AZ (closed)

[Suzanne F]

I wanted to eat at AZ because I’ve read such conflicting opinions, and had to see for myself. From this one experience, I’m on the side of the “pro”s.

I made a reservation through Open Table, which is easy to use. Except that OT assumes no one eats alone – their minimum reservation number is 2. Since I’ve read that some places refuse single reservations, I figured okay; when I get there I’ll tell the truth and see what happens.

Got to AZ right on time for my 6:00pm reservation, and while there was some hesitation at my “confession” that I would be alone, there was more of a problem that the dining room and kitchen were not really open yet (in spite of a stated start of 5:30). But I was soon escorted up to the top floor, and given an inside corner booth from which I could see almost the entire room. Attractive, soothing room. Loved the gentle waterfall near the bar, and the open roof on a not-too-warm night. I warned the waiter right away that I would take notes, but only for my own use; not to worry.

Started with a “TinA louiZe” which I hoped would be the same as the Tina Louise at Kaffeehaus (since turned into Candy Bar) – it was close, and maybe even better: vodka, sake, & ginger liqueur, garnished with a slice of candied ginger.

The breads were more Middle Eastern and South Asian than expected: 2 wedges of Missy Roti (which the busser said was naan), a plain very thin flatbread, and what might have been the same flatbread with Syrian zataar. Served with 3 spreads: a very sweet pineapple chutney; curried cauliflower and lentils (I could have eaten nothing else and been satisfied; YUM), and a very creamy spiced white bean puree.

Amuse: yellow tomato gazpacho (puree), with a glob of veg and avocado and some shrimp. Strong tomato flavor, good contrast to the creamy texture. This seemed to be consistent from dish to dish: one strong acidic flavor contrasting with a soft texture, rather than multi-layered flavors.

NOTE 1: I had explained at the start that I would want recommendations on wine and choices of food. I got very good advice, and some special treatment in response. I have no trouble dining alone.

Appetizer: I finally chose the Maine Scallops with Taro Puree, Mushroom Ragout, and Summer Truffle. Scallops were perfectly seared and sweet; taro smooth; ragout had chanterelles and possibly honshi-meiji, in a tart jus. The slices of black truffle had no perfume or flavor (oh well). NOTE 2: as he cleared my plate, the waiter asked if the music was too loud (actually it WAS); no, I said, I’m focusing on the food – but in any case they turned it down so it was barely audible (my preference).

Surprise: Appetizer #2: a “taste” of the Grilled Octopus, Squid, & 3-Melon Salad with Jicama and Yuzu-Lemon Vinaigrette (which I had also expressed an interest in having): very tender baby octo and squid, first boiled with corks then grilled lightly; melons were perfectly ripe and sweet; garnished with “caramelized lemongrass” (in fish sauce?). Excellent.

With the apps: a glass of Sauvignon Blanc, the provenance of which I didn’t note. But it worked.

Main: Lapsang Souchong-Smoked Chicken (a frenched breast) with Roasted Peaches and Baby Bok Choy; garnished also with chix/black trumpet mushroom filled fried wontons, and micro beet greens. Sauced very lightly with the chix jus; peaches were more acid than sweet, making a good contrast; the bok choy was sautéed, which intensified the flavor. Chicken was very moist and tender.

Wine with main: ½ bottle of 1999 Renwood Zinfandel Almador County “Old Vine” – suggested by the waiter; worked really well. A very nice point: they have LOTS of halves!

Dessert: Plum Brioche “Tart” with Plum Ice Cream; very strong plum flavors in both the compote and the ice cream; again, tart vs. creamy. Shavings of white chocolate on top (unnecessary as far as I’m concerned).

Surprise dessert #2: again, because I had trouble deciding: a Stone Fruit Soup with Mascarpone Ice Cream, a Farina/Mascarpone cake topped with cubes of Roasted White Peaches, and a Sesame Tuile filled with a mascarpone cream. Rich, tart, fruity, creamy, yum.

As I left, one of the managers asked for confirmation that “You post a lot on Chowhound, right?” Well, yes, but not under my “real” name. Good guess, then.

Overall: I had an excellent meal, excellent service, and found the ambience quite comfortable. This was good food well-prepared and –presented, with ingredients from all over; not any kind of misguided “pan-Asian fusion” as some have said.

