Top 10 Newcomer Restaurants Beyond the Hype, #9
In the shadow of the old Jewish Forward building, Broadway East seeks to point the way toward the future of dining. The menu is vegetarian-focused, with organic fish and poultry slipped in among seasonal, sustainable, locally sourced ingredients. Water is filtered and carbonated in-house. The cooking oils live on as biodiesel. The sleek redwood ceiling, tabletops, and main bar are recycled from a neighborhood water tower. Into this eco-aware realm the kitchen sets out to prove that healthy and flavorful need not be contradictory notions. A fennel and blood orange salad bursts with olives, crumbles of seitan chorizo, and a cashew Manchego “cheese.” Tempeh comes crispy, informed by coconut, sweet curry, and fiery bok choy. Roasted chicken nods to the neighborhood’s Jewish heritage, topping organic kasha-stuffed meat with carrots and parsnips. The accompanying wine list is reasonably priced (as it should be—the vintages are from New York state). A storefront bar area leads to the elegant main dining room. Whitewashed brick walls there suggest a long history (the space was once a vegetarian restaurant named Schildkraut’s), while exposed-bulb hanging lights reflect a Sputnik-era space-age sensibility. Rust and gold accents are complemented by oak floors. A towering rear wall of living greenery recalls the environmental theme, the plants connecting the dining room to a subterranean lounge that serves market-fresh sake cocktails. The quietly chic spaces hum with older locals and youthful locavores, and even a certain former Vice President wouldn’t look out of place.
171 E. Broadway, near Rutgers St., 212-228-3100 broadwayeast.com
Copyright 2008 The New York Observer
