Esca

[Jinmyo]

By the way, I always prefer a table set at a wall. Anyplace else I regard as in the hallway since people are always walking past. In Japanese restaurants, I always get the "tatami room".

[Fat Guy]

And Steve. Steeeeve. Here's a link to your review on The Fabulous Flying Fat Guy Site. Have you anything more recent (and even more detailed) to say on the matter?

"The weakfish entrée is unironically weak" -- hey, that's a good line. Sometimes I surprise myself.

I have been three or four times since writing the review, but I'm going to have to see if I have any notes in order to provide more detail. I do recall the crudo selections being 1) so fresh if it they were any fresher you'd have to slap 'em; 2) garnished with different oils, different salts, and different tiny vegetableous items; and 3) really fucking good.

By the way, Chop, the "worst fucking shit ass table" is formally known as the "shitty ass rat fuck table." If you use the proper terminology in the future, it will be appreciated.

[chopjwu12]

Ill remember that for next time fat guy

[Bux]

That reminds me, I like the goat cheese/onion tart as Balthazar.

[Ron Johnson]

What do you think about going for crudo with Veronica some evening and posting about it here?

While I certainly think it would make for good reading, I am not sure that Veronica would appreciate David posting the details of the next time that they go crudo.

[Lreda]

Ok, This was the best place to post on lunch at Esca this past Thursday. I'm meeting The Rock here on our way to The Garden for some hoops and in between the day and night games Veritas is our destination. I get here at 11:40 and am supposed to meet The Rock at 11:45. The front door is locked so I sit outside and soak up the sun. At 12, the door is open and I'm greeted at the door and asked if I have a reservation, I say I'm waiting for someone and head to the bar. My bartender, Giovanni asks me if I'd like something to drink and I order a bottle of still water and a quartini of Batianiach Vespa. The Rock calls to inform me he's running late and will be there in 20 minutes, good think I brought a copy of The New Yorker to read while I wait. Great, the 1st article I turn to is that sushi joint in the Time Warner building that charges $100 a person for no shows. This gets my blood boiling quickly, as some of you know my problems in NJ with no-shows. Giovanni has a empty bar and the dining room is 1/4 full by 12:30. After a few minutes Giovanni starts up a conversation and realizes I speak Italian fairly well and am in the business. Things start to go well at this point as he offers brushetta to wash down the wine with and bread. It's almost 1pm and no Rock yet so I order the crudo ( $15).

A 3 piece at lunch is served as opposed to the 5 piece I had a dinner a couple of years past. Grouper, Hamachi & Big-Eye tuna. I enjoyed it more this time than last, maybe because I didn't look into it being more than what it is, quality fish served simply with extra virgin oil, Sicilain sea salt and fresh crsuhed pepper. 1:10 and The Rock arrives. I make him order the crudo and debate whether to have a 2nd but don't. Rock has a Tangerine bellini which he comments would have been better before noon. Giovanni offers me taste but I decline with the intentions not to mix up so much wine so early. What is it they say, best made plans.......Opps!

On to the 2nd course, we split a tagliatelle with Blue Crab. Pasta was homemade, sauce very light, just a little tomato and oil, not a lot of crabmeat. Decent rendition but wouldn't have it again. ($22) A this point Giovanni is conducting a little wine tasting for us. Let's me taste a Lambrusco which I thought was fine but then he poured me glass and I really didn't touch it as I had ordered a 2nd glass of the Vespa. On to the main course.

Rock orders the skate with a warm cauliflower side ($21). This was very good. I ordered the whole bronzini($21). I really should stop ordering this dish when I go out because it's never as good as I think it could be. Esca is known for encrusting this with Sea Salt, baking it and then cracking the crust. I also asked if they could spice it up with a little chili pepper that I see behind the bar. No sea salt, maybe my fault because I didn't ask if it was prepared that way but this is stable dish of Esca and just assumed it would come out that way. While we're eating Giovanni tasted us on some reds, one that I don't remember and the other was a Passo-Raggiano, a delicious red that I'm going to look to put on my winelist. I've already added the Vespa after visits to Otto. Giovanni also gave us a side of chilled mushrooms, zucchini and potatoes for no charge. I have to laugh though, since the time The Rock arrives, Giovanni has been speaking to us in Italian the whole time and The Rock is just nodding the whole time with Giovanni not realizing The Rock isn't as fluent as me and I'm just plausable with the language.

