Falai 68 Clinton Street
New York, NY 10002
212 253 1960
If you have every watched “Top Chef” on TV and wondered how the dishes the chefs prepare would actually taste, go to Falai. We should have known this was no ordinary place when we saw the expensive menu online and we had trouble getting a reservation on a Tuesday night.
Falai is a narrow storefront almost entirely decorated in white (white, unusual platters and white tables, as well) with clear plastic chairs. There is seating for about twenty, with an open kitchen and bar.
After being treated to baked rolls with unusual flavorings i.e. kale, fennel etc., we were emotionally prepared for our antipasti, , chicken liver, dried dates, wild mushroom “Vellutata”. A very small dish with plenty of flavor, this is not your grandma’s chopped liver!
A gratis intermezzo of about an ounce of yellow watermelon soup with ginger, and we were on our way. Our next dish was , hand-rolled egg-less pasta, marsala braised wild board ragu, aged herb pecorino, black truffles. Where do they get these ingredients?
Main courses , rack of Hampshire pork, lardo-peach-hazlenut financier, artichoke; A pork chop like no other! Probably the best dish was , smoked duck ***, leg confit, foie gras bon-bon, broccoli rabe, with fingerling potatoes. The duck was at once greaseless, but still medium rare, a real stand out. How did they do that?
While the portions are small, dessert was, a not so simple single scoop of chocolate gelato, while ice cold, it was not icy and tasted like a very intense Mississippi Mud Pie.
Dinner is not cheap at $ 100 for two, without drinks, but the experience and food was worth every penny.
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