New Restaurant And Bar Radar
6 photos
<strong>Rockography:</strong> To the untrained eye, <a href="http://www.rockographycafe.com/Rockography/?m=contact">Rockography</a> could look like a Greenwich Village version of the Hard Rock Cafe. Smaller and humbler, for sure, but still plastered in enough rock memorabilia and kitsch to make you question the kind of food that "theme" could produce. But trust us, that apprehension will melt away the second a bite of their Americana cooking hits your mouth.<p></p>The rock theme weaves its way into the menu only in appearance and name. Printed on old record covers, it's full of the kind of stuff your mom probably would have made, down to a "TV Dinner" of fish sticks and veggies served on a sectioned tray harvested from a Japanese prison. The "F.U. Burger" is piled high with bacon, egg, fried tomato, cheese and onion rings, and the Chicken & Waffles comes with about half of a crispy bird on top. And don't let a night pass without sampling the deep fried peanut butter & jelly, served with kettle chips and a pint of milk. The drinks are all named after rock songs, like the creamy, coconut-y "Day Tripper" and the "Comfortably Numb," made with gin, St. Germain and fresh sour mix.<p></p>There's also free popcorn, a KISS pinball table and a rock & roll photo gallery in the back, where every piece of art is on sale. And after a while, the theme starts to grow on you. It <em>is</em> pretty cool that the bar is made out of Marshall amps, and that live footage of Queen concerts is playing on loop at screens over the bar. We checked out Rockography during a media preview last week, and have concluded that there's nothing wrong with a Sunday Beatles Brunch with a make-your-own Bloody Mary bar.<p></p><em>504 6th Avenue, (646) 360-4143</em>
<p>Last night we attended a preview dinner at <a href="http://www.themusselpot.com/">The Mussel Pot</a> and feasted upon a wide selection of seafood-infused dishes. The restaurant opens to the public today, so here's a walk through of our meal last night, to help whet your appetite: </p><p></p>First up was the Tuna Tartare, paired with the best guacamole we've ever tasted (yes, really), citrus miso vinaigrette and the world's most fragile potato chips (which <em>will</em> break under the weight of a heaping spoonful of guac, fyi). The Mussel Pot Salad was next, featuring fresh poached blue mussels, shallots, grape tomatoes, baby shrimp, cucumber, basil, olives, feta, and herb vinaigrette. With so many other offerings on the menu (Lobster Mac ân Cheese! Oyster Shooters! Crabcakes!), skip this oneâit was essentially a dressing-drenched Greek salad with some mussels on top.<p></p>Entree options include the Chef's Best, a mussel pot filled with lobster cheese fondue, pancetta and black truffles. The Mussel Pot also offers a wide selection of mussel pots, as their name suggests, from French-themed to Louisiana-themed. We tried the Blue Mussel Rigatoni, consisting of tomato & garlic confit, wild mushrooms, shallots, basil, and fresh lobster cream sauce, with blue mussels on top. The verdict: food-coma-good, and the mussels were plump and delicious.<p></p>Unfortunately it was <a href="http://gothamist.com/2011/03/23/nyc_gets_thunderhail_visit.php">thundersleeting</a> last night, which meant we couldn't enjoy the gorgeous garden, but this could be a nice spot to escape to when the weather finally warms up. â <em>Jen Carlson</em><p></p><em>174 Bleecker Street, (212) 260 2700</em>
<strong>Mr. Robata:</strong> The kitchen at this new theater district restaurant is run by chef Masaki Nakayama, who trained with Naomichi Yasuda (late of Sushi Yasuda) and Paul Liebrandt, who traded lessons on French cuisine in exchange for Nakayamaâs tips for Japanese knife skills. The clever name marries the famous Styx song with robata, the rustic yet precise technique for Japanese grilling, where the ingredients are skewered and rested across bricks so that they never actually touch the coals. They also serve sushi and an assortment of Japanese fusion tapas appetizers like spicy tuna escargot, "where the namesake fish is gently dolloped into a nest of homemade choux pastry and topped with herb-butter escargot, seagrass, and orange zest."<p></p>Kenichi Ogawa (Sushi of Gari) is in charge of the sushi menu, which features options like the Mistyâspicy tuna, king crab, and avocadoâwrapped in cucumber âpaperâ rather than rice or seaweed; and the Dreams Come True, with lobster tempura, caviar, coconut, mango and avocado, wrapped in orange soy-paper and "touched" with yuzu miso and sriracha. Entrees on <a href="http://www.mrrobata.com/">Mr. Robata</a>'s menu include Baby Lamb Chops with truffled mashed potatoes and a red wine-miso glaze, and a Miso Fondue with "an umami-packing combo" of anchovies, garlic, miso and Swiss cheese to be enjoyed with an array of king crab, shrimp, and seasonal organic vegetables. <p></p>Beverages range from sakes, cocktails, wine and beer, and for dessert there is, among other things, the Eggplant Compote, which we're told was created on a dare to convert an eggplant-hating fan; it's made with cardamom-scented Japanese eggplant jam, lychee sorbet, sesame coulis, and pink peppercorns. â<em>John Del Signore</em><p></p><em>1674 Broadway at 52nd Street, (212) 757-1030</em>
<strong>Empellon:</strong> Alex Stupak has made quite a jump from being the pastry chef at wd-50 and Alinea to debuting a "nouveau-Mexican" restaurant, but we're pretty sure it'll be a successful one. Upscale Mexican food seems to be <a href="http://gothamist.com/2011/03/03/new_restaurant_and_bar_radar_40.php#photo-5">on the rise</a>, and not that much more expensive than your average burrito joint. <a href="http://www.menupages.com/restaurants/empellon/menu">Their menu</a> includes $5 tacos with fillings like beer-braised tongue, yucca with habanero ketchup and even scotch egg with avocado puree. There's also goat cheese queso, masa dumplings with poblano chile, and chilled scallops with pineapple and salsa, plus lots of tequila and beer. <p></p><em>230 West 4th Street, (212) 367-0999</em>
<em>The bruschetta at <a href="http://vairestaurant.com/downtown/index.html">Vai's Upper West Side location</a>.</em><p></p><strong>Vai Spuntino:</strong> Spinning-off from uptown's <a href="http://www.vairestaurant.com/">Vai</a> is Vai Spuntino in SoHo, which Greg Torrech <a href="http://newyork.grubstreet.com/2011/03/uptowns_vai_goes_all_out_in_so.html">tells Grub Street</a> will involve "more elaborate" plates, like olive poached-halibut, cassoulet and roasted bone marrow. Breakfast and lunch should be rolling out in the next few weeks, and wine service will continue until 2 a.m..<p></p><em>105 Thompson Street, (212) 226-1146</em>