In an unassuming space on a Tribeca corner, chef Andrew Carmellini makes a compelling case for staying downtown after the closing bell rings. Little Park’s dishes track the seasons in their farmers’ market bounty; this winter saw finely chopped beets with rye crumbs and smoked trout roe, a play on tartare that readily competes with the beef version; ravioli arrived filled with kale and topped with squash sauce. It’s a toss-up as to which is the best part of the duck dish: the juicy breast or the mashed turnip on which it’s perched. Consider the question while pouring over the wine list by Josh Nadel, who oversees the wine for all of Carmellini’s restaurants. He’s arranged it in groups of what he calls “philosophical brothers and sisters,” where reds and whites from both Corsica and the Canary Islands share space under “Islands” and “Lakes and Slopes” encompasses trousseau from Jura and Sonoma as well as riesling from the Finger Lakes and Ruwer.
Smyth Hotel, 85 W. Broadway (at Chambers St.), New York, NY
New American
212-220-4110
Caitlin Griffith knew her future career would entail food and drink when, at the age of six, she munched an anchovy from her father’s Caesar salad thinking it as a small strip of bacon—and was more than pleasantly surprised. While enrolled in New York University’s Food Studies program, she learned the secrets of affinage in the caves of Murray’s Cheese.
This story appears in the print issue of April 2015.
Like what you read? Subscribe today.