"Tomato" (2010) by Galina Dargery

NEW YORK CORNER
Alison Eighteen
by John Mariani

NOTES FROM THE WINE CELLAR
Chianti Changes Its Image
by John Mariani

NEW YORK CORNER

ALISON EIGHTEEN
15 West 18th Street

212-366-1818

http://alisoneighteen.com

    When Alison Becker opened Alison on Dominick back in 1989, it was considered both a brave move and a welcome breath of fresh air in SoHo, then a neighborhood only just on the brink of becoming gentrified and lacking the kind of fresh French-American cuisine she favored, via her first chef, Tom Valenti. There was also something thoroughly modern and very personalized about the small restaurant--dark blue banquettes, shiny white walls, candlelight, a small stylish bar up front, and photos of France. Alison herself (below) was very much part of the appeal of the place, even though, as of 1996,  she began dividing her time between SoHo and Sagaponack,  where she opened an eponymous branch. 
    Then, after 9/11 obliterated the business community in Lower Manhattan and drove away clientele, Alison closed her restaurant and moved to the Hamptons, moved her restaurant to Bridghampton, then closed that one in 2008.  She did some restaurant consulting and product development, but an offer came along and, shrugging her shoulders, she hired back her chef, Robert Gurvich, and took on the always daunting task of opening a new, 117-seat restaurant, complete with rotisserie, this time in the West Village.

    The handsome décor, beginning in the bar, takes on colors of aubergine and taupe, with red tablecloths and hanging modern chandeliers, with framed mirrors and whimsical, with designed figured wallpaper, Payton Cosell. The room has a very admirable decibel level, which Alison demanded of her architects, so that conversation can take place throughout the night, probably with Alison herself, who is ever eager to tell you about her newborn restaurant and all that went into it.
    "We're not trying to re-invent the wheel with the food here," she told me. "Robert is doing straightforward cooking with a great deal of flavor in a style that I think most of our guests love."  That translates as big flavors based on first-rate ingredients, plated with restraint, and, with plenty of main courses under $35, she's hitting a sweet spot for most people's dining out budgets,  also reflected in the solid, well-chosen winelist that Alison herself put together to reflect her own tastes in combination with her food.  (I did not try the 35-day aged sirloin, but it's worth noting that it's priced at $45, with shoestring potatoes and Béarnaise sauce; compare that to the $49 charged for sirloins at NYC steakhouses, with no potatoes and for sauce you pay extra.)
    One of the best of the appetizers is grilled quail, meaty and cooked crisp and juicy, with perfectly tender sweet potato risotto, a little sage to brighten the dish and sauce verjus. Polenta with wild mushrooms, parmesan and olive oil doesn't sound all that wonderful but this is one of the best elevations of this humble corn porridge I've had in NYC, delicious in every forkful, the woodsiness of the mushrooms buoying its simplicity.  Foie gras a la plancha came beautifully seared, pink inside, with grilled figs and toasted brioche, a classic rendering of fine, fatted duck liver, though the portion that night was on the small side.  Good, if nothing to rave about, was white bean and kale soup with smoked ham hocks.

    Again, I must mention that Gurvich's cooking imbues everything with a concentration of flavor, not least in his seafood, which includes black bass with artichokes, cannellini beans, cockles and the bite of chorizo; halibut is braised in olive oil, to give that mild fish a richness it otherwise lacks, with chanterelles, leeks, and Brussels sprouts.

    Among the meat entrees there's a thick and fatted grilled pork chop enhanced by tender, garlicky broccoli di rabe and a touch of chili, with sweet roasted apples and a bracing shot of vinegar to pull it all together. From the rotisserie, we had the lamb shoulder, which took very well to that turning spit, coming off tender, not at all dry, with roasted vegetables, a good buy at $27. If you like, have the side dish of rutabaga and potato gratin.
     Desserts, by Ted Kanellopoulos (formerly at The Four Seasons), are unfussy gems, from the beignets with lemon cream and milk chocolate sauce to the rich caramel chocolate tart and the franzipan cake with poached spiced pear and salted caramel ice cream.

    It's wonderful to have Alison back, if only to restore some balance and sense to an increasingly frenetic and too often gimmicky restaurant scene in NYC, where chefs and owners seem to be trying so hard to come up with something merely new rather than truly good. Alison and Gurvich toe a classic line of good taste, which is what good food is always supposed to be.

