I had lunch at this European restaurant on Park Ave that means "wild child" on Wednesday. It is more correct to say I had lunch in the pub annex. The main restaurant is not open for lunch anymore. I looked inside the main restaurant and it seemed mostly the same as it was when it was Circa (same with the pub). I had chicken croquettes (6) for $5 and a faux-pizza (flat bread) with steak and blue cheese for $7. The croquettes had a nice crust. Possibly a little under cooked inside. The harissa sauce was the most assertive element on the plate. The flatbread itself wasn't too thin and hence burnt or dry. There was alot of blue cheese and steak. The steak may have been from a decent part of the cow like the head of the tenderloin. I just saw a butchering episode with Martha Stewart and the guest said the front end (above the Chateaubriand) of the penis shaped tenderloin can be used for such purposes. The meat on the flatbread seemed tender enough to be from that cut. The plate wasn't balanced enough. They needed more of a bitter element to cut the richness of the meat and cheese. I think the drops of aged balsamic or arugula were meant to be a contrast, but, the vinegar added a cloying, sweetness and the arugula had lost any bitterness it had had (still wouldn't have been enough). The arugula in question was thrown in the center of the quartered flatbread and was undressed and wilting.
And that is the rub. They can't get by serving less than perfect meals. The lady aside me complained about overcooked chicken. They were out of three of the ten lunch dishes. The place has no identity (or no new/different identity). It is in a location that everyone associates with failure and has a wait and see policy on. It is all the way on the wrong end of the street. Parking is difficult. The menu is all over the place. I was expecting a Bosphorous clone (from the PR I had read about), but, either they've shifted course or the reporters didn't understand the difference between Middle Eastern influenced European dishes and the real thing or they thought Spain was in the Middle East or who the hell knows what. The reality is that I can't tell you what the stand for (unless now the zeitgeist is contending that all cultural cooking has been influenced by all other cultures and everything is now something). I can just say "hodge podge". It doesn't necessarily help you get a handle on what they are trying to establish here when you find out that the "European" kitchen is headed by a Brazilian. On the surface, the menu seems like a shot gun approach. Which wouldn't be disastrous in itself if the execution was there. And maybe it is - at other times. I just hope the person at the pass is a little more particular in the future. I get the sense that there may be too much "understanding" in the kitchen and that that will result in uneven experiences at the restaurant (especially if business is slow and finances enter into the decision making process over supplies). And (based on their advertising choices) they seem to be covetous of a fine dining clientele. I rate them as closer to "pub" than fine dining based on their ambitions (dishes and difficulty of preparation) and the execution. A pub that charges close to $30 for dinner entrees.
The service (2) was good. There were five other people there at lunch. They still have that "Love Boat" feeling "club" on the second floor. I won't go back (on purpose), but, that is mainly because I've got other fish to fry and if history is any indication then this will be another spot waiting to be re-re-re-re-reviewed by summer.
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