Chef Andy Nusser Dazzles at Casa Mono Restaurant

The Brilliance of Spain's Food and Wine Culture in New York City

Mar 13, 2009

There's a warm orange glow radiating from the French doors lining the corner building of Irving Place and E 17th St.in Gramercy Park.

When you enter it's dark and there's a low cacophony - a mixture of background music, conversation and kitchen noise radiating from the open kitchen. The tables are ridiculously close, almost communal. It's hard to read the two-page, cleanly laid-out menu, let alone the multi-page, entirely Spanish wine list.

Despite or because of all that, it's has a vibe, an only in New York ambiance, that works. It works, because the small plate concept is not built on what is trendy but on a real respect for the traditions of Mediterranean cuisine with an eye on seasonality. At Casa Mono and at the adjacent, kitchen-sharing Bar Jamón, Chef Andy Nusser has planned a menu that balances the familiar with a touch of inventiveness all wrapped around a solid base of technique.

The Food

East coast razor clams (Razor Clams a la Plancha, $15) were perfectly cooked with enough extra virgin olive oil and garlic to compliment the natural sweetness of the shellfish without overpowering it. The "sunny side up" duck egg (Duck Egg with Mojama, $16) could have been a bit runnier for my tastes and the Mojama, a salt-cured tuna loin, needed to be sliced thinner but the classic black truffle-roasted potato accompaniments made a dish that tasted of the earth and of the farm.

The crust on the braised and breaded lamb's tongue (Lamb's Tongue with Mint Alioli, $15) was a bit too salty but slightly bitter frissée matched with the sweetness of golden beets and the bright herbaceousness of a mint alioli round out the dish and brought everything to a new level. During a previous visit during the summer, the grilled baby octopus with a fennel salad sounded pedestrian but when Nusser adds a few drops of an aggressive black olive oil and a few grapefruit segments and again it feels if you are transported the Catalan coast.

The Wine

Casa Mono also works because the of their wine list, over 600 Spanish labels strong. You can get a small variety of wines-by-the-glass, including one of the best sherry selections in the US, but the best bargains are the Quartinos ($10-$28) - a small decanter that holds a quarter of a liter. It's more than a glass, less than a bottle, and perfect for experimenting.

Of course not everything is puppies and sunshine. Sometimes, rarely however, the execution may fall a bit short, service can seem a bit elusive and the cramped quarters aren't conducive to large parties, but that really isn't a detriment. Desserts are generally to be avoided. As Adam Platt wrote in the March 1, 2004 issue of New York magazine, "avoid [dessert] altogether by walking next door to Bar Jamón, where a nice selection of Spanish cheeses and hams and even a few legitimate tapas dishes are served from the matchbox-size bar."

Seeing a menu that includes foie gras, veal sweetbreads, pigs feet, bone marrow, tripe and duck hearts warms my heart and starts me salivating. Add up the whole scorecard and Casa Mono shows how, as Art Culinaire said "simple, clean and perfectly conventional Spanish food can be." Call it big and bold flavors in small packages and you've got a the brilliance of Spain's food and wine culture in New York City.

The copyright of the article Chef Andy Nusser Dazzles at Casa Mono Restaurant in Spanish Food is owned by Stuart Stein. Permission to republish Chef Andy Nusser Dazzles at Casa Mono Restaurant in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Jun 29, 2009 5:43 AM

Guest :

Desserts can be quite good at Casa Mono. You should try them for yourself rather than depend on Platt's outdated review. But a trip to Bar Jamon is definitely recommended, where the tapas are still excellent, 5 years later. Again, sample them yourself and give us your opinion!