Last night we accompanied Jeff & Dana to Marea on Central Park South & Columbus Circle in Manhattan. This was our second time dining here with expectations set very high after the first fabulous trip with Molly & Brian in March of this year. The pressure was on as it was also Jeff's 35th birthday (Happy Birthday, Jeff)!
We arrived fifteen minutes before our 5:30pm reservation. Jeff & Dana were already there at the bar, just down from Fran Drescher (who I didn't see but will name drop here anyways). They seated us within a few minutes at a table smack in the middle of the main dining room. Very comfortable chairs, didn't feel squished in there. I'll have to ask Jeff & Alan to comment on the bottle of champagne and the red we had with dinner since I can't remember either one.
Marea has a pretty, almost nondescript atmosphere. It's minimalist chic with brown accents and big windows. There are very large sea shells lining the window sills that I guess is a call out to the fish & sushi on the menu. We were on of the first tables to be seated but by 6:30pm it was packed with patrons; many dressed in suits and cocktail dresses. Perhaps heading to a show after dinner?
The service was attentive...almost to the point of stalking. But a water glass was never empty nor was a plate left to linger after being eaten clean. The head waiter for our table was a bit on the odd side choosing to stare out the window when he addressed us. Ah, Manhattan!
Let's get down to food shall we? After the lengthy debate that ensues with anyone subjected to dining out with me we settled on three courses and an option for discussing dessert at a later point in the evening. We opted for a crudo course (raw fishes with accompanying flavors), antipasti and then pasta. For our crudo course we picked four fishes...pacific langoustines, pacific snapper, bigeye tuna and a pacific mackeral. Right off the bat I'd like to thank Dana for choosing the langoustine served with murray river pink salt. I would not have picked a shrimp or langoustine on my own and would have missed out on a bite of perfection. The texture wasn't for everyone but I loved this fresh, sweet combination. The favorite two though were the mackerel and the snapper. One served with tangerine / orange zest and the other with poppy seeds, oregano and crispy lotus root. The bigeye tuna also wonderful but I bit that a normal piece of sashimi found at any quality sushi restaurant.
I forgot to mention they started us off with an amuse busche of puree pea and foam...yummy and refreshing.
The next course was antipasti. This took a while to decide - all the options looked amazing. I settled on the crispy soft shell crab with lentils; Alan had the poached egg with garlic and bone marrow. Jeff & Dana went for the specialty of the house, the nova scotia lobster with burrata, basil and eggplant. These courses did not disappoint. My crab was lightly breaded and crisped and perfection. You could really taste the crab which is so easily lost in heavy breading and deep frying. Alan's egg and light and fluffy...and as expected, the burrata and lobster course was outstanding. That has to be the happiest cheese of all. Jeff described it as, "ricotta meets mozzarella and a baby". Soft and cute.
But onto the main event. Pasta. If you've heard our stories of the first trip to Marea you already know that we hold in belief that they serve the greatest pasta dish to be found...the fusilli with braised octopus and bone marrow. Would it live up to the pedestal we've created in our memory? And the lobster ravioli that I had the last time and thought was perfection was no longer on the menu...could another dish compete? We found out.
Dana & I ordered the tagliatelle with nova scotia lobster, tarragon and coral; Alan tried the fusilli once again (how could he not?) and Jeff came out of left field and ordered the ricotta ravioli with nettle pesto (what...a vegetarian dish...how's this even possible?!? In a nutshell - the fusilli is STILL the best pasta dish anywhere and Jeff's ravioli was a surprisingly winning combination. My pasta was lovely and tasty but not in the same league as the other two.
We topped off dinner with a single dessert to share...fried doughnut holes, lemon cream, prickly pear sorbet and cassis. Pretty damn yummy for dessert. I think warm, sugar donuts are the most wonderful thing someone can serve you after a big meal ~ it just tops off the night with happiness.
Jenn's rating: 90
Zagat's rating: 27-26-25
Michelin Stars: 2
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