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Craftbar: A Touch of the Master’s HandMay 17 '02 Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line Has fried food ever been more addictive and more irresistible? I don’t think so. The rest of the menu is nothing to scoff at either. There is an interesting dichotomy between Tom Colicchio’s two newest restaurant ventures, Craft and Craftbar. Craft is a would-be chef’s fantasy and an indecisive diner’s worst nightmare. At Craft, you are encouraged to build your own dishes. Craft lists every item, or rather every ingredient, separately on its menu. For each course, you choose the main ingredient and sides that accompany it as well as their method of preparation. Finally, no more pleading for substitutions, but this method of ordering certainly does add up. What a surprise to wander from this cornucopia of choices to Craftbar, Craft’s more casual little sister next door. In contrast to Craft, Craftbar offers a modestly sized menu with a limited selection of appetizers, soups, salads and sandwiches, and a trio of revolving entrees. Every day of the week a different Fish, Meat, and Pasta are featured. If nothing is to your liking on a particular day, well, you can go next door and pay more than double the price to construct the meal of your dreams. From my perspective, there are times when I feel ambitious and want to explore my creative side, and there are times when I feel lazy and want my decisions simplified. I guess Mr. Colicchio understands that perfectly, which is why Craftbar is such an ideal complement to Craft. If I had the good fortune to count a chef among my friends, I would imagine that he or she would prepare Craftbar-like dishes for our casual get-togethers. The Craftbar menu features an irresistible assortment of finger food, picnic food and comfort food. Yet despite their simplicity, the touch of the Master’s hand is evident. Where else have I ever encountered such ethereally light fried morsels? I usually avoid eating too many fried foods, but at Craftbar, I can’t get enough of them. The Stuffed Risotto Balls ($6) top my list of most appealing appetizers. Moist, pearly balls of rice flavored with a blend of fontina and pecorino cheese are lightly breaded and fried, and then served with a zesty, tangy tomato sauce. What a fantastic treat! The Fried Stuffed Sage Leaves ($6) are not too far behind in terms of level of addictiveness. Ground pork marinated overnight and seasoned with parsley and parmesan are wrapped in sage leaves and delicately fried. The strong meatiness of the pork is tempered by the soothing tones of the sage. The Mozzarella in Carrozza ($4) is another winner. A mozzarella/anchovy paste sandwich that is thinly battered and then (you guessed it) fried. The buttery melted mozzarella and the intensely briny anchovy paste are quite a tantalizing combination. In terms of menu highlights, Craftbar’s warm, pressed sandwiches must dominate that list. Where else would you find such an expertly made Coppa, Hot Soppresata, Provolone and Pickled Onion sandwich ($11)? And what about the Prosciutto Cotto with Fontina ($10). I fell in love with the Duck Ham, Hen of the Woods, Taleggio sandwich ($11) last Saturday night. The Duck Ham (smoked duck breast) radiated an intense gaminess that seemed to pull at the nuttiness of the Taleggio. The Hen of the Woods mushrooms both softened and enhanced the somewhat aggressive flavors of the meat and cheese. This sandwich is earthy and robust with flavors that jump out at you. Craftbar’s appetizers simply begged to be shared. They are the ideal finger food size, which encourages greedy little hands to go snaking across the table. The small, white share plates provided by our server confirmed our instincts. I grinned as I watched the surrounding diners engaged in the lively exchange of food. Though I would not say there is anything particularly distinctive about the décor and furnishings of Craftbar (brown, leather banquettes, weathered brick wall, long metal bar with a silver chain link wine rack), it does have a distinctly New York vibe. It’s the kind of place that I cannot picture anywhere else except here in Manhattan. As I could discern from their conversation and mannerisms, the majority of the patrons are certainly locals, which is a plus in my book. This next statement will surely sound bias, but I can’t think of another city in the U.S. where people take as much pleasure in their food as in New York City, and that is what you will see at Craftbar. Thankfully, the