04 Apr 2010, Posted by admin in L'Epicurien, 0 Comments

supper club #4: yerba buena or yerba mala

The Supper Club’s most recent outing took us to Yerba Buena, the East Village location.

The service was anything but Buena. Our group was awkwardly forced to cram in the front corner of the bar while we waited for the restaurant to honor our 8pm reservation on a Wednesday night. Four of the five us were present, and the maître d’ brashly asked how long our final guest would be, as he blatantly wanted to pass our table along to another waiting group. Our waiter too had an attitude problem, smacking his pad against his hands impatiently while we rattled off our orders. He continued to pressure each of us (five dainty females) to order more food.

Guacamole slowly introduced us into the cuisine, chunky and fresh it was served with tortilla chips. The flavorful tuna hamachi was presented ceviche style, in square chunks, along with cucumbers, jalapeños, jicama, and popcorn kernels. The fried calamari was marinated in a tangy though overly salted sauce. The house salad was simple, lightly dressed with a citrus vinaigrette and accented with avocados and tomatoes.

One of the most interesting dishes we tried was the Moqueca Brazilian Paella. While it was loose and soupy compared to traditional, Spanish paella, it certainly had a kick. Tossed among the rice, coconut milk, and palm oil was an assortment of shellfish– shrimp, clams, crawfish and calamari (supposedly). The chef it seemed was reluctant to include any calamari, and I heard from my company that the crawfish were fishy. Of the entrees, the best choice was the miso glazed black cod, served with hearty sides, shitake mushrooms and choclo corn.

Let’s just say we ran for the door and skipped dessert.

Yerba Buena

23 Avenue A

212-529-2919

http://ybnyc.com

–Melissa Matarese