« Tabla | All | Belleville »
7.5.4
Patria
250 Park Avenue S.We went to Patria for our final Restaurant Week meal, a plantain-happy Latin American restaurant. It was one of the more snooty-looking interiors, to the point of making me feel a little uncomfortable for not having dressed up, but the pricing structure was very democratic. I found that all the prix fixe options had something I was allergic to (I'm allergic to a lot) but it was a lucky discovery, since it led me to order the broiled salmon entree instead, and that was far and away the best dish at the table. I ordered it medium-rare (they actually ask!) and it flaked away from the fork with perfect tenderness: Seattle-quality salmon.
I can't tell you much about the other entrees except that duplication occurred frequently - most dishes contained at least some watercress, and large hanks of avocado. The two desserts were both reported to be fantastic - a marinated berry parfait topped with a scoop of whipped cream and lime juice, and what I think was a tiny mango upside-down cake served a la mode.
BTW, it had been described to us as "vertical" food but the only vertical thing we saw was an entree flanked by thin slices of plaintains sliced lengthwise... the presentation of our dishes was pretty standard.
