October 2nd, 2007
Hearth, as its name suggests, was a warm reprieve from an arduous day of fasting last week for Yom Kippur. Despite sleeping until noon and passing time with a three-hour facial, I was ready to eat my hand off when we finally sat down at 6:30. Hey, it’s tough 
The Hearth sentiment is more present in the décor with its warm red tones, exposed brick walls and textured fabric wallpaper than in an actual Hearth at the restaurant. Though I’ve heard there is one tucked away in a corner somewhere. Our waiter was very understanding of our plight so he brought some red snapper crudo to take the edge off as soon as we sat down.
The restaurant was started by Marco Canora, who previously cooked at Gramercy Tavern. He continued the legend that Tom Colicchio began of focusing on fresh ingredients, without too much pomp and circumstance. The menu changes daily, further emphasizing the freshness factor. All of our dishes were very well executed from a grilled quail with farro salad, tomato preserves and poached quail egg to a roasted striped bass with calamari, chick peas, swiss chard and garlic. The food is mainly new American with some Italian influences in pastas like a delicate papardelle with tomatoes and large ruby red shrimp. The wine list at Hearth is truly special, meant to educate and not intimidate with whole sections entitled: “German Riesling” which yells: “RIESLING IS NOT AN INHERENTLY SWEET WINE.” It compares a well balanced wine to a match between The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin on a Monday night while enjoying pigs in a blanket. Someone is giving a lot of thought to making wine approachable, and I love it. Aside from the wine there is also an impressive array of microbrews and other “libations.”
The meal was rounded out with a delightfully airy goat cheese cheesecake with grape sorbet. The final icing on the cake was the coaster for our espresso which read: “Food: 1. Buy it with thought 2. Cook it with care 3. Serve just enough 4. Save what will keep 5. Eat what would spoil 6. Home grown is best. Don’t Waste It. We learned this little excerpt is from the depression. What a charming spot- I highly recommend it.
Hearth- 403 E 12 street and 1st Ave
Cuisine- New American, Italian
Filed under New American, Restaurant Reviews |
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That’s some quality image spacing.
[...] one. Though I doubt anybody was there to read, the list also contains quirky explanations, a la Hearth. Our waitress was bubbly and attentive. Friends and I shared a bottle of Prosecco followed by a [...]