     Chianti used to be so simple. It was the pizza wine you bought in a green bottle in a straw (later plastic) basket called a fiasco. Even if it wasn’t all that good, you could always use it afterwards as a candleholder. It was the wine on the table of every movie scene set in Italian restaurant, even the romantic dogs’ dinner in  “Lady and the Tramp” and a “nice bottle of Kee-ann-tee” was the preferred wine Hannibal the Cannibal drank with his dinner of liver and fava beans in the movie  “Silence of the Lambs.” (Pssst! In the book it was Amarone.)
         That plonky image has been outdated for quite some time. Starting in the 1970s, well-heeled, market savvy innovators like aristocrats Marchesi Piero Antinori of Antinori upgraded not just their own image but that of all Chiantis in Tuscany (below), helping the entire region obtain the prestigious D.O.C.G. appellation from the Italian government, that guarantees their high quality among Italian wines along with strict standards that go into making the wines.  Indeed, if a vintage proves inferior, Chianti Classico can be labeled only as lowly vino da tavola (“table wine”), a demotion that has never actually happened. In 1996 the Classico zone received a separate D.O.C.G. appellation to distinguish it from the rest in Tuscany. The Classico regional consortium, founded in 1924 with 33 members, now has more than 600 producers.
         Chianti Classico must now be made with a minimum of 80 percent sangiovese grapes—based on modern, healthier clones--with up to 20 percent canaiolo, colorino, cabernet sauvignon or other grapes allowed. Beginning in 2006 the long tradition of blending in white trebbiano and malvasia grapes was no longer permitted. Also, the old “governo” process, by which unfermented grape juice is added to young wines to restart fermentation in order to make the wines marketable at an earlier date, is now very rarely done anywhere.
         Which leads to the question of just how different Chianti is today from what it was since the name was first protected way back in 1716. It was a legitimate query that came up at a media luncheon at New York’s Morrell Wine Bar & Café held by the Consorzio Vino Chianti Classico. One wine writer complained that he missed the lighter style and taste of what Chianti used to taste like, preferring more traditional examples from less prestigious regions like Colli Aretini, Montalbano, Colli Senesi, and Rufina to the fuller-bodied Classicos.
         I understood his nostalgic sentiment but also believe that Chianti Classico is a much finer wine than it ever was, with more complexity and body, even if the alcohol levels are creeping up.
         The food, by Chef Jake Klein, was chosen to go with the wines, rather than vice versa, to show off stylistic differences: with herb-smoked buffalo mozzarella, fried porcini and candied artichokes (left), a very big, still very tannic 2007 Castello di Monsanto Riserva ($20 retail) showed those bold black cherry flavors I associate with the sangiovese grape. Terrabianca Scassino 2007 ($19), with a minty edge went very well with a chestnut puree with sweet spices and green onion. Roasted duck breast with rosemary pound cake and tart cherry needed a drier, less fruity wine than the 14 percent alcohol Fontodi 2008 ($30) that showed an overly lush style that reminded me of some California sangiovese experiments.
    Castello La Leccia 2009 ($16) showed its fruit and acid in a youthful balance, with pleasing, loose tannins, while a 2007 San Fabiano Calcinaia Cellole Riserva ($27) proved the intensity of a riserva style (riservas must spend 24 months aging, three in bottle), with delicious black pepper and mint giving it a power that, while impressive, seemed a real divergence from the traditional subtleties I associate with fine Chianti Classico.
         All the savory dishes that day had sweet elements that Chianti Classico bonds to very well, but the serving of a Querciabella 2008 ($26), light in body and more in the old familiar style, didn’t click with a dessert of floating island, hot chocolate and Graham cracker. I would have matched it with an aged Tuscan caprino cheese.
         Overall, I thought the wines showed well, with the distinctive flavors of the sangiovese grape preserved within the many stylizations of a wine that has moved out of the pizzeria into the ristorante.  Then again, pizza has now become fashionable, maybe the two can still make for an honorable marriage. But finding one of those Chiantis in a fiasco isn’t so easy anymore.

POOR BABY

Convicted Michael Jackson killer Conrad Murray, who narrowly escaped being shanked last month in the L.A. County Jail, is now claiming that the prison food might end up killing him if he doesn't get out. Murray says he is "extremely sick" with dysentery, and has dropped 30 pounds since November from a diet Murray claims is mostly "cat food" purchased at the commissary.

CLUELESS

Actress Alicia Silverstone (right) posted a video of herself feeding her 11-month old son, Bear Blu, breakfast after chewing it in her mouth and passing it to his. “I fed Bear the mochi and a tiny bit of veggies from the soup," she said. "It’s his favorite and mine. He literally crawls across the room to attack my mouth if I’m eating. This video was taken about a month or 2 ago when he was a bit wobbly. Now he is grabbing my mouth to get the food!”

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