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Prune and Sea Grill:
Two Fun New
York Restaurants
NEW YORK -- Scrumptious is not a word I use often. But
it’s the first word that came to mind reliving
a superb meal at the tiny New York eatery known as Prune,
a tiny, bare bones bistro headed by chef Gabrielle Hamilton
in the center of the trendy East Village.
Armed with a selection of hearty, robust, energetic
fare, I opted for the bar menu, loaded with creations
that aimed straight for my heart. I can still taste
the marvelous trio of marinated ultra-fresh anchovy
fillets, lots of chopped celery hearts and celery leaves,
and a mound of top-quality Marcona almonds from Spain.
Rarely have I seen a menu with such a sense of humor – why
not radishes, sweet butter and Kosher salt, or perhaps
a platter of buttered brown bread, Spanish goat cheese
and salted red onion? The menu seems to wander all over
the place, but somehow keeps you well-grounded and curious
nonetheless. I was a goner for the platter of fried
oysters with a can’t stop eating-it homemade tartare
sauce. The oysters were mammoth the coating thick and
crunchy, and I could have gone on for more if I didn’t
have other treats in store.
I was less enthusiastic about the grilled homemade
lamb sausages (they were just a bit too tentatively
seasoned), and felt the same about the unusual combination
of braised veal tongue, grilled octopus and gremolata.
When you go, do save room for the fried dark meat chicken,
with that same extraordinary breading, served with a
fantastic cold buttermilk dressing.
Next time, I’ll be sure to try the ruby shrimp
boil with sausage, potatoes and corn, and am curious
as to how the buttered wide egg noodles with small curd
cottage cheese might be.
The brief wine list is intriguing and I loved the almost
sweet German Riesling (quite different from it more
acidic French counterpart), from the estate of Dr. Burklin-Wolf
in Pfalz ($8 a glass; $31 a bottle), and savored every
drop of the very meaty, harmonious Oregon pinot noir,
the Cristom Mt Jefferson cuvé priced at $52 a
bottle.
The restaurant is beyond no frills: Diners sit elbow
to elbow on tiny café tables, seated at hard
wooden church-style banquets. Service is friendly, helpful
and lacks attitude, hurrah!
On the face of it, the Sea Grill has all the making
of an overrun tourist trap with bad food and lousy service.
There it is, smack dab in the center of town, Rockefeller
Center no less, with a ringside view of the amateur
skaters on the Center’s fabled ice skating ring.
Oh, how wrong that all is. Instead we have a light
airy, bustling, New York grill, a refreshing oasis in
the center of Manhattan. The executive chef, Edward
Brown, is hand’s down one of my favorites and
one of the best fish chefs working today. I stopped
in one sunny day for lunch and the place was alive.
For starters, the grill has something for everyone.
In a hurry? Take a seat at the bar, and feast on just
a touch of sushi or sashimi with a glass Chilean Sauvignon
blanc from the Manta vineyards. Or is it oysters that
are on your mind: tiny Peconic Bay oysters from New
York, briny Pepperell Cove specimens from Maine, and
cold water St Anne’s from Nova Scotia where the
choice the day I lunched.
We opted for a table with a million dollar view of
the skating rink, where – among the happy group
of skaters -- a pair of twin girls were flipping and
flopping as their patient mother lead them through the
paces. Sushi was on my mind, so we selected a pair of
rolls from the compact menu. I’d go back tomorrow
just to sample Brown’s clean, elegant, well-mannered
creations. Crab and avocado are a combination made in
heaven, and here, the duo did their job, offering texture,
sweetness, smoothness and satisfaction. A glass of Dr
Loon’s “Dr. L” (at $10 a glass) German
Riesling from the Mosel district, was lush and tangy
and made the quick lunch all that much more satisfying.
Even better were the spicy tuna rolls – six bite-size
rounds – filled with a spicy tuna tartare, encased
in rice, then topped with sliver-thin slices of raw
tuna and more avocado.
The wait staff was gracious, and as you watch them
flow past with platter after platter of seductive fare – the
world’s best crab cakes, grilled calamari with
a garlic and pine nut crust, or seared Chatham cod with
a butterbean ragout – all made us want to stay
on, or at least race back for dinner.
Prune
54 East First Street
New York, NY 10003
Telephone: 212 677 6221
Bar selections $5 to $10. A la carte,
$30 to $50, not including service or wine.
Sea Grill
19 West 49th (between 5th and 6th )
New York, New York
Telephone: 212 332 7610.
Open daily. Sushi rolls from $7 to $10; sushi platters at
$27; oysters $2.50 each. A la carte, $45 to $55, not including
service or wine.
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