When I first moved to New York, I never understood why everyone wanted to live in the West Village. The buildings were all old, the apartments were small and dingy, there was usually no air-conditioning for the summer and you were almost guaranteed a three or four floor walkup on your way back home each night. No, apartments in the Village were not for me and I ended up picking a nice, luxury high-rise in Midtown, replete with all the amenities I could think of. All these years on, I'd probably still do the same - I am a sucker for the "modern" apartment - but at least now I can see the charm of living in the neighborhood encompassed by Houston and 14th Street on the west side of Manhattan. There are gorgeous tree-lined streets, cobblestone pathways, small stores selling everything you could possibly think of and quaint cafes and restaurants on almost every corner that would make living in the area quite interesting to say the least. You're likely to come across some amazing finds just walking around the streets of the Village, and Recette is just one of those restaurants.
Located on the corner of Greenwich and West 12th, Recette fits perfectly into its West Village surroundings. My friends, VP and PG, were running a few minutes late and so I was asked to wait at the bar, except that the very small, four seat bar was entirely taken up by diners and there was no space to even stand behind or anywhere else in the restaurant for that matter. Much like a Village apartment, the restaurant itself is quite cramped, with tables squeezed in right next to each other and not leaving much room to navigate. When we were finally seated, I even commented that we were lucky enough to be at one of the larger tables given the plight of two couples, whose tables were so close to each other you would be forgiven for thinking they were on a double date. Yet, just like that Village apartment, the charm of the restaurant come from its surroundings. When the lights are dimmed, the street light filters in from the large windows, and the atmosphere in the room takes over, it is hard to not be taken in by it all and settle in for the long haul.
Recette encourages that settling-in feeling on its own accord. While the menu is composed entirely of small plates, they recommend you sample them through the five or seven course tasting menus. Given the variety on the menu, we all agreed with the suggestion and decided on the five courses. Our server was extremely helpful in making recommendations and reminded us of the restaurants ability to tailor the menu to any individual dietary preferences (always music to my ears). My friend VP made a couple of requests, but other than that, we left ourselves entirely in the chef's hands.
And what hands they were. My amuse of a beet and arugula salad with lemon vinaigrette was a little bit of a disappointing start (a little dry and unimaginative), but it was definitely not the portend of things to come. The first course of a heirloom tomato salad with cucumber, hearts of palm and balsamic was hands down one of the best pieces of tomato I have ever eaten. The tomato was juicy, sweet, full of flavor and well accented by its supporting acts. My only complaint with this dish was that there was not more of it on the plate. Unfortunately, the same applied to the next dish of roasted vegetables with black truffle. Surprisingly, on this dish, the truffle did not overpower everything else, and in fact, the roasted onions and cauliflowers were the stars. Almost a little charred (which is how I tend to like them), the vegetables had great flavor and texture and had me cleaning up the last bits and pieces left on the plate.
Luckily for my appetite, the next couple of dishes started to get into the "meatier" section of the menu. To complement VP's lobster orzo menu request, the chef thoughtfully brought me out a vegetarian version of orzo in tomato sauce with vegetables. While I was a little disappointed on hearing about a pasta course, all those doubts were quickly dispelled with my first bite. The pasta was superbly cooked and accented perfectly with a fantastically flavorful sauce. The chef was hitting the essence of a tasting menu, where every course had me wondering why there wasn't enough of it. The savory courses were finally rounded out by tempura vegetables on a cilantro sauce with curry dressing and pickled onions. Lightly battered and fried, the tempura was very well executed and hit all the right flavor profiles with each bite. We were then led into dessert by a small piece of lemon cake, accompanied by a very refreshing, apple sorbet and a dash of applesauce. While I had been suitably impressed by the range of vegetable offerings that had been presented so far, what followed was probably the most creative dish of the night. Smores by definition need to be constructed, and in a playful nod, dessert was a deconstructed smore with a twist - graham cracker ice cream, toasted marshmallow that was brushed across the plate, and spicy chocolate ganache. All of them combined perfectly for a very whimsical and tasty end to the meal.
Over eight million people live in New York City and each have their own individual preferences for neighborhoods. Every neighborhood has something different to offer and appeals to varied groups of people. There is incredible diversity within the city's boundaries, further embodied by the numerous cuisines one can find littered across the city. Recette is a quintessentially American restaurant, but it tries to pay homage to the city it resides in by understanding that each person walking through its doors will have a very diverse palate. There is something here for everybody and none of it disappoints. One might wonder if it is time for Recette to move on to bigger and brasher surroundings, but I get the feeling that no matter how cramped it might get, it is most at home in its Village.
Recette is in New York's West Village, at 328 W 12th Street. Very Expensive. Very Veggie Friendly. Recommended.
www.recettenyc.com
Photo Credit: Recette
Located on the corner of Greenwich and West 12th, Recette fits perfectly into its West Village surroundings. My friends, VP and PG, were running a few minutes late and so I was asked to wait at the bar, except that the very small, four seat bar was entirely taken up by diners and there was no space to even stand behind or anywhere else in the restaurant for that matter. Much like a Village apartment, the restaurant itself is quite cramped, with tables squeezed in right next to each other and not leaving much room to navigate. When we were finally seated, I even commented that we were lucky enough to be at one of the larger tables given the plight of two couples, whose tables were so close to each other you would be forgiven for thinking they were on a double date. Yet, just like that Village apartment, the charm of the restaurant come from its surroundings. When the lights are dimmed, the street light filters in from the large windows, and the atmosphere in the room takes over, it is hard to not be taken in by it all and settle in for the long haul.
And what hands they were. My amuse of a beet and arugula salad with lemon vinaigrette was a little bit of a disappointing start (a little dry and unimaginative), but it was definitely not the portend of things to come. The first course of a heirloom tomato salad with cucumber, hearts of palm and balsamic was hands down one of the best pieces of tomato I have ever eaten. The tomato was juicy, sweet, full of flavor and well accented by its supporting acts. My only complaint with this dish was that there was not more of it on the plate. Unfortunately, the same applied to the next dish of roasted vegetables with black truffle. Surprisingly, on this dish, the truffle did not overpower everything else, and in fact, the roasted onions and cauliflowers were the stars. Almost a little charred (which is how I tend to like them), the vegetables had great flavor and texture and had me cleaning up the last bits and pieces left on the plate.
Over eight million people live in New York City and each have their own individual preferences for neighborhoods. Every neighborhood has something different to offer and appeals to varied groups of people. There is incredible diversity within the city's boundaries, further embodied by the numerous cuisines one can find littered across the city. Recette is a quintessentially American restaurant, but it tries to pay homage to the city it resides in by understanding that each person walking through its doors will have a very diverse palate. There is something here for everybody and none of it disappoints. One might wonder if it is time for Recette to move on to bigger and brasher surroundings, but I get the feeling that no matter how cramped it might get, it is most at home in its Village.
Recette is in New York's West Village, at 328 W 12th Street. Very Expensive. Very Veggie Friendly. Recommended.www.recettenyc.com
Photo Credit: Recette
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