[Aaron T]

I also really enjoyed AZ when I had lunch there a week ago. Their $20 lunch is really a bargain.

For an app, I had a nice mized green salad with a yuzu vinagrette and some rice crispy crunchies. The rice crispy crunchies made the salad memorable.

Also I had a lime drink (non-alcoholic) which was very refreshing on a hot day and a nice alternative to iced tea, which I don't really like.

For my main I had salmon with plum sauce and some noodles. The salmon was cooked nicely and it tasted good without being overly sweet.

The service was friendly from the moment I walked in, although the restaurant was mostly empty.

For dessert I had 3 sorbets: coconut, passsion fruit and mango. A refreshing end to the meal, especially considering the heat wave. They kept the ceiling closed while I was there and adjusted the blinds to avoid it being overly sunny.

I had been meaning to try AZ, and I am glad I finally got to try it. A leisurely summer lunch is a steal and delicious.

[jordyn]

I made a reservation through Open Table, which is easy to use.  Except that OT assumes no one eats alone – their minimum reservation number is 2.  Since I’ve read that some places refuse single reservations, I figured okay; when I get there I’ll tell the truth and see what happens.

I was fairly certain that I had made reservations for one through OpenTable in the past, and just verified that it was possible to select "1" diner within the "Make Reservations" screen and to correctly display a list of available tables.

(Interestingly, Ilo is listed as an option despite discussions here in the past that they will not accept reservations for one.)

Suzanne: Do you simply not see an option for one diner when making the reservation, or does the system give you some sort of error when you make the selection? Either way, it sounds like a bug that you might want to report.

[Suzanne F]

Didn't see the option. When I went to select the number from the menu, it wouldn't scroll up from "2" -- and would not accept typing in 1. I did send OT a message about it; have not heard back from them. What I didn't complain about, though, was that the system took a reservation for a daypart not served at another restaurant (I think I mentioned that in my District thread.) Thanks for reminding me to mention that to them, too.

Edit: Ooops, my mistake. Just checked, and there was "1." Jordyn, you were right, and I was blind. Maybe it's because I have to take off my glasses when I'm at the computer. With luck, the OT customer service people will just ignore my message. Not get back to me saying You twit, it's right there. And maybe I'd better wait a bit before I mention the other glitch?

[phaelon56]

Aaron - do you recall the nature or name of the lime drink? I don't drink alcohol and love lime but generally find myself limited to a tonic water with big splash of Rose's Lime juice. I've had and enjoyed Lime Rickey's in the past but don't seem to find restaurants who serve them or even know what they are. I'm always open to new non-alcoholic drink ideas, particularly if they are citrus based and not blender style drinks.

[Aaron T]

I am not sure what Lime Ricky's are, but I called AZ and they said their drink is a calamAZi (sp) limeade. It contains asian lime, ice, oranje juice, lemon juice and soda water. I may have missed something, but that should be most of it. Alcohol free and very refreshing. I think it was $4.

Also, eGulleteers should be aware that the AZ team is opening up a new restaurant next month in the former Sono space (R.I.P.) on E 57th St. It is called pazo and has a website at Pazo

Hope this helps and enjoy the limeade!

[Akiko]

I just heard that Patricia Yeo is no longer cooking at AZ. Does anyone know who is now head chef and has anyone been to see if its as good as it was?

Patricia is now cooking at Pazo, a new Moroccan restaurant in midtown, has anyone been?

[Akiko]

Dinner at AZ was as wonderful as it always was with Patricia in the kitchen. The service is lovely and the space is great as well, if you haven't been yet I highly recommend it.

I started my meal off with their Peach Fuzz cocktail which was lovely. I don't like overly sweet cocktails and would normally never order anything peach but this was mixed with litchee and that made me want to try it. It was not overly sweet and the combination was perfect.

We ordered a bottle of white wine that I wish I'd paid more attention to, it was perfect to drink on a hot humid night and went well with the food. The sommelier recommended it... and again, I'm kicking myself for not writing the name down.

Dinner at AZ is served with different types of herb pita - naan - papadom kind of breads. The spreads for the bread are all delicious (four types - tomato chutney, some sort of sweet chutney, a hummus yellow mustard combo, and.. I can't remember the fourth)

The amuse was a spicy tomato watermelon soup. Delicious and woke all our tastebuds up.

I had the lacquered quail with vanilla pineapple to start. It was delicious.

For the entree I had the miso hake on black sticky rice. The hake was delicious, silky and flavourful, and the texture of the rice was excellent.

We finished the meal with a dessert that I thought was the best I've had this year. I'm not a fan of overly sweet desserts and I am a huge fan of watermelon. AZ is currently serving a watermelon panna cotta. it's served in a big martini type glass with the panna cotta on the bottom, watermelon and watermelon shaved ice layered on top, and then a watermelon litchee sorbet on top of that. I was in heaven.

AZ also gives you a shot of chocolate/coffee/brandy with tapioca pearls (I guess their take on bubble tea) to conclude the meal. I didn't really like the texture of this, it was a bit thick.

Akiko

[rolmas]

I will be in NY this weekend and i have read many great things about AZ but can not find any info here and I dont personally know anyone who has eaten there. Can anyone give me the scoop or possibly recommend something else.

thanks

[Suzanne F]

I've eaten there twice and enjoyed the food greatly. The spreads and breads that come at the start of the meal are exemplary; I and my husband could have eaten nothing else and been satisfied: various bean spreads, chutneys, tapenades, ratatouille variations, etc.l

Just about everything I've had there was cooked just right. I found that the mix of ethnicities was not jarring. Right now, I can't remember offhand what I had, but if you give me until tomorrow, I'll have a look.

I had very positive reactions to the place, the food, and the service. This is just a preliminary comment. Will say more as I can.

[Steve Plotnicki]

I think the place really sucks. It was one of the worst meals I had in the summer of 2001. How the Times gave it three stars beats me. I wouldn't even give it a star. And the environment feels like you could be in Toledo and not NYC.

[jaybee]

And the environment feels like you could be in Toledo

But then you could see that wonderful Goya painting and eat Manchego on your way down to the sea. Just mind the inquisition.

[=Mark]

I don't believe "Az" actually is a word... "As" maybe, or "ass." "Az" is the appreviation for Arizona.

[g.johnson]

We also had a pretty lousy meal at AZ last year. But Grimes gave it three stars when it first opened and many who’ve been recently recommend it. It’s possible that it went through a bad patch. (So bad in our case that we have no inclination to go back.) An alternative would be Annisa who also do the asian fusion thing.

[macrosan]

I enjoyed two firsts last night at AZ, Patricia Yeo's "Asian fusion" restaurant. My first visit to the restaurant, and my first ever tasting menu. Yes folks, "I was a tasting menu virgin" But no longer !

It took a few moments to locate the front door among the white-glass panels which are the frontage of the restaurant. In fact, if the guy inside hadn't opened it for us, we might have been wandering around the street for another twenty minutes. We walked through the foyer into a superb bar and lounge area which must be a great place for cocktails when it's busy !

We found our companions at the bar, and went straight to the second floor restaurant in the elevator and to our large round table for five. The decor of the restaurant somehow exactly matches the cuisine -- Asian fusion. Hints of the orient in the hangings and colors and shapes, and yet thoroughly modern.

We started with a cocktail from the unusual cocktail menu. I hated the forced and inept attempts to incorporate the letters "AZ" into every cocktail name, like "peAch fuZz" and "godAZilla", but then I'm not crazy about the name in the first place I really do think they should change it, because whatever someone once thought it meant, I believe the restaurant is far more important and classy than the name conveys. My cocktail was "mAry'Z" which was a Bloody Mary made with wasabi. Very spicy, nice balance, good drink.

We fairly quickly decided on the 5-course tasting menu ($69 per person)with the paired wines ($30 per person).

Tuna & mackerel tartare, ponzu aioli and wasabi tohiko caviar oil was a very good dish. Light and subtly flavored, and good texture. The wine was an unusual choice of gokyo "five bridges" sake, which received mixed reviews at the table. It was a very light sake, lightly ginger flavored, and I liked it although I would have preferred it warm. We mostly agreed it didn't match the tartare too well.

Roasted beet salad, goat cheese vinaigrette & toasted walnuts followed, and I was astonished to discover that I liked it a lot. I thought this would be my no-no in the menu, but the mixture of flavors and textures surprized and pleased me. The wine was Killerby semillon sauvignon blanc 2000 which I found to be the best wine of the night. Just the right hint of sharpness to enhance the dish.

Sauteed wild striped bass, potato & long beans, massaman curry sauce was my highlight dish of the menu. Each ingredient was perfect, and they formed an ideal complement for one another. There was also a coconut sauce on the plate which others in the party didn't like, but I avoided this (not being a coconut fan !). The Yamhill valley pinot noir 1999 served with this dish was, in my view, a failure on two fronts. The wine was almost scented, and slightly cloying, and I thought it matched poorly with the fish, nor did it taste good alone. I still can't believe I actually didn't finish the glass !

I thought Duck schnitzel, orange-beet salad, hazelnut brown butter was a bold effort which didn't work. The problem was the preparation of the schnitzel. It seemed to have been battered using a very sweet butter, which imparted an unpleasant and overpowering flavor to the duck. I think the problem was simply technical rather than conceptual, in that the "frying in breadcrumbs" process is not entirely new to Chinese cooking, but this was a deliberate attempt to ally the European method to the Asian dish. Good try, but Patroicia needs to experiment more with the method. The Can rafols "gran caus" cabernet franc 1997 was my second favorite wine of the night, strong and fruity.

We were allowed to choose individual desserts from the menu rather than the tasting menu choice of creme brulee. I had Rhubarb sorbet with rhubarb chunks and panna cotta. The rhubarb chunks were tiny and very hard, good and crunchy and not too acid. Tne sorbet was superb, probably the best sorbet I have ever tasted -- good firm texture, melted quickly in the mouth, and a clear but light flavor. The panna cotta was ... well, it was panna cotta, and didn't merit it's place on the plate or the menu. The wine was Cossart gordon 15 year old bual madeira, an unusual and bold choice. This was a sharp and smoky flavored madeira, and I couldn't see it as an accompaniment to food at all, although it was certainly a good madeira.

The service throughout the meal was exceptional. Friendly, bright, cheerful, well-informed and enthusiastic. The sommelier stopped by a few times and delighted in explaining his pairing choices. I didn't understand much of what he said and I disagreed with some of his choices but I revelled in listening to his enthusiasm for his subject spilling over. Pat Yeo also stopped by a couple of times, and I am always encouraged to see the chef keeping in touch with the front of house.

One of our party had, on a previous occasion, sampled some special "potato knishes" at AZ. When this was mentioned to our captain, she immediately arranged for a plateful to be prepared and brought to the table, and the sommelier instantly paired a wine for us. He then joined us for a taste at the table. Impromptu and wonderful ! The total cost (including a justly oversized tip) was $150 per person. Excellent value.

AZ certainly is a restaurant of class and quality. The food is innovative, and that always carries the risk of failure. But the quality of the cooking, and the wonderful style and enthusiasm of the staff, will carry it through any occasional errors. The ambiance and the space (both of the bar/lounge and the restaurant) are great. The name ... well I do hope they do something about that.

The day before I had dined at Union Pacific, and I have no hesitation in rating my meal at AZ as better in almost every respect. Not miles ahead, but clearly ahead. I shall go back to both, but it will be AZ first.

[Suzanne F]

Did you get the trio of dips/spreads/chutneys and flatbreads (the AZ version of bread-and-butter-or-olive-oil)? The two times I ate there, that was a highlight of the meal.

I'm glad you enjoyed the meal, mostly. I like AZ.

[macrosan]

Yes, Suzanne, the breads were good and the dips (specially the onion dip) were great. We also had a couple of amuses which were good.

[glenn]

I'd be interested in learning any of the details concerning why they closed. This place opened only a short time ago (2 years?) to good reviews and I believe a *** rating in the NYT. I'm assuming it closed for lack of business. I wonder how much the loss of chef Yeo impacted business.

[in the interests of full disclosure, I worked in its previous incarnation, Flowers, which was owned by the same party that owned AZ. I'm also working on a project and may want to include any relevant material.]

[jeff29992001]

pazo, yeo's other place in midtown closed months before AZ did, guess it was taht bad... btw, if you go to their website pazonyc.com, internet spammers have already taken over the domain name.

Edited January 29, 2004 by jeff29992001 (log)

[alanamoana]

i don't think patricia yeo's leaving had too much to do with az closing. there just wasn't any business. it is a strange location to be so near places like union square cafe and be just slightly off the beaten path.

i won't go into any more detail as i worked at both az and pazo.