Le Madeleine may be gone, but fortunately Bea forges on. Such a satisfying conclusion for the year!
Bea
403 W 43rd St
@ 9th Ave
212-602-1910
BeaNYC.com
Short Order: Exquisite cocktails and great food at sound
prices make Bea the place to be.
Peter’s Picks: chicken livers; macaroni and cheese; kale
salad; salumi/cheese platter
Peter’s Pans: The loss of Le Madeleine
Prices: Appetizers: $7-$12; Entrees: $14-$20; Alcohol: wine,
beer, full bar, specialty cocktails
How fondly I think upon candlelit dinners and careless,
sunlit brunches spent in the atrium at Le Madeleine. Perhaps I’m waxing
Proustian, but those are times past that I do quite remember. Now that Bea has
taken over, my sense of despair has been readily remedied. The space has been
updated and brushed over with a fresh coat of whitewash covering the exposed
brick, on which, incidentally, muted classic movies play, such as A
Streetcar Named Desire serving as moving wallpaper. The feel of an old
bistro may be somewhat lost but there is much else to be found at the lovely Bea
(pronounced Be-a, named after owner Sotir Zonea’s grandmother). It’s a
small-ish menu, but still manages to cover a range of cuisines from
Asian-inspired pork dumplings, Indian-influenced lamb meatballs to
Italian-flavored pizzas and pastas as well as good old American macaroni and
cheese.
The cocktails were devastatingly good. The Boulevardier was
like a negroni but with Old Forester bourbon instead, along with Campari and
distinguished Noilly Prat sweet vermouth. A curl of orange was tucked in, with
fragrant, faint sprays of its oils glittering on the surface. A wonderful Smoked
Side Car steered by Lapsang Souchong tea-infused brandy with a scoche of
Cointreau and lemon juice had the nose of a recently fired pistol. A mix up at
the bar turned into quite a happy accident with this cocktail—instead of a
sugar rim, we were given a smoky salted rim, which resulted in something akin
to a smoky tequila that we much preferred! We also thought of the Thyme &
Tonic, with thyme-infused Oxley gin, the Classic Mai Tai and the Bitter Duchess
with Scorpion Silver Mezcal but we further thought it was better just to leave
things well alone.
Chicken liver tartine was appropriately iron-rich, simple
and unfussy, with caramelized onions, a hint of balsamic vinegar and a flutter
of chives on thick slices of toast. A Caesar comprised of a lovely pile of
ruffled kale with lively vinegar and Parmesan was peppery and perfect. The warm
asparagus salad was more subdued, topped with a poached egg and a fistful of
pistachios, amply dressed with a subtle miso vinaigrette.
While not overly exciting, we still ate the gooey, chewy,
ripe taleggio cheesy pizza with a stiff crust, gently roasted maitake mushrooms
and caramelized shallots. An excellent bowl of softened buttery macaroni and
rich, fully-flavored cheeses with a crisp topping followed. But we weren’t done
with our glut of cheese yet! The next round involved a platter with puffs of
pillowy fried bread that were merely decent but the accompanying cheeses, meats
and other assortments knocked us out. Sumptuous, spicy, briny olives tickled
braised pickles and fennel amid wedges of dainty bleu cheese, an absolutely
transporting ricotta salata froth and smoked gouda
that tangoed with plump blackberries. A fabulous salumi combo of nutty
mortadella, fragrant as a forest, carefully cured prosciutto and handsome ham
rounded out the considerable presentation.
Against our careful judgment, we tossed consideration
thoroughly into the wind and ordered the dark chocolate mousse with whipped
cream to finish up. We sidled up to another cocktail and lingered, delighted to
be at Bea.
First published in part in Next magazine.
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