Beauty, Objectified.

It's my last winter break -- ever -- and, much as I had expected, my boredom of the Philadelphia suburbs had ensued somewhere around day two of being home. My unrest led me, much as you had expected, to New York to visit friends, both new and old. Tuesday evening was a wash, as I lost my phone, credit card, identification, a new purse and a pair of gloves. But this holiday season, I remind myself that La Flavoriser is a food blog, not an "Amanda loses her dignity" blog, so I digress. Post recovery on Wednesday, I was raring to go yet again, ready to lose myself (culinarily, of course) in the Manhattan restaurant scene.

A very dear friend, whose taste level in food and fashion easily surpasses my own (friends like these are difficult to come by), recommended we try Beauty & Essex, the newest restaurant by Chris Santos, Richard Wolf, and Peter Kane (the brains behind Tao and Stanton Social). Beauty & Essex has just emerged from its gestation period after merely three weeks as a fully functioning establishment. This meant that we had dined during "previews week," allowing us to save 20% of our bill (which, trust me, made a hell of a difference after appetizers, entrées, two desserts, and six cocktails). Our dinner, though, was worth every penny.

Beauty & Essex is located on the lower east side, and if you've read some of my earlier posts (particularly the one about the Meatball Shop), you'll note that this is one of my favorite areas in the city. Its entrance is disguised as a pawn shop, either to keep the homeless away or as an homage to the distinct origin of the building it occupies (let's pretend both are true). The pawn shop's walls are decorated with ancient trinkets and a collection of vintage guitars that belong to Chris Santos himself, a music (and food) aficionado (can someone set me up with this guy?). The door in the back of the pawn shop was guarded by a bouncer dressed in a sharp black three-piece suit, which had me immediately excited for the mysteriousness that awaited us in the restaurant. Once inside, my friend realized she had accurately anticipated my oohs and aahs about the décor. The hostess led us up a black lacquered spiral staircase, and the restaurant's walls were lined with white calf hair, which accented the dangling ornate crystal chandeliers. Our waitress mentioned the name of the design group, which has since escaped my memory, but I'll be inquiring again when it's time to find an apartment in July. We were seated in "the locket room," which, as the name alludes, has walls covered in antique lockets. My friend had used the phrase "old lady chic" earlier in our visit, and I believe I can appropriately apply that here. We also particularly enjoyed the bar in the "women's lounge" (far too sophisticated to be called a bathroom) that served free champagne.

Pawn Shop Storefront

I read one review of the restaurant that said something to the effect of, "...this place belongs in the meatpacking district, and not in a good way." Well listen here, my gastronomic foe, Beauty & Essex is too real for meatpacking, as that area sometimes disgusts me as well. The restaurant isn't too trendy for its own good, but I despise people who won't dine at certain places simply because they're "in." Stop trying to go against the grain -- good food deserves praise, regardless of its home.

The menu is one of the best I've seen in a while, comprised mostly of small plates that I would describe as belonging to a continental or new American genre. There is also an encyclopedic list of specialty cocktails that would have sounded delicious if not for my previous night's near-death experience. Thus, I stuck with a pinot noir that, unfortunately, brought discomfort with every sip (also the result of Tuesday's mishap). We were first presented with a Caesar salad crostini, complements of the chef.

Caesar Salad Crostini

Next came the whipped ricotta crostini with grilled pears, basil, honey, and chile, which was listed on the menu under the "Jewels on Toast" section (clever description).

Jewels on Toast

Following our crostini duo, my friend and I shared the roasted bone marrow with rioja braised shallot marmalade. Bone marrow is usually a no-brainer for me; whenever it's on a menu, I go for it. My friend had never had the pleasure of trying it before, but being the adventurous amiga she is, enjoyed it for the very first time. There's just something about the buttery goodness and its contrast against sweet jam that melts my heart into pieces.

Bone Marrow

We needed a bit of red meat (please refer to the "interests" section of my resume, which reads "tennis, red meat, and shoes"), so we ordered Kobe beef carpaccio with wasabi egg yolk, crunchy wontons, and sesame nori. It was the perfect thickness, as sometimes beef carpaccio can be too heavy, which makes it almost sickening to eat; this was certainly not the case here.

Kobe Beef Carpaccio

The Kobe carpaccio was followed by my favorite dish of the evening -- beer battered Maine lobster tacos with red cabbage slaw and jalapeño mayonnaise. I almost never think to order lobster (save for my lobster roll this past summer at Mary's Fish Camp, a must-try), but my friend had eaten the tacos on her previous visit just four days before (yes, it's that good) and suggested we do the same. This was by far the most memorable part of our meal.

Lobster Tacos

Our only true entrée-sized dish was the roasted wild striped bass with manilla clams, baby artichokes, and roasted garlic & saffron aioli. I enjoyed the clams more than the sea bass itself, as I found it not to be bland, but certainly the least savory item I had sampled that evening. Luckily, though, we weren't finished...

Striped Bass

One glance at the dessert menu and, with little argument, we decided on two dishes that were as incredible as they were different from one another. Behind door number one was the devil's food layer cake (with some sort of sweet cream, but the dessert menu is nowhere to be found) and vanilla ice cream. Second was the warm apple pie with cheddar ice cream and banana chips. I know what you're thinking -- cheddar ice cream? Sounds like something out of a box of Harry Potter jelly beans. However, the ice cream wasn't overwhelmingly cheddary, and had just enough of a hint of the flavor to justify its pairing with the apple pie. All in all, it was delicious. Just when I thought I was full, I would take a bite of the other dessert and realize that my strategy of alternating dishes allowed me (fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your view) to trick my mind into thinking I could eat just a bit more.

Apple Pie

Devil's Food Layer Cake

My friend and I praised the waitress, as if Beauty & Essex was entirely her idea, about everything we fancied that evening. We learned that at the beginning and end of each shift, the chef uses the ingredients from the menu and creates a unique dish for the wait staff that's not offered to patrons of the restaurant. This interesting tidbit was the icing on the [devil's food] cake to a near perfect dinner.

At the conclusion of our meal, my friend and I glanced at our watches and took note of the hour we had to kill before our evening plans began. We headed uptown to get manicures at 11 PM, making yesterday night truly an evening of Beauty & Essex. Until next time...

Dine at Beauty & Essex:
146 Essex Street
New York, NY 10002
(212) 614 - 0146