This is an update to a previous post vowing that I would visit this restaurant upon hearing that they had a fusili dish with braised octopus and marrow. So I went and it was delicious.
The restaurant itself is really beautiful but it does have that “central park south” stuffy vibe to it.
As an amuse bouche (little bites to tease the palate) I had the uni and lardo.
Uni itself is sweet and decadent and rich. It imparts the tongue with a briny sweet richness unlike anything else found in the sea. Some hate it, most adore it. Lardo is cured pork fat sliced super thin and eaten on bread — it’s salty and fatty and well, it tastes like a “really bad for you” slab of butter. If you like uni, you need to try this plate. The lardo added a new layer of sinfulness to the thick layer of uni. I could eat a plateful of this. This is true and pure uni in it’s best presentation to date. Nothing is taken away from the beautifulness of this spiny creature.
I started with the langoustine crudo. Crudo means raw. Langoustine: think large shrimp/smaller lobster. The shellfish is about the size of a large prawn however has the sweetness of a lobster. It was delicious. There is an indescribable bite and texture to raw lobster and shrimp that is sort of an acquired taste. The meat is sweet and slightly gelatinous and tough but I actually like that texture. I really enjoyed the appetizer.
Now what did I have for main? The exact dish I vowed to have and it lived up to its expectations.
Pasta is hand made here. The sauce is a sweet tart tomato sauce with bone marrow. Since the marrow is heated, it literally melts into the dish and coats every strand of delicious pasta in it’s shiny fatty goodness. There is slow braised octopus speckled throughout the dish but the small bites of marrow still intact is where it’s at. Wow. It’s like a small party in your mouth. The crisp breadcrumbs add a nice textural bite. I thought the portion was a perfect size as it wasnt too little but it wasn’t too much that you would push the plate away – the plate is quite rich and every bite packs a punch.
Of the other dishes that were served (and of course sampled by me) at the table, there was one other dish that I feel the need to note: the scallop crudo. Scallop crudo was so good. The sweet raw scallop was sliced thin and so fresh. It was served with fresh mandarin oranges that imparted the right amount of acid balance. I love raw scallop in it’s simplest form, don’t you?
Marea, 240 Central Park South, New York, NY