No dessert as we each have two espresso each and I have a Vin Santo and The Rock, a Molinari Sambuca. Overall a good lunch and I would go back just because of the crudo and Giovanni excellent service, which is always the case at a Batali/Bastianich restaurant and the fact that my girlfriend Sue loves this place. As a side note, while we're eating at the bar, Bastianich comes in to check things out and has a bite to eat at the bar. I almost fall off the chair as Giovanni refers to him as Don Guiesppe. Good to be king.

Admin: following this interesting post, and realizing we didn't have a "main" Esca thread, I merged together several threads on Esca - slkinsey

Edited March 13, 2004 by slkinsey (log)

[suzilightning]

What is it they say, best made plans.......Opps!

really? mixing your wines?

really liked your description but i still would have gone for tir na nog

I have to laugh though, since the time The Rock arrives, Giovanni has been speaking to us in Italian the whole time and The Rock is just nodding the whole time with Giovanni not realizing The Rock isn't as fluent as me and I'm just plausable with the language.

but perhaps you mean passable not pausable?

[Lreda]

[

but perhaps you mean passable not pausable?

I'm pausable in English also.

[mags]

For what it's worth, I had a miserable experience at Esca. Went there on a punishingly hot June night, and though their A/C was working, it was somewhat...hampered by the fact that they insisted on keeping open both the front door and the door to the "garden," with the result that the restaurant was sweltering. I mean, people were sweating into their food. Horrible. I ordered a crab salad with chilis and mint, and while the flavors were nice, every one of the three bites I took required me to spit out bits of shell. I sent it back, got some grilled something-or-other as a replacement, and vowed never to go back.

[emilymarie]

Dined at Esca last night. Did not read up on it before going, but was very excited to eat there. Had wanted to go for years. My overall impression of the place--good, pleasant enough, but definitely not worth the money.

I started with a glass of prosecco and my cousin ordered a bottle of Italian white, with a "Da" in the name (can't remember full name of wine). It was one of the more affordable bottles--$38--in a sea of way over $50-a-pop bottles. OK, so this is an expensive place. I get it!

As with other Mario places I've eaten at we were encouraged to each get an app., split a pasta as a middle course, and each order an entree. Cousin didn't want to eat too much, so we split an order of the crudo, split a pasta and each ordered an entree.

The crudo came as 3 small pieces (maybe 1/2 to 3/4 an inch thick) of really fresh, swordfish sprinkled with sea salt, crushed almonds, and pungent, fruity olive oil. This was my first taste of crudo, and I very much enjoyed it. This was fresh fish.

Pasta shared was whole wheat spaghetti with sardines and walnuts sprinkled with fennel. A very generous half portion of spaghetti was served in a pleasantly salty, oil-based sardine sauce with nice chunks of walnuts and sprinkled with fennel. This was my favorite part of the meal. Very al dente (perhaps just slightly too al dente for my usual taste), but the contrast of flavors was a real winner for me. I'd love the recipe.

Now, the entrees, which were the most disappointing part of our meal. Why? Because, my cousin and I both thought that we could have made each of our dishes at home (with the exception of the fact that we couldn't get as much heat as they do in the restaurant). My swordfish was cooked medium rare and served over summer squash (yellow and green zucchini and "its runners" which were like zucchini greens as far as I can tell). My cousin's striped bass came with roasted tomatoes and baby eggplant. Really simple, but disappointingly so from our perspective. The fish, though truly fresh and delicious, was nothing special at all. A bit dry. Nothing to write home about.

Dessert was blah--3 scoops of gelati--with a thin cookie that tasted like it had been sitting in plastic for too long. No coffee, and only one bottle of wine came to a total of 180 with tax and tip. Very disappointed, especially since I am usually a big Mario fan. This whole concept just didn't fly with me at all. Simple food, yes, but not if it's food you can easily prepare at home and not for $90 dollars a head.

