Eating New York, Marea/ by Shelley Lance, Blog Editor
During our trip to New York, on Saturday night, we ate dinner at Marea, located in Midtown West. Only two days later, on Monday night, Marea won Best New Restaurant at the James Beard Awards, so we patted ourselves on the back for being quite the savvy travelers! The chef of Marea is Michael White.
The restaurant is sleek and beautiful. The tableware is gorgeous. The service is polished and ultra professional. A parade of handsome young dining room managers and a crowd of eager bussers tirelessly patrolled our table.
If you’re on a budget, here’s a warning: Marea is expensive. Even though we chose one of the cheaper wines ($45) on the pricey list and declined cocktails, we spent more here than anywhere else we dined in New York. The food, however, is quite delicious and our dining experience was seamless.
Since Marea is an Italian seafood place, we started with the fish and shellfish crudo, which reminded me of the Sea Bar at Dahlia though the list of choices at Marea is much longer. With the help of our waiter, we painstakingly chose three items (three small tastes for $25): Pacific horse mackerel with crispy prosciutto and basil, Pacific langoustines with Murray River pink salt, and branzino with olive oil and a tiny dice of beets. All three were magnificent, glistening, super-fresh fish and seafood with pure flavors, and the sweet, delicate taste and texture of the langoustines is something I may never forget. These tiny bites were the highlight of the meal.
We followed the crudo with a plate grilled octopus garnished with smoked potatoes and pickled red onion. The bread on the table, by the way, was terrific, especially the multigrain. I asked about it and was told it was from Sullivan Bakery, which must be an excellent bakery indeed. The pleasantly oily focaccia was made in house and was excellent as well.
Next up, two pastas. A plate of orecchiette with spot prawns, chiles, and rosemary was very nice, but the agnolotti with veal, sweetbreads, and mushrooms was divine!
Though pretty full at this point, we shared an entree: Striped bass with cauliflower, pickled grapes, and walnut agrodolce. It was beautifully plated and perfectly cooked. (the photo, all the way to the right in the series of four, is a half portion)
After a dessert of tiny squares of carrot cake served with golden beet ice cream (which made me think of our previous pastry chef, Garrett Melkonian), we received a beautiful plate of chocolates with a candle- to celebrate our anniversary. I guess this was a happy mix-up. I was celebrating 20 years with Tom Douglas Restaurants on this vacation, so in a way it was an anniversary celebration, but I don’t think our waiter could have known that.
As our busser (our busser, not our waiter) came to do clear up some things at our table for the last time, he said, quietly and solemnly: “it was a pleasure to serve you.” New York has the greatest bussers in the world!
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