LA SIRENA

Frankly, La Sirena hasn't been around long enough to have changed it's m.o. as much as it has, and thus it appears to be having something of an identity crisis.  The megalith housed in the Maritime Hotel began with a befittingly nautical theme and the Italian bella figura of the Batali-Bastianich legacy.  All this made sense, especially given the popularity of its predecessor, La Bottega, and while the vast square footage of the restaurant could be daunting to an unseasoned prospect, these guys would be able to handle it.  Right?  Well, well into a year now that it has been opened, the south dining room remains virtually untouched, and the bar has now switched to a Spanish tapas theme, as too has some of the main dining room's menu.  There are gems to be found at La Sirena, but for them, you'll have to dig.

The service was friendly enough upon encouragement, but left to their own devices seemed much more concerned with something other than where they were.  The room is as gorgeous as it was, much improved, in my opinion, from La Bottega, with a glittering expanse of hand-laid tile flooring and sweeping archways, all in a soothing, muted color scheme blitzed with highlights of signature Batali orange.  That's probably his biggest imprint here, as Josh Laurano oversees the kitchen.  He can do some wonderful things.... pastas are definitely a strong suit, and they offer an appealing option of the bis, a half-and-half plate of two selections of your choice from the twelve or so on offer.   A black spaghetti with lobster, corn and chive blossoms was spectacular both in visual appeal and flavor: Meyer lemon sweetened the tender chunks of crustacean, with ample nubs of jalapeño adding a bit of summery heat.





Before that, though, we tackled some appetizers, which were both less successful and less Italian.  Asparagus served with a poached egg weren't the most flavorful spears, although I'm not sure how much of anything else anyone could taste at all aside from the overpoweringly fishy boquerones polluting the whole dish.  This is one only some massive anchovofile could like, which wasn't me, but I enjoyed the burnt Japanese eggplant much more.  A lusty sweep of black garlic intensified the char, the far side of the plate countering with
 a kicky tomato chili broth, and roasted peppers tangled on top with their earthy sweetness.   Other appetizers juggle Italian vs. Spanish, some quite literally like the Prosciutto vs. Jamon with pan con tomate and gnocco, respectively, and other, like the snapper crudo showing more of a ceviche flair with Spanish melon and cucumber.   A lackluster Spanish langoustine (priced per beast) was draped with garlic scapes in a peppery drizzle of olive oil, and has since been swapped out for a more tempting charred octopus with peach mostarda and those crunchy pop-rocky darlings of the garnish world, finger limes.







Entrees proceeded with a downward trajectory- my suggestion would be to continue in a pasta state of mind, such as the aforementioned spaghetti or a classic version with grilled octopus, chorizo and mint or thick, toothsome
 pici with morels and thyme.  If you do venture into Secondi territory, all I can suggest is choose something we didn't, for while the black bass with grilled apricot, spring onion and eggplant was soundly enough prepared, the fish wasn't strikingly fresh and ultimately the whole dish was kind of forgettable.  The plate was fairly sparse, too, although the eggplant and spring
onion tucked underneath was savory-sweet with a tangy citronette and grilled apricots.  A side of sautéed mushrooms went well to round things out, and they were nicely burnished, nutty and earthy.  Lamb scottaditto was impressively plated, with its
 showy bones protruding proudly, but it wasn't my order, and from the small taste I had (not a big lamb person), I remember nothing except for the shishito peppers below were tough.  So I asked the orderer, and he doesn't remember anything, either, which speaks more than either my unrecollecting words or this (cruddy) photo does.



Thankfully Thea Jabjanic swooped in to salvage the evening as deftly as any Dolci possibly could.  She is a masterful pastry chef, utilizing the best of the market to their greatest advantage, and artfully sculpting them into presentations as beautiful as they are delicious.  Our Semifreddo
ai mirtilli was a showstopper, it's Heat Miser-
esque spiked meringue topping cool lime sherbet over a dense, mi-sweet polenta cake nuzzled into a jammy blueberry puree.  I would've been just as happy with her Strawberry crostata or apricot panna cotta , though, although the overall crowd-pleaser is apparently the bomboloni, doughnuts stuffed with hazelnut gelato and lily-gilded with chocolate truffles.   So if want to experience the best of La Sirena, explore the extensive wine list and indulge in dessert, and hold off on dinner there until they figure out what they want to be as a restaurant..... if they can do it in time.





LA SIRENA RISTORANTE

88 Ninth Avenue
 Tel: (212) 977-6096