[Cpalms]

I'd try it again if I were you because you missed two off the menu highlights. For entree I believe you should only get a whole grilled fish at Esca, they do very simply, the best in the city IMO. If they have a local fish only get that. and the dessert dishes, they have different combo's that usualy involves gelato. The gelato itself is passable and not nearly the equal of Otto. And esca is not cheap, to do it right there you need to spend, its as easily as expensive as babbo. I believe esac is one of the most underrated restauarants in the city probably bacauase its the easieast to order poorly at. To do it right, ask to speak with david, he's the sea dog/ chef and ask him to cook for you (BTW, esca is the only batali place where this can be done.)

[emilymarie]

You make an interesting point, cpalms, that in order to have a good meal at Esca you need to order only the whole cooked fish (or get the chef to make you a custom-tailored meal). We actually asked our waiter what entrees he recommended and he told us to steer clear of one of the whole fish(es?), a branzino I believe, though he did recommend both of the whole fish that were available for 2 people only. We just did not want to go that route, though for no particular reason.

If the 4 or 5 whole fish options are the only way to go and doing anything else could even be considered "ordering poorly" then, well, they've got to start tweaking their "regular" fish entrees (i.e. the non-whole fish options), or giving diners more whole fish options. I mean, there are about 10 of these "regular" fish entrees to choose from versus about 4 or 5 whole fish. I totally respect your opinions of the place and your advice, but think that if I'm not in the mood for a whole fish that I should still expect a quality entree.

Really, my biggest complaint was not the quality of the fish itself--which was really fresh--it was just that I didn't feel that the preparation merited (sp?) the hefty price tag. Like I said, I think I could recreate that exact dish in my kitchen. And I don't mind at all spending money on a good meal; it's spending that kind of money on a just-OK meal that makes the complainer in me come out.

I may try esca again, but would concentrate next time on digging into their crudo menu and finishing up with some pasta.

[JudyG]

We have eaten at Esca several times - usually before going to the theatre in that area. As Mao has told you, the menu comes in various sections - and you could easily share foods. One of our favorites is the salt encrusted fish.

It is crowded and noisy and we usually have had good service - but at least once it was not so hot and I found a waitress a bit to casual. But this happened only once and I dont hold that against it.

[SobaAddict70]

My swordfish was cooked medium rare and served over summer squash (yellow and green zucchini and "its runners" which were like zucchini greens as far as I can tell). My cousin's striped bass came with roasted tomatoes and baby eggplant. Really simple, but disappointingly so from our perspective. The fish, though truly fresh and delicious, was nothing special at all. A bit dry. Nothing to write home about....This whole concept just didn't fly with me at all. Simple food, yes, but not if it's food you can easily prepare at home and not for $90 dollars a head.

Something tells me that you'll probably not like Craft especially with this in mind.

Ah well, perhaps next time.

Soba

[Gifted Gourmet]

This arrived in my email this morning from Rabbi Ribeye who ate at Esca this past New Year's weekend ... an extremely positive review ... which, I knew, had to belong on a site like eGullet, of course!

"The primi that we ordered --

The bacala. The same qualities that we hold most dear in the finest crab cakes. Huge chunks of reawakened flaky sweet-salty cod, potato coins, field mushrooms. All bound together, but how? No sense of bread crumbs, eggs or pan-fry. Just topped with a thatch of frisee. No sauce to obfuscate. Let the earthy/briny charm speak for itself.

The charred sardines. I have never before used the term "fishy" as an accolade. Ah, but the Mediterranean had already infused the unctuous flesh of the sardines with the essence of every species of seafood ever harvested therefrom. And garnished so simply with a few golden raisins, capers and walnuts. No drizzle of EVOO or schpritz of lemon to short-circuit the concentrated fishiness that had eye, nose, and palate vying for primacy and shouting, "Me first!"

The secondi --

Interestingly, the menu, which changes daily, was short on seafood and lavish on fish. The situation, nonetheless, did not disappoint. A simple slice of translucent, pristine halibut, grilled one notch above rare, accompanied by a saute of wild mushrooms and balsamic glazed cipollini. I can only guess that winter=earthy=mushrooms, because they were everywhere on the menu. Only one disappointment. The balsamic glaze was cloying, to my taste -- emphasize, to my taste. If I were to be hypercritical, I'd even have called it goopy. Oh well, the guy may be a culinary messiah, but he still ain't God.

