GLORIA

I received my confirmation text for dinner at Gloria as I walked into a supermarket earlier that same day, and just at that moment, the song "Gloria" came lilting through the sound system.  Which is apropos of nothing, but it was a funny coincidence..... AND it gave me both a decent intro for this post and a funny anecdote to familiarize myself with the host.  Who turned out to be Phil, for whom there is a sticker posted at the door "I'm Friends with Phil", which apparently is a thing (I'm guessing for walk-ins?), although snagging a rezzie at Gloria, at least when I tried, isn't difficult at all.  Billed as "Le Bernardin lite", the proprietors come from that precious midtown seafood mecca, but this space is vastly smaller, and the decor is simple and spare.  In that respect, the high-low contrast I think they were going for favored the wrong targets:  the prices are still fairly steep (though admittedly shy of Bernie's), and the service

 is very, very casual.  Thus, the t-shirt clad staff and sporadic attentiveness, too casual in their affect,  didn't jive that well with thirty to forty dollar entrees.  For example, this (very cute), cartoonish painting of a school of fish is found at the same location as the mesmerizing seascape featured at Le Bernardin, where the cheapest option is  a $90 three-course prix-fixe in the most elegant surroundings in the city.  So I feel like they kind of flubbed up the ratio, and things end up feeling a little/lot too expensive.  

But there is deliciousness to be had here, for sure, although interestingly enough, the most successful dishes were not the fishies but the vegetables and sauces.  A blowfish appetizer, in addition to its racy reputation, was fantastic.... and plus it was just the tails, and the poison comes from the liver, so you're pretty safe.  And you'll be happy, because the meaty tails are flakey and sweet-fleshed, served bone-in like piscatory chicken wings, but way better.  Their fried to an impeccable golden crunch, and while yeah, I KNOW, fried things are categorically delicious, but these are both ethereally light and still extra flavorful, bedazzled with crunchy granules of salt.  But the real stand-out factor came with the dandelion-yellow tartar sauce, chunky with pickly bits and lusciously creamy.  It came with some nuggets of pickled market-fresh vegs, too, which added a nice tangy-fresh component, although they could've been a little more finely sliced.










The dish I'd go back for, though is the wild roasted mushrooms in dashi, and it seems everyone else felt the same way, as it was on practically every table.  I even loved the deep indigo blue bowl upon which they were served, strewn with delicate fronds of allium.  The various fungi retained their integrity, magically un-sogged by the alluring pool of warm, umami-rich broth beneath them.  Among entrees I was swayed by the skate, favorite as it is of mine, but it was a two-person option, thus cutting down on the amount of dishes we tried.  It was good, but not especially remarkable, plated with char-grilled whole ramps and halved spears of asparagus,  which constitute 33% of the trifecta of spring
 produce, which we tried to complete with a side dish of spring peas, as was stated on the online menu.  I wasn't paying attention, though, and they had made a market-driven change swapping them out for cowpeas that evening, which are a vastly different comestible.  It was a nice beany salad, but not really what we were expecting.  It was all right,
 though, because we fulfilled out vegetable quota with grilled broccolini, spruced up by an interesting spruce vinaigrette and decorated with delicate wildflowers.


Dessert options were limited, but we were happy with a strawberry-rhubarb mousseline confection topped with a smattering of smashed pistachios.  Please forgive my terrible photographs of these dishes, which were exponentially prettier than my awful camera-phone likenesses depict..... my camera is in the shop, on the mend, and will be back in action for my next excursion. Which won't be here- I definitely don't think there are enough reasons to revisit Gloria, although for those who like to explore as much as I do, and have a cushier budget I'd certainly keep it on the list.   Maybe they will have figured some of things out by then, too, like Gloria herself needed to do in Laura Branigan's song.  A  few tweaks towards a better balance, and a softening of the pricing structure and Gloria would greatly heighten her appeal.

401 West 53rd St.
New York, NY 10019
(212) 956-0709

KUBEH

Kubeh features kubeh (stuffed dumplings much like pierogi), but also kibbeh, which are not unlike kofte, which are sometimes served as a kebab, but not here.  And though some of the menu items may seem familiar, nothing' s that confusing once you get the hang of it.  Plus, the servers are practically chomping at the bit to walk you through things, and happy to offer suggestions or personal favorites:  you shouldn't feel out of your element even if you actually are.

It's a bright and airy space, primarily turquoise in hue and sharing that hue's chipper mood; lots of tiles and woven wall-hanging, baskets and real plant provide a very laid-back, vacation-y feel.  The vibe syncs with the menu, both of which are comfortably casual. It's a pretty big menu, though, so lots of options might make it better for biggish groups, or repeat visits.  Middle Eastern mezes spreads, and  salads start things off, and we opted for a shared plate that sort of combined the three.  And it was a GREAT salad... I wouldn't have minded it at all for a light meal in and of itself.  Not a revolutionary combination, but each component was stellar, from the large florets of cauli roasted to a delightful nuttiness but still retaining its vegetal integrity, a smooth and salty hummus rich with tahini, perked up with bursting rubies of pomegranate seeds and a flutter of zippy arugula.  It screamed for some fresh naan, which was not included but well worth the extra dollar spent.

Okay, so the thing that did throw me a curve was the eponymous kubeh, since the top of the menu described this foodstuff as (like I said) a dumpling, but our server explained that two of the options in this section are, and two are not. So even though the Syrian lamb and Syrian fish "kubeh"are in the kubeh section I don't think they are really kubeh.  Unless I'm still mixed up, but any problem is alleviated by the deliciousness of either.  We got a true kubeh (Iraqi vegetable), the relatives thick dough surprisingly delicate, and stuffed with mushrooms.  You choose your broth, so it's a kind of mix-and-match scenario with these, and in retrospect I would've chosen a different broth for them (we go the Hamusta, keeping things vegetarian with Swiss chard, lemon and

 zucchini)... I think the Persian chicken, which in fact sounds so interesting with it's chickpea, carrot and dried lime that if I DO venture back, I would definitely want that.  The other kubeh, dumpling-style, is the Kurdish Siske, while the Syrian-style kubeh are either not kubeh or at least they don't have the dough wrapping. They are meatballs of either lamb or cod, the latter of which was recommended by both our servers ( who were charmingly oblivious of one another so we basically got the same spiel twice at each turn).  With these I chose the tomato, mint, fennel and arak, which compounded the subtle licorice flavor.  There was a big unexpected hunk of fennel bulb in there, too, which was wildly tasty.

Aside from the kubeh confusion, there are also entree-sized main platters, a couple of chicken dishes, a beef and a vegetarian couscous one.  Plus side dishes, to which I was ebullient to see a very un-seasonal but utterly delectable Brussels sprouts preparation.. they were a little spicy and sweet and just really yummy.  Rich, yes, and so were a lot of the small plates options, like a creamy haricots verts with yogurt and seared halloumi, or fried beef kibbeh with pine nuts,  but there are also a lot of fresh, healthy-ish plates like simple charred shishito peppers, roasted eggplant with mint or a Shirazi salad with tomato, radish and cukes.

I kinda loved this place, overall, but also I've had my heart set on visiting Nur, which is somewhat in the same vein but both astronomically more expensive and really hard to get into at a reasonable hour.  But anyways, Kubeh set the bar: Nur better be really freaking fantastic (and I'm sure it is) to charge what it does when you can get some super-yum on a Kubeh for a fraction of the cost.  Let the buyer ... and the eater... be aware.

                         464 AVE OF AMERICAS

tel : 646 - 448 - 6688