Spice Market - NYC

Spice Market is one of Jean-Georges Vongerichten's many restaurants in New York City and currently his only Asian restaurant in the city (Matsugen, a Japanese restaurant specializing in soba noodles closed recently). [His new restaurant, ABC Kitchen, just won Best New Restaurant at the James Beard Awards - can't wait to try that one out someday! My friends and I have been trying to go to brunch there.] Given Spice Market's location in the Meatpacking District, the overstated decor - described on the website as "a casual, sexy atmosphere" - seems to make sense. I'm not sure if I would agree with "casual," but the interior definitely transports you to what feels like a Southeast Asian palace.

The food is supposed to amount to the "idealization of a Vietnamese street market or a Thai food stall" (per the restaurant's website), but I think this restaurant's exotic decor stands out more than its food, which seemed fairly middle of the road to me.

First off, was "Salmon Tartare, Soy Ginger Dressing, Avocado and Radish." I love tartares and especially enjoy it when a restaurant offers a fish tartare not made with the predictable tuna. While the salmon was fine, I did think the pairing with avocado didn't really mesh too well - and the dressing definitely did not complement the salmon (perhaps a touch of acidity would have helped).

We also got the Pork Vindaloo - I loved the plate that it came out on, it added to the authenticity of setting. This was perhaps my favorite dish because of its extreme spice factor. That being said, it still didn't match what I expected for a Jean-George's restaurant - although it does taste much better than what you would expect for average "Asian street vendor food." We also got an order of the "Chili-Garlic Egg Noodles with Seared Shrimp and Star Anise" because it was a favorite of my dining companion's and he had been craving it for a while. While this dish was pretty good, it almost tasted like house special lo-mein I could order from any generic Chinatown restaurant, and just adding some chili oil to it.

Inside the Kitchen

While Spice Market's food didn't necessarily meet my expectations, it definitely won me over for their atmosphere. For dessert, we ordered ginger ice cream and it was served in this adorable take-out box. I'm a sucker for packaging and interactive food! The ginger flavor wasn't too overpowering - if I didn't know it was ginger, I probably would never have guessed it. It was a refreshing end to the meal!