One more amusing word about the zuppa de pesci --

They actually serve two: Amalfi-style as an antipasto and Sicilian as a secondi. Finding that the Amalfi was fish-only, while the Sicilian contained shellfish. I asked if I could have a larger portion of the outrageously keel-over-and-die Amalfi as my secondi.

That would not be possible, I was politely told, because the chef felt that the Amalfi should be served in the portion of an antipasto in preparation for the meal, not as a secondi, which would be over-the-top.

I told the server that this policy was the equivalent of tantric sex -- just enough zuppa to electrify every sense, only then to be told to cool down, you can have no more, but if you're patient there'll be other surprises of equal rapture to come. His answer: "Precisely."

Finally, the lead antipasti were a choice of raw fish and seafood served naked with an appropriate salt and olive oil selected by the chef to complement them."

[cbking]

I had a fabulous meal at Esca on New Year's Eve. We went for the tasting menu with paired wines, and I have to say it was one of my favorite neighborhood dining experiences. The one dish I was a little apprehensive about (appetizer of monkfish liver) was superb, and paired with a wonderful dessert wine which balanced the richness perfectly. The service was impeccable -- wonderfully attentive. And the dessert -- a trio of lemon tart, chocolate cake with gelato, and 3 sorbets with cookies -- was out of this world. Needless to say, the crudo was also great. We had razor clams and hamachi -- both wonderfully fresh and invigorating.

And while the meal wasn't cheap, at $120 each (including tip and tax) for a 6-course meal with paired wines, I thought it was a great deal.

[ned]

It's been a long time since anybody wrote anything on Esca. I was there tonight. I was curious to see how the subject of that glowing New Yorker article fared on his regional fishes. He did a fab striped bass but not inspiring in any way. I agree with all of the above on the simplest crudo, and namely the bluefin tuna which was overcome by an interesting olive oil I would have rather tasted on bread. The guitar pasta with uni is alone worth the considerable price of admission. I'll write that again for emphasis: The guitar pasta with uni is alone worth the considerable price of admission. Unf--cking-real good. Bill for four: $425. Ouch. In the middle of the dinner some oysters that were fine and some house cured herring that were smooth as silk. Nice northern Italian wines.

[OPJK]

Stopped by at Esca the other night with three friends. While the meal was enjoyable (once we were able to convince a busboy to bring us menus after we had asked three waiters for them), the most notable feature was the outrageously rude/unprofessional wine steward!

He would not answer direct questions when asked and he had issues over people touching the wine glasses (he clearly had control issues). It got to the point of asking him directly if he would answer any of our questions - he grunted in reply.

Finally, he reluctantly answered one question and left us. We all were incredulous and could only laugh at his performance.

For what it's worth, the group consisted of four manhattanites who are quite knowledgeable about food and wine, who dine out very frequently, are completely presentable (i.e., not a group that would be flagged as potential trouble), and included someone who knows Mario Batali fairly well (but doesn't generally make it know in his restaurants). Everyone has eaten at Batali/Bastianich establishments frequently. (And, for what it's worth, the wine was well-matched to the food and fairly expensive.)

This experience just brought up the shockingly common experience that the Batali/Bastianich restaurant often offer some of the absolute worst client service in the city.

[Nathan]

I ate here at the bar awhile back. The dining room had empty tables after the pre-theater rush....it wasn't empty but it wasn't packed to the gills.

I began with fluke and geoduck crudo. they were terrific of course.

Followed with the bucatini with baby octopus. This had a mellow, but noticeable spice kick. The polpi were perfectly cooked and not chewy.

(the only comparable octopus dish I've had in NY is the excellent grilled dish at Sabry in Astoria).

I followed with a sturgeon dish. Simple, super-fresh, perfectly prepared. It's not on the current menu:

http://www.esca-nyc.com/menu.html

If you're really a seafood lover there's simply no reason not to go here.

[Fat Guy]

Great to see Esca getting some play. The following is what I wrote when it first opened, when was that, around 2000 or so? Pre-Gullet.

