May 2nd, 2008

Veg out at Broadway East

By Ali Weinberg

My blog usually relies on professional food critics’ reviews, which I then corroborate, disagree with, or ridicule. But I was recently given the chance to check out a new restaurant, Broadway East, before any major writers or bloggers rendered their verdicts. I wasn’t about to turn this down for continuity’s sake. After all, besides the fountain transplant in Washington Square Park, I consider change a good thing.

So behold, the inaugural edition of Back For…Firsts?

Broadway East is located on the outskirts of Chinatown, where that neighborhood meets the Lower East Side. The area’s seedy bars and Chinese food shops don’t exactly scream “fine dining,” but if living in New York has taught me anything, it’s that one can never judge a restaurant by its neighbors.

Indeed, Broadway East looks like an oasis on its otherwise barren block. Rich wood tones lend a simple elegance to the dining room. The restaurant has a floral fixation: the back wall is covered in lush greenery, and plants are strategically placed throughout the bar area.

WSN VIDEO

Watch Ali’s interview with the chef

The green theme permeates other elements of the restaurant as well. The menu is mainly vegetarian, with a few poultry and fish items for omnivores. An emphasis on sustainability means most ingredients are purchased upstate or from other local farms — Al Gore would be proud.

But lest the word “vegetarian” conjure images of crunchy hippie joints, fear not. Broadway East does not employ the common equation of “something green + tofu = vegetarian meal.” Chef Lee Gross’ menu is informed by his training in classical European and Japanese cuisines. Rather than heap a bunch of stir-fried vegetables onto a plate, Chef Gross spotlights one ingredient and includes a few others in supporting roles.

While deciding what to order, I felt daunted when I saw a full-page glossary of various menu items, like oden (Japanese stew) and schichimi (a seven-ingredient spice). But many restaurants leave unfamiliar ingredients unexplained, silently shaming you because you don’t know what schichimi is. I had several “so that’s what that is!” moments while reading the glossary, which was actually rather fun.

An appetizer of red beet tataki and golden beet tartare ($11) features clever takes on two tuna dishes. The red beets are sliced similarly to how tuna tataki is served. They are garnished with a bit of hijiki; a sea vegetable that, according to the glossary, “contains 14 times more calcium than milk.” (In case you were wondering.)

The other beet preparation, tartare, features tiny cubes of golden beets perched atop a layer of thinly sliced cucumber, a common tuna tartare presentation. An artful slash of white wasabi cream unites the red and gold on the plate.

Besides their dramatic presentation, the two preparations taste delicious eaten together or separately, their sweetness cut by the spicy wasabi. However, I couldn’t really taste the dish’s small portion of tonburi (a seed that looks a lot like caviar). Although it added to the aesthetics of the dish, perhaps there needed to be a bit more in order to taste it.

An entrée of sliced Portobello mushrooms ($21) is served with grilled millet polenta, a bit of sautéed kale, and a wonderfully thick tomato ragout. The Portobello holds its own as a main course, due to its thick, meaty texture. But these mushrooms are also fried in breadcrumbs, which I thought detracted from their smoky flavor. Besides, between the polenta and ragout, there is so much crispy/rich goodness going on that the breadcrumbs seem redundant.

The crispy coconut tempeh ($20) is also fried, but is perfectly accompanied by whipped sweet potatoes and a creamy curry sauce. I literally fell back, eyes closed, into my seat when I tasted the dish, savoring the sinfully sweet combination of coconut and sauce. It is a gorgeous presentation of tempeh, which the glossary blandly describes as “soy food made from split soybeans.”

Not soy food. Soy nirvana.

I temper my tempeh praise with a caveat: if you order the dish (which I suggest you do), you may be too saturated with sweetness for dessert (which I was.) But trust me, it’s worth it.

Broadway East isn’t simply a place to get vegetarian food. It is a restaurant that brilliantly showcases the best of local produce so that one doesn’t even notice the absence of meat. The restaurant is only a few months old, so Chef Gross may still be ironing out some bumps. However, the seasonal menu changes with the available produce, so I look forward to tasting his next batch of creative dishes.

I’m definitely coming back for seconds.

Broadway East
171 East Broadway (Btw. Rutgers and Jefferson Sts.)
(212) 228-3100

This entry was posted on Friday, May 2nd, 2008 at 1:15 am and is filed under Food, Back for Seconds. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

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