk rock chef -- plently of ideas, but difficient technique. In pop music, that can be revelatory, since the lack of smooth technical finesse can focus you on the ideas, permitting you to view cliches in a new and different perspective and to consider what the performer is trying to express without being distracted by the fineness of the means of expression.

Food, however, must be eaten.

The food at Uovo isn't the best in town. But on the other hand, I have never had a non-dessert dish there that wasn't good -- indeed, very good. (To be fair, both times I ate there I had the same entree: the heavenly brisket. I can think of no good reason not to keep ordering it.) It's my favored type of simple, hearty food, creatively thought out and freshly presented. That brisket, in a coffee-based barbecue sauce, is a good example. The fatty brisket could not be better cooked, and the coffee sauce is an appropriate foil (the coffee's acidity cutting the meat's unctuousness) that is new at least to me. The appetizer I had last time -- deep-fried sweetbread "poppers" -- is another good example of what they're up to here. We've all had fried sweetbreads; well, here's a good new variation. This time's appetizer -- a venison sausage -- was merely good.

Desserts are unmemorable.

The wine list is just what you'd hope for at a place like this. A carefully selected group of unusual wines in a moderate price range.

Now, back to that pre fixe. The pre-7:30 menu is a slightly abridged version of the full menu. Not every dish from the full menu is available on it, but most are -- and, unlike other such menus, the exclusions don't seem to encompass almost all the really interesting dishes. Also, some dishes are stripped of some of their more elaborate or expensive accompaniments. Nevertheless, I defy you to find a better non-Asian $25 dinnner in Manhattan.

It's on Avenue B at (I think) 11th St.

Edited January 18, 2006 by Sneakeater (log)

[larousse]

Do they have uovo on the menu? If they do was it good and how was it done?

[Sneakeater]

Oddly, they really don't.

[Sneakeater]

Then again, Prune doesn't have prunes on the menu.

[Sneakeater]

Eater reports today that Uovo is closing.

Matthew Hamilton's announcement blames the location and Frank Bruni (who never reviewed the place).

I was quite fond of this place.

[Nathan]

d____, I really liked it. the location was a drag though...and to be fair to Bruni, it didn't get coverage anywhere...

5 posts on egullet total.

[Noodlebot]

This is sad news. I wish I'd been more often in recent months.

[rich]

... and Frank Bruni (who never reviewed the place).

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That's a negative????? They should only know.

[Nathan]

Rich, I realize that you have some sort of axe to grind with the Times (and I think it's about something other than Bruni) but a positive review from Bruni (heck, anything other than a no-star rating) would have helped them immensely (though their location may still have killed them anyway)

[rich]

Rich, I realize that you have some sort of axe to grind with the Times (and I think it's about something other than Bruni) but a positive review from Bruni (heck, anything other than a no-star rating) would have helped them immensely (though their location may still have killed them anyway)

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No Nathan, I have no axe to grind with the Times at all. Been (and still am) a home subscriber for the last 27 years. Never worked there, never applied for a position there.

My issue (I prefer that word) is the total disintegration of a once great paper. And it's affected every department from news to sports to food.

I don't think a Times review, whether by the current reviewer or another, holds the weight it once did. Unless a place gets the 4-star treatment, most reviews are forgotten within a month and most people who say they will visit based on a review rarely do.

The guy who currently reviews for them just reduces the "fogettable" period to about 2-3 weeks.

Edited September 11, 2006 by rich (log)

[Sneakeater]

Without wanting to get too off-topic, I think Matthew Hamilton's beef is that Uovo is exactly the kind of place that still benefits from a Times review. Uovo wasn't the kind of high-profile place that everyone would know about, but that an underrating from the Times might help kill (like Gilt and Alto). Rather, it's one of those neighborhood places that Bruni is fond of elevating. Even if Uovo got only one star instead of a "Bruni kiss" of two, that would still have put it on the map in a way that it never quite made. (I do recall that it got one of those "Tables for Two" blurbs in the New Yorker, though.)

In other words, even if no one takes the Times's evaluations seriously anymore (although tell that to Scott Conant or Paul Liebrandt), a place like Uovo would simply benefit from the publicity.

As salutory as Bruni's focus on more modest places in some ways is, this shows a dark side to it. Given the necessary limitation on available review spaces, his choices in this category have to be somewhat arbitrary. He has to review every "big time" opening. But in the quasi-neighborhood category, there are so many of them, of such apparently equal import, how to choose? You can see how unfair it must seem to the non-annointed. Like Matthew Hamilton.

Edited September 11, 2006 by Sneakeater (log)

[Luckylies]

Noooooooooo. Uovo is MY corner restaurant. I love it. Matt Hamilton is so talented and kind, what a shame. It was the fiest restaurnt I ate at after I moved onto the block and my go- to if I didn't feel like cooking. They had a sign that said they were on a post summer hiatus so I thought it was just a break, how sad. I hope some shitty Mercadito owned place doen't move onto the corner...waaaaaaaaaaaa. say it aint so.

