Oct 10, 2008
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Oct 10, 2008 |
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Still, you don't expect to find a prize catch inside a fish market -- especially one that, from the outside, looks like a big white industrial warehouse.
True ocean treasure, however, is often found in uncharted waters. Venture inside Buoy One (which used to be named One Fish Too Fish), and you're transported to a stylish tropical retreat. Walls are tiled in vibrant hues of cobalt and yellow; fanciful ceramic sculptures of fish and sea plants add style.
The real panache, however, comes from chef-owner David Girard, who has cooked in France and at such New York restaurants as the Rainbow Room, Park Avalon and (under uber-chef Gray Kunz) at the Peninsula Hotel.
Girard's credentials may say haute cuisine, but there's nothing uppity about the place that he, wife Lorraine and brother-in-law Robert Pollifrone bought as a fishmarket before renovating it. You can still buy fish by the pound here, but the heart of the place is the cafe, whose simple menu is augmented by a list of daily specials.
You know you're in the hands of a pro when you sample the inspired rare pepper-seared tuna appetizer. It's presented canape style, atop fried wonton skins crowned with seaweed salad and dolloped with wasabi mayo. Like most everything at the cafe, the dish comes on a metal tray, the kind used to weigh fish. One night, a tall metal bucket housed a special of mussels in spicy Asian broth, served with a hunk of crispy-melty garlic bread. The shellfish were irresistible. Manhattan clam chowder was a homestyle affair, rife with clams and bacon. But on two occasions, the New England-style chowder was floury and underseasoned. Raw clams and oysters, in contrast, positively sparkled. Just what you'd expect at a fish market.
Blackened tuna, rosy-rare on the inside, proved fresh and fiery. Like many of the entrees, it was plated with Girard's sublime mashed vanilla sweet potatoes and an Asian stir-fry of vegetables. If you order the wok-seared sea scallops with plum tomatoes, snow peas and tasso ham, you'll need a spoon to get all of the buttery wine sauce. I was impressed with the savory-sweet Asian-style sesame salmon and thought the almond-crusted flounder simple and delicate. But a special of jambalaya -- shrimp, sausage, chicken and rice -- was uncharacteristically humdrum. Not so the crispy pork, two saucer-like fried medallions glazed with hoisin sauce and served with those smashing sweet potatoes and stir-fried vegetables.
Two house-made desserts -- a flaky-crusted pecan pie and a homey peach and blueberry cobbler -- were as warm and uncomplicated as they were gratifying.
Much like Buoy One.
Reviewed by Joan Reminick, 3/4/05.
Hours: Same menu all day, Monday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., Sunday, 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.