THE PLACE: Chinatown has changed. While you can (and should) still get bowls of cheap noodles and steaming dumplings in the neighborhood, you can now also find yourself in a high-brow modern restaurant taking nods from the likes of Spanish and French cuisine and serving everything from cured tuna and a comté tart to a dining room full of patrons who were most likely not sipping tea and eating egg tarts earlier that morning. The elegant dining room at Bridges, named for its proximity to both the Manhattan and Brooklyn, is both relaxed and serious with service that matches the vibe.
THE MENU: I came specifically for the eel dumplings that had garnered much attention, but alas, they had been removed from the menu. A few tempting small plates (like sardines with summer squash) preceded seasonal appetizers like asparagus with nettles and beets with blood orange. That all lead up to just three hearty main dishes that were a bit too much for me dining solo on this easy summer night.
THE DISH: Seeing my disappointment at the lack of eel, the bartender pushed me towards the Sea Urchin Custard with Shrimp and I truly did not know what to expect. I couldn’t have prepared myself for the play of textures, temperatures, and flavors. The base of this dish is a meaty briny round of raw red shrimp tartare floating in the decadent sea urchin custard (comprised of locally made soy milk from the neighborhood). It’s topped off with a generous portion of uni tongue that really pops with notes of the sea and melts on your tongue. It also melts the subtle heat that builds from the bits of chili in the shrimp and is cooled by the creamy custard. It’s a really innovative unusual dish that was one of the more exciting things I’ve tried so far this year. Price: $25
| BRIDGES |
| 9 Chatham Square (between Mott and Pell Street), Chinatown |
| bridges-nyc.com |
