D1 April 21–27, 2017
ALL PHOTOS BY SAMIRA BOUAOU/THE EPOCH TIMES
Dining in a
French Living Room on D3
www.EpochTaste.com
Singing Praises Vegetables of
(Clockwise from top L) Roasted chicken with a mound of green garbanzo beans hiding underneath spinach leaves; the O Sweet Spontaneous cocktail, with strawberryrhubarb, vodka, and Lillet Rose wine; bresaola with baked cheddar crackers; parsnip dessert, with white chocolate and parsnip skin; and Brussels sprouts with toasted rye bread and cheddar.
Villanelle, in Greenwich Village, prepares local farm produce with unadorned simplicity ANNIE WU
H
ow is it that a dish can capture the feeling of spring so vividly? Sugar snap peas—sliced perpendicularly into small rings—are tossed with mint, Thai basil, and bits of sliced fennel, with a hint of raw grassiness still lingering. The vegetables’ true flavors emanate forth; save for a drizzle of shallot vinaigrette on the plate, they are practically untamed, unvarnished. Verdant gardens and sunny skies await, they seem to say. This sugar snap peas dish ($16) exemplifies the kind of simple preparation found at Villanelle, a
Villanelle newly opened restaurant a few blocks away from Union Square. Executive chef Nick Licata goes to the Union Square Greenmarket four times a week to procure the latest seasonal goods, then experiments to find “the most simple way that represents the ingredient,” he said. The vegetable is the starting point. Then, Licata and his team of chefs determine what pairs well with it. “Oftentimes, you go someplace and they do so much to the ingredient, you lose the soul,” said Licata, who previously worked at Degustation and Jack’s Luxury Oyster Bar. His philosophy is that high-quality produce speaks for itself, so if
you manipulate it substantially, it had better be for a good reason. A dish of Brussels sprouts ($17) is thus presented with its leaves peeled off and prepared as crunchy bits of barely cooked, pure vegetal goodness, peppered with occasional hits of umami in the form of grated fresh garlic. Cubes of toasted rye bread and cheddar provide extra texture, but otherwise, you can savor the flavors of the vegetable itself—and when was the last time you got to eat Brussels sprouts like that?
15 E. 12th St. (between University Place & Fifth Avenue) Greenwich Village 212-989-2474 VillanelleNYC.com
See Villanelle on D2
Closed Sunday
Hours Monday–Thursday 5:30 p.m.–10:30 p.m. Friday & Saturday 5:30 p.m.–11:30 p.m.