[rich]

In other words, even if no one takes the Times's evaluations seriously anymore (although tell that to Scott Conant or Paul Liebrandt),

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It's always very convenient to blame a third party for failure. Why take the heat yourself when there are so many out there to blame?

[Luckylies]

In other words, even if no one takes the Times's evaluations seriously anymore (although tell that to Scott Conant or Paul Liebrandt),

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It's always very convenient to blame a third party for failure. Why take the heat yourself when there are so many out there to blame?

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Oh my god it's the friggin' Times! not having a times review in THIS city while making notewothy food (not cheap, either) on a far flung corner is practically a recipe for failure. Blaming and reflecting on a pretty obvious truth, are two totally different things.

And, yes, I know not every restaurant has a Times review, and not all fail but to suggest it doesn't make a huge different is a bit glib.

[skye]

Eater reports today that Uovo is closing.

Matthew Hamilton's announcement blames the location and Frank Bruni (who never reviewed the place).

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Does anybody else think that's as funny as I do? Beer just came out of my nose I laughed so hard.

[ulterior epicure]

Anchovies were lovely and well appointed.

'splain, please. Appointed by or with what?

Excuse the newbie, but I'm gathering this is a "small plates" type of establishment?

By the way, ned, the thread title.

u.e.

[skye]

Eater reports today that Uovo is closing.

Matthew Hamilton's announcement blames the location and Frank Bruni (who never reviewed the place).

←

Does anybody else think that's as funny as I do? Beer just came out of my nose I laughed so hard.

←

By the way, I blame my poverty on Publisher's Clearinghouse, who never awarded me ten million dollars.

[Luckylies]

Anchovies were lovely and well appointed.

'splain, please. Appointed by or with what?

Excuse the newbie, but I'm gathering this is a "small plates" type of establishment?

By the way, ned, the thread title.

u.e.

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It's not entirely small plates, but the menu is (was) heavy with them, their normal sized plates were also not to be overlooked.

[oakapple]

As salutory as Bruni's focus on more modest places in some ways is, this shows a dark side to it.  Given the necessary limitation on available review spaces, his choices in this category have to be somewhat arbitrary.  He has to review every "big time" opening.  But in the quasi-neighborhood category, there are so many of them, of such apparently equal import, how to choose?  You can see how unfair it must seem to the non-annointed.  Like Matthew Hamilton.

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In January, Uovo was prominently featured in a NYT article about how restaurants stock their liquor and wine inventories. It had another mention in August. Bruni didn't write those pieces, but I believe he reads his own paper. There were full reviews in Tables for Two and Strong Buzz, a feature in Daily Candy, and another mention in NY Magazine. That's enough press coverage that Bruni would surely have been aware of it, and I would guess that he paid at least one visit. But the Eater post mentioned that Uovo was uneven. If Bruni happens to have sampled one of its bad days, the restaurant probably didn't get a second shot.

Rich hit it right: "It's always very convenient to blame a third party for failure. Why take the heat yourself when there are so many out there to blame?"

Edited September 12, 2006 by oakapple (log)

[oakapple]

Update: It turns out Matthew Hamilton did not blame Bruni. It was a supporter who was unconnected with the restaurant. In a clarifying e-mail to Eater, Hamilton puts the blame on the local community board, which held up Uovo's liquor license.

[matteohamlton]

Hello. Matt Hamilton here. Now why would i bite the hands that could possibly feed me in the near future. I am i nice guy that worked hard on a restaurant that failed for a number reasons but, i never once blamed Frank Bruni for a lack of a reivew. I could blame bloggers for not following up on a story or not doing any fact checking. I think that would be legit. It would have been nice to have had a review if not from Bruni, Meahan would have been great too. Listen. A review, or lack there of does not shut down a restaurant. Lack of working capitol, lack of PR and bad managment are but a few. Good or bad I had plenty of reviews to let me know that my hard work paid off in the end run. My wallet did not fair to well though. It was a pleasure serving you and i will keep everyone posted on where i will be in the future. If anyone cares. Matt Hamilton/Chef/Owner Uovo Restaurant java script:emoticon(':rolleyes:')

Edited September 12, 2006 by matteohamlton (log)

[matteohamlton]

Also. I agree with Nathan. A times review does not hold as much weight as it did even lets say 5 years ago.

[Sneakeater]

i will keep everyone posted on where i will be in the future.  If anyone cares.  Matt Hamilton/Chef/Owner Uovo Restaurant java script:emoticon(':rolleyes:')

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I think a bunch of us care.

Edited September 12, 2006 by Sneakeater (log)

[matteohamlton]

Thanks sneakeater. I just wanted to let everyone know that i didn't blame Bruni for the closing of my restaurant. It's very important for my career. Who's going to hire me if they think I blamed him for the closing? They would be scared shitless if he came and reviewed. No one wants to put themselves in that position even if a review doesn't hold that much weight. Who wants to take the chance when the restaurant business already has a 60% failure rate. If anyone has any questions, i'll be glad to answer them. Thanks again. Matt Hamilton