New York counter culture

By Sylvie Bigar

room 4 dessert

Ever wonder what goes on behind the kitchen doors? Throughout New York City, young creative chefs are whipping up imaginative dishes in full view of their rapt audience. Here are four of New York's quintessential counter-culture experiences.

Degustation

In a dark corner on the Lower East Side, the minimal 19-seat wine and tasting bar feels like an intimate insider's club. Behind the counter, 27-year-old Wesley Genovart improvises on a theme of tapas. He and two assistants glide swiftly from grill to plancha in a well-rehearsed tango.

The savvy twentysomething waitress whispers the secret ingredients. A poached egg surrounded by earthy Serrano ham and cheesy foam has rice cracker-crusted asparagus serving as a mast. Luscious braised short ribs find a perfect niche inside a crisp morsel of squid that rests on a bed of lentils. Even the simplest grilled shrimp speaks of brine and ocean mist and leaves you licking your fingers.

Degustation, 239 E. Fifth St., 212-979-1012

Momofuku Noodle Bar

The queue at the door moves fast. Inside, 28 wooden stools line the bar at the counter-only Japanese eatery run by David Chang, one of the winners of the 2006 Food & Wine Best New Chefs Awards. The young appreciative crowd savours thin, chewy ramen noodles served with Berkshire pork belly, crunchy collard greens and a poached egg. The noodles are a meal in itself, but who can resist the steamed white doughy pork buns or roasted rice cakes in a fiery red chili pepper sauce? Chefs, cooks and waiters all bump into each other, and hard rock and chaos reign. But the crowd is happy, the sake flows and this superior comfort food just begs for a return trip.

163 First Ave., 212-475-7899

Room 4 Dessert

For cutting-edge sweets and booming rock 'n' roll, search out the dessert bar where Will Goldfarb rules. Considered a culinary wunderkind with an over-the-top inventive streak, Goldfarb once staged a four-hour experimental dinner for his fellow chefs and critics, who were blindfolded and bound. And he hasn't lost his pioneering spirit.

Choose among complex concoctions that are assembled (rather than cooked) behind a bar that spans the entire length of the restaurant and served in glasses. Try the Nrj, which pairs airy Lapsang souchong meringue, tangy grapefruit sorbet and sensuous lychee gelée. Or pick a thematic dessert sampler, such as Voyage to India, a journey of chocolate, chai, mango and coconut cream.

17 Cleveland Pl., 212-941-5405

Casa Mono

You'd think you were in Europe when you step into Mario Batali's cozy corner in the romantic Gramercy Park neighbourhood. Lined with wine bottles, this innovative eatery seats 42, but the action sizzles at the chef's counter and its seven stools. Three chefs tend to huge flames beneath shiny pots; sizzling baby octopus and garlic sing happily over the soft flamenco guitar; and the seared foie gras with sherry reduction melts dreamily in the mouth. This is no tapas bar – it's haute cuisine served on small plates to seven lucky few.

52 Irving Place, 212-253-2773

(Based in New York City, writer Sylvie Bigar explores the world in search of culinary delights and vibrant destinations.)

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