Last night I truly ate one of the best meals I've ever had. Celebrity chef Todd English teamed up with Ian Chalermkittichai (formerly head chef of Kittichai, in SoHo) to open the Hells Kitchen masterpiece Ember Room (647 9th Ave. (between 45th and 46th St.), NY, NY 10036). As our server said to us upon seating, Ember Room blends classic American Barbeque with Asian techniques and ingredients. I must say before I start that I was not able to take any photos of the plates we enjoyed, but trust me, they were plated beautifully. You can check out photos of the dishes on the Ember Room website here. The ambiance is unique, wooden walls cover all sides of you (we were seated upstairs) and a ceiling filled with gilded leaves makes it seem like you're dining within a tree (to me).
Initially, I waited at the bar and enjoyed one of their signature cocktails, a cucumber and lime concoction made with cucumber vodka and actual cucumbers! After my date arrived, the friendly host showed us to our table.
Ember Room places an emphasis on sharing their plates. I personally love this because it just allows you to try more of the menu. We started off with three "small plates" which were:
Big Slab BBQ Pork Belly ($10)- Maple soy glaze & served with fuji apple celeriac slaw
Thai Pastrami Meat Balls ($11)- Tamarind glaze & served with chinese mustard
Chocolate Baby Back Ribs ($11)- Chocolate glaze. They say "spicy hot", I beg to differ.
I believe the consensus was that EVERYTHING was fantastic, but we must say the Pork Belly was phenomenal. I was unfamiliar with Pork Belly (aside from seeing it cooked on TV) so this dish as an introduction was probably the best it could have been. The Meat Balls were served first (Ember Room serves dishes as they become ready, even entrees) which was a nice start to the meal. The Baby Back Ribs fell right off the bone. They were soft and succulent, with a savory cocoa flavor and fantastic after effect.
For our Entree plates, we chose:
Red Chili Glazed Sea Bass ($24)- celeriac puree, gailan, and red chili paste.
BBQ Short Ribs ($24)- sweet potato puree, ginger, and a citrus crumb.
The sea bass was easily among the best I've ever had. I was unfamiliar with the vegetable "gailan" before my meal as well, the best way to describe it to me is asian asparagus (although it is commonly known as chinese broccoli). The short ribs were soft and delicious, initially very "brisket" but then you realize the dish has a life of its own.
And of course, dessert. Although left stuffed from our meals and appetizers, we heard the desserts from Ember Room were NOT to be missed. I don't have the exact names of the desserts, but one was a "crepe cake" which was basically layer upon layer (probably 12 total) of crepes, lined with whipped filling, cut and served like a pie with lemon sorbet on the side. The other was a bread pudding made with apple and toffee caramel sauce served with a scoop of toffee ice cream. Now, the crepe dessert was very good, BUT the toffee caramel apple bread pudding was, to put it frankly, orgasm inducing. Fantastic.
Another aspect of this restaurant that's great to mention is that it really is a great place to take a first date. A shout-out goes to Eric for choosing to go to Ember Room and turning me on to such great food!!
Recommended!
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