Welcome to Where to Eat, the restaurant newsletter that wants to know if you’d prefer still, sparkling or tap. Here’s what we’ve got for you today:
THE WHERE TO EAT QUESTIONNAIRE Giancarlo Esposito wants to walk into a restaurant and actually smell foodIt may surprise you to learn that Giancarlo Esposito is neither a Latino nor a short-tempered Brooklynite whose Jordans you just scuffed, though he’s famous for playing both. The “Breaking Bad” star and frequent Spike Lee collaborator actually considers himself a “song and dance guy” at his core, having made his Broadway debut while still in elementary school. That’s when he developed an intense love for the restaurants of the theater district like Sardi’s and Cafe Un Deux Trois, though for a time all his family could afford was dinner at the Howard Johnson’s at 46th and Broadway. Esposito, who will soon star opposite John Turturro in “The Only Living Pickpocket in New York,” has now expanded his taste far beyond the blocks surrounding Broadway, though his heart will always be there. Read on for the story of the time he waited on the Broadway legends Bob Fosse and Chita Rivera, why he thinks one of the world’s finest meals can be found in Stockholm, and how making paella is really a metaphor for acting. Read the questionnaire →
THE BRIEF REVIEW Rice Thief★★ | Critic’s Pick
One of the many thrills of Michelle Zauner’s “Crying in H Mart” involves a very specific delicacy: soy-marinated shellfish. It’s a Korean style of crudo that’s decidedly funkier than a brasserie seafood tower. During trips to Seoul, Zauner writes that she and her mother would giggle “as we ate ganjang gejang with our fingers, sucking salty, rich, custardy raw crab from its shell, prodding the meat from its crevices with our tongues, licking our soy sauce-stained fingers.” Ganjang gejang isn’t hard to find in New York these days, but few places showcase it with the grandeur of Rice Thief from Richard Jang, the owner; Haiqi Yu, the co-founder; and Jong Sook Jang, Richard’s mother and the culinary director. At this intimate Long Island City spot — decked out in Christmas lights and blond wood trim — casually dressed patrons gather to order the type of shimmering, vertiginous plateaus that would make Balthazar regulars envious. No half-shell oysters here, though. Hokkaido scallops wobble like rice cakes and taste of good sesame. Canadian salmon is fatty enough to pass itself off as marine guanciale. Abalone packs the mouthfeel of an oceanic portobello, while things get more jiggly with Argentine shrimp; imagine unpeeled grapes that taste of saffron and chiles. For a little heat, lick the garlic-chile paste off crimson flower crabs. For deeper flavors, try the pricier Gunsan variety, split into halves to expose roe with the consistency of flan. I like to squeeze the carapace and suck out the jellied flesh. These crustaceans pack the dizzying aromas of shellfish plucked from azure waters and served in rarefied spaces. But here we are in a chill Queens restaurant, where patrons in baseball caps make seaweed rice wraps with sauce-stained fingers. Address: 39-37 30th Street (40th Avenue), Long Island City; 917-832-7108; instagram.com/ricethief.nyc Recommended dishes: Soy-marinated abalone, Canadian salmon, wild Argentine shrimp (do not order the Ecuadorean variety), spicy flower crabs, Gunsan premium crabs, seaweed rice wraps, gamja-tang stew, egg souffle. The $179 seafood platter gives a tour of the menu’s greatest hits. Price: $12 and up for soy marinated seafood; blue crabs start at $28 for three or $34 apiece for premium Gunsan crabs. Combination seafood platters range from $39 (a mix of soy crabs and chile crabs) to $179 (a multitiered tower that comes with abalone congee and gamja-tang) Wheelchair access: Entrance is fully ADA compliant; restroom does not yet have a grab bar.
FROM OUR CHIEF CRITICS Gymkhana is Indian by way of London in the heart of Vegas
When the London-based Gymkhana opened its counterpart in Vegas last year, I was so curious about how this clubby Indian restaurant would land on the Strip, where everything is totally — and I guess some might say deliciously — out of context. Gymkhana is inside Aria, which also has a Carbone, a Jean-Georges Steakhouse and a Din Tai Fung, to name a few. At every meal at Gymkhana, I wished for better-timed and warmer service, especially at the inhospitable host stand. But so much of the luxurious, party-ready Indian food — the hulking masala chops, the tangy beetroot pao, the venison biryani gathering steam under its pastry lid — spoke to me. Read the review → UPDATES American Express and Blackbird pull sponsorship of the Noma pop-up in L.A.Just days after Julia Moskin’s report detailing allegations of physical and psychological abuse against the chef René Redzepi, American Express and Blackbird, two of the major sponsors of his $1,500-per-person Noma pop-up, have pulled their support. In a statement, Ben Leventhal, the founder of Blackbird and a co-founder of the reservations site Resy, which American Express acquired in 2019, said “René’s past practices, by his own admission, were unacceptable and abhorrent. We cannot lean on time elapsed and rehabilitation claims when these things resurface.” The 16-week dinner series is set to start on March 11 and remains sold out. Read the story →
ALL THE NEWS THAT’S FIT TO EMAIL Rocco DiSpirito, Long Island oysters and ‘trailgating’Your time is precious, so here’s a very quick rundown of other stories you should check out. The celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito is cooking in the five boroughs yet again, this time in a hotel near Rockefeller Center. All that winter did major damage to the Long Island oyster population, so expect fewer of them on restaurant menus. Just in time for the start of SXSW, we’ve updated our list of the best restaurants in Austin, Texas. And you haven’t really partied until you’ve taken a shot of whiskey and peppermint Schnapps while “trailgating” the Iditarod. Have New York City restaurant questions? Send us a note here. Follow NYT Food on TikTok and NYT Cooking on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Pinterest.
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