If you’re like me you’ve probably been
to enough pita palaces to know the menu blindfolded – babaghanouj,
hummus, all the usual suspects. The decor consists of a weaving
hung on the wall, lots of tables that are too small and unstable
to be comfortable and a soundtrack that whines non-stop in the
background. The food is familiar and often good, but don’t expect
surprises.
Rose Water might be considered a Middle Eastern restaurant too.
Middle Eastern spices season some of the dishes and there is
lamb on the menu, but to compare this small wonder to traditional
Middle Eastern places would be like comparing Philip Roth to
Danielle Steel – they’re both writers, but …
Chef Neil O’Malley, formerly of Oznot’s Dish in Williamsburg
and Savoy in Manhattan, and manager John Tucker, also of Savoy,
opened Rose Water last spring with a formula for success that
tapped directly into the collective dining needs of the community.
They understand that to be challenged once in awhile is a good
thing, that not having to compete with a shrieking soundtrack
should be a given, that a room need not be cutting-edge contemporary
to feel sophisticated and that a staff that really understands
what goes into a dish and can guide diners, is their greatest
ally.
Take the decor for instance. The walls are painted a pale sea
green. The tables are small but comfortable and the banquettes
are covered in a nubby fabric that feels cool against the skin.
Silverware is heavy; napkins are linen – can you see where I’m
going with this? O’Malley and Tucker understand that it’s the
little things we notice and that keep us coming back. The evening
I was there, the crowd seemed relaxed and enthralled with their
meals. Many tables had diners passing their plates back and forth,
saying, "Try this!"
O’Malley has a knack for combining lots of ingredients and blending
them harmoniously. Black pepper, coriander and sun dried tomatoes
appear in one tuna dish, and a cinnamon-ginger vinaigrette is
served with the duck confit. There’s a meze plate and a cheese
plate, and if it all sounds like too much of a good thing, it’s
not. This is adult food, handled imaginatively and in the case
of spicing, with great restraint.
Restraint is also shown in the presentation of the food. Thought
has been given to the arrangement of the food on the plate, but
the presentation is not overdone. I was relieved not to see little
dots and blobs of sauces self-consciously ringing the plates,
or towering constructions of ingredients that should be presented
along with a "how to" manual before anyone attacks
it with a fork.
The freshly baked potato focaccia will be filed away in my gastronomic
memory bank under "great breads I have loved." Dense,
moist, chewy with an onion topping both oily and salty – it’s
addictive.
Of the five appetizers, four were stellar and one was pleasant
but didn’t rock our world. We started with the fattoush. This
salad of watercress, impeccably fresh mussels, tiny green olives
and bits of preserved lemon was as refreshing as an ice-cold
vodka on a hot night.
I don’t know what Freud would say, but since my evening at Rose
Water I’ve dreamed of the sardines every night. A special appetizer,
these oversized Spanish sardines were first brined so that after
grilling, they remained moist on the inside and crusty on the
outside and were served over greaseless eggplant "fries."
The bluefish in vinaigrette was served with a light, garlicky
tzatziki sauce and tasted nothing like the bluefish I make at
home.
Chewy morels, also a special, had a rich wine sauce redolent
of garlic and were served over slices of the focaccia.
I found the appetizer of delicate pasta in a light, lemony sauce,
plum tomatoes, fava beans and corn too subtle. Next to the macho
sardines and those "fries" it came off as a well-mannered
runner-up.
A person who dreams of sardines would apparently have a seafood
bias, but I won’t walk away from a good steak. The skirt steak,
marinated with zaatar seasoning (thyme, salt and sumac), grilled
and served very rare with kale and a multi-dimensional romesco
sauce (tomatoes, red bell peppers, onion, garlic, almonds and
olive oil), will sate any red-meat cravings.
Pork chops, delicately flavored and tender with a crunchy breadcrumb
topping, came with a side of vinegary, slow-cooked onions that
has a sweet/sour combination that I love.
Monkfish was served with tomato-nectarine salsa and a coconut-lace
pancake. The monkfish was peppery and the salsa spiked with fresh
ginger that made it practically dance off the plate. The pancake
was almost transparent and very tender.
By the glass, the half bottle or the bottle, Rose Water’s wine
offerings are a carefully selected and interesting global tour
with lots of choice bottles under $30.
It is hip in some food circles to claim to enjoy desserts that
are "wonderful and not at all sweet." But if I have
to guess whether to have my tart with a cup of coffee or as a
side dish with my lamb chop, then I’d rather not be hip. Some
of the desserts at Rose Water will satisfy my "not at all
sweet" friends, though. They’ll enjoy the cheese plate with
fruit and the house-made yogurt with roasted apricots.
For dessert purists there’s a chocolate torte with cherry rhubarb
compote, and a lemon cake, but the one dessert that really put
the exclamation point on our meal was the ginger panna cotta
with blueberry sauce. Light, just sweet enough, with a silky
texture and the heat of fresh ginger – it’s swoon worthy.
There is construction being done on the street outside the restaurant,
but don’t let that stop you from a great meal. The construction
crews are long gone by the time you’ll sit down for brunch or
dinner. It’s business as usual inside, and even outside the restaurant,
large tables of diners, lit by tiki lamps, were having a great
time oblivious to the rubble around them.
Rose Water (787 Union St. at Sixth Avenue)
is open daily for dinner, and brunch on Sunday from 11 am to
3 pm. Entrees: $13.50-17.50. Rose Water accepts MasterCard, Visa
and American Express. For more information, call (718) 783-3800.
