A Bland Spiced Pear

Yesterday, my beau and I drove out to Newport to enjoy the gorgeous day, and what better way to spend our time outdoors than eating and drinking at the Spiced Pear's open terrace.

The nationally-recognized restaurant featuring contemporary American cuisine is located in the award-winning hotel The Chandler. Set on a cliff overlooking the ocean, surrounded by pristine, plush gardens, the view from the terrace was spectacular. The view, however, was the only impressive thing about our experience. The menu has a selection of items including oysters, pizzas, entrees which include a lobster roll and burger.

We ordered oysters, served with a Mojito sorbet, since oysters tend to be refreshing, and go well with any alcoholic beverage. The plate came with four oysters, each a size bigger than the other. The Mojito sorbet was sweet, cold, rum-y and hid all the briny flavor the oysters have. These oysters are meant for people who do not like oysters. The plate on which they were served was rectangular with crushed ice, which quickly melted in the hot summer weather and created a drip and then a puddle our table which we had to ask and wait to get cleared. The bits of shell left in the oysters made the dish even more unfortunate.

We also ordered the Italian pizza, with Italian sausage, pepperoni, house dried tomatoes and mozzarella. The pizza was measly, from the quantity of ingredients to the crust, which is not made in house. The pizza could have used more sausage and sauce. The crust was similar to the edible tortilla shell Mexican taco salads come served in. It was crispy, flaky, and so thin it should have been called a cracker.

In the end, there was better place to enjoy our spectacular day outdoors; and that was Tucker's Bistro, which we went to right after.

Momofuku: Unexpected

Leave it to me to go on stereotypes and think that Momofuku was a typical Asian, fine dining restaurant with strongly flavored ethnic food, minimal, Asian decor, and indigenous servers. When I ate at Momofuku's Ssam Bar a week ago, I realized that my misconceptions were, to my embarrassment, verging on delusional.

First, Momofuku, by well-known chef and author David Chang, is not just one, single restaurant, but is a cartel of several locales around New York City with strong Asian overtones. Part of the Momofuku quintet is Ssam Bar in the East village where I dined. The space itself looks, and feels, like any other spot in the city- narrow, dark, heavy on wood, loud. The restaurant has a main bar that runs the entire place, starting at the doorway and ending at the back by the exhibition kitchen. A large chunk of the bar has high, slender stools set at both sides, so it serves as extra seating for guests, since only a few tables line the wall. Ssam Bar has a casual environment that is reinforced by the hipster servers who are, like New Yorkers are labeled, cold.

The menu features yet creatively reinvents the use of what we may consider common Asian ingredients, but the dishes also show inspiration from the the fresh produce available during the season. To bring another cliche to the table, the cuisine at Ssam Bar can be labeled as fusion of Asian and farm-to-table, contemporary and traditional, with items like the Hawthorne Valley Buttermilk, fuji apple dashi, market herbs, and pine nuts. I was told that if I were to go to Momofuku, there was one thing I had to try- Steamed Buns- and I am glad I did. Braised pork belly, soft and juicy pork in all its glory, is paired with thinly sliced, slightly pickled cucumbers, hoisin, and scallions. This simple, yet made-in-heaven combination was wrapped in steamed buns; the recipe which remains a secret. I had imagined the buns were like bulky French rolls, but instead they resemble pita bread. The subtly of the bread in the dish allows you to really take in the other clear flavors. To try something else, we ordered the shaved dry aged sirloin from the Seasonal selection. This dish was disappointing. A lemon verbena broth ( a green herb tasting of lemon) is poured table side into a bowl with the raw beef, charred fava beans, and delicate ribbons of rhubarb, like a Shabu-Shabu, were the hot temperature of the broth begins to slowly cook the meat. Lemon verbena is so intense that all the other ingredients were merely for texture. A different broth would have allowed the smokiness of the fava beans, the sweetness and tartness of the rhubarb, and the strong flavor of the sirloin to be savored on the palate.

Now, a week later, I still think about by brief dinner at Ssam Bar. I wish I would have tried more dishes since the menu has a diverse selection, with items under such categories as Country Ham, Raw Bar, and Offal. And even though the sirloin and verbena broth dish was a let down, I am confident that all other dishes will be as memorable as the steamed buns. If you ever find yourself wondering Second Avenue, stop in at Momofuku Ssam Bar, I know I will.