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Restaurant ISA - Update
- Thread starter Robert Dentice
- Start date
Robert Dentice
Robert Dentice
originally posted by SFJoe:
You know something is wrong with me, but I read that at first glance as Prostate Specific Antigen.
Now that I'm over that, thanks for the tip.
Well PSA's are topical given the recent NY Times article.
I also spent all day at the Immunotherapy Conference on Thursday so I know what you mean.
Michael Lewis
Michael Lewis
Robert, how are the stems at Isa? I'm trying it tomorrow night and would think with a $50 pre-fix they should have serviceable stems, but figured I'd ask you to be sure it was not necessary to bring them.
Robert Dentice
Robert Dentice
originally posted by Michael Lewis:
Robert, how are the stems at Isa? I'm trying it tomorrow night and would think with a $50 pre-fix they should have serviceable stems, but figured I'd ask you to be sure it was not necessary to bring them.
Very good.
Zev Rovine
Zev Rovine
They use the Spiegelau Chardonnay stems. I had dinner there last night and it is truly a fantastic place. If you are used to eating in Brooklyn, you almost forget that good service is actually a nice thing. The food is outstanding and the service top notch. They are building a good wine list as well, but in the meantime the BYOB free for all is totally amazing!
Morgan Harris
Morgan Harris
Zev, this truly sounds like the land of milk and honey for all of us North Brooklynites.
They going to be putting anything of yours on the list?
They going to be putting anything of yours on the list?
Zev Rovine
Zev Rovine
Morgan,
There are a lot of former Diner/Marlow people there as well as some other folks that have worked in restaurants that have a lot of natural leaning wines so I think that the list will certainly have that feel. There is a pretty good chance that they will have some of the wines that we work with. I brought in a bottle of Chateau Chalon to share with the staff last night and they were very excited.
There are a lot of former Diner/Marlow people there as well as some other folks that have worked in restaurants that have a lot of natural leaning wines so I think that the list will certainly have that feel. There is a pretty good chance that they will have some of the wines that we work with. I brought in a bottle of Chateau Chalon to share with the staff last night and they were very excited.
Michael Lewis
Michael Lewis
Isa is excellent. It may be a bit of a hike from the Bedford Ave. stop on the L train, but the decor's emphasis on wood and brick and the inviting smell make it feel welcoming and something of an oasis in an otherwise cold part of Williamsburg. The service was attentive and the staff excited, although still slightly raw. As Robert mentioned, the menu is currently a four-course pre-fix for $50 a person. We enjoyed the food immensely; however, it is also challenging. The chef appears to be aiming for natural and pure flavors - and in this I think he succeeds - but they are presented to you in rather inventive packages that buck tradition. Consequently, a meal at Isa will be both interesting and sort of experimental.
The first course is actually an assortment of three small tastes. The best was a duck paté over a layer of lemon yogurt with crunchy bits of citrus confit at the bottom. You are instructed to eat this with a spoon, though bread is served as well (with a saucer of fennel butter!). C wished for a lower proportion of lemon yogurt to duck paté, but then again, who does not want more duck paté? Next came the sardine with an edible fried skeleton on the side, and olives. The waiter informed me that the head was the most flavorful part of the skeleton and that proved correct. C struggled with eating the skeleton at all and ultimately decided against it. A shotglass of duck consommé finished off the first course. We drank a 1999 Luneau-Papin Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine Le L D'Or with these. It had a nice frame, unobtrusive acids and a rich salinity. I felt that it trailed off a bit on the finish, but would happily drink it again.
One of our favorites on the menu is nestled in as the second course: the beef tartare. Don't expect the classic version of this dish, but rather a delicate layer of beef topped with crunchy crisps made from, I believe, a root vegetable of one kind or another (sadly I cannot remember which) and some spices. Surprisingly, it had a vivid barbecue accent. The other option for the second course, which we also tasted, was quite simply apple slices wrapped in sweet potato leaves with a swipe of yogurt inside the leaves holding it all together. These you are supposed to eat with your hands, and they were quite delicious and refreshing if not as complex as the tartare. This course was accompanied by a 2004 Ghislaine Barthod Chambolle-Musigny Les Véroilles, with which I was mildly disappointed because it was showing more green and less fruit than I recalled from the previous two times I have opened a bottle of this wine, when I found it to be more balanced. I consider myself fortunate to be the owner of very few 2004 Burgs, and although this was certainly drinkable, I am not sad this was the last of three bottles. C liked it more than I did, and to be fair it was much better with the tartare than the apple slices wrapped in leaves.