Esca

HIGH ON the list of aphorisms I live by is: "Never trust a TV chef." Yet Mario Batali -- "Molto Mario," if you will -- frustrates my worldview at every turn. Despite disorganized and sometimes grudging service, I've come to believe that Batali's restaurants (Babbo, Lupa and Esca) are not only three of the best Italian restaurants in town, but also three of the only legitimate contemporary Italian restaurants on these shores. And I believe this even though the chef is from Seattle, has a TV show and wears shorts in the kitchen.

Of Batali's four restaurants, Babbo is the flagship and the most acclaimed, but my heart belongs to Esca. It's just so focused. Aside from a few salad-type appetizers and a token chicken, every dish is fish, the preparation is straightforward, and the ingredients are flawless, as they must be in a seafood restaurant but so rarely are.

The main draw at Esca, though there are several, is the menu's crudo (raw) section. One might question Batali's judgment in choosing the Italian word for bait as the name of the restaurant, but there is no objection to the fish he's caught. Garnished simply with fruity olive oil, lemon juice and salt, and occasionally sprinkled with minced chiles, bitter greens, radish shavings or miniature sea beans, these sashimi-like platters of raw seafood are my current favorite way to eat fish. In recent tastings, fluke led the pack, but this is probably a matter of personal preference -- the quality of all selections is outstanding. Other appetizers, such as the tangy imported buffalo mozzarella, also lean heavily on their wonderful ingredients, but it's wisest to focus on crudo.

As at all of Batali's restaurants, the kitchen (overseen by chef and avid fisherman David Pasternak) has a firm hand with pasta, and seafood marries well with several varieties of full-flavored, al dente noodles. The basic linguine with clams (in the shell) and spaghetti with lobster (the meat of a whole, albeit small, lobster) are exercises in simplicity done right, and searing indictments of the mockery most other restaurants have made of these dishes. Better still are the more daring preparations, with, among other treats, octopus and sea urchin.

And then there are the fish entrées, which complicate matters because, unless you're me, you won't likely order crudo, pasta and an entrée (though the kitchen will happily split pasta portions). Yet the main courses are fully as exciting as everything else on this menu. Best are the simple halibut and seared tuna. If you like monkfish at all, you'll like Esca's a lot. And shellfish fans have plenty of delicious options as well, especially the mixed seafood platter and the whole grilled lobster.

The sweet desserts pale by comparison to the cheese plate -- three varieties (including an awe-inspiring buffalo ricotta) drizzled with intense honey. But if you must have sugar, go for the lemon panna cotta (eggless custard) with fresh berries.

The one thing I suggest you avoid at Esca is the tired antipasto selection displayed on a wooden table as you enter. Such exposed vegetables are never good, and Esca is no exception.

As the restaurant is justly popular, it can get unpleasantly crowded at night. Thus, it would seem the ideal spot for a long, European-style lunch. Sadly, the lunch menu is so dumbed-down that you can barely assemble a passable meal from its limited choices. The crudo selection offers only a crude, pre-set tasting of three. The weakfish entrée is unironically weak, and few of the more desirable species are available. Only the pasta selection remains intact.

But it's just as well if you stay away at this hour -- that way, you won't miss the noon airing of Molto Mario.

Esca, 402 West 43rd Street at Ninth Avenue, (212) 564-7272

I've been several times since, though not very recently, and have found myself agreeing with myself each time. Anybody have a different view? Any of my old facts out of date?

[Nathan]

haven't been for lunch...so I can't comment on that.

otherwise...I don't think it's changed.

of course, the location blows.

notably, the current menu has a local wild duck entree...which warns you of the birdshot...that's a really good sign and might be worth trying.

[weinoo]

Pasternack must have some duck-hunting friends out on Long Island - or, he's shooting them himself!

[Nathan]

per Eater, Bruni is reviewing Esca tomorrow. Grimes gave Esca two stars (noting major inconsistencies), but if Bruni is bothering to re-review it I would imagine that he's going to bump it up to three.

so, this may be the most underrated restaurant in the city no more.

[slkinsey]

Excellent! They really deserve a re-review. It's interesting to me that Pasternack doesn't seem to get the credit he deserves for more or less "inventing" crudo (aka, Italian-style sashimi).

[Nathan]

fwiw, the Grimes review credits him with it.