DISH OF THE WEEK: Pan-Roasted Scallops at HENRY AT LIFE HOTEL

Every week, I document another dish that impressed and satiated me during my food adventures around New York City

SADLY, HENRY AT LIFE HOTEL IS NOW CLOSED.

One cuisine that hasn’t fully gotten the elevated treatment is African food. We have plenty of fancy Italian restaurants, French, and even Chinese. But African food is sadly not very well-known in this country.

I’m not going to get into the many reasons for that, but the good news is that Chef JJ (Joseph Johnson) is trying to change all that with his latest restaurant Henry at Life Hotel.

Johnson had a critical smash with The Cecil a few years ago in Harlem that I never got to try. But I was very excited when he moved into the unlikely neighborhood just west of Herald Square with a new restaurant.

Henry at Life Hotel resides in an old hotel that seems to be trying to hipster-ize as other hotels nearby open up trendy rooftop bars and restaurants. This wouldn’t be the first hotel I would have guessed to house this kind of serious dining experience.

But the unwitting tourists who are staying here due to its convenience to Macy’s and Times Square are in for a wonderful surprise.

The food at Henry is superb – expertly prepared, traditional, innovative, and wholly new for many New York diners. We had a fantastic meal here that it was so hard to choose just one Dish of the Week.

In addition to these plump flavorful scallops I’m about to write about, you’ll also need to try the Sweet Potato Salad (with West African Peanut Sauce) and the vegetarian Con’con (a dish of West African jollof rice, eggplant curry, and coconut).

Sure, this pricey plate contained just three scallops but they were almost the size of a small filet mignon and even more delicious. They had that beautiful sear that gives way to buttery mollusk flesh, Below them was the surprising accompaniment of a hearty complex hominy stew and a tangy earthy cilantro pistou (similar to pesto minus the nuts). To bring it all together, salty smoky pork belly made quite a few appearances.

It’s about time that African cuisine took the New York food scene by storm. The prices here are a bit high, but it’s a very special dinner experience and one that shouldn’t be missed. Hopefully, this will be the start of a long line of African-inspired restaurants around the country. Price: $38