I decided at some point during my disappointing and unsatisfying four- or five-course meal last night at the new A Voce that I am no longer interested in nuanced "rustic" Italian food. Yes, I just described my multi-course meal as unsatisfying. Former chef at Chicago's Spiaggia, Missy Robbins, who was able to woo our president into her favor, offered an odd array of flavors, most of which were unremarkable if not mediocre..
The restaurant itself, contained within the glorified mall at Columbus Circle, the Time Warner Building, is lovely. Views of the park for both the dining room and the kitchen, an open wine wall behind which lies private dining, the same white leather 60s chairs on wheels all make for an aesthetically pleasing dining experience. The dining room, however, predominately filled with business men in large, raucous groups, gets loud quickly; in fact, the 5:45pm reservation, though not necessarily "chic" at least meant I was able to carry on a conversation with my dinner partner.
I think it is worth mentioning the highlights first: the restaurant is so well-managed with much of the staff in charge of details too often over-looked (like, how to appropriately re-set the table, refill the various glasses). What's more, for a floor full of employees there was never a misstep in choreography. The waiter, as well, was a passionate salesman. He believed in this food and wanted to ensure we ate well.
The food, however, is where it fell apart. Having read singing reviews leading up to my visit to the restaurant, and having had the pleasure of dining at Carmellini-era A Voce Madison Park, my expectations were admittedly high. A Voce, for instance, was where my life was changed with my introduction to burrata (an even creamier, more intensely-flavored buffalo milk cheese similar to mozzerella) and the delicious idea of taking haute-cuisine sugar donuts and dipping them into rich, dark chocolate. Last night, however, lacked that magic sparkle.
We began with satisfactory primi, some cured boar, a tepid grilled zucchini with ricotta salata and mint. That was followed what can only be described as miniature calzones you are to drape in prosciutto. They were dry and doughy. A mushroom dish receiving critical praise was fine if not boring. Mushrooms, cream sauce, truffles, mache is a pretty easy equation for delicious so for the end result to be unremarkable is quite an accomplishment.
Third course of orecchiette and hamachi (which should have been served on its own before the pasta course) continued the trend: the pork sauce for the pasta was so overly salted it was barely edible and the hamachi was too thickly cut and lacked the delicacy expected both flavor-wise and aesthetically of a crudo.
Trout was plated beneath an unnecessary large pile of ruffage, flat-leaf parsely and other bitter greens, ultimately making the sweet and light fish taste unappetizingly bitter. During the cheese tasting my dinner guest actually described the flavor of a jammy accompaniment as "vomit" (this course, unfortunately was best - the brittled pistachios or candied tomatoes are delicious if not expected). Dessert was competent enough, though it's hard to ruin chocolate.
On a positive note, the sommelier, Meng, was charming and attentive and chose a fantastic bottle of wine for the evening: a Nebbiolo from the hills of Gattinara in the region of Piemonte, Gattina Antoniolo. I will say, though, that after dining at Corton at June, a restaurant of comparable priced food, where a bottle of wine rarely exceeded $30, to have a restaurant open, despite its precidence, with half of the list topping out at several thousand dollars seems an oddly unconscious decision.
In the end, I must conclude with where I began: if looking for a "new" take on Italian/American it is best to simply track down the original A Voce creator, Andrew Carmellini. Locanda Verde is located in Tribeca, reservations easily made on opentable.com. Or simply try Batali, himself. I recommend the always delicious Lupa. Next time I'm going French.
