Here’s some good news about the trio of new restaurants now debuting at Rockefeller Center, as part of the art deco landmark’s ongoing — and very welcome — makeover. The food at all three isn’t just good, it’s great. Great as in, oh my God. Great as in, tell your friends now, while they can still get a reservation.
And, here’s some less good news. While the geniuses-in-charge at landlord Tishman Speyer may have managed to corral some of the city’s top kitchen talent, giving them free rein to strut their stuff, they’ve also chosen to lock them away in a dark, unwelcoming, underground cul-de-sac. The Concourse-level maze of factory-like, corrugated metal walls screams “design” — but without an iota of grace or wit.
The culinary captives are Naro, offering creative Korean from the Atoboy and Atomix team, Five Acres for farm-driven American from the Olmsted people, and Jupiter — pasta-focused Italian from the King trio. Near-empty a few weeks ago, they now draw lunch crowds willing to brave the confusing floor layout. At Jupiter, there’s also a nighttime buzz.
Rock Center’s previous, unfashionable restaurants drew a mix of office workers, shoppers and tourists. The new culinary cluster at the skating rink end of the concourse seems designed to chase everybody away with the look and feel of an airport dining annex that ran out of dough.
The old Sea Grill and Rock Center Cafe — even a Starbucks, for Pete’s sake — faced the fun-to-watch rink. The Concourse’s parallel, east-west corridors now seem to dead-end there. The undulating walls block views, not only of most of the ice action, but of each restaurant from the next.
It’s a baffling blunder, considering the success that Rock Center had improving its image at ground level, offering the marvelous new ground-level restaurants Le Rock and Lodi, alongside cool-factor stores Rough Trade (music) and McNally Jackson (books).
At Five Acres and Naro, lunch can often feel lonely. Jupiter’s bleak-looking “terrace” on the Concourse floor will open next month — if anyone wants to sit there. Naro’s bare, concourse-side tables currently seem fit for little more than card playing — they say they’re working on a new look. The whole scene urgently needs Tribeca crowdpleaser Smith & Mills to pump more energy onto the floor, but that won’t open at 30 Rock until June.
Get past the setting’s shortcomings, though, and all three restaurants are more than worth the trouble.
White-on-white Naro has a too-plain look for a place that can top $300 a head at dinner. But my early tastes blew me away. Chilled octopus salad, swirled braised octopus, steamed Norwegian king crab, kohlrabi and crispy purple ninja radishes in tangy Korean mustard, all crowned with dongchimi — radish kimchi — granita. Hard to visually decipher at first glance, this dish with its perfectly calibrated, mingling and tingling flavors was the most exciting meal I’ve had in months.
Bluefin tuna bibimbap bore little resemblance to the standard article. Rectangular tuna logs were marinated in lemon and cured anchovy. Beneath them lay rice seasoned with sesame and dried seaweed. Both dishes were in the creative league of celebrated Jungsik downtown and, at $165 for the dinner tasting — no a la carte — a bargain compared with Jungsik’s $295.
Jupiter is the relative dazzler of the three, with lively if noisy dining rooms, a colorful bar, a few cozy secluded booths and a sizzling open kitchen. The menu reflects the same attention to detail as at the owners’ French-Italian bistro, King.
The chef, Gaz Herbert, once worked at London’s fabled River Cafe, where I enjoyed one of my life’s greatest Italian meals — and he didn’t leave his skills behind on the Thames. Familiar-sounding paccheri verdi (pork shoulder ragu cooked with milk, sage and lemon peel) and spaghetti alle vongole — littlenecks steamed with Soave wine, parsley and shaved bottarga — tasted new thanks to judicious herbal tweaking. Pansotti di zucca were pumpkin-filled, ravioli-like pillows of pleasure. Pasta dishes are in the $20s and $30s. A few secondi such as veal milanese are in the $40s.
Five Acres’ unenclosed, cattle pen-like setting on the Concourse floor, partially hidden away by clumps of cheap-looking potted greenery, could be in a mid-priced hotel lobby, here in New York or anywhere. But broccoli and cheddar soup with roasted broccoli and chili oil, a stunning abstract composition, was sheer, pure-as-nature pleasure. So was crackling shaved fennel and cucumber “Caesar” salad served with savory granola, all under a snow-like crown of parmesan cheese. Appetizers here range from $16 to $34, mains from $28 to $58.
The eateries are a gift to Midtown office workers gradually trickling back to their desks — and a wake-up call to New Yorkers who think that Manhattan’s culinary creative zone ends north of 14th Street. Too bad the designers got stuck on the subway somewhere.
