Falai [closed]

Occasion: Dinner with James, after a wander through the Whitney Biennial
Location: Falai on Clinton between Rivington and Stanton (falainyc.com) - Note: Falai is closed
Edibles: celery root soup with goat cheese amuse bouche; I had the polenta bianca with chicken liver and dried dates to start; James had the smoked salmon bonbon with pine-infused crème fraîche mousse; we shared the eggless pasta with wild boar ragu; I had the scallop main; James had the lamb main; pre-dessert bites of a tiny cannoli and chestnut cake with vanilla gelato and chamomile tea; we shared the chocolate brioche for an actual dessert

Musings: A very long, narrow restaurant. I had a great seat facing their kitchen. I must say I'm very impressed that they're able to run a fine-dining restaurant out of a kitchen smaller my apartment's, no exaggeration. They had three chefs crammed in there. (I think desserts were relegated to the basement.) While the chefs were clearly very disciplined and focused, I think the menu suffered slightly from their space limitations.

I practically swooned over my first course, though. What a stunner. The starchy blandness of the polenta was the perfect background for the earthy, velvety richness of the chicken liver. The dates provided a nice accent note of sweetness. Mmmm..... just fabulous. James' salmon dish was gorgeous - a real work of art - but I didn't think he was too impressed by it. It was also too small and fussy to share, always a demerit in my book.

The pasta dish was pretty amazing. The rustic-looking, hand-rolled noodles had a great chewy texture. I thought the dough had olive oil in it, but was informed that it's just flour and water. Apparently, Falai gets a pasta guru to come in during the day, sit in the basement and just make noodles by hand for hours at a time. As a side note, it's too bad they don't serve their pasta tasting on the weekend.

My scallop main was a disappointment. They definitely overcooked the scallops, and also failed to trim the rubbery side muscle off one of them - quite the faux pas for a fancy restaurant. I enjoyed my bite of the lamb dish but I did notice James sawing away at it. The chocolate dessert was yummy, so at least the meal ended on a good note.

Two critiques. First, too many things were served lukewarm or at room temp - the limitations of the small kitchen I mentioned above. When you've got no space, you've got to rely heavily on dishes and sides you can finish in advance. Second, they seemed to be much more concerned with how beautiful the dishes looked than how good they tasted (with the exception of the homely-looking but delicious pasta). I recommend a re-ordering of priorities.

Though it was a slightly uneven meal, I did enjoy most of what I ate. I'd come again for the polenta, and to try other pasta dishes.