food is quite deserving. Of the main courses, I have sampled one dish from each category thus far. Under the Fish category, the Fried Flounder ($16) served on Fridays is superb. Flounder is one of the best fishes for frying because it is relatively flat with less fat than other fishes, which gives it its crispiness on the outside and tender flakiness on the inside. I was astonished to see that my fillet of flounder nearly overflowed the plate. Fridays must be one of the best days to visit Craftbar because the Sausage with Beans ($16) from the Meat category is equally satisfying. A classic peasant dish where the powerful meatiness of the sausage is simultaneously diffused and prolonged by the starch of the flavorful beans. I never thought I would rave about Spaghetti Carbonara ($14), the Saturday night Pasta special until I tried Craftbar’s version. Yes, it was just a big bowl of pasta, but the spaghetti noodles had precisely the right amount of elasticity and texture to carry the rich eggy coating. And the savory pancetta cut right through the weighty roundness of the dish to provide a flash of salt and smoke. Craftbar has a very short dessert menu with five choices if I recall correctly. I’ve sampled three of the five desserts, and adore two of them. The other one left a faintly lukewarm imprint in my mind. First the good (or in this case, the great!). The Apple Fritters are incredible! (More fried food, I know). Resembling a couple of deflated donuts, these warm, cinnamon-sugar coated fritters are some of the best that I have ever had. I was not as fond of the caramel ice cream that was served with it. The ice cream had an oddly burnt aftertaste. The Ricotta Cheesecake was also delicious. It looked like a mini-tart rather than your typical slice of cheesecake. The texture felt creamy and light, and it exuded a subtle orange aroma that instantly took this dessert up a notch. A tangy yet sweet rhubarb compote and sorbet further elevated the appeal of this cheesecake. It was a pleasing, mellow dessert with a lingering tang at the end. The Coconut Panna Cotta pales in comparison to the delectable Apple Fritters and Ricotta Cheesecake. I found the panna cotta too watered down and a bit on the dull side. Instead of tasting sweet and nutty like a real coconut, the panna cotta was just plain sweet. Rather than enlivening it, the accompanying passion fruit sorbet clashed sharply with the coconut flavor. All of the desserts are priced at $8 each. Even at moderate restaurants in New York, desserts have the highest mark-up. The meal ended with a shallow dish of homemade peanut brittle, compliments of the house. For once, the brittle wasn’t crack-your-teeth hard, and there was a strongly aromatic peanut taste in each bite with only a hint of sweetness. As we sat savoring our last pieces of candy, I noted to my amusement that the restrooms are hidden behind massive wooden doors in the front dining room. I say hidden because there are no perceptible door handles, so it almost looks like the protruding doors are part of the wall design. It was entertaining to watch diners walking back and forth, examining the doors as if searching for some secret entrance. Luckily, one of the staff members was always ready to come to their rescue. Ah, another wonderful thing about Craftbar – its staff. Though not a Danny Meyer restaurant (although Gramercy Tavern is a joint venture between Danny Meyer and Tom Colicchio), the staff at Craftbar definitely exudes that Danny Meyer brand of friendliness combined with utmost professionalism. I found the host to be extremely pleasant (how refreshing it is when they actually seem appreciative of your patronage), and I was suitably impressed by our server’s breadth of knowledge when it came to providing details about the dishes. Our water glasses were promptly refilled throughout the meal, and they made us feel relaxed despite the high-energy pulse of the restaurant. While I love the ambiance of Craftbar, I should warn you that this is one of those tightly spaced New York restaurants where the tables are a hair’s width apart. The noise level can be high at times, especially since the bar area and the main dining area share a room, which borders the open kitchen. Address: 43 East 19th Street, New York, NY Telephone: 212-780-0880 Attire: Stylishly casual Child Friendly? Perhaps, but I didn’t see any when we dined there. Vegetarian Friendly? No, a vegetarian would probably find Craftbar’s small menu rather limited.  |
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