My parents are visiting, which means chaos in the kitchen. Mini coolers jam-packed with curries. Whole honeydews, cantelopes, watermelons rolling across the kitchen floor and threatening to knock down the dog like a bowling pin. Quart-sized containers full of Sambaar, Idli batter, homemade yogurt made with Half and Half.
Breakfast Saturday was palm-sized idlis with Sambaar and Mom's famous chutney. South Indian chutney is addictive. My friend Damarys spreads it on toast. I prefer to dip samosas in it. Mom mixes plain white rice and chutney and drizzles a bit of ghee over everything. Peeled and diced mangoes, melons and cherries finished off breakfast.
Had dinner with my GF Julie Lindh. As she's located on 9th Ave in the West 50s, a plethora of terrific ethnic restaurants abound. Dined at Agua Dulce, recently opened as of last week. Featured as a "Pan Asian" restaurant, it's a kitschy throwback to 1950s Miami where you'd expect cigar chugging men wearing cool guayaberas and playing dominoes. Whie the decor might be amusing the food is nothing to laugh at, matter of fact it's fantastic. We started with Citrus Salmon Ceviche - huge chunks of raw salmon bathing in a grapefruit citrus vinaigrette. Shaved slices of habeneros, red onions and segments of citrus give tang and zest to the unctuous salmon. Utterly the best ceviche I've had years. Second only to the cevice at Azucar in Silver Spring, Maryland. Other appetizers were Guacamole with tough and a wee bit stale chips, obviously homemade. The Gauc was fine but could have used more bite and lime. Shrimp empanadas in an orange, sweet yuca dough were tasty but overpowered the seafood inside. The Brazilian seafood stew reminded me of a toned down Tom Yum soup. Mussels, teeny clams, chunks of salmon poached in coconut milk and cashew puree. Although I really couldn't place the cashew - by texture or flavor. Dessert was killer - chocolate ganache cake over which was poured, not drizzled mind you, an entire gravy boat of chocolate habenaro sauce. Crazy good.
Highly recommend Agua Dulce - translation: fresh water. The restaurant houses it's own filtration system and apparently some of the profits go towards funding water systems in Latin America. The filtration system is also evident in the refreshing cocktails. Frozen mojitos, watermelon margaritas - all made with fresh juices and water filtered on the premises. Better yet, at my request for a vodka based mojito our server was glad to comply. Go for the simple but well executed menu by chef Ulrich Sterling. (Who by the way is Irish!) Also noteworthy are the attentive wait staff and busboys who seem to all foster an attitude of: your wish is my command. But especially go for the sinfully delicious dessert - chocolate and habenaro - two aphrodisiacs in one.
Agua Dulce
802 Ninth Avenue & (53rd Street)
New York, NY
Phone (212) 262-1299
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