Italian, Inventive and Keen on Vegetables
The New York Times
Sun, Jun 5th, 2011 12:00:00 am
WORTH IT
by Karla Cook
The charms of Novita are clear: an airy interior with high ceilings and sweeping windows; personable servers; a creative chef and the inventive use of a beautiful array of seasonal vegetables. With a little more rigor in the kitchen, it could easily rise to excellence, but judging by two weekend visits, it is not there yet.
The executive chef, Anthony Theesfeld, a 1998 graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and a veteran of the venerable Stage Left in New Brunswick, champions pristine ingredients. "If a chef can't get excited about vegetablesthere's something wrong with him," he said in a telephone conversation after my visits. He makes the breads, ice creams and most pastas, and these upgrades improve the plate. But I wished for more intense eggplant flavor in roasted eggplant soup, sufficient salt in the risotto and considerably less in the spinach, and a respect for wagyu beef that would prevent its exterior from being charred to acridity.
The restaurant's propietors, Charlie Badalamenti; his brother, Joey; and their cousin Carlo, briefly owned the Cornerstone Cafe on this site before opening Novita in 2008. Mr. Theesfeld joined in February 2009.
As for the food, I gave extra points for the presence in the antipasti category of roasted eggplant soup, since I can't recall having seen it on another menu. But instead of the rich, smoky broth I expected, this was eggplant light (despite its dollop of a house-made mousse of toasted cumin goat cheese). Truffled duck confit pancakes, also among the antipasti, consisted of small, duck-enriched pancakes with a few peas and pearl onions scattered about the plate, accompanied by what the menu curiously called a honey lavender sauce but would be better described as syrup. I had expected something akin to moo shu duck, not breakfast for dinner.
The Caesar salad garnished with anchovy was fine, but only the mussels, the frisee and pistachios were praise-worthy in the $15 poached seafood salad, which also included nearly flavor-free shrimp, scallops and calamari.
Of the three entree-size first courses we tried, the crispy ricotta gnocchi with duck confit, roasted root vegetables, asparagus, greens and shallots in duck broth - imagine duck stew with dumplings - outshone the others. The runners-up - a risotto with confit of cherry tomatoes, cipollini onions and oyster mushrooms; and truffle-scented gemelli, prosciutto, peas and tomato casserole - were sauce-heavy but otherwise well prepared.
The four-course tasting menu ($39) was, surprisingly, available even to one diner at the table. It proved a pleasant collection of culinary snapshots - striped bass with shaved fennel and grapefruit; Atlantic salmon with pea shoots and morel cream; chateau steak (similar in quality to a hangar steak) with grilled eggplant and wax beans - that prove the kitchen's ability not to burn a steak, as well as Mr. Theesfeld's expertise with fish. Any lingering doubts about proficiency were erased by another main dish, his beautiful fillet of local golden tile fish over sauteed yellow foot chanterelles, asparagus and shaved fennel.
As for sides, asparagus was charred at the tips and along some of the slender stems; the spinach was too salty to eat.
Warm apple pound cake was a standout among the desserts; house-made sorbet and New York-style cheesecake were also good. The stealth winner, however, was Nutella chocolate tart - who knew something so restrained and elegant could come from a jarred dessert spread? If the same care were applied to all the preparation at Novita, the results would be gratifying indeed.
WHAT WE LIKED
Caesar salad, ricotta gnocchi, risotto primavera, gemelli alla Romagna, tasting menu (striped bass with grapefruit, salmon with pea shoots and morel cream, chateau steak), tile fish with chanterelles, asparagus and fennel; apple pound cake, sorbet, Nutella chocolate tart.
Go Back
Sun, Jun 5th, 2011 12:00:00 am
WORTH IT
by Karla Cook
The charms of Novita are clear: an airy interior with high ceilings and sweeping windows; personable servers; a creative chef and the inventive use of a beautiful array of seasonal vegetables. With a little more rigor in the kitchen, it could easily rise to excellence, but judging by two weekend visits, it is not there yet.
The executive chef, Anthony Theesfeld, a 1998 graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and a veteran of the venerable Stage Left in New Brunswick, champions pristine ingredients. "If a chef can't get excited about vegetablesthere's something wrong with him," he said in a telephone conversation after my visits. He makes the breads, ice creams and most pastas, and these upgrades improve the plate. But I wished for more intense eggplant flavor in roasted eggplant soup, sufficient salt in the risotto and considerably less in the spinach, and a respect for wagyu beef that would prevent its exterior from being charred to acridity.
The restaurant's propietors, Charlie Badalamenti; his brother, Joey; and their cousin Carlo, briefly owned the Cornerstone Cafe on this site before opening Novita in 2008. Mr. Theesfeld joined in February 2009.
As for the food, I gave extra points for the presence in the antipasti category of roasted eggplant soup, since I can't recall having seen it on another menu. But instead of the rich, smoky broth I expected, this was eggplant light (despite its dollop of a house-made mousse of toasted cumin goat cheese). Truffled duck confit pancakes, also among the antipasti, consisted of small, duck-enriched pancakes with a few peas and pearl onions scattered about the plate, accompanied by what the menu curiously called a honey lavender sauce but would be better described as syrup. I had expected something akin to moo shu duck, not breakfast for dinner.
The Caesar salad garnished with anchovy was fine, but only the mussels, the frisee and pistachios were praise-worthy in the $15 poached seafood salad, which also included nearly flavor-free shrimp, scallops and calamari.
Of the three entree-size first courses we tried, the crispy ricotta gnocchi with duck confit, roasted root vegetables, asparagus, greens and shallots in duck broth - imagine duck stew with dumplings - outshone the others. The runners-up - a risotto with confit of cherry tomatoes, cipollini onions and oyster mushrooms; and truffle-scented gemelli, prosciutto, peas and tomato casserole - were sauce-heavy but otherwise well prepared.
The four-course tasting menu ($39) was, surprisingly, available even to one diner at the table. It proved a pleasant collection of culinary snapshots - striped bass with shaved fennel and grapefruit; Atlantic salmon with pea shoots and morel cream; chateau steak (similar in quality to a hangar steak) with grilled eggplant and wax beans - that prove the kitchen's ability not to burn a steak, as well as Mr. Theesfeld's expertise with fish. Any lingering doubts about proficiency were erased by another main dish, his beautiful fillet of local golden tile fish over sauteed yellow foot chanterelles, asparagus and shaved fennel.
As for sides, asparagus was charred at the tips and along some of the slender stems; the spinach was too salty to eat.
Warm apple pound cake was a standout among the desserts; house-made sorbet and New York-style cheesecake were also good. The stealth winner, however, was Nutella chocolate tart - who knew something so restrained and elegant could come from a jarred dessert spread? If the same care were applied to all the preparation at Novita, the results would be gratifying indeed.
WHAT WE LIKED
Caesar salad, ricotta gnocchi, risotto primavera, gemelli alla Romagna, tasting menu (striped bass with grapefruit, salmon with pea shoots and morel cream, chateau steak), tile fish with chanterelles, asparagus and fennel; apple pound cake, sorbet, Nutella chocolate tart.
Go Back
