Where Colin Ate: Claro, JR & Son, Adda, Undercote
Can the old be new again?
Colin Camac (aka @resyguynyc) is officially Blackbird’s “Strategic Sales Lead,” and unofficially is our resident insider’s insider. He is out, on the town seven nights a week, sniffing out the city’s best joints, skateboard in one hand, martini in the other.
Quick one but IMO a good one this week. Visited some old haunts that have been reborn anew, plus did my best to solidify Le Veau d’Or as my most visited spot this year.
Colin
Claro
📍Gowanus
🍽️ Mexican
For Cinco de Mayo the obvious choice was going to be something Mexican. A week or so earlier my friend TJ from Claro shot me a note to swing through as they were going to be doing some fun stuff. I couldn’t think of a place I’d rather be. He set me up outside (covered from the rain) at the bar overlooking the wood fire grill so we could hang out a bit while he was cooking. It was, as always, a really great time. The menu for the day was a set menu in collaboration with Bricia Lopez, a cookbook author as well as co-owner of LA’s La Guelaguetza. It was a menu based on things TJ and Bricia have cooked together for their joint newsletter “From Oaxaca.” The highlight of the meal for me was an amazing fried taco, complete with fried shrimp head and consisting of shrimp, lobster, potatoes, and a little bit of cheese, covered in a slightly spicy lobster sauce with crema. It was absolutely insane. I was lucky enough to also revisit it later in the meal as they had an extra on a misfire and I couldn’t have been happier with the mistake. Other great dishes included a campechana with shrimp and squid in a slightly yet refreshing tomato chili broth as well as a fried oyster torta on the perfect bread to hold it all together. All of this washed down with a delicious tepextate mezcal from Rezpiral picked from their expansive back bar that really worked for the mood of the evening.
Quick hits, Pop-ups, New openings
JR & Son
📍Williamsburg
🍽️ Italian American
JR & Son had occupied this space since 1976 as a dive, housed in what was once an Italian American supper club. The newest iteration comes from the crew who recently took over Kellogg’s Diner and installed Patricia Vega as chef (previously Thai Diner) and top pastry chef Amanda Perdomo on desserts and bread. I got a reservation early during their first week — I love the vibe and feel of the room. It definitely feels like a Bernie’s type of place for the crowd on the other side of Williamsburg, and it retained a lot of the soul of the previous restaurant with all of the original pics still on the wall. The food is Italian American with small twists, most of which was very good. Highlights for me were the crab salad with salty crackers, raw clams, and an arancini salad that blends hot and cold ingredients in a way that I always love. The desserts are all fantastic — don’t skip the cookie plate!
Le Veau d’Or
📍Upper East Side
🍽️ French
Was back Uptown at Le Veau d’Or for a book launch event for “Spilled,” a natural wine cookbook filled with stories and recipes from the vineyards of some of your favorite wines. The book was written by some good friends and the menu of the day reflected dishes in the book served by chefs at the top of their game. It was an amazing event with a who’s who of people filling the room (pretty much always at Le Veau). Highlights of the meal for me included an absolutely insane quiche topped with ham in a flaky crust holding the most perfectly delicate eggs. I have no idea how they made it, but it was incredible. Larger plates such as a chicken in vin jaune sauce with morels was also a hit as well as caillettes, which are rustic pork meatballs wrapped in caul fat that had an amazingly smoky flavor from bits of bacon inside. I can’t seem to stay away from this place and I am not the least bit mad about it.
Adda
📍East Village
🍽️ Indian
The original location of Adda may have been the first time I realized how exciting Indian food could be. I trekked out to LIC and was blown away by the flavor profile and a menu that seemed to love to take chances. That version of Adda recently closed and has now reopened as a much more fine dining version (with a great bar program as well) in the heart of the East Village. I popped in solo the other night, which is not the ideal way to eat this food, but I wanted to have a few bites to check it out. Highlights for me included the reimagining of one of my previous favorite dishes at the old location: the Bheja Masal, which is goat brain with masala over a steamed egg custard that works really well together served with buttered pao on the side. It was a real standout at the old location and only got better with the upgrades. The tiger prawn served whole with creamy garlic and fennel on top was a hit as well. I can’t wait to come back and try some of the larger dishes with a crew — this is going to be a great new spot.
Undercote
📍Flatiron
🍽️ Korean
Looking for a cocktail in Flatiron last week after an event a few friends and I decided to check out Undercote for the first time in a while. I feel like with as much hype as Cote receives (deservedly so), Undercote somehow flies under the radar. The room is really sleek and botanical with a living wall type situation behind the bar. I ordered a Gibson-like martini variation with pickled mushroom (I believe — I was a bit hazy by this point) that was delicious. As we also needed a snack, we went with some oysters and shrimp from the raw bar. We followed that with the Korean gnocchi, which is basically a sweet and spicy cast iron of rice cakes with gochujang glaze and the similarly flavored (not textured) crispy chicken nuggets both served with toothpicks for proper grazing. The meal concluded with a nice selection of steaks, including the galbi, ribeye, and the American wagyu Cote steak. We wrapped up the tiny morsels in the lettuce provided as well as the always delicious scallion salad. Always a great place that deserves to be in the rotation for great drinks and some seriously premium bar snacks.
Definitely worth making the even longer trek out to Jackson Heights for Angel if you liked Adda!
Am I on time for that fried taco @Claro?