Little Mad
There’s some buzz going around the Flat Iron area of NYC as a new restaurant is about to open called Little Mad.
Located at 110 Madison Avenue just a block from Scarpetta and set to open on June 8. Chef Sol sets to redefine New American Cuisine while highlighting the diversity and seasonality of New York. Reflecting on Chef Sol’s background on emulating Korean cuisine while incorporating French techniques.
As we arrived at the restaurant, we were readily greeted by the General Manager Jean and seated at our table. The space looked new and ready for dinner service with sharp interior design and a modern industrial feel. Our server for the evening Christina greeted us warmly and gave us the scoop for the evening and as she went through the menu and now, we are bursting with excitement for what’s to come for the evening. I started the night with the Yes Yes Yuzu cocktail which is their play on a classic old fashioned.
The oysters were a first appetizer which had tomatillo chojang and croutons. It was such a unique take on a simple dish with bright colors and proper crisp.
The Pyeonyuk Torchon with head cheese, market greens and yangyum was next and this was also a nice play on a French terrine with Asian flavors. The yangyum sauce on the greens balanced the richness of the head cheese torchon.
The fried buhsut with maitake, sour cream and whole onion was our third appetizer, and this dish was so interesting. The maitake was fried crisp in a light batter while the whole onion was roasted and hollowed out to serve as the vessel for the sour cream dipping sauce.
The soft-shell crab arrived next which was fried with speck, pea leaves, and a sabayon served table side. Loving soft shell crab so much this was my favorite starter for the evening.
My next cocktail was the Sol Honey which was with Damsol Soju and Korean honey. A very nice, light and refreshing drink that paved the way for our entrees.
The noodles were our first entrée which is tossed with corn, crispy duck skin and umami foam. The noodles were perfectly cooked and the flavors on this dish was extravagant.
The crispy bossam with marcona almonds, anchovy and horse radish was served along with the rice. The rice was served with bone marrow that was scraped table side like meat butter to top of the dish. They were both so good as the pork had the right amount of fat to meat ratio while the rice blended well with the seasonal mushrooms and maple soy.
What an evening we just had and what a meal we just experienced but the night is not over yet until we have our dessert. The earl grey shaved ice with seasonal fruits was served and as we slowly worked our way on the bowl. This dessert reminded me of the traditional halo-halo dessert from the Philippines.
Thank you Little Mad for an absolutely amazing meal and I cannot wait to come back soon enough…
#KULINARYATRAVELS is off for some Sushi next at Sushi on Jones…