Next came either the poached cod with onion and salted baby potatoes (for this we returned to the Luneau-Papin) or the duck with roasted beets (in that case, the Barthod). The cod had very pure flavors and I enjoyed it more than I typically enjoy cod. The duck was too chewy, and perhaps the dish would have fared better had it been quail instead, which we were told was the original intent, but the quail had long since run out. The beets had a nicely firm texture that rescued something for the dish.
My recollection of the desserts is less lucid, but one was based on a beet sorbet with strawberries and the other included a concord grape sorbet with walnuts and greens. What I do remember about both desserts is that they were only mildly sweet and certain components were even savory - a refreshing change from the overly indulgent and sometimes cloying desserts one often finds at upscale restaurants in NYC.
I was told the restaurant will be getting its license in the next two weeks if all goes to plan, so if you want to give it a shot while it's still BYO, I'd advise doing so as soon as possible. They will begin charging corkage once they are able to serve alcohol.
The first course is actually an assortment of three small tastes. The best was a duck paté over a layer of lemon yogurt with crunchy bits of citrus confit at the bottom. You are instructed to eat this with a spoon, though bread is served as well (with a saucer of fennel butter!). C wished for a lower proportion of lemon yogurt to duck paté, but then again, who does not want more duck paté? Next came the sardine with an edible fried skeleton on the side, and olives. The waiter informed me that the head was the most flavorful part of the skeleton and that proved correct. C struggled with eating the skeleton at all and ultimately decided against it. A shotglass of duck consommé finished off the first course. We drank a 1999 Luneau-Papin Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine Le L D'Or with these. It had a nice frame, unobtrusive acids and a rich salinity. I felt that it trailed off a bit on the finish, but would happily drink it again.
One of our favorites on the menu is nestled in as the second course: the beef tartare. Don't expect the classic version of this dish, but rather a delicate layer of beef topped with crunchy crisps made from, I believe, a root vegetable of one kind or another (sadly I cannot remember which) and some spices. Surprisingly, it had a vivid barbecue accent. The other option for the second course, which we also tasted, was quite simply apple slices wrapped in sweet potato leaves with a swipe of yogurt inside the leaves holding it all together. These you are supposed to eat with your hands, and they were quite delicious and refreshing if not as complex as the tartare. This course was accompanied by a 2004 Ghislaine Barthod Chambolle-Musigny Les Véroilles, with which I was mildly disappointed because it was showing more green and less fruit than I recalled from the previous two times I have opened a bottle of this wine, when I found it to be more balanced. I consider myself fortunate to be the owner of very few 2004 Burgs, and although this was certainly drinkable, I am not sad this was the last of three bottles. C liked it more than I did, and to be fair it was much better with the tartare than the apple slices wrapped in leaves.
Next came either the poached cod with onion and salted baby potatoes (for this we returned to the Luneau-Papin) or the duck with roasted beets (in that case, the Barthod). The cod had very pure flavors and I enjoyed it more than I typically enjoy cod. The duck was too chewy, and perhaps the dish would have fared better had it been quail instead, which we were told was the original intent, but the quail had long since run out. The beets had a nicely firm texture that rescued something for the dish.
My recollection of the desserts is less lucid, but one was based on a beet sorbet with strawberries and the other included a concord grape sorbet with walnuts and greens. What I do remember about both desserts is that they were only mildly sweet and certain components were even savory - a refreshing change from the overly indulgent and sometimes cloying desserts one often finds at upscale restaurants in NYC.
I was told the restaurant will be getting its license in the next two weeks if all goes to plan, so if you want to give it a shot while it's still BYO, I'd advise doing so as soon as possible. They will begin charging corkage once they are able to serve alcohol.
Robert Dentice
Robert Dentice
Great write up! You have a future in Food & Wine writing if the law thing does not work out. I can't wait to return.
Well, it's now too late to take advantage of the byob. Isa gets its liquor license.
Robert Dentice
Robert Dentice
ISA now has a wine list and it is disorderly. 16 or so selections and you can buy all by the glass, half bottle or full bottle. Primarily Savio Soares and Dressner selections. Overall price range is $40-60 per bottle. I ordered a stunning bottle of 07 Denavolo Dinavolo - incredible acidity and freshness for an orange wine and a beautiful glass of the Mosse"Bois-Rouge". The food was